Pioneer RT-909 Vintage Auto Reverse Reel to Reel - SkyFi Serviced

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General:
This wonderful vintage tape deck was just serviced in house where it received new belts and consumables. Pinch mechanism which is a common failure from gumming up, was dissasembled lubricated and adjusted. All pots were cleaned and the motors were calibrated.

It now plays back beautifully and makes a great tape.

The auto-reverse feature makes this machine super convenient to use, and allows for very long continuous playback time. 

Cosmetic condition good with some signs of use.  Overall very presentable.

Most importantly the front display is super bright and legible with all digits intact. 

Your RT-909 purchase includes the tape deck, a printed service manual and two aluminum take up reels.

The Pioneer RT-909 3-motor deck, with auto reverse / repeat playback and many more features, takes the open-reel format another important and impressive step ahead of anything available in the cassette format.

You're going to sense this the moment you see it, and hear it, in action. 

Features

It's another loaded deck from Pioneer. It not only accepts the conventional 7 inch reels, but also the professional size 10.5 inch diameter reels.

It gives an exceptionally wide frequency range of 20Hz to 28kHz (± 3dB) and, to match this outstanding performance, gives low wow / flutter of 0.04% or better, with both specifications measured at the 7.5 ips tape speed.

It mixes microphone inputs and line inputs, another advanced professional feature. And it allows instant comparison between the tape and the original, as well as azimuth adjustments of the heads. Add up all of this Pioneer perfection and there's no doubt that the RT-909 is made for the person who has major musical ambitions and strongly professional tastes.

And yet if you've never considered making the big move upward into open-reel, because you thought they were too complicated, you'll be happy to learn that Pioneer has equipped the RT-909 with the kind of features that only an open-reel novice could appreciate. 

Things like exceptional headroom (and flexibility) that means this open-reel format offers more overall performance in terms of dynamic range, distortion and noise than the best of cassette formats. 

And much more: convenient automatic reverse / repeat playback, tape-saving 3.75 ips speed, easy to read Fluroscan meter and 4 digit counter, timer start, LED indicators, and other features.

Are you ready for the move to open-reel perfection? Pioneer has made a beautiful deck and equipped it in such a way that it performs with the ease and perfection of a cassette deck.

Brand Background:
Link to Pioneer Home Audio History
https://global.pioneer/en/corp/info/history/chronology/archives/1968

Ownership:
Second Owner

Connections:
RCA inputs and outputs.

General Sound:
Accurate to the recording

Cosmetic Condition:
8/10 = Very Good. Excellent front faceplate, one minor flaw on chassis side or top. See our detailed rating description here.

Working Condition:
Working perfectly and tested in our lab.

Owner's Manual:
Click Here

Packing:
Will be packed using our highly developed in-house process and custom packing materials.Specs:
Track system: 
Auto reverse, 4-track, 2-channel, stereo system

Heads: 
2 x playback, 1 x record, 1 x erase

Motor: 
2 x reel, 1 x capstan

Reel Size: 
Up to 10.5 inch reel

Tape speeds: 
3-3⁄4 and 7-1⁄2 ips

Wow and Flutter: 
0.04% (7-1⁄2 ips)

Frequency Response: 
20 Hz to 30 kHz (7-1⁄2 ips)

Signal to Noise Ratio: 
60 dB

Total Harmonic Distortion: 
1%

Crosstalk: 
50 dB

Input: 
50mV (line), 0.3mV (mic)

Output: 
0.45V (line)

Semiconductors: 
4 x FET, 43 x IC, 121 x transistors, 126 x diodes

Dimensions: 
18.90" x 13.39" x 12.52"
(480 x 340 x 318mm)

Weight: 
43.30 lbs (21kg)

Years Produced:
1979 - 1984

Link to Manual:
Click Here

Recommended Cables:
Kimber Kable - RCA Interconnects - Better

Testing Process:
First steps are performed to determine if the unit is a candidate for our full restoration process, or if it's just in need of a light service.

We perform a basic functionality test to ensure proper playback, fast forward, and rewind. We look for smooth operation of the motors, transport engagement, and associated rolling parts.

We then do an internal physical inspection to ensure the belts and rubber consumable parts are up to spec.

Internal components are checked to make sure there are no signs of heat stress or damage, particularly in the power supply section. Capacitors are checked for telltale signs of predictive failure including bulging, shrunken wrappers, or physical leakage. We also inspect the PCBs for discoloration from resistors or transistors that may have been running hot. On vintage units we often spot check select capacitors for value and ESR.

A light service will involve replacement of belts and rollers, external cleaning of heads, mechanism and boards, and basic record and playback tests.

A full restoration will often include disassembly of the drive system and replacement of all consumable and wearable parts including pinch rollers, belts, brakes, and bearings. We then clean, lubricate, and re-assemble the drive and perform basic mechanical alignment to ensure proper tape path and head alignment.

Final calibration will involve adjustment of the playback, erase, and record heads, along with optimization of the bias for a specific tape type. We do this with the aid of a Sound Technology 1510A tape deck analyzer plus a Nakamichi T-100 Audio Analyzer with reference calibration tapes.

Final listening tests are performed while monitoring with our reference Grado HP-1 headphones and a variety of factory and custom reference recordings We find that there is no better system for critical listening on tapes than with headphones, especially when comparing a live feed to a recorded feed.