JVC KD-A11C Silver Cassette Deck – Serviced, Metal Tape, Japan

JVC KD-A11C — A Silver-Face, Metal-Tape-Ready Japanese Deck from 1980, Freshly Serviced

A single-well silver-face deck from JVC’s 1980 line, made in Japan, freshly serviced and ready for daily use with any tape you own — including metal.

Where It Sat in the 1980 Line

JVC placed the KD-A11 at the accessible end of its 1980 cassette line, and the company’s idea of accessible was to leave the good parts in rather than take them out. The record and playback head is Metaperm, JVC’s own alloy, chosen for magnetic properties that let a deck at this price handle metal tape properly rather than merely tolerate it. The erase head is two-gap ferrite. The result is a machine that reads and writes all four tape formulations of the era — normal Type I, chrome Type II, ferrichrome Type III, and metal Type IV. Ferrichrome was quietly dropped by plenty of decks in this class; this one still carries the switch position for it.

Dolby B and Metal Tape

Dolby B noise reduction is built in, and because JVC’s own ANRS system is compatible with it, tapes recorded either way play back correctly. For a collection assembled across the seventies and eighties — some tapes dubbed with noise reduction, some without — that compatibility matters more day to day than a specification sheet suggests.

The Mechanical Transport

Operation is the mechanical, tactile kind. Transport keys you press rather than tap, a three-digit tape counter, and large analogue VU meters that swing with the music instead of blinking at it. Recording level is set by hand while automatic input select switching handles the source, and front-panel microphone inputs sit alongside the headphone jack, with line in and out on the rear.

Condition and Service

This one arrived freshly serviced, and it tests good here. The brushed aluminum front is the classic JVC silver of the period and it has survived unusually well — exceptionally clean, and on its own it would grade near Excellent. What holds the deck at Very Good overall is light stacking marks on the top cover, the kind of wear that vanishes the moment anything sits above it in a rack. Beside a silver-face receiver of the same era it reads as a matched pair rather than an accumulation.

A few relevant specifications:

A properly built Japanese deck, freshly serviced, with a front panel that has aged far better than most.

Available for pickup in Kanata, or shipped across Canada and internationally — we have sent equipment to fifteen countries in the past year, each piece packed in-house in 275 lb test double-wall boxes. Live shipping rates for your address are calculated at checkout. Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Available for audition by appointment in Kanata.

JVC KD-A11C Specifications

• Two-head single-well design; four-track, two-channel stereo
• Metaperm record and playback head; two-gap ferrite erase head
• Tape selection for Type I normal, Type II chrome, Type III ferrichrome, and Type IV metal
• Dolby B noise reduction, compatible with JVC ANRS
• Frequency response 40 Hz to 15 kHz on metal tape
• Wow and flutter 0.15% (DIN 45500)
• Electronic-governor DC motor; single-capstan belt-drive transport
• Tape speed 4.76 cm/s (1-7/8 ips)
• Large analogue VU meters; three-digit tape counter; automatic input select switching
• Front microphone inputs, left and right; front headphone jack; rear line in and out
• Introduced in 1980
• Dimensions: (Width x Height x Depth) 16.5 x 5.3 x 10.4 inches (420 x 134 x 263 mm)
• Weight: 11.0 lbs (5.0 kg)

⚠️ Important Information for International Buyers

This unit is configured for North American 110/120V power. Buyers outside North America will require a step-down transformer and appropriate plug adapter.

✅ Buy With Confidence — The Radique Promise

Backed by Radique Audio’s Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and our Perpetual Trade-Back Program. When you’re ready to move on, we’ll take it back. That’s the Radique difference.

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