Pioneer CT-F500 Silver Face Cassette Deck – Serviced, Japan

Pioneer CT-F500 Silver Face Cassette Deck – Serviced, Japan

Made in Japan, the Pioneer CT-F500 is a handsomely built silver-face two-head cassette deck from Pioneer’s celebrated late-1970s silver era — a classic piece of vintage Japanese hi-fi craftsmanship that has aged beautifully both visually and sonically.

Produced from 1978 to 1980, the CT-F500 sits squarely in the golden age of Pioneer cassette engineering. It features a DC servo-controlled motor paired with a precision-engineered capstan, belt, and large 80 mm flywheel — a combination that delivers remarkably stable tape transport and impressively low wow and flutter of just 0.05%. A newly developed hard permalloy record/playback head allows tapes to realise their full sonic potential, while built-in Dolby B noise reduction ensures clean, quiet playback of both pre-recorded cassettes and home recordings.

The deck handles Type I (normal), Type II (CrO2), and FeCr tapes, with tape-type selection via front-panel switching, and offers a useful complement of features including large backlit VU meters, memory stop, tape counter with reset, headphone output, microphone inputs with dedicated level controls, and a tape monitor loop — the latter ideal for adding an outboard EQ or signal processor to the playback chain.

This unit has undergone our Level One service and testing which should ensure many more years of reliable performance ahead. Cosmetically, the CT-F500 is in very good condition, with the silver brushed-aluminium face and classic Pioneer styling presenting beautifully — a natural visual match for any silver-face vintage system.

Specifications:

Type: Two-head, single compact cassette deck

Track system: 4-track, 2-channel stereo

Tape speed: 4.75 cm/s

Heads: 1 x record/playback (hard permalloy), 1 x erase

Motor: 1 x DC servo

Tape types supported: Type I (normal), Type II (CrO2), FeCr

Noise reduction: Dolby B

Frequency response: 30 Hz – 16 kHz (CrO2 tape)

Signal-to-noise ratio: 64 dB (Dolby B)

Wow and flutter: 0.05% (WRMS)

Total harmonic distortion: 1.5%

Inputs: Line (65 mV), Microphone (0.3 mV)

Output: Line (0.7 V), Headphone

Tape monitor loop: Yes (suitable for outboard EQ or signal processors)

Power: AC 120V / 60Hz, 13W

Country of manufacture: Japan

Dimensions (W x H x D): 15.0 x 5.5 x 10.3 inches (380 x 140 x 261 mm)
Weight: 11.0 lbs (5.0 kg)

A beautifully preserved and freshly serviced example of Pioneer’s silver-era craftsmanship — ready to integrate seamlessly into any vintage system and deliver faithful cassette playback and recording for years to come.

Backed by Radique Audio’s 90-day warranty and our perpetual trade-back policy, you can purchase with confidence.