Pioneer CT-F500 stereo cassette deck, brushed silver front panel with a cassette loaded, twin lit VU meters and piano-key transport buttons

Pioneer CT-F500 cassette deck from the left front corner, showing the black cabinet side, loaded cassette well and lit level meters

Pioneer CT-F500 cassette deck straight on with an empty cassette well, Dolby NR switch, tape selector buttons and record level knob

Pioneer

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

Name: Pioneer CT-F500 Silver Face Cassette Deck – Serviced, Japan
Brand: Pioneer
SKU: 13452
Price: 395.00 CAD
Availability: InStock

$395.00

A handsomely built Pioneer CT-F500 silver-face cassette deck from Pioneer's celebrated late-1970s silver era, made in Japan. It has been serviced on our bench and is in very good condition.

✔️ Very good condition — brushed silver faceplate
✔️ Serviced on our bench: tape path and heads cleaned, every function tested
✔️ Dolby B, twin VU meters, DC servo motor — made in Japan
✔️ Covered by Radique Warranty
✔️ Includes Perpetual Trade-Back Program eligibility
✔️ Expertly packed for safe shipping

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Categories: Used/Vintage, Sources, Cassette Decks Tags: audio components, cassette deck, CT-F500, CTF500, Dolby B, home audio, Made in Japan, Pioneer, Pioneer CT-F500, serviced cassette deck, silver face, Stereo Cassette Deck, tape deck, vintage audio, vintage cassette deck, VU meters

Description

A handsomely built Pioneer CT-F500 silver-face cassette deck from Pioneer’s celebrated late-1970s silver era, made in Japan. It has been serviced on our bench and is in very good condition.

What it is

The CT-F500 is a classic piece of vintage Japanese hi-fi craftsmanship that has aged beautifully, both visually and sonically. Produced from 1978 to 1980, it sits squarely in the golden age of Pioneer cassette engineering: a DC servo-controlled motor drives a precision capstan through a belt and a large 80 mm flywheel, for remarkably stable tape transport and wow and flutter of just 0.05%. A hard permalloy record/playback head lets your tapes reach their full potential, and Dolby B noise reduction keeps both pre-recorded cassettes and your own recordings clean and quiet.

It is straightforward to use. Piano-key transport controls run play, record, fast-forward, rewind, pause and stop/eject, the deck stops itself at the end of a tape, and a tape counter with reset keeps your place. A tape selector covers normal, ferrichrome (FeCr) and chrome (CrO2) tapes. Two large backlit VU meters and a single input-level knob make setting record levels easy, and there are front-panel microphone inputs and a headphone jack for recording and listening on the deck itself.

Around the back are line input and output RCA jacks: connect them to the tape loop on your receiver or amplifier to record from any source and play back through your system.

The service it has had

Every cassette deck we sell goes through our bench before it is listed:

Tape path, heads, capstan and pinch roller cleaned
Controls and switches cleaned and deoxidized
Every function tested: play, record, fast-forward, rewind, stop and eject, noise reduction and meters
Post-service burn-in and sign-off

And, as each deck requires:

Drive belts replaced
Heads and tape path demagnetized
Mechanism lubricated
Tape speed and playback level adjusted
Lamps replaced

Condition

Very Good, and free of significant marks. The brushed silver faceplate and classic Pioneer styling present beautifully, a natural visual match for any silver-face vintage system.

A beautifully preserved, freshly serviced example of Pioneer’s silver-era craftsmanship, ready for your tapes.

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.

Pioneer CT-F500 Specifications

Type: two-head, single-well stereo cassette deck
Service: serviced on our bench (see above)
Track system: 4-track, 2-channel stereo
Heads: hard permalloy record/playback, plus erase
Motor: DC servo, with an 80 mm flywheel
Tape types: normal, ferrichrome (FeCr) and chrome (CrO2)
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)
Inputs: line (65 mV), microphone (0.3 mV)
Outputs: line (0.7 V), headphones
Meters: twin backlit VU meters
Power: AC 120 V, 60 Hz, 13 W
Era: 1978 to 1980
Made in Japan
Dimensions: (Width x Height x Depth) 15.0 x 5.5 x 10.3 inches (380 x 140 x 261 mm)
Weight: approx. 11.0 lbs (5.0 kg)

🎚️ Gold Series RCA Interconnects

Our own Gold Series RCA Stereo Interconnect is a shielded, gold-plated stereo pair, in stock and ready to go. It is the cable that connects this to the rest of your system, and it is a straightforward upgrade on the free leads that come in the box with most equipment. 👉

⚠️ 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.

📦 Watch how we protect your gear — our unboxing video.

📺 Curious about our business? Check out our YouTube channel for behind-the-scenes videos and more!

📞 Questions? Use the Ask a Question button above, or call us at 613-416-9995.

$395.00

Additional information

Weight	13 lbs
Dimensions	14.3 × 19 × 9.5 in
Cassette Wells	Single Well
Noise Reduction	Dolby B

About brand

Pioneer at Radique

We service Pioneer, too. Bring us your own Pioneer receivers, amplifiers, tuners, turntables, cassette decks and CD players for repair, servicing or restoration (not reel-to-reel decks), with a 90-day warranty on the work. See our Audio Service page

Pioneer began in Tokyo in January 1938, when Nozomu Matsumoto set up shop around the A-8 speaker he had built the year before. By the late 1970s its SX receivers were at the heart of the hi-fi power race. We carry Pioneer stereo receivers and AV receivers, CD players, cassette decks, tuners and equalizers. We've had more than 240 Pioneer listings so far, covering 140 different models. Every used Pioneer here is inspected, tested and serviced as required, then photographed in-house and covered by our Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty and Perpetual Trade-Back Program. Don't see the model you want? Tell us on First Dibs and we'll email you when one arrives.

Pioneer is one of our two top-selling brands of vintage amps and receivers, along with Marantz. Our five best-selling Pioneer models so far: the SX-650, SX-750, SX-580, SX-780 and SX-680, all vintage stereo receivers from the 1976 and 1978 SX families. We also offer our custom cherry cabinets for these vintage Pioneers, hand-made from all-natural Ottawa Valley cherry, and we've upgraded dozens of Pioneers with them so far.

The Pioneer story, 1938 to today

Nozomu Matsumoto developed the A-8 speaker in 1937, and in January 1938 he set up Fukuin Shokai Denki Seisakusho in Tokyo. "Pioneer" was first the name of that speaker. Some histories give 1936 in Osaka as the start, but Pioneer dates itself to January 1938 in Tokyo. The company was incorporated in 1947 and renamed Pioneer Electronic Corporation in 1961.

Stereo and the US. In 1962 Pioneer introduced the PSC-5A, which it calls the first stereo with separate speaker cabinets, and its first PL turntables. Pioneer Electronics U.S.A. was founded in New York in 1966.

The power race. After a 1974 US Federal Trade Commission rule tightened how amplifier power was rated, receiver makers competed on watts. Pioneer's SX-1250 of 1976 was rated at 160 watts per channel, and the SX-1980 of 1978 to 1980 at 270.

CD and Elite. The P-D1 of 1982 was Pioneer's first CD player, and Elite-branded components were on sale by 1985.

Today. Pioneer sold its home audio business to Onkyo in 2015, keeping its car and DJ businesses, and Pioneer-branded home theatre gear was later made under licence. In December 2025 CarUX, part of Taiwan's Innolux, completed its purchase of Pioneer Corporation, which now focuses on in-car products.

Which Pioneer is which?

Early-1970s SX receivers: models such as the SX-424 to SX-828, rated at about 15 to 50 watts per channel.

The 1976 "x50" SX receivers: from the SX-450 at 15 watts per channel up to the SX-1250 at 160. Our best-selling SX-650 and SX-750 come from this family.

The 1978 "x80" SX receivers: including the SX-580, SX-680 and SX-780 we sell most, up to the SX-1980 flagship with quartz-lock tuning, which weighs more than 35 kg.

Spec and Exclusive separates: higher-end amplifiers such as the Spec-1 preamplifier (1976 to 1980) and the Exclusive C3/M3 pair (1974).

Elite: Pioneer's upper line from the mid-1980s, for example the PD-9010X CD player.

PL turntables, CT cassette decks and CD players: PL turntables from 1962, such as the PL-12 and the linear-tracking PL-L1; CT decks such as the three-head CT-F1000; and CD players from the 1982 P-D1 to magazine-loading changers such as the PD-M6.

Buying used Pioneer: what to check

Controls and switches. Crackle when you turn a control or work a switch usually means dirt, and restorers clean every pot and switch.

Capacitors. Electrolytic capacitors in 1970s receivers are often past their best, and full restorations replace them.

Big SX models. Owners and restorers report heat stress on the power-supply board of large receivers such as the SX-1250. Ask what has been done.

Relay, lamps and bias. The protection relay is a common replacement, dial lamps burn out and are often converted to LED, and restorers set the bias and DC offset.

Cassette decks. Check the heads, fast-forward and rewind, Dolby and every button. Belts age even when the deck looks perfect.

Everything we list is inspected, tested and serviced as required here, and comes with our warranty.