Marantz PMD221 Portable Cassette Recorder

This Marantz PMD221 is a mono cassette deck, it was first sold by Marantz in 1985 with a manufacturer suggested retail price of USD $450 and discontinued 13 years later in 1998.

The main features of the Marantz PMD221 are: 3 heads and no off-tape monitoring to save production cost, mechanical 3 digit tape counter, manual tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome and metal tapes, belt driven single-capstan transport.

Typical of this deck is the 70's top loading layout with the cassette compartiment located on the left side of the deck. Tape eject is operated mechanically and the cassette needs to be placed with the side to be played facing forward in the cassette well.

Level meters used on the PMD221 is a single analog needle VU reading meter with peak indicator for easy adjustment of optimum recording level. Mechanical transport controls for reliable PMD221 transport function selection. 9,5 cm/s faster recording/playback speed used in the PMD221 offers extended frequency response, increased dynamic range and transient response. PMD221, playback speed may be adjusted with pitch control. Cue and review can be used to easily and quickly locate the beginning of a passage.

To make live recordings this deck has 2 microphone inputs to connect microphones with a jack connector. For undisturbed listening a jack connector for a pair of mono headphones is supplied. Connection to other audio components for plaback can be achieved by a RCA cable and recording from a source by a RCA cable.