What am I in for? Aiwa AD-6900 mkII

HyKlas

HyKlas

Super Member
Had this sitting around for a while but just got to ordering a belt kit. People say it's a nightmare to service. Is it really that bad?

Those who've heard one, will I fall in love after my arduous journey of rebelting?

My current daily driver is a Nak BX-300, for comparison. I know this Aiwa trumped it a few times over in MSRP but we all know that means squat in SQ.

I've verified the transport is functional as well as all motors so we're good there. Seems to just need a belt kit and figure out why I'm only getting one channel out of the headphone jack.
 
I am in the same boat, but my good friend is going to do the belt installation and he said the same thing about not having any room to work inside it. But I inherited it from one of my good friends and it was my favorite through the years. Mine is the first version.
 
I have long skinny piano fingers so maybe that'll help. Popped the lid the other day to verify mechanicals and it did look like a bit of a mess in there. 10lbs in a 5lb bag...

Yours have the remote?
 
I've got three of those decks. I've done the belts in one, I'm in no rush to get to the other two. It's a bit of a job.

I was able to replace the belts in the one without removing the transport, which I seem to recall was the method in the service manual. I didn't want to have to deal with re-aligning everything. It's not easy, but if you're comfortable working in tight places it can be done.

The deck itself is fantastic, I think the 6900 ranks among the best decks from any manufacturer.

bs
 
Nothing to do with your post really, but I did the belts on an AD-F990 a while back. Not one of the easiest rebelts ever due to all the stuff that's shoe-horned in that fairly slim case. Biggest problem I had was constantly getting the head leads jammed under the mechanism when refitting it - took quite a while to get everything in position so nothing was fouling. Oh and a crappy little earth wire decided to break free from the side of the transport too but I managed to solder that little guy back OK.
 
A friend of mine is an absolute genius when it comes to cassette reproduction and cassette deck repairs and servicing. The only deck I've ever heard him say he would never touch again, is the Aiwa AD-6900!
 
I bought my 6900 fully serviced, so the tech replaced the belts. And I'm glad because I spent countless hours getting my old AIWA M700 working. I have lots of special belt tools and hooks and still it was a pain. AIWA made some great decks, but you need some patience and tiny fingers for those darn belts. I imagine the 6900 is more of the same. Lucky you having the remote! That's one rare and expensive item.
 
I need to find someone to go through mine, as I have new belts ready for it. My friend is hesitanot about doing it after looking at it.
 
I had the MKII of that deck. Was NOT fun to replace the belts in it.
Fantastic deck when working, though.
 
Beobloke said:
A friend of mine is an absolute genius when it comes to cassette reproduction and cassette deck repairs and servicing. The only deck I've ever heard him say he would never touch again, is the Aiwa AD-6900!
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Ironically, I recently picked up not one, but TWO AD-6900s for my aforementioned friend and me. He’s fixed them both and reckons they weren’t a scary as he remembered, although still a challenge!
 
M-D-Z said:
Did you ever get your AD-6900MKII restored?
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No, as my former friend who said he could put new belts on it for me kept for over a year and never did anything to it, so when I told him I needed it back then he failed to give it back to me. I ended up sending him a message through a forum asking him just set it out on the porch and I'll get it in the box and I'll find somebody else to do it. he did not want to confront me in person so he ended up writing me a letter without his return address on it and told me that he mistakenly put it out and Salvation Army picked it up. So the bastard got rid of it. So I'll never talk to that friggin SOB again.
 
YIKES!
That’s a tragedy, but hey, I had a similar scenario play out back in 2001, with a very nice, and very complete HiPerf big block Chevy race engine, after delivering it to my ‘best friend’, he reneged on his end of the bargain and then claimed the engine was dumped at the same landfill where the 911 debris was taken, .. way out in Staten Island .. I guess he thought that would deter me. I knew that ludicrous story was a brazen lie, well, following a ‘back-and-forth’ that escalated into a pretty serious public confrontation, I finally did have the engine returned, but the whole sordid episode ended what I believed to be a solid friendship.

If you’re interested, I have three extra AD series units needing attention (belts?), 2x AD-6700s and an AD-6900 which is a non-MKII, meaning it won’t erase or record metal tapes. My two AD-6700s both do metal.

Note: there’s a guy in California who is masterful at restoring this exact model range, I understand that it’s a real bear to re-work!
Anyway he comprehensively restored my AD-6900MKII and today it remains as precious to me as my Nak ZX-9, it also is a solid performer sonically and mechanically. The looks are astoundingly beautiful!! LMK if you’d be interested.
 
M-D-Z said:
If you’re interested, I have three extra AD series units needing attention (belts?), 2x AD-6700s and an AD-6900 which is a non-MKII, meaning it won’t erase or record metal tapes. My two AD-6700s both do metal.

Note: there’s a guy in California who is masterful at restoring this exact model range, I understand that it’s a real bear to re-work!
Anyway he comprehensively restored my AD-6900MKII and today it remains as precious to me as my Nak ZX-9, it also is a solid performer sonically and mechanically. The looks are astoundingly beautiful!! LMK if you’d be interested.
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Thanks, but living on SS Income and very poor health, I'm just going to use the Aiwa AD-F1000 that is in my rack. I got it for $35 years ago and it just keeps truckin along, year after year.
https://www.hifiengine.com/manual_library/aiwa/ad-f1000.shtml

The sad part about the 6900 was that my good friend brought me over to his house and gave me the Aiwa before he died of cancer. I won't ever be able to look at another one without getting really pissed off. Humans-the source of never ending disappointment.
 
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Cool, you must certainly know that you have a very nice machine there indeed. Plus it has more modern features than an older AD-67/6900 series.
$35?!?!? Nice!! ~ HX-Pro, DBX, three heads, I have not experienced your particular model in person, but it’s a top end piece from a manufacturer who’s cassette deck designers and engineers knew what they were doing !
 
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M-D-Z said:
Note: there’s a guy in California who is masterful at restoring this exact model range, I understand that it’s a real bear to re-work!
.
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Hi… I have a 6900 MKII that needs some work. Could you send me the contact information for the guy in California?

thank you
 
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