ND590 II

About the ND590 II

The Nikko ND-590 II is a cassette tape deck designed for high-fidelity audio playback and recording. Manufactured by Nikko from 1979 to 1981, it features a silver and black finish and weighs 4.7 kg. It includes two tone heads (a permalloy A/W combination head and a ferrite erase head), a single motor, and supports tape speeds of 4.8 cm/s. The deck supports tape types I (Normal), II (CrO2), and IV (Metal), with frequency responses ranging from 30 Hz to 18,000 Hz depending on tape type. It offers Dolby B noise reduction, a distortion factor of 0.8% at 1 kHz, and signal-to-noise ratios of 54 dB without Dolby and 63 dB with Dolby B. The unit has two RCA line inputs and outputs, a 6.35 mm headphone jack, and front panel mic inputs. It does not have auto-reverse functionality. The ND-590 II also features separate left and right channel level controls for precise audio adjustment. Dimensions are 420 x 130 x 275 mm (WxHxD). Originally priced around 230 USD or 700 DM, it is a classic example of late 1970s cassette deck engineering.