Otari MX-5050
First generation›Documents

Generation

FirstMark IIBB-IIMARK IIIB-IIIMARK IV

First generation

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Machines

2S4SQXF8

First generation: Documents

Documents

In the period press

  • Billboard, September 14, 1974 — The US launch story — Otari enters high-end audio with the MX-5050 open reel "Mini-Pro" at $1,345, on conditional sale at the New York AES.
  • db, September 1974 — Otari's own full-page US ad, running in the launch month itself — the maker's Mini-Pro branding in print, already listing the optional DC capstan servo.
  • Studio Sound, September 1975 — The UK debut — ITA's advert at £440 + VAT, and the APRS show report that printed the "Mini-pro" name.
  • Audio, April 1976 — The US review — manufacturer's specifications, bench measurements, and Use and Listening Tests.
  • db, April 1976 — Otari's own ad — and the maker's own answer to the DC-servo question: optional on the two-channel, standard on the eight.
  • Electronics Australia, June 1976 — The Australian review — of the MX-5050-2SHT, the designation on this site's own machine.
  • Audio, October 1976 — The buyer's-guide table listing the MX-5050 at $1,450, the four-channel QX at $2,195 and the eight-track at $3,995 — and printing the DC-servo story in a single column.
  • Studio Sound, October 1976 — The UK survey that prints "MX-5050 Mini-Pro" as the model name — alongside the 1-inch MX7308 and the half-inch, eight-track MX-5050-8.
  • Studio Sound, November 1976 — The 55th AES convention preview naming the four-channel MX-5050-QX and the full-track MX-5050 FL — two first-generation variants this site had never listed.
  • Stereo Directory & Buying Guide 1976 — The catalog entries: 2SH, 4SH, and the DC-servo varispeed 2SH-2.
  • db, January 1978 — Otari's whole line on one page — and the proof that the MARK II shipped alongside the silver-face MX-5050-2S, with DC servo standard while the 2S still listed it as an option.