Features

The J600 is a model that was considered quite advanced in its days, back in 1986. By then, the auto-reverse and EQ were all the rage, and this model incorporated both. But also included the Dolby B and also it can record through an external mic. It was certainly one of the most advanced models of those years.

The J600 is built on the G09 basis, but with the addition of a AM/FM radio and a recorder, so the tape mechanism and base features are the same. And the sound quality, too.

Context

In 1985, a year earlier, AIWA released the J500, which was quite more advanced, with feather-touch buttons, but was a bit expensive to manufacture. The J600 was a more affordable version that lack the logic & remote control features, but with an advanced sound feature: a 5-band EQ.
Sony's closer competitor was the WM-R202 but it was clearly under AIWA's one in terms of features and it was released a year later.

Due to a different market regulations, AIWA manufactured different units for different markets and re-named their product according to the local market. For the japanese or eastern market the brand name was CassetteBoy and the model numbers was a stugle number; in this case was J9.

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The AIWA HS-J600 was the AIWA's top model back in 1986, and only the flagship HS-J08 released one year before is more advanced, with it's feather touch buttons.

NOTE: As the mechanics are the same as the HS-G09, the sound quality is the same too, so this rating is equal than G09.

The sound quality is quite good. When used without EQ, it sounds equilibrated. Quite good highs but high hiss too. The EQ does it's job very well, with very noticeable effect. When properly ajusted, the sound gets much better, with cristal-clear highs and mediums. However, the bass is not as good as a dynamic bass amplification (like AIWA's DSL), but does the job.

With Dolby ON, like many other models, the highs are cut noticeably, so the sound is a bit cut off, and although the EQ can compensate this, the result is not the same.

Overall score
Sound quality*
Sound w/Dolby
Ecualization
Features
Design
Build quality
Overall

*: Without Dolby and without any ecualization or sound processing.

For rating the sound quality, we use a pair of high quality Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones, and a test tape (Maxell XL-II) with a high quality recording made with a SONY D6C portable deck. However, this is a personal opinion and it's not intended to be a precision rating.

Before rating this model, it was taken to a professional technician for examine, repair and fine adjusting. Remember these are old machines and internal belts stops working properly after some time. Of course, head and rollers have been carefully cleaned before testing.