Spectone 171

Description

The 171 was the last of Specto’s domestic tape recorders. It utilized the Garrard ‘Bichette’ magazine deck and had a single speed of 3¾ ips.
Four-inch reels could be used instead of the magazine system but braking was compromised.
Unfortunately the Garrard magazine system never took off, and was ultimately rendered completely obsolete with the introduction of the Philips cassette system a few years later.
Priced at £40 19s, there were quite a substantial array of open reel machines available with more features for a similar price.