About the Company
Mitsubishi’s reel‑to‑reel history sits almost entirely in the professional digital domain: from 1980 to the early 1990s they built ProDigi digital open‑reel machines (stereo and multitrack) rather than classic analogue consumer decks.
Company context and focus
Mitsubishi Electric entered audio as a large Japanese electronics conglomerate, but unlike Sony, TEAC, or Akai it is not documented as a significant maker of analogue consumer reel‑to‑reel decks; its historically important tape machines are digital professional recorders.
The company positioned these as studio tools competing directly with Sony’s DASH digital reel systems at the top end of the professional market.
The first ProDigi machine: X‑80 (1980)
Mitsubishi’s first production digital tape recorder was the stereo X‑80, introduced in 1980 and designed by engineer Kunimaro Tanaka.
The X‑80 recorded two digital audio channels on ¼‑inch tape at 38 cm/s, using a fixed head and high‑class Class‑A, transformer‑coupled analogue stages, offering up to about 60 minutes per reel and frequency response to roughly 24 kHz.
Around 200 units were built up to about 1986, and the X‑80 quickly found use as a mastering and “direct‑to‑two‑track” recorder in high‑end studios and labels such as DMP.
ProDigi multitrack line: X‑800, X‑850, X‑880
In 1982 Mitsubishi launched the 32‑track X‑800 ProDigi recorder using 1‑inch tape, formally entering the multitrack digital arena against Sony’s PCM‑3324 DASH recorders.
The X‑850 followed in 1985 with improved editing and a transport derived from the Otari MTR‑90 Mk II; Otari’s own DTR‑900 was essentially a close relative of this design.
A further evolution, the 32‑track X‑880, was planned for around 1988; alongside it, a new stereo deck (often referred to as X‑96) was also contemplated, but production was limited and Mitsubishi soon began to withdraw from pro audio.
Later stereo machines: X‑86 series
For stereo/mastering use, Mitsubishi developed the X‑86 (1986), which supported standard 44.1/48 kHz sampling rates, and later the X‑86HS, the first digital reel‑to‑reel recorder to offer 88.2/96 kHz operation.
These still used ¼‑inch tape with stationary heads, kept the “analog‑like” transport and editing style (cut‑and‑splice on tape), and were widely used as mastering decks in high‑end studios, including ECM’s X‑850/X‑86‑based digital chain in the late 1980s.
Market impact and withdrawal
During the mid‑1980s, studios split between Sony’s DASH and Mitsubishi’s ProDigi ecosystems; contemporary accounts note that engineers often preferred the sound and error‑correction robustness of Mitsubishi machines, even though DASH eventually dominated commercially.
Billboard reported that Mitsubishi Pro Audio ended sales of ProDigi multitrack and two‑track recorders in Europe at the end of 1992, marking the start of Mitsubishi’s exit from professional digital reel‑to‑reel just as hard‑disk systems were taking over.
How to place Mitsubishi in RTR history
In the analogue open‑reel era (1950s–1970s), Mitsubishi is not recorded as a major deck manufacturer; the brand’s tape‑recorder legacy is almost entirely its 1980s ProDigi digital reel‑to‑reel line.
Historically, Mitsubishi stands out as one of the few companies—alongside Sony—that built complete professional digital open‑reel systems, with the X‑80 and X‑800/X‑850 series representing key milestones in the transition from analogue tape to digital recording on tape.