SONY TC-K555

Commentary

The K series cassette deck was developed focusing on sound quality by gathering the deck technology over 30 years.

Sony's independently suspended S & F recording and playback heads are used.
This head occupies space equivalent to that of a combination head, and is resistant to magnetic leakage due to its independent structure with uniform contact between the two heads and adjustable azimuth. In addition, the S & F used in the head core material combines the high saturation magnetic flux density of Sendust alloy and the superior high-frequency characteristics of ferrite, and has excellent characteristics.
In addition, it is equipped with a simultaneous playback monitor function for recording, which is unique to three heads, so that you can check the quality of recording.

The erasing head uses a MagneFocus F & F4 gap head with high erasing efficiency so that even metal tapes with high holding power can be erased clearly.

A closed-loop dual capstan system is adopted in which the tape is held between two pairs of capstan and pinch rollers positioned at the center of the head to stabilize the tape running near the head.
As a result, vibration from the feeding reel side is suppressed by the capstan and pinch roller in front of the head, and wow and flutter characteristics are improved. Moreover, the vibration span of the tape is divided into an extremely short span by two sets of capstan and pinch roller, and resonance frequencies can be excluded out of the audible band. Moreover, by making use of the tape tension between two capstan, which is obtained by making the rotation speed of the capstan in front of the head extremely slow, constant head touch can be obtained.

As a noise reduction system, Dolby NR C type is installed.
In the C type, bleeding is completely suppressed by strengthening the band division method and the sliding band method which has been the know-how since the B type. In addition, attention is paid to the improvement of the tape saturation amount in the high frequency range. By using two circuits of anti-difference and spectral skewing, the improvement is about 4 db at 9 khz.
Also, it is equipped with the conventional Dolby NRB type.

The capstan drive motor uses a BSL Green Motor with a simple structure that eliminates the slot and brush that cause uneven torque.
In addition, a high-torque DC motor is mounted for fast forward / rewind, and a magnet clutch is used in the take-up reel unit to prevent fluctuations in tension torque depending on the winding diameter. This ensures stable tape travel accuracy from the beginning to the end of winding.
In addition, the simplicity of the logic control that eliminates the complex transmission mechanism allows these two motors to be placed in the proper position, improving the reliability of the entire mechanism.

The L/R twin mono structure for all stages of the recording and playback flat amplifier eliminates mutual interference and construction along the signal flow minimizes interference between all stages and the subsequent stage. The direct coupling between the playback head and the playback amplifier eliminates deterioration of sound quality caused by capacitors.
The Dolby circuit is also dedicated for recording and playback, and the effect of the Dolby NR can be confirmed by monitoring the simultaneous playback during recording.
A FET buffer circuit is used for the power supply section, and a ± 2 power supply system is used to suppress interference between the left and right sides of the power supply system.

It is equipped with a bias adjustment volume that can control within ± 20% of the NORMAL position of TYPE1 so that the bias value of the NORMAL position of TYPE1.
Tuning can be done by adjusting the sound close to the sound of the recording source while monitoring the recording / playback switching of inter-station noise of FM broadcasting.

The tape selector is a 4-level selector with simultaneous selection of bias and equalizers. In conjunction with this selector, the homegrown employee setting level guide, which shows the optimum recording level for each tape type, also lights up in the peak program meter.

Equipped with a linear electronic counter that displays the amount of tape travel in minutes and seconds.
This counter also has a subtraction function, and it can display minus.

It is equipped with a peak program meter that displays -40dB to + 8 dB with 16 elements on each left and right.
This meter uses a double indication system that simultaneously displays peak hold and instantaneous peak values. Peak hold holds the current peak value for approximately four seconds, and then automatically switches to the next peak value display.

Equipped with functions such as auto-play / memory play, REC MUTE function with auto-space, MPX filter switch and continuous recording / alarm clock playback using an optional timer.

You can operate from a remote location by using a wireless remote control or wired remote control sold separately.
In addition, by using the separately sold synchronized remote control unit, it is possible to play synchronized with the performance of the player with remote control terminal and the playback deck.

Model Rating

Type	Stereo cassette deck
Track format	4-track, 2-channel
Heads	Recording : S & F Playing : S & F Erasing : F & F
Motor	For Capstan : BSL Green Motor For Fast Forward / Rewind : High Torque DC Motor
Signal-to-noise ratio	EIAJ off Dolby B Dolby C BHF tape : 53dB 56dB 63dB 69dB JHF tape : 56dB 57dB 64dB 70dB DUAD Tape : 57dB 61dB 68dB 74dB Metallic Tape : 56dB 60dB 67dB 73dB
Frequency Response (EIAJ)	25 Hz ~ 17 kHz ± 3 dB (Metallic Tape)
Frequency Range (EIAJ)	20 Hz to 19 kHz (Metallic Tape)
Wow & flutter (EIAJ)	± 0.06% W Peak (0.04% WRMS)
Distortion factor	0.5% (DUAD tape, EIAJ)
Minimum Input Level / Impedance	Line : 77.5 mv (-20dB) / 50k Ω
Output Level / Impedance	Line : -5dB (at 50k Ω load) / 10k Ω or less Headphone : -20dB ~ -50dB (at 8 Ω load) / Low
Pwer	100 VAC, 50Hz/60Hz
Power consumption	22W
External dimensions	Width 430x Height 105x Depth 285 mm
Weight	6.1kg
Attachment	Connection code x2 Head cleaning rod
Sold Separately	Wireless Remote Control RM-80 (¥ 18,000) Wired Remote Controller RM-50 (¥ 6,000) Foot Remote Controller RM-51 (¥ 8,800) Synchro Remote Control Unit RM-65 (¥ 3,000)