SONY TC-K555ESII

Commentary

A further refinement of the TC-K555ES, a reference deck aimed at the perfect recording / playback of digital sources.

The head uses a laser amorphous head that uses an amorphous alloy with no crystal structure as the core material.
The TC-K555ESII uses LC-OFC (Linear Crystal-Oxygen Free Copper) for the winding of this laser amorphous head. The number of crystal boundaries is reduced by enlarging the crystal of the first type oxygen-free copper (purity of 99.995% or more), and the signal distortion due to capacitance and reactances is reduced. This enables high-density recording and playback and takes advantage of the quality of the digital source.
In addition, an independent suspension 3-head system has been adopted. Although the recording and reproducing heads are structurally independent, the space occupied is equivalent to that of a combination head. Thus, uniform head touch can be obtained, and azimuth accuracy can be pursued in the manufacturing process.

We have introduced the closed-loop dual capstan system for the running mechanism, which has been used for open reel decks.
The tape is held between two sets of capstan and pinch rollers positioned at the center of the head center of the head, and tape travel is stabilized. By this method, the tape vibration transmitted from the reel is cut off, and wow flutter characteristics are improved. In addition, modulation noise can be eliminated out of the audible band by cutting the span of tape vibration short, and stable head touch can be obtained by utilizing the tape tension between the two capstan. Thus high travel accuracy is obtained.

By eliminating the complicated transmission mechanism between the motor and capstan, the slot that causes uneven torque is eliminated, and the brush is removed. The linear BSLD. D. motor has a simple structure and uses a direct drive system in which the rotating shaft of the motor is used as the capstan as it is.
Furthermore, the wow flutter is reduced by using a quartz-lock servo system.

The amplifier section is based on the concept of simplicity and straightness. The recording and playback amplifiers are all L/R twin-mono, eliminating mutual interference, and the construction along the signal flow reduces interference at the front, back, and rear stages.
In addition, the amplifier section is integrated into a single OFC board, greatly reducing the amount of wiring, and LC-OFC wire is used for wiring. This design emphasizes sound quality.

The Dolby NRB / C circuit uses a newly developed symmetrical process Dolby IC.
This IC is designed to have a symmetrical L/R shape including the amplifier circuit, and the wiring pattern of the peripheral parts is also symmetrical so that the characteristic difference between the channels can be reduced the orientation is improved.

Type1 (normal), TypeII (CrO₂TypeIII (Fe-Cr) 3 positions are equipped with a ± 20% bias variable volume.

Equipped with a linear electronic counter that digitally displays the amount of tape travel in minutes and seconds.
In addition, it has a subtraction function that can directly read the remaining amount of the tape.

Equipped with a peak program meter that can display a wide range of -40dB to + 8 dB with FL tube.
It uses a double indication system that simultaneously displays the peak value for each moment and the peak hold for approximately 2.4 seconds.

Equipped with functions such as counter-linked memory stop / play, Rec Mute with auto space, MPX filter switch, etc.

Uses gold-plated input / output jacks.

Remote control unit sold separately enables remote control such as wired / wireless / foot remote control.
In addition, continuous absence recording and alarm clock playback are possible with the separately sold timer.

By using RM-65 (sold separately), it is possible to play synchronized start / stop with Sony player.

Model Rating

Type	Stereo cassette deck
Heads	Playhead x1 1 Recording Head Erase Head x1
Motor	One linear BSLD. D. motor 1 DC Motor
Signal-to-noise ratio	56dB(EIAJ) 60 db (Dolby off, Peak Level, Metal Tape) 73dB(Dolby NR C)
Frequency characteristic	20 Hz ~ 19 kHz ± 3 dB (EIAJ, metal tape)
Frequency range	15 Hz ~ 20 kHz (EIAJ, Metal Tape)
Wow & flutter (EIAJ)	± 0.04% Wpeak 0.025%WRMS
Distortion factor	0.5%(EIAJ)
Power supply voltage	100 VAC, 50Hz/60Hz
External dimensions	Width 430x Height 105x Depth 330 mm
Weight	6.6kg