SONY TC-K666ES

Commentary

The stereo cassette deck was announced as the core machine of the ES series which shows the new achievement of the cassette deck with 3 motors, independent 3 heads, thorough vibration proof design, etc.

It uses a 3-head configuration with Sony's proprietary independently suspended laser amorphous recording and playback heads.
The core of the head uses an amorphous magnetic alloy that provides high magnetic flux density and excellent magnetic linearity in a non-crystalline state without the characteristic crystal structure. Excellent characteristics are obtained by applying laser processing technology.
In addition, by adopting Sony's proprietary independent suspension type recording and reproducing head method, uniform head touch and high-precision azimuth adjustment are achieved while occupying space equivalent to that of a combination head.

A closed-loop dual capstan system has been adopted. The tape is held between two pairs of capstan and pinch rollers located at the center of the head to stabilize the tape running. This reduces the tape vibration transmitted from the reel and improves the wow flutter characteristics. In addition, the vibration span of the tape is shortened to eliminate modulation noise outside the audible band. In addition, stable head touch is realized by utilizing the tape tension between the two capstan.

The capstan drive uses a BSL Green Motor with a simple structure that eliminates the slot and brush that cause uneven torque.
We have also adopted a direct drive system in which the rotating shaft of the BSL Green Motor is directly used as a capstan. In addition, stable rotation is realized by a quartz lock servo that detects rotational speed with multi-gap and compares the phase with the reference signal from the crystal oscillator.

In addition to the capstan drive motor, a 3-motor configuration has been adopted in which a dedicated BSL green motor is provided for the take-up reel and the supply side reel, respectively. In addition, two reel drive motors are also direct drive type to improve durability and reliability.

By using zinc alloy die-cast for the mechanical block, a highly accurate and thorough vibration-proof structure has been achieved.

In order to prevent the gap in tape speed between the beginning and end of winding because the back tension is not constant, a newly designed electronic back tension servo is adopted. The optimum back tension is added by detecting the rotational speed of the supply side reel.

The high-speed fast forward and rewind reduces the tape winding time to less than half that of conventional tapes. In addition, a special microprocessor controls the rotational speed at the beginning and end of the winding to ensure complete tape protection.
Also, by simultaneously pressing the pause button and the fast-forward / rewind button, it is possible to feed the tape in minute amounts.

As a noise reduction system, in addition to Dolby NR / B type, Dolby NR / C type is equipped.
The TC-K666ES has newly adopted a Symmetry Processing Dolby IC. Since the L/Rch including the amplifier circuit is designed to be symmetrical, the wiring pattern of peripheral parts is also symmetrical, and the characteristic difference between channels can be reduced.

In the amplifier section, all stages of the recording / playback flat amplifier are L/R twin-mono to suppress mutual interference. In addition, interference at the front and rear stages is eliminated as much as possible by construction along the signal flow. At the same time, a DC amplifier configuration is adopted.
In addition, direct coupling between the head and the playback amplifier prevents deterioration of sound quality caused by the condenser.

In addition to displaying the amount of tape travel in minutes and seconds, it is equipped with a linear electronic counter that is equipped with a subtraction function that displays minus by rewind from the base point of 0.00.

It is equipped with a peak program meter of double indication system which simultaneously displays peak value of every moment and peak hold of about 4 seconds.
There is also a homegrown employee setting level guide that works with the tape selector to display the maximum recording level for each type.

20% bias fine adjustment for each tape position and recording calibration adjustment to ensure Dolby operation are possible in order to demonstrate various tape characteristics.

Equipped with functions such as auto-play / memory play, Rec Mute function with auto-space, MPX filter switch, continuous recording by using optional timer, alarm clock playback, etc.

Equipped with a variable output headphone jack.

It can be operated by wireless remote control / wired remote control / foot remote control sold separately.
In addition, by using the synchronized remote control unit, it is possible to play synchronized games with Sony players with remote control terminals and playback decks.

Model Rating

Type	Stereo cassette deck
Heads	Playhead x1 1 Recording Head Erase Head x1
Motor	Three linear BSL motors
Signal-to-noise ratio	56dB(EIAJ) 60 db (Dolby off, Peak Level, Metal Tape) 73dB(Dolby NR C)
Frequency characteristic	25 Hz ~ 19 kHz ± 3 dB (EIAJ, Metal Tape)
Frequency range	20 Hz ~ 20 kHz (EIAJ, Metal Tape)
Wow & flutter (EIAJ)	± 0.04% Wpeak 0.025%WRMS
Distortion factor	0.5% (EIAJ, DUAD tape)
Power supply voltage	100 VAC, 50Hz/60Hz
Power consumption	38W
External dimensions	Width 430x Height 105x Depth 280 mm
Weight	6.5kg
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)