The 1110 is the cheapest of the new Sansui range and, as expected, offers only basic facilities. Encased in metal, it is a front-loader in which the cassette is pushed into place and is not normally covered (plastic cover is provided though).

The record gain control is a friction-locked concentric, but no replay or headphone gain controls are fitted. 19" rack mounting handles are provided as an accessory. Deck functions operate normally, but include a 'lead-in' button, so that when forward wind is depressed the tape leaps over the leader for instant record (spools too far). No peak reading light is provided to supplement the 'VU's. A single switch selects bias and equalisation for ferric, ferrichrome and pseudo-chrome and levers operate Dolby and line in/DIN microphone switching.

Two mono jack sockets for microphone and a stereo jack for headphones were mounted on the front, whilst the phono and DIN in/out sockets are on the rear. The microphone input sensitivity was just adequate for speech recording fairly close to the microphone, but slight hum and hiss was noted, although the clipping margin was excellent. The 5-pole DIN input had a good clipping margin but was unnecessarily sensitive, and had a rather low input impedance which caused some noise degradation. The DIN input response showed a fall off above 12.5kHz but rose again above 16kHz. The line input had an average sensitivity and no clipping or response problems were noted, but too much gain was incorporated after the record level control, so that it was attenuated by about 26dB before re-amplification. This degradation of the line input is obviously needed to accommodate the DIN input,
and is a clear example of inappropriate input preamplifier circuitry. The record level meters had fairly poor ballistics encouraging over-recording. Record amplifier distortion measured well.

Replay head azimuth was reasonably accurate, but the replay amplifier was just a little noisier than average, although chrome did give a 3dB improvement, and Dolby a further 10.25dB. The replay clipping margin was very good and replay distortion was better than average. Replay response was excellent at the bass end and marginally up at HF on ferric and around +1.5dB on chrome. Barely enough headphone volume was available into low impedance models, and high impedance ones were too quiet, but the clipping margin was adequate.

The overall results on TDKZ) measured very flat indeed at middle and high frequencies, but a slight bass roll-off was noted. However, recordings suffered fairly severe HF compression and substituting Audio Magnetics XHE gave a far better overall sound quality, although the response rose on XHE to +2dB at 13kHz. TDK D (Sansui's recommendation) gave an average distortion performance at low and middle frequencies, but was possibly slightly overbiased and overequalised. The overall noise was average and Dolby improved noise by lOdB. Sony FeCr showed -3dB at 6kHz but only -0.5dB at 14kHz. Distortion at middle frequencies measured very well but HF compression and spitchiness were not welcome, the response anomalies also being very evident subjectively.

Background noise measured well without Dolby, but with Dolby only improved by 8.75dB; a Dolby level error of +3dB was measured and this is very poor (speech had a sock in it, and yet sibilants were emphasised).

TDK SA produced a pen chart showing a slight HF shelf of -1 dB from 4kHz to 14kHz. Distortion was about average, but HF compression was less marked than usual, speech reproducing well. Clearly TDK SA was well optimised and the Dolby A/B level set correctly. Background noise, however, was higher than usual for this tape type.

Wow and flutter measured quite well, speed was marginally fast, and spooling time well optimised at around 1.75 minutes for a C90. HF stability was average, erasure measured satifactorily and crosstalk well. Despite the slightly noisy input circuitry, this machine did give some good, clean sound quality on TDK SA tape provided the input signals to the phono sockets were at a fairly high level. Sansui should optimise their Dolby A/B levels better and their choice of TDK Dwas unfortunate, since the machine was not set up as it should have been. The model is well styled, and since it can provide some good quality you may well feel that it is well worth considering at its price. Unfortunately though, not quite recommended because of the design problems.
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This middle price Sansui deck is a metal encased front-loader having auto-lead-in and independent friction-locked concentric record levels for mic/DIN and line inputs, and an extra ganged control for replay.

Two levers having three switched positions for bias and equalisation are provided and push buttons select memory counter, Dolby in/out and auto-lead in. The two record-level meters had slightly better than average ballistics and are in any case accompanied by a peak reading light coming on at+2.5dB on a continuous tone, but requiring +5dB on a transient. The deck functions all worked well although the buttons were slightly stiffer than average in operation. Loading and unloading was a little awkward as one has to place the cassette into the mechanism manually, but this allows for very easy head cleaning, which is praiseworthy.

Phono line in/out sockets are complemented by a conventional 5-pole DIN and two mono jacks for microphone and a stereo jack socket for headphones are on the front panel. An earth tag is supplied on the rear panel, which is useful. The microphone input sensitivity was slightly better than usual, but the clipping point was just adequate. The DIN input had a very high sensitivity but also a good clipping margin; unfortunately some noise degradation was noted, since the input impedance was too low, and this should be amended. The line input signal is taken through a large resistor to the slider of its gain control, and mixing is achieved by combining the outputs from the tops of the controls, which is rather unsatisfactory since mixing levels are only at around 9mV, and thus noise is added by the circuitry after the controls; consequently the machine is a little noisy overall and this added noise stops the Dolby B circuitry from achieving its full potential improvement on the quietest tapes (8dB at worst instead of lOdB).

Replay azimuth was correctly set and replay amplifier noise was slightly better than average; there was commendably low hum, all components measuring below - 70dB! The chrome position improved noise further by 3.5dB and Dolby gave a full lOdB noise improvement. Bass responses were generally quite good, but showed slight head 'woodles'; some lower HF boost was noted, maximising at +2dB around 6.3kHz; the ferric/ chrome differences were correct, however. The entire replay electronics had a good clipping margin and distortion measured very well. Headphone output levels were adequate into 8 ohm models, but inadequate for 600 ohm, but clipping margins were satisfactory.

TDK D was recommended by Sansui, but showed some HF roll-off, was subjectively slightly muffled, and produced HF compression. Maxell UDXLI, however, showed + ldB at 10kHz and -2dB at 15kHz, and was subjectively very much better with almost no HF compression. UDXLI gave 333Hz distortion measurements of only 0.32% at Dolby level, and 1.6% at +4dB. Quite obviously, TDK D was considerably over-biased. Overall noise without Dolby was just below average, but Dolby improvement only averaged 8.75dB. Sony FeCr measured 2.8% at +6dB, and whilst the response was flat at 10kHz on the left, it was 2dB down on the right.

The subjective quality was better with this than most other decks on FeCn but noise was higher than optimum with Dolby, nevertheless still quite good. TDK SA on the chrome position charted very well up to around 13kHz on both channels and produced some excellent open sound quality, but with just a hint of EHF loss. HF compression was better than usual and distortion was well compromised, 333Hz producing 2.4% at +4dB.

The 'Dolby in' responses showed slight boosts around 8kHz but these weri not troublesome subjectively. The machine was quite clearly well aligned, Dolby A/B levels being well set throughout.

Wow and flutter measured very well, averaging only 0.09%, but speed was marginally slow] Spooling took 1.8 minutes in each direction, and HF stability measured reasonably well, although some HF transients tended to spread a little when Dolby B was used. Erasure was good and crosstalk excellent, showing some of the best figures measured.

This machine would have had a clear recommendation and possibly even a 'best buy' if the input circuitry had been quieter. The circuit would require around 6dB less gain after the record controls, with adjustments of the passive circuit to improve matters, and it is most unfortunate that even a recommendation must be withheld since optimum noise figures were not achieved in practice from average level inputs.

Nevertheless, you should most certainly hear the machine if you are not too concerned about hiss, since its hum, response and wow and flutter performances are so good, and the distortion levels very well optimised. Both the Sansui models 1110 and 3110 are typical examples of machines which could be excellent if the provision of DIN sockets could be withdrawn and the circuitry optimised for the line inputs.
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This remarkably inexpensive machine has only very basic facilities, but it does have mic/DIN input switching (rear panel). The unit is a top loader, the deck being slanted upwards towards the back. Economically it is well designed, the deck functions being unusually at the near right side. Cassette loading was slightly awkward, but the deck functions worked well, allowing switching from one to another quite smoothly.

The two reasonable quality record faders have small sliders by the side of them to mark a recording level position which were found most useful. Switches select Dolby (mpx filter switching following this) and two positions of bias and equalisation, ferri-chrome being compromised. The timing counter was rather sticky in operation. Two very ordinary record level meters are incorporated, with no peak reading lights, and with some interaction between them. Pairs of phono sockets for line in/out are complemented by a 5-pole DIN on the rear panel, and mono jack sockets for mike and stereo headphones are on the front panel.

The microphone inputs were a little insensitive, but the clipping margin average, so mike recordings seemed to be rather edgy, and not quite as clean as average. The 5-pole DIN socket was very sensitive, with an adequate clipping margin, and the input impedance was higher than average, although slight noise degradation was noted. An HF peak was noted on the mike/DIN input on both channels (+4dB on the right at 9kHz), although distortion measured well. The line input was quite sensitive and showed no noise degradation, working generally very well, although some slight EHF loss at 15kHz was noted.

The replay azimuth was correctly set, but whilst replay amplifier hiss was average, some hum was noted, including components at 100Hz and 150Hz as well as 50Hz unfortunately, but the general level was not too bad. Replay distortion levels measured quite reasonably, and the clipping margin was very good. Dolby circuitry worked well on replay, showing the usual hiss improvement; only slight bass loss was apparent, and at 10kHz the response was just beginning to fall fairly gently. Chrome equalisation though showed too much HF cut, approximately 1 dB more than it should have been in comparison with ferric. The 10kHz reduction at -40dB with Dolby was slightly excessive. The headphone output was satisfactory into 600 ohms with a good clipping margin, but 8 ohms showed a barely adequate clipping margin.

The overall results on Fuji FX tape showed some bass loss, and a continuous rise at HF, peaking an average of +3dB at 14kHz, but surprisingly this was not too annoying subjectively. Overall noise levels measured extremely well, the background hiss being substantially better than average. Distortion averaged 0.7% at Dolby level, rising to an average of 3.5% at +4dB, but the two channels were substantially different (bias set differently). Sony FeCr also produced bass loss, and a dip in the presence region was followed by an excessive rise at EHF so ferrichrome was clearly not compatible. TDK SA used on the chrome position again produced bass loss and showed a rise to -4-2dB at 14kHz, which again sounded quite reasonable; distortion averaged 4% at +4dB and was again rather uneven between channels. The overall noise performance measured significantly better than average, showing also the normal Dolby hiss reduction.

Wow and flutter measured very poorly but speed was reasonably accurate. HF stability was only fair, the odd dropout being noticed subjectively. I suspect that bias levels were generally set on the low side for the recommended tape types, and Sanyo should be more careful here. Erasure was very poor, although the crosstalk was excellent subjectively, and as measured.

One must carefully weigh up the poor wow and flutter performance and bad erasure with the very low price of this machine. Since other parameters generally measured quite well, it is clear that a recommendation would be fair, although subjectively the review sample could not produce the quality of some of the best buys costing perhaps 50% more. At best, the subjective quality seems better than the measurements indicate, but piano music showed up the wow quite clearly.

A second sample was requested but it also showed very poor wow and flutter although the erasure was marginally better. Sanyo are looking into these criticisms seriously and hope to improve the performance in these areas.
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The RD 5300-2 is a front-loading metal-encased deck employing a friction-locked, large concentric record level control which can also be used for replay level adjustment. Push buttons are supplied for input switching, Dolby limiter, bias and equalisation for ferric, ferrichrome and chrome. An autostart facility is provided, allowing the machine to be set to go into record when an external switch operates.

The deck functions worked well and smoothly but it was not possible to transfer from rewind to play or record. The two record level meters are almost peak reading, offering good performance on transients for a budget machine. Phono line in/out sockets and 5-pole DIN are on the rear panel, and mono microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack (fixed level) are on the front. Microphone inputs were, as usual, fairly insensitive and the clipping margin was only fair; speech quality was excellent, though, and the switchable limiter worked better than usual, being set to operate at a sensible level.

However, if a stereo microphone having a common earth is plugged in, earth loop hum is produced (use separate microphones). The 5-pole DIN input had good sensitivity and a reasonable clipping margin; the input impedance was higher than average and this allowed less noise degradation than was found on many other machines, although it was still detectable. Very slight 3rd harmonic distortion was measured on the DIN/mic input, but the response was satisfactory (in practice distortion will be virtually unnoticed, unless high input levels are used - not enough feedback here). The line input had good sensitivity and no clipping problem was noted, while the input noise was reasonably low. The mpx filter was permanently in, cutting HF very rapidly above 15kHz - a good point rather than a poor one.

Replay azimuth was only slightly out and replay hiss levels were very reasonable; although no hum was noted subjectively, very slight components were measured on the right channel. Chrome equalisation and Dolby showed the usual hiss improvement. Distortion performance was only fair at +6dB, but was probably adequate for all normal tapes (iron tapes might well distort on replay). The Dolby circuitry was particularly accurately set. The frequency response was substantially flat to 10kHz, but slight bass 'woodles' were noted, and the ferric/chromium response ratio was almost perfectly correct. Low impedance headphones were not driven hard enough and yet the clipping margin was inadequate, while 600 ohm models were slightly on the loud side, but with a good clipping margin.

Fuji FX showed some slight bass 'woodles', and the HF response was well extended to 14kHz with a slight valley around the presence region. The 'Dolby in' chart showed a flattening of the presence region but a slight HF bump. The subjective quality was reasonably good but the +1.75dB positive Dolby error was audible. Although very high levels were distorted with considerable HF compression (tape over-biased), distortion of 333Hz at +4dB measured just 2%. Background noise was subjectively better than average and improved 9.75dB with Dolby.

BASF FeCr produced a substantial peak at 14kHz and the response was rather up and down, which was clearly noted subjectively, along with some 'spitchiness' on speech. Distortion, however, measured similarly to Fuji FX. Background noise measured extremely quiet and yet still showed the usual Dolby improvement, so if the recording level is kept down, the distortion and HF compression performance could be good, although the response anomalies were a little worse than average. TDK SA showed a +2.25dB Dolby error but the response was flat from 150Hz to 13kHz without Dolby (some bass 'woodles' though). Noise measured reasonably well, and 333Hz distortion measured 1% at Dolby level and 3.4% at +4dB. The Dolby error produced some response anomalies and HF compression with slight scratchiness was noticed subjectively, but the sound quality was reasonably good, especially for an inexpensive model. However, Sanyo had obviously biased the deck for normal chrome, despite their recommendation for pseudo-chrome.

Although overall wow and flutter measured quite well, speed was rather fast but spooling and HF stability were average. Erasure was clearly worse than average and barely adequate, and slight crosstalk was noted between the two right hand channels in each direction.

In so many ways this model measured surprisingly well for its low price and was capable of giving good overall results with particularly good dynamic range performance. This machine can be clearly recommended since it provides some useful facilities considering its cost. The overall Dolby errors, however, must be corrected in production and erasure must be improved, so despite the low price it cannot be included as a 'best buy'.
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This budget-priced machine offers the basic facilities that one would expect. A top loader, it is provided with 1/4 inch mike jacks and a stereo headphone jack, phono line in/out and a 5 pole DIN in/out socket. I liked the IEC mains socket with separate cable.

An excellent record limiter is provided but the meters are not complemented by a peak reading light. Separate mike/DIN and line input faders for left and right are provided, which work smoothly, but no replay gain control is incorporated, the output being 470mV for Dolby level, clipping at 2.9V. Although simple, the mechanical functions worked well and transfer from play into rewind and back again is possible without depressing stop; a pause button is also included, but this grabbed slightly. A single switch selects ferric, ferrichrome or chrome bias and equalisation, and additional ones switch in Dolby and the record limiter. Wow and flutter measured very low for such an inexpensive machine averaging 0.08% and this is most creditable. Speed was very slightly slow but nevertheless pretty accurate. Erasure was excellent even on chrome and crosstalk adequate. Spooling was very fast, a C90 requiring only lmin 20secs.

On delivery, replay azimuth was set slightly inaccurately but the replay frequency response was excellent. Some replay hum was noticed on the left channel and the replay circuits were just a little hissier than average, although not bad. Chrome showed 4dB improvement and with Dolby in an additional 9.5dB average improvement was noted. Distortion in the electronics measured reasonably well. HF stability and tape/head contact were both excellent receiving several complimentary remarks in the subjective report.

The microphone input sensitivity was very good at 140/xV into 7.5k ohms. Clipping was reached at 56mV (very good). The DIN input gave 280jiiV sensitivity into 6.5k ohms and produced just ldB noise degradation from our standard source via the quietest tape. The line input sensitivity was quite high at 39mV into 92k ohms and clipping margins on both DIN and line inputs were excellent. The limiter worked quite satisfactorily.

Sony HF ferric tape gave an overall response extending to 11 kHz ±ldB ref. 333Hz even with Dolby inserted, which is truly amazing on such an inexpensive recorder. At Dolby level 333Hz distortion measured at only 0.5% rising to only 2% at +4dB, again astonishing. Overall the sound quality was very good, but at times chuffed very slightly for some reason which is inexplicable. The overall hiss level on Sony HF was average. Sony FeCr showed a 2dB shelf down in response above 4kHz on the left channel, which measured similarly with Dolby in. This caused the ferrichrome to sound just a little dull. Distortion again was low at 0.5% at Dolby level rising to only 1.1% at +4dB. Bias levels had clearly been set fairly high for optimum distortion at middle frequencies and so high frequencies became just a little squashed when the tape was driven hard. Noise was just a little disappointing at-54.5dB weighted ref. Dolby level.

Sony chrome gave a very flat chart indeed on the left channel but showed a marginal rise at EHF on the right, but nevertheless much better than average. Distortion measured 2% at Dolby level rising to 6% at +4dB, slightly better than average for chrome. Some distortion at low frequencies was noted on chrome, but generally the sound quality was pretty clean.

Again, the noise level was not as good as usual at only -54dB weighted. The poorer than average overall hiss levels were caused by too great a sensitivity being incorporated after the record level control and thus the record Dolby circuits boosted up this hiss and did not achieve more than 7.5dB noise reduction. This might be a contributory cause to the chuffing referred to subjectively.

Despite its very modest price then, this recorder has fared extremely well with the provisos that the overall hiss levels and replay hum level require improvement. Its high performance capability must highly recommend it as excellent value for money even if purchased without a discount. A very fine example to manufacturers who produce less good machines at a much higher cost.
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This metal-encased front-loader has just basic facilities and the review sample was a pre-production one. A rotary friction-locked concentric record level is complemented by a ganged replay control. Two independent phono line outputs are provided (one pair at a fixed level) in addition to phono line inputs and a 5-pole DIN socket; mono microphone jacks and a stereo headphone jack are on the front panel.

Lever switches select line in/microphone, DIN and record mute, Dolby in/out with mpx filtering switchable, and two 3-position switches for bias and equalisation for ferric, ferrichrome and chrome. The record level meters had a rather average performance but there were three peak reading lights which operated at Dolby level and +4.5dB while the third one did not work!

The deck controls operated well, although the auto-play function which should switch the machine from re-wind into play automatically didn't operate. A memory counter is incorporated which worked well. Cassette loading was effected by placing the cassette inside a hinged window, which was very smooth in operation. An IEC mains socket on the rear was welcome, a mains lead being supplied.

The microphone input had just enough gain for speech, a good clipping margin, and excellent hiss and hum performance with low distortion. The DIN input was extremely sensitive and with an adequate clipping margin, and the input impedance was reasonably optimised, giving virtually no noise degradation. Distortion measured well and no preamplifier response problems were encountered. The line inputs had good sensitivity and no noise or clipping problems.

Replay head azimuth was very stable and well set and the replay amplifier noise was adequate on ferric and showed a 3.75dB improvement on chrome, but we noticed that, whilst the replay response was generally slightly up at 10kHz, the right channel required less head peaking than the left, giving better noise figures on the right channel. Some 50Hz hum was noted on the left replay channel. The replay Dolby level was very slightly out, but not seriously, and Dolby gave 10dB noise reduction.

Replay amplifier clipping was good and distortion in the electronics was very low. Headphone levels were just adequate into 8 ohm with an inadequate clipping margin, but much too quiet into 600 ohm. While the fixed-level phono sockets were well optimised in output level and the variable outputs could usefully achieve I. IV output for Dolby level, the DIN socket gave too high a level.

Sony HF produced quite a reasonable overall noise performance showing 10dB improvement with Dolby. An average of 2dB shelf boost above 4kHz on both channels was noted, partly due to under-biasing as the mid frequency distortion was particularly high at 8% at +4dB, The response errors were, of course, exaggerated with Dolby but HF compression was better than usual. Sony FeCr was quite quiet and distortion at middle frequencies very low indeed. The response also measured very well, being flat at 10kHz and extending to 15 kHz at only -0.5dB. HF compression was reasonable for ferrichrome and certainly better than average for this tape type.

Sony chrome showed a slight shelf boost at HF, but distortion at middle frequencies was very bad indeed, eg. 12.75% average at +4dB! Noise was very average for chrome and Sony should re-set the chrome position for pseudo-chrome for the sake of greatly improved performance. The general measurements showed that insufficient attention was paid to overall setting up, ferrichrome being clearly better than the other two tape types, unfortunately.

Wow and flutter measured well in the laboratory, but some flutter was audible (flopping supply hub problem). Speed was 0.8% fast, but spooling good. Erase measured very well, but crosstalk was only adequate. Whilst this machine had some good points, unfortunately insufficient quality control causes a recommendation to be withheld.

Perhaps production samples will be better, though, and quite clearly the machine shows considerable promise, particularly if equalisation and biasing could have been set more accurately.
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This portable machine can be used on internal batteries, or even from an external 6V supply. The main input/output sockets, including two mono mic jacks, phono line in/out and 5-pole DIN are on the left of the machine, whilst mains is plugged into an IEC socket on a panel on the right, also incorporating a 6V socket, a stereo headphone jack, and an internal loudspeaker volume control (also operating headphone volume).

The machine is a top loader when used conventionally, and strap hooks are provided for carrying. The front panel includes the conventional deck function controls, which worked normally, but with a crossbar below them to facilitate operation with one hand. Rotary switches are provided for input switching (2 mike/DIN sensitivities), limiter, Dolby, and three positions of equalisation and bias, while push buttons select a meter light and battery check. The gain control employs two in-line rotary levers, but these are not friction-locked, and are thus a little awkward, although smooth.

The two meters under-read rather badly, but a peak reading light came on at +2.5dB on a continuous tone and +5dB on a transient; the limiter worked well, but was not ganged. Microphone recording quality was good, the mic input sensitivity was adequate, and clipping margins were excellent, and very flexible. The DIN input had very high sensitivity and a good clipping margin, but a little noise degradation was noted, although distortion and response measured reasonably well. The line input had average sensitivity and no clipping problem was encountered. Input noise here showed no real degradation, but the noise floor was only fair. The mpx filter is always in circuit, and produced -2dB at 15kHz.

Replay azimuth was set well, but was a little variable; replay hiss levels all measured quite well and showed just under lOdB hiss improvement with Dolby, and 4dB with chrome. Hum levels measured well with the mains unit in use. The replay clipping margin was excellent, and replay amplifier distortion quite reasonable, but second harmonic distortion was noted in the Dolby circuitry at -20dB. The replay responses all measured extremely well on both ferric and chrome equalisations. The internal loudspeaker (mono) was most useful, and 8 ohm headphones had adequate volume, but barely enough clipping margin, while 600 ohm headphones were much too quiet and thus not recommended (best compromise 25 ohm models, such as the Beyer DT480).

Sony HF tape gave a very good overall response from 60Hz to 12kHz without Dolby, but with Dolby a slight presence valley was noted. 333Hz distortion measured 1.5% at Dolby level, rising to 6% at +4dB, and considerable HF compression was noted on our test tape programme. What a pity that Sony have to line up for their own HF tape rather than Group 3 types which would be much better. Background noise measured slightly better than average. Sony FeCr showed a shelf HF cut which was emphasised with Dolby, producing a muffled overall sound quality with HF compression, and a rather scratchy HF sound quality (clearly overbiased); as expected, however, 333Hz distortion measured only 1.3% at +4dB and noise measured well, but only 8.76dB hiss reduction was noted with Dolby. Sony chrome produced 2.5% distortion at Dolby level and 10% at +4dB; HF compression was marked, and distortion was subjectively bad, while the response showed -2dB at 10kHz, resulting in slightly muffled recordings. Once again the performance could have been so much better with modern pseudo-chromes (see Group 4 cassettes). As it stands, Dolby errors with pseudo-chromes would present problems, and therefore I recommend you to insist on realignment for pseudo-chromes if the model attracts you.

Wow and flutter measured poorly, and speed was 1.7% slow. Spooling was average, though, and HF stability good, while erasure and crosstalk were very good. This machine could give some good quality on speech and sound effects, if used with better tapes, and was economically quite easy to use "in the field".

It cannot be recommended as a home recorder, though, because of the bad wow and flutter. Its price is reasonable, and provided it is required primarily for recording sound effects, etc. rather than music, it can be recommended. It cannot however compare favourably with recommended mains only machines of a similar price for in-system use.
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The TC138SD can be said to be a simplified version of the TC177SD incorporating most of the features of the 777 including Dolby B processing, a record limiter, bias and equalisation switching for ferric, ferrichrome and chromium cassettes, and peak reading lights. The mechanical deck controls are very simple to use and the wow and flutter performance measured extremely well at only .08%.

The tape speed was just a little fast at 0.9%. The 'VU' meters had an average under-read of 7dB on the 64msec pulse but the peak light operated at +3dB; U inch jack sockets provide a sensitivity of 95jLtV, which allows very quiet sounds to be recorded even with moving coil microphones. Despite this astonishing sensitivity, clipping was not reached until 47mV and so the dynamic range of the microphone input is really excellent. A 5 pole DIN socket, impedance 3k ohms gave a sensitivity of lOOjLtV and clipped at 45mV, again really excellent. Virtually no noise degradation was obtained on either the DIN or line inputs from standard sources, the latter having a sensitivity of 40mV on phono sockets. Line output was given on two additional phono sockets as well as on the 5 pole DIN one, and a stereo headphone jack also complements the output. The record limiter worked exceptionally well, the threshold being set on just about optimum to avoid both distortion and tape noise.

The replay response showed a slight bass rise of approximately 1.75dB generally. The 10kHz response on ferric was just slightly down, averaging -1.5dB. However, the chromium equalisation was totally wrong, being approximately 4dB down at 10kHz, referred to the theoretical optimum response. The replay noise measured a little below average, unfortunately, although this was partly due to the presence of a slight hum. Both the stability and tape/head contact were good, although very slight phase jitter was noted in the tests.

The overall distortion on Sony HF ferric tape was very low indeed, measuring only 0.56% at Dolby level, rising to 1.9% at +4dB, and the response also measured only 1.5dB down at 10kHz with Dolby processing in. Subjectively, the sound quality was exceptionally good with an extended frequency response, although the overall noise was slightly marred by a noisy transistor on the left record channel. Sony FeCr also behaved very well despite the replay equalisation being incorrect, giving distortion of only 0.5% at Dolby level, rising to only 1.2% at +4dB, thus providing an extremely wide potential for dynamic range. The response was fairly similar to ferric, but extended to only -3dB at 15kHz even when the Dolby circuit was switched in, which is really remarkable. The overall signal-to-noise ratio on ferrichrome measured 55dB ref. Dolby level with Dolby operative. There can be no doubt that if the replay circuit had a lower noise level, this machine would give even better results. Chrome tape as usual, had much higher distortion, reaching 3.6% at +4dB, and had a similar signal to noise ratio as ferrichrome, but the 10kHz overall response fell markedly to -4dB.

Again, if the replay response had been corrected, chrome would be virtually flat overall but ferrichrome would have shown a slight lift. Notwithstanding the loss of top on chrome, the sound quality was still good but clearly inferior to ferrichrome. No crosstalk or erase problems were noted. The rewind time of 2 minutes was very satisfactory and a memory counter is included.

Both the mike/DIN and line inputs had independent faders for mixing and a stereo ganged line out control allows the replay and monitoring level to be adjusted at will.
This recorder was very well liked in the laboratory and can be recommended, although its price is somewhat high. It proved reliable and had a pretty consistent azimuth, which was nearly correct on delivery.

Despite the generally excellent performance, the laboratory asked Sony to provide a machine for restest to check the chrome replay equalisation and overall noise performance. The second sample was much better on chrome replay, showing only 1.5dB loss at 10kHz, and the ferric response was also improved, so that 10kHz was virtually flat. The ferric replay noise figures measured very well, showing a 3dB improvement, CCIR weighted. Chrome showed an improvement of 1 dB despite the considerable increase of HF response. The overall ferric noise, however, showed virtually no improvement although ferrichrome improved by 2dB and chrome by ldB. Although the chrome response measured virtually flat overall on the second sample, both ferric and ferrichrome tapes showed rather bad high frequency boosts between 5 and 10kHz, thus presumably being under-biased. This appears to confirm that better quality control is required on this model.
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Despite this front-loader being fairly inexpensive, it offers fairly extensive facilities. These include mike/DIN, and line in mixing each having split concentric L/R level controls, separate bias and equalisation (three position switches for ferric, ferrichrome and chrome), a record limiter (un-ganged but fairly effective) and a mono peak recording light accompanying the level meters; U inch microphone jacks provide a sensitivity of 200/xV into 4.9k ohms. The 5 pole DIN in/out socket on the rear had an input sensitivity of 300/iV into 6.2k ohms.

The mike input clipped at 60mV and the DIN at 90mV. No noise degradation occurred on the DIN input from our standard source and this is creditable. The phono line input, also available on a stereo jack socket on the front panel, had a sensitivity of 70mV into 125k ohms, again with no noise degradation and virtually no clipping problem. The limiter appeared to be unganged and so transients limiting on one channel caused marked image shifts when activated. Loading was slightly more awkward than normal but a press button 'opening the hatch' made withdrawal very simple with one hand.

Mechanically, the controls were just a little stiff, but provided play into rewind and back into play again without transferring to stop. The wow and flutter measured 0.1% but fell to 0.08% at the end of a cassette. Speed was a little slow, averaging 0.8%, but even this would hardly be noticed. Spooling was fast at lmin 20secs for a C90. Erase was excellent and crosstalk adequate. Again, as is common with Sony, an IEC mains socket is provided to go with the necessary mains lead, and also a separate earth terminal. The recorder is provided with a basic metal chassis with wooden side cheeks and is smart in appearance.
On delivery, the replay azimuth was a little out and the replay response showed a boost at 10kHz (average +2dB) and +2.75dB at around 7kHz.

Chrome equalisation was similarly boosted. High frequencies replayed with a rather bright sound quality from pre-recorded cassettes and seemed a little fizzy. Stability and tape/head contact were good. No hum was noticed on replay but, as expected, replay was a little noisier than average due to the excessive treble being present in the replay circuits. Dolby gave 9.5dB improvement and chrome an additional 3.5dB. Distortion in the electronics was generally low and Dolby level replayed at 1V, this being controllable to a limited extent with a stereo ganged replay potentiometer. Output clipped at 4.8V, thus allowing an extremely wide margin.

Sony HF ferric produced an overall frequency response, which was slightly up on the right channel (+2dB at 6kHz with Dolby in). Subjectively, Sony HF sounded well, although some HF compression was noted, which was surprising considering the replay HF boost. 333Hz distortion at Dolby level measured amazingly low at 0.45% average, and this shows slight overbiasing which thus caused the HF squashing referred to. The overall noise was measured below average at -50.5dB weighted.

Sony FeCr with Dolby in showed -3dB at 10kHz on the left, but nearly flat on the right and since the distortion measured only 0.45% again the machine must have been overbiased. (+4dB distortion measured only 1 %). Dynamic range on ferrichrome was disappointing (only -53.5dB weighted noise overall) and whilst distortion was audibly low, the sound quality was dull. Sony chrome produced a very flat response to 10kHz and 333Hz distortion measured 2.7% rising to 10% at +4dB. The sound quality produced was reasonable, although some HF squash was noted.

Potentially this machine is clearly a good one, but errors in replay equalisation and record biasing and equalisation on ferric and ferrichrome must raise a doubt as to the efficiency of quality control. Because of this, and judging by the review sample, I cannot quite recommend the model, but perhaps other samples would be better. Nevertheless, good value for money especially for the better than average facilities.
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