Sansui D-550M Direct Drive Cassette Deck

This Sansui D-550M is a stereo cassette deck with double Dolby B noise reduction, it was first sold by Sansui in 1981 with a recommended retail price of USD $520 and discontinued 2 years later in 1983.

The main features of the Sansui D-550M cassette deck are: 3 heads and no off-tape monitoring to save production cost, mechanical 3 digit tape counter, manual tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome and metal tapes, single capstan transport.

Typical front loading cassette deck with the cassette compartiment located on the left side of the deck. Tape eject is operated mechanically and the cassette needs to be placed directly over the head block. Additionally the heads can be easilly accessed for cleaning.

Level meters used on the Sansui D-550M cassette deck are generic digital peak reading meters with peak hold for easy adjustment of optimum recording level. Full-logic transport controls used on the Sansui D-550M let it respond to the slightest finger contact for fast and effortless transport function selection.

The Dolby-B system reduces tape hiss on tapes recorded on the Sansui D-550M by as much as 10 dB at the highest frequencies. The three-head configuration of the Sansui D-550M requires a Double Dolby system, one for recording and one for playback. The 19kHz multiplex pilot slgnal present in FM stereo broadcasts can cause false triggering of the noise reduction system. The switchable MPX filter of the D-550M filters out the pilot signal, and assuring proper Dolby processing of FM stereo programs.

To make live recordings this deck has 2 microphone inputs to connect microphones with a jack connector. For undisturbed listening a jack connector for a pair of stereo headphones is supplied. All main transport commands can be issued remotely with a wireless remote control.