Sony TC-K44 Stereo Cassette Deck

This Sony TC-K44 is a stereo cassette deck with Dolby B noise reduction, it was first sold by Sony in 1980 with a recommended retail price of USD $230 and discontinued a year later.

The main features of the Sony TC-K44 cassette deck are: 2 heads, mechanical 3 digit tape counter, manual tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome, ferro-chrome and metal tapes, belt driven 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 with the side to be played facing forward in the cassette well which is opened by a damped mechanism. Additionally the compartement can be accessed easly for head cleaning by removing the well-cover.

Level meters used on the Sony TC-K44 cassette deck are generic digital peak reading meters with multi-color indication to provide visual saturation level of tape. Mechanical transport controls for reliable Sony TC-K44 transport function selection.

The Dolby-B system reduces tape hiss on tapes recorded on the Sony TC-K44 by as much as 10 dB at the highest frequencies. 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 TC-K44 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. Connection to other audio components for plaback can be achieved by a built-in RCA cable and recording from a source by a built-in RCA cable.