Not only do I remember the Sony portable HIGH FIDELITY Cassette decks, I still have the first one they made. It was TC-152SD, the predecessor to TC-153SD.
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We had a Marantz clinic in our store in early '74. They brought along a TC-152SD, which was a forthcoming product at that point, still a couple months away from being in stock. At that point, Marantz was still distributing Sony tape decks in the US. They were distributed as Sony/Superscope. Superscope being the corporation that owned Marantz at that time.
It serves as the cassette deck in our bedroom system today. It runs through a Denon AVR-3800 (110w x 7) and Polk Audio speakers. That system, like all my systems, integrates modern surround gear with some classic 70's gear. A Sony full-logic SQ decoder, Transaudio turntable (Pacific Stereo proprietary), Panasonic RX-747 Q8 and CD-4 demogitator round out the vintage gear.
As for h/k, our main system features an h/k CD-401 cassette deck through a B&K preamp and two amps (250w x 2 and 200w x3). It is run through Mission towers and a REL T-9 (400w) sub. The h/k has three heads, two motors, Dolby B/C/HX Pro. It is also run through a dbx 224 noise elimination unit, which gives 110db s/n and dynamic range. When someone hears the system for the first time, I'll get their jaw to drop. "Oh, by the way, you've been listening to a HOMEBREW CASSETTE! Now, how'd you like to hear a LOSSLESS modern recording?"
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Our third system has a Sony TC-161SD, which is a '73 vintage.
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To play dbx cassettes in the car, I had a Concord w/outboard dbx unit though its' aux. My first car CD player was a comedown!
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