Sony Walkman Professional - WM-D6C cassette recorder - 1980s - Japan _ High end

Description

PLEASE NOTE, I AM NOW BASED IN GOSPORT, HAMPSHIRE. GUMTREE DOES NOT ALLOW ME TO CHANGE THE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION ON EXISTING ADS, SO THE DEFAULT LOCATION WILL REMAIN AS STEVENAGE, WHICH IS NO LONGER THE CASE. ANY COLLECTIONS WILL NOW BE FROM GOSPORT. OBVIOUSLY THIS HAS NO EFFECT ON POSTAL ORDERS.

Sony Walkman Professional - WM-D6C cassette recorder - 1980s - Japan _ High end


High quality and regarded as one of the best personal Walkman recorders for cassette tapes. made in the early 1980s, this variant has the Dolby C function.

Original box with carry case and strap as well as audio lead to connect to amplifier. Manual. Original Headphones missing from box

The SONY D6C is widely known for being the most precise and high performance Walkman ever made. It's playing and -specially- recording quality is simply outstanding, and not similar to other walkmans, but to HIFI equipment. In fact, some magazines state after reviewing it that its performance is much better than many HIFI deck

1984's WM-D6C added two more important features that would make the Walkman Professional an absolute classic masterpiece. The first of these were line-level inputs and outputs for direct connection to a hi-fi system; the second was the inclusion of Dolby C noise reduction alongside the Dolby B that the original WM-D6 had. The combination record/replay head also received an update; the WM-D6 was fitted with Sony's 'S&F' (Sendust and Ferrite) head from the TC-D5M, the best Metal tape compatible head available at the time. The new head featured an amorphous core, a material with excellent magnetic properties which enabled maximum signal transfer to the tape with minimal noise and distortion. Together these changes made the WM-D6C the complete cassette machine, small enough to be easily portable, stable enough to be used as a car player and good enough to use instead of a conventional full-sized cassette deck.

The passage of time has meant that the Walkman Pro no longer appears to be especially small, there are many portable recorders available now which are a fraction of its size. What remains surprising is that no cassette deck built on anything like this scale comes anywhere near to matching the WM-D6C's performance. Indeed, it takes a full-sized machine of the highest calibre to convincingly better it in sound quality terms, for which you have to sacrifice any thoughts of portability. Rock-solid speed stability is the key, along with a decent head that really can punch the signal onto the tape. The level meter is small and oddly calibrated but as a rough rule of thumb setting the recording control so that three of the five LEDs light (four if Metal tape is being used) results in impressively transparent recordings which retain the full character of the original source – useful for making tapes to save wear on precious LPs for example. Too much level results in compression at the top end, something made all the more evident if Dolby is used.

The Dolby C circuit is clearly well implemented, and recordings made using it don't exhibit hiss to any troubling degree. However, the selector switches for both this function and the tape type selector are small and fiddly; manual tape type selection is, in any case, an anachronism for a machine of this era and it is easy to leave the switches wrongly set. On the subject of switches, the one for the meter/battery check function is also very small, but a worthwhile saving in battery power can be made if the meter is turned off when not needed.

The way that recordings made on the WM-D6C retain a real sense of space and timing – things invariably blurred by lesser recorders – make it really stand out. Compared to an original programme taped from CD for example, and the WM-D6C's recording made on Chrome (TDK SA-X) or Metal (TDK MA-R) tape differs mainly by a subtle softening of the top end, this being only really detectable in a direct A/B comparison. The broadness and depth of the sound picture contracts by a similarly small amount too, but they are not entirely lost in the familiar cassette muddle routinely demonstrated by lesser decks. It is easy to forget after a short while which format you are listening to, which is always a good sign.

Laser amorphous tape head
Quartz lock system
Disc drive mechanism
Dolby B and C noise reduction
Manual recording level control
LED peak recording level meter
Versatile input and output jacks for hook up to home hi-fi systems and external microphones
Three-position tape selector for normal, CrO2 and metal tape
Batteries "AA" x 4 (Alkaline) for approximately 4 hours of tape playing time
Frequency Response: 40 – 15,000Hz
Inputs: AC/DC-In (6V), Mic Jack
Outputs: Headphone Mini Jack Line-out Stereo Mini Jack
Dimensions (WHD): 6 3/4" x 1 1/2" x 3 3/4"
Weight: 1 lb. 7 oz. (652g)

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£1,500-00 collected, postage at cost

Posted: 10 days ago

Ad ID: 1492166633