Sony TC-FX7
(1980 - 1982)

Knowing Sony's previous engineering feats in the tape-recorder field (from the TC-D5, to the TCM-100, pro RtR or... video), the TC-FX7 wasn't all that impressive, even if quite... impressive !

Slim as can be, only a centimeter and some hairs taller than a cassette itself, thanks to its miniature S&F head fixed directly onto the REC/PB circuit board.
The motor is Sony's staple Quartz-locked BSL (brushless, slotless linear torque) centered on two samarium-cobalt magnets and mounted directly on the drive capstan.

Feather-touch pads and a digital counter with memory add convenience and precision. The B Dolby noise-reduction is done through Sony's own Dolby chip, no less.

However, adding C Dolby and a third head would probably have made, then, the FX7 more palatable to high-enders :-) But an optional RM-80 IR remote receptor could make up for some of that - discretion and convenience !
I have the pleasure of owning a TC-FX7 which I use in alternance with my TC-K88B.