Sansui SC-1110

Sansui SC-1

1 9 7 8 1978
1 9 7 9 1979

Direct-O-Matic loading system : no tray, no lid, just pop the tape in !

Besides being fast and practical, the system also allowed to clearly see the tape and its label and gain access very easily to the heads for proper cleaning.

The room gained by the absence of compartment door sees the appearance of four clampers that firmly keep the tape playing in a fixed position for a better tape/heads geometry, frequency response and less distortion - even if the transport controls are of the purely mechanical kind.

Even if an acrylic dustcover closing the entire transport area was available (but always lost somewhere), Direct-O-Matic allowed dust more easily in since there is no out to separate the out from the in :)


Tape Lead-In is an automatic feature that brings the tape to about 45cm after the beginning of the reel to avoid recording on that portion of often lesser quality due to non-homogeneous magnetic layer.
Put the tape in, press the Lead-In button then press FF (fast-forward) ; after about two seconds the mechanism stops and you're ready to roll tape.

Otherwise, most of what was elsewhere was here too : DC-Servo motor, DC rec/play amplifiers, backlit counter and tape opening, Dolby B in IC package, bias/eq selectors, "superhard" Permalloy rec/play head, optional rack handles, and etc.


The bigger SC-3110 added separate bias/eq switches, separate L/R input level knobs, a Memory function and not much besides that.
It is only with the next gen' that the mechanical keys would go feather-touch, along LED meters (SC-3330) or a mix of the two (needles+LEDs) in the SC-5330 (and its SC-77 variant), the latter adding more function switches (auto-play, auto-rewind et al) an output level knob and even a tiny Rec-Mute button... but not a third head.

Not as elegant as an SC-5100 but a fair late 1970s recorder - in Sansui black, named SC-1 in Japan.

Sansui SC-1110, image 1 Sansui SC-1110, image 2 Sansui SC-1110, image 3
Sansui SC-1110 specifications
Title Value
Transport speed : 4,75cm/s
Heads : 1x rec/play
1x erase
Motor : 1x DC Servo
Wow & flutter : 0,08%
Rewind time : 75s (C-60)
Frequency reponse : 30Hz...13Khz (LH)
30Hz...12,5Khz (LH ±3dB)
30Hz...16Khz (CrO2)
35Hz...13Khz (CrO2 ±3dB)
S/N ratio : 54dB (sans Dolby)
64dB (with Dolby, above 5Khz)
Erasure ratio : 60dB (1Khz)
Bias : 85Khz
Inputs : 0,2mV / 0,2...10kOhm (MIC)
70mV / 100kOhm (line)
0,2mv / 4,7kOhm (DIN)
Outputs : 400mV / 47kOhm (line)
400mv / 47kOhm (DIN)
0,1mW / 8Ohm (phones)
Componentry : 19 transistors
2 ICs
16 diodes
1 LED
PC : 13W
Dimensions : 43 / 48,2 x 16 x 30,2cm
Weight : 6,8kg.
page online since : april 2009
page updated : october 2010
page type : LGT / KNB
page weight : 205.4 Kb / 0 b
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