Denon S-77 (c. 1978–1980)
The Denon S-77 is a single-transport cassette deck from the late 1970s. It is documented mostly through German-language equipment directories, and the record is thin. No period reviews, owner impressions or market positioning have surfaced. The directories agree on the basics: a two-head machine (one playback head, one erase head) with a single DC motor. No dual-capstan transport, no second motor. It was built for Type I tape only, though the German sources also list frequency response and signal-to-noise figures for CrO₂ tape. That is a contradiction in those listings, and no other source resolves it.
The S-77 had a list price of 1.000 DM in Germany. One directory gives the production years as 1978-1980 and another gives 1977-1979. The conflict is unresolved. High Fidelity (June 1988, p.93) covered the model era in its short-order mini-reviews section, though no dedicated S-77 review appeared there.
Known specifications from the German directories:
- Type: cassette deck, Type I tape
- Heads: 2 total (1 playback, 1 erase)
- Motor: single DC motor
- Frequency response: 40–14,000 Hz (Fe); 20–18,000 Hz (CrO₂, per source listing)
- Signal-to-noise: 58 dB (Fe); 62 dB (CrO₂, per source listing)
- Wow and flutter: ±0.15%
- Distortion: 1.5%
- Inputs: 2× RCA line in, 1× RCA mic, 2× jack mic
- Outputs: 2× RCA line out, 6.3mm headphone jack
- Power: 230V / 50Hz, 90W
- Dimensions: 420 × 145 × 260 mm (W × H × D)
- Weight: 6.5 kg
Several things are missing from the record: any mention of Dolby B or another noise reduction system, tape counter or memory stop details, and auto-reverse. The S-77 may have lacked these features, or the directories may have left them out. For a deck of this era and price, undocumented Dolby B is unusual. Without a manual or review to confirm it, this page can't settle the question.
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