HISTORY:
Once again I am back at the 'operating table' and my patient today is the SANSUI D-M7 Cassette deck.
Another sad case of user abuse, the case top section was badly marked and in fact this rendered the machine pretty unsightly and unattractive to a new owner. I couldn't locate a spare top section for this machine in my mountain of 'bits & pieces' and as the machine was working fine, I decided to pull out various 'organs' that I know from past experience others may need for their own machines.
I do like SANSUI gear although I am not so fond of the later equipment (this machine was produced in the early 1980's) where considerable cost cutting was undertaken, mainly in the cosmetics such as the faux metal front panel (plastic coated with an Aluminium finish). Nice solid steel chassis though, except the top cover which bends (and marks) quite easily!
So here is one of the parts I have extracted from the 'patient' ... R.I.P
SANSUI (JAPAN) - Single Cassette Deck (Spare Part)
Model: D-M7
PART: Record//Playback head assembly
Most likely sourced by SANSUI from a 3rd party manufacturer but I cannot identify who
Country of manufacture is also unknown, could be Japan OR Taiwan as these machines used a mixed source of components from those two countries.
Part numbers: HN42 4951 K103 (SANSUI 07556600)
Provided with the original 250mm audio coax leads fitted to a molex type 6 way (female) polarised connector
TESTING:
The D-M7 was fully functional and sounding great immediately prior to the operation, she just didn't look great and so became an 'organ donor'!
No muddy sound, good high end response on both channels
Physical examination of the face shows very low wear and any wear is uniform. No head gap contamination or "pitting" with a high sheen face metal.
Sides and top/bottom of the head casing are clean, with the dirtiest part being the top. I was very reluctant to clean this area as I know from past experience that this often will also remove all ID numbers! Not great when you have a bunch of heads and cannot tell one from the other easily. Anyway it is the face of the head that matters,
MEASUREMENTS:
Both coils (Record & Playback) have identical readings ...
DC resistance 220 Ohm
Inductance 100mH
COSMETIC CONDITION:
USED
CLEAN
NO physical damage to the head, the connecting shielded audio cables or the molex 6 way connector.
Face of the head is as detailed above, also look at the photograph
I have now packed this head with a face protector then placed within a sealed clear plastic pack, ready to breathe life into another D-M7
