Marantz SD-74 Digital Monitoring Cassette Deck

This Marantz SD-74 is a auto-reverse stereo cassette deck with Dolby B and C and DBX noise reduction, it was first sold by Marantz in 1985 with a recommended retail price of USD $500 and discontinued a year later.

The main features of the Marantz SD-74 are: 3 heads and no off-tape monitoring to save production cost, digital tape counter with 4 digits, tape type selection and capable of handling normal, chrome and metal tapes.

Typical front loading cassette deck with the cassette compartiment located on the left side of the deck. Tape eject is operated mechanically and the cassette needs to be placed with the side to be played facing forward in the cassette well.

Level meters used on the SD-74 are generic digital peak reading meters. Full-logic transport controls used on the SD-74 let it respond to the slightest finger contact for fast and effortless transport function selection.

Dolby C-type used in the SD-74 provides 20 dB of noise reduction above about 1,000 Hz, fully doubling the amount given by B-type. Dbx Type II found in the SD-74 is a simplified version of the Type I noise reduction system. The dbx Type II system was designed to be used with systems with limited bandwidth such as cassette based recorders and also uses a simple 2:1:2 compander to reduce noise.

Connection to other audio components for plaback can be achieved by a RCA cable and recording from a source by a RCA cable.