Technical Details
Brand: Sony
Model:APR-2003
Category:Mid High Fidelity
Application:Portable
Electronics:Solid State
Equalization:NAB
Country of Manufacture:Japan
Release dates:1977 - 1980
Tracks:1/2 Rec/PB
Speeds: 3 3/4, 7 1/2
Max Reel Size("): 5"
Number of heads: 3
Dimension: 13 x 11.8 x 5.5" (330 x 300 x 140mm)
Head Composition: Ferrite
Head Configuration: Stereo - Stacked
# Motors: 1
Auto Reverse?:No
Voltage(s): 110-120v, 220-240v, Multi
Outputs: XLR
Frequency Response:30Hz - 16kHz +- 3dB
Wow and Flutter:0.05%
Signal-to-Noise Ratio:64dB ( FeCr tape)
Sound quality rating:8 / 10
Long-term reliability rating: 4/ 10
Weight: 13.6 Lbs - 6.2 kg.
Additional Details
Description
A professional level, portable tape recorder, the APR-2003 was a two track stereo tape deck much like the Sony TC 510-2 but fitted with XLR connectors.
The half-track APR-2003 has 2 speeds, 3 3/4 and 7½ ips with wow & flutter at a very decent ± 0.05%.
The deck featured three heads, a DC servo motor and a 5″ reel capacity.
Other features included fine speed tuning, record limiter and a three position (low, medium & high) bias selector switch.
These could work from a 12v battery pack or an AC-26 adaptor, pictured below that was offered in 3 world voltages. An optional Ni-Cad rechargeable battery pack BP-55 and adapter to plug the AC-26 into was also available (pictured).
These days they are relatively hard to find in good working condition. The APR-2003 has a bad design of a cam that wears out and would be hard to replicate. This causes the machine to not click in or engage in the record mode. Too bad that Sony didn’t figure out a way to accommodate 7 inch reels, where Nagra did and bigger. Apparently there is somebody out there producing adapters to accommodate bigger reels for the 510-2, TC-5550-2 and APR-2003 (pictured) As quarter track had become quite decent in the late 70s, maybe it might have been a better consideration for running time on 5 inch.