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Anyone have info on a SONY DTC - 1000 DAT?
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Norm Vogel



Joined: Feb 20, 2003
Posts: 157
Location: Central NJ

PostPosted: Wed May 07, 2003 7:48 pm    Post subject: Anyone have info on a SONY DTC - 1000 DAT? Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I need to know if it has RCA digital/analog i/o's and what

rates (48khz, 44.1, 3Cool it can record at.


I've looked all over the net, and can't find any specs for this.


Thank you!

Norm

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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 4:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

OK... there are many issues.... I willl post stuff I find... this one is generally very interesting



DAT-Heads Digest #856, Volume #2 Wed, 17 Jul 96 18:12:05 EDT
From: OADE@delphi.com
Subject: pana3700\90m DDS
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 1996 13:47:20 -0500 (EST)

Hello !! I have received many phone calls and e-mailings about my recent
post to this group. Most of you want to know what brand of DDS tape has
the fewest problems in Audio Drives. We have found the KAO brand to be
the most reliable and to cause the fewest failures(we don't sell DDS ). You
also asked about dust problems with a machines cover removed. I am
inclined to believe that this is not a major problem, so long as the cover
is on when the machine is not in use. I KNOW that using 90m DDS tape in an
Audio grade drive that gets hot is a major problem. One other suggestion
is to get your Tech. to adjust the back tension down to 4 grams or less,
depending on the machine. The lower back tension will ease the tape
stretching problem. Also the fluctuation in back tension should be less
than 2 grams. Take up torque should be around 10 grams. It would not hurt
to check your tape path every few months to verify that no shedding is taking
place. The guide post should be white (not grey or black) and there should be
no build up on the capsan motor or black powder building up on the chassis of
the transport. If you see these, then you will likley see a huge repair bill
soon, clean that drive!!!
One of the most common questions was "How long should my head last ?"
We have seen many heads go 5000 hours and more, when the machine was properly
cared for and only audio grade tape was used. The question of the panasonic
servicer saying 1000 hours on the head was also raised. The service manual
for most DAT machines spec the head to be replaced every 1500 hours. This is
to ensure reliable operation in mastering applications. We still see many
panasonic DAT machines in studio use with over 5000 hours on them and the
original head is still in service (they are date coded).We have also seen
Panasonic cover defective head replacement costs even when well beyond the
warranty experation date. Panasonic has on numerous occassions taken care of
customer needs when they had no legal obligation to do so ! In my opinon
they offer excellent customer support, and yes they do care .
Another question I was asked often is "What do you mean used older DDS tape
formulations ?". Many people are still selling used DDS tape., While most of
them are probably the latest formulation , some of them are pre 1993/4
manufacture, and as such, may not be fit for audio use..buyer beware!! I
called most manufacturers a year ago, prior to my recent tape test, to find
out what type of formulation they were working with. They all changed to the
same thing in late 93 or early 94. This info promted us to test these tapes.
We have found that most 60m DDS tapes do as well as audio grade tapes
in all DAT machines, except car DATs, which typically get a hell of a lot
hotter. Sony audio grade did the best in my car, tdk the worst ! NO 90m
DDS tape has ever survied my car machine !!! (I use change in error rate
to determine tape performance, 90 m error rates climb quickly)
Many of you asked where I get my info. We have been servicing DAT machines
since 1988. We have written our own service software which enables us to
track various failures. With over 7000 DAT machines repaired to date we have
a large amount of failure data to work with. It is only recently (with many
old DAT machines in the field) that we replaced lots of heads due to wear.
Most of the heads we replaced in the past were damaged by the customer's
choice of tape; not worn out (the RF output of the head clearly shows the
difference; in many cases the clog can be seen with a 30X microscope).
Of course we replaced a small number of heads that failed due to other
causes, like a broken wire or bad bearings, but these are not epidemic
failures, and account for about 5% of our head replacements.

Peace..........Doug
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Otto, Michael" <Michael_Otto@tvratings.com>
Subject: DAT tape brands rated for quality
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 96 11:46:00 PDT

I pulled this from CompuServe Rocknet:Dead forum. The writer is a
professional recording engineer. Take it for what it's worth (monetary
value is stated at the end)

michael

>>> I have been using DAT since it's beginning getting my first DAT machine
in the spring of 1987. At that time there was only one machine on the market,
the Sony DTC-1000. There was also only one kind of Dat tape...Sony:).
Needless to say I have had some 10 years experience with DAT and have formed
some strong opinions on the subject.

Firstly 3 hour tapes should be avoided at all costs. Data grade or
not they are very unstable and over time will cause nothing but trouble.
The transport and tension parameter on Pro and Consumer DAT decks are not
calibrated for 3 hour Dats. The hub is heavier with the extra 60min of tape
and the tape itself is thinner which promotes tape loops to be thrown when
winding and re-winding causing the tapes to get tangled in the guides..need
I say more!

I have used every brand of Dat tape over the years and have put
together a list in order of stability and longevity.

The TOP Dat tapes:
Panasonic 64P/94P/124P Top rating
Ampex 467 all lengths Top rating

Good Dat tapes:
Apogee pro all lengths
Panasonic consumer all lengths
Sony Pro dats all lengths

Average Dat tapes:
Denon consumer dats all lengths
KOA consumer (except 3hour 90M)
Sony consumer dats all lengths
BASF pro/consumer dats all lengths
Maxell consumer/Data (except 3hour 90M)

Below average Dat tapes:
Fuji consumer/Pro dats

The worst Dat tapes:
TDK all lengths!
ALL 3 hour DATS Data and Consumer.

Again you pay a premium for the best Dat tapes but there's a good reason for
it...They ARE better! ever wonder why the 3hour Data tapes seem to be such
a great deal? You say to yourself WOW Data grade 3 hours for only 5 bucks...
Remember you get what you pay for.

Well thats my $.02
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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 4:39 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Recording Studio Tips

An archive of articles on Sound Engineering and
Music Recording by David Mellor

Home page...


"Sony DTC1000ES DAT Recorder"

After months of of waiting, speculation and peering at display models hidden behind bullet-proof perspex screens, R-DAT has finally appeared in Britain. Are we ready for digital recording yet or should we stick to the tried and trusted Revox? David Mellor looks at the first product from Sony and gives it a taste of professional abuse.

Congratulations! Whether this is your first copy of Sound on Sound or your twenty-fourth (if you have been reading from the first issue, as I have) you are in the company of thousands of other readers who have forsaken the warped world of the HiFi comics and got hold of the real stuff! Never again will you have to make the agonizing choice between the ?subtly fragrant sound- stage? of Monster Mega Cable and the ?dry, ascetic qualities? of Super Single Strand. WE know that it is possible to make a infinitely greater sonic difference just by moving a microphone a couple of inches. Look at any professional sound engineer?s home HiFi and you will see simple, basic, good-quality gear. After a hard day on the road or in the studio, you don?t want to have to twiddle any more knobs and look at any more flashing LED?s than you have to.

There is of course a reason why I start my review in this way. The Sony DTC-1000ES is intended to be a digital version of the conventional cassette recorder, for domestic use only. Since this is not a HiFi mag (the male equivalent of Mills and Boon?) I shall be looking at whether it is suitable for studio use, whether home studio or fully professional outfit. I am not interested in its usefulness for copying CD?s or otherwise interfering with the laws of copyright which were invented to help us make a living in the music and recording business. Indeed, the need to persuade the public that they shouldn?t carry on this sort of activity may make this machine, or the version that is released onto the market, rather less suitable for our particular needs than it could be.

Format

Before coming on to the machine itself it would be useful to explain a bit about what R-DAT is and why it promises so much.

Most readers will be fairly familiar with the concepts of digital audio (especially if they read my article on the subject in the March ?87 issue of Sound on Sound) so I don?t propose to expand on the whys and wherefores of sampling rates and numbers of bits. It?s worth going back, however, to look at Sony?s first foray into the home digital market - the F1.

The Sony F1 was a two piece system, a digital processor unit and a more-or-less conventional Betamax video recorder. You could have used any format of video recorder, but this particular Sony one had switchable video error concealment so that the digital processor could employ its own error correction mechanisms more effectively. Although it was probably intended as a domestic system (the professional market was catered for by the 1610 system which used a U-Matic format video recorder) it found a good deal of favour in pro circles and a lot of F1-mastered material found its way onto compact and vinyl disc.

Although this system had a lot going for it, it didn?t sit quite right in either the public of the professional consciousness. There?s a saying that you know when something is right - and this wasn?t quite. There was a feeling that if digital was going to be the next big thing, then any possible standard format would have to be fully thought out. Two possible systems were developed by rival companies. Stationary-head Digital Audio Tape or S-DAT, and Rotary-head Digital Audio Tape or R-DAT. S-DAT turned out to be a non-starter, for reasons which will be explained in some future history of digital audio. R-DAT, probably because of Sony?s professional clout, is the one which we are all going to have to consider very very seriously.

Round and round

As you know, video recorders have rotary heads and so does R-DAT. Why should this be so? Why can?t you just scrape a piece of tape past a good old fixed head like we have been doing for years?

It won?t take more than a couple of sentences to describe how digital audio, sampled into 16 bit chunks at a rate of 48,000 times per second, means a data rate of over 1.5 Megahertz (for a stereo signal). When you consider that your Revox can just manage 15,000 Hz on a good day (mine can manage 20,000 because I clean the heads!) you can see that there is a problem. If 20kHz needs a tape speed of 15 inches per second, then 1.5MHz should need a tape speed of nearly 100 FEET per second. You can forget about moving tape at this speed unless you can think of how to cram 68 miles of tape into a cassette for an hour?s recording! The answer is to make the head move so that you can get a greater RELATIVE speed between the tape and the head. This has exactly the same effect as moving the tape faster, and is known as the WRITING SPEED. Figure 1 shows the arrangement of the cylindrical head drum - on which the two heads are mounted - and the tape, and how the tape is written onto in diagonal stripes.

In a video recorder, which works in the same way, each stripe would correspond to one line of the picture. In an R-DAT machine, each stripe contains a fragment of digitally encoded audio together with control data segments which the recorder can use for different functions. It doesn?t matter that audio data and control data are mixed up in this way because it is a simple matter for the machine?s circuitry to sort it all out. As a point of interest, half the time neither of the two heads is in contac t with the tape at all. Since the heads are spaced at exactly opposite sides of the drum, and the tape is only wrapped a quarter of the way around the drum (for ease of handling) every half-turn, the heads contact nothing but free air! It?s amazing what those digits can do.

Details of DAT

So you?ve seen the sketch, lets?s fill in a few details. The factors which are most important in any digital audio system are the sampling rate and the number of bits in each sample. These two parameters, respectively, define the frequency response and the signal to noise ratio. Compact Disc, as you are aware, uses 16 bit samples which gives a maximum theoretical signal to noise ratio of 96dB (not counting any manufacturer?s dodges to ?massage? this figure) and a sampling frequency of 44.1kHz, which enables a frequency response up to 20kHz or thereabouts.

R-DAT is not restricted to just one recording mode. There are several, but not every machine will support all of them. The modes which must be supported are these:

* 16 bit coding - 48kHz sampling rate - 2 channels
* 16 bit coding - 44.1kHz sampling rate - 2 channels (replay only)

Other optional modes are:

* 16 bit coding - 44.1kHz sampling rate - 2 channels (record and replay)
* 16 bit coding - 32kHz sampling rate - 2 channels
* 12 bit non-linear coding - 32kHz sampling rate - 2 channels
* 12 bit non-linear coding - 32kHz sampling rate - 4 channels

This is getting a bit complicated. To make things more simple, the chances are that when you get your first R-DAT machine, you will be able to record from analogue and digital sources at 48kHz - and of course play back. You will not be allowed to record at 44.1kHz, only play back. The reasoning behind this is that pre- recorded DAT software will be sampled at 44.1kHz so you would need not only your mate?s DAT machine but an expensive 44.1kHz to 48kHz sampling rate convertor to make illicit copies. Compact Disc is also sampled at 44.1kHz so you will not be allowed to copy these digitally either. You would of course be able to copy either in the analogue domain but a certain amount of quality would be lost.

The optional 32kHz sampling rate is used for digital dubbing from satellite broadcasts. The first of the 12 bit modes allows for a doubling of the available recording time from a maximum of two hours to four. The second 12 bit mode allows for two extra channels to be recorded, if you really feel you need them. The recording quality is obviously not as good as in the 16 bit modes. Not all R-DAT machines will incorporate the optional modes. As far as quality of reproduction goes, a sampling rate of 48kHz is obviously better than 44.1kHz. Either the frequency response could go a little higher, or the necessary filtering of the output could be less harsh - that?s the choice of the manufacturer. To be honest, I don?t think it?s going to make that much difference. Mitsubishi are talking about using a sampling frequency of 96kHz for their latest generation of professional digital recorders. That MAY make an audible difference, but I think that pundits who are saying that R-DAT will trash CD sonically are being just a little over optimistic.

The machine

That?s enough of the description of the format, let?s get onto the practical stuff.

Although R-DAT is imminent - so imminent that it might be in the shops when you read this - I did not have a proper UK model to play with, although I am told that the 100 volt model liberated from Japan by HHB is as near as dammit to what we will be getting.

The DTC-1000ES (they love these names) is basically a digital version of a domestic cassette. It may outperform the Studers and Nagras of the analogue tape-recording world by light years, but it is definitely for home, rather than studio consumption. It?s not rack mounting - although it would fit nicely on a shelf in a 19 inch rack, it has phono rather than decent XLR connectors, it doesn?t have output level controls or tweakers which any self-respecting pro or semi-pro machine should have, and it has about a million super-flash buttons which may make it convenient to select your favourite Madonna tracks but don?t make life any easier when you?re trying to get a job of work done. I?m not complaining, it is what it is. I?m just making sure that you know what you may be letting yourself in for.

The first thing I tried with it was copying some 15ips analogue tapes onto R-DAT cassette. Needless to say, it passed this test perfectly. I had a job of tape copying to do, and being a one tape-recorder household, it was cheaper to use the R-DAT machine as an intermediary than to hire in a second Revox. The result was totally satisfactory, as though the music had gone straight from one tape to another without digitization. Chalk up one success.

The next trial was to dig out an old MIDI sequence and fire up all my synthesizers and mix straight onto R-DAT. This seemed to be a better test because if I decided to buy one, this would be its function in life, as a mastering machine. Once again, total satisfaction. Reel-to-reel always annoys me here, because basically, I?m into subtlety and it?s frustrating when you find that half of what you were trying to do has got lost in tape hiss and modulation noise. What next...

One good test for a piece of equipment is to bung it in a box, send it half the way round the world and see if it still works when it gets there. (It?s funny how you can ship something in a grotty cardboard box and it will arrive in perfect nick, yet when you use an expensive custom-built flight case the components seem to want to jump off the circuit boards). I wasn?t in a position to try this test so I had to think up something else.

Although the DTC-1000ES doesn?t have the programming facilities you might find on a CD player, I was able to get it to go over and over the same three second bit of tape. Would you believe over 2000 times? Nobody can say that Sound on Sound reviewers are not dedicated! I had expected some deterioration in sound quality due to tape wear, but no - the 2000th play was as good as the first (I didn?t listen to every one in between!). R- DAT would seem to be a robust format. What about the ultimate test? I took out the cassette and opened the flap. Then I firmly pressed my sweaty thumb onto the playing surface of the tape, leaving a nice print in case the police ever want to know who the culprit was. I wasn?t quite ready to believe that it would play perfectly but it did. Following this line of enquiry I tried the crumple test. Minor creases played without difficulty, but more significant distress to the tape resulted in drop-outs and a very audible coarsening of the sound.

So far, I am impressed, but there are tests I can?t perform. Like how will the mechanism cope when it is getting on a bit. Everyone has had a conventional cassette mangled by a rogue machine at some time - even the most expensive and sophisticated machines will occasionally do this. Is there any reason why R-DAT should be different? Time will tell. The point is, that it doesn?t matter with a compact cassette, because it?s only a copy. The master is safe out of harm?s way - or at least it should be. Conventional reel-to-reel tape is a very robust format. I have seen twenty-five year old tapes play very well, with just a little oxide shedding. I have also seen poorly stored tapes which have actually gone mouldy cleaned up and play just as well. I can?t help but worry just a little about recording a master on a cassette which may or may not stand the test of time. The difference is, of course, that the digital recording could be copied from time to time onto a fresh cassette without loss of quality. Responsible record companies - there are some - will probably develop archiving systems which will guard against tape deterioration by careful regular checking and copying. The rest of us will probably trust to luck.

Back to the Sony. Taking my torch with me, I climbed into the loft and dug out my trusty oscilloscope from under a pile of old HiFi mags (!). When I had a Sony PCM 501 (F1 format) on loan a few months ago I tried a little experiment. A digital tape recorder ought to be able to record tones all the way up to full level and play them back so that they are indistinguishable from the output of the oscillator - try that with a reel-to-reel! Did it work? Well, no it didn?t. It was better than analogue tape but there were definite glitches which increased as the level increased. Perhaps this was a rogue 501, but I thought the same test with the DTC-1000ES would at least be revealing. Oh dear, it?s almost getting boring. Perfect again. Mind you, I did detect some quantisation buzz if I lowered the input sine tone to just above the noise level and increased the monitor gain to compensate. It?s usual to hear a little in digital systems, and with the monitor set to a normal level it was completely inaudible. This is something about digital audio that critics pick upon - that distortion at low levels is higher PERCENTAGE- WISE than in analogue systems, but most people agree that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages so I for one am prepared to live with it.

Extra facilities

I mentioned that there was space on the R-DAT cassette tape for control data as well as audio data. The DTC-1000ES has two facilities which make use of this space. One is the beginning of track marker. It is possible to identify the start of each track with a unique number, making subsequent cueing simple. These numbers can be inserted automatically during recording or afterwards during playback. Either way, they can be changed at any subsequent time without erasing the recording. Skip markers can also be inserted. This makes it possible, with the ?SKIP? button switched to ON for the machine to wind quickly to the next start of track cue when it encounters a SKIP command. Although these functions possibly have more use in a HiFi context, I can see valid uses for them in a professional context, taking over the function of leader tape between tracks on conventional tape for instance. Fast wind time, by the way, was pretty nippy at 47 seconds for a two hour cassette.

Professional Politics

So much for how wonderful it sounds and what facilities it has, I think we were all expecting it to be pretty good but there are other questions to consider. As I said, it?s a domestic machine, so how does it fit into a professional set-up? For a start, it will not record at 44.1kHz so there is no chance of making a CD direct from a master made on this machine. There are such things as sampling rate convertors, but will CD mastering facilities be prepared to handle 48kHz sampling rate recordings?

There will be such things as professional R-DAT machines. Two have already been announced by Sony, the PCM-2500 and the PCM-2000, priced at £3500 and £5200 respectively. These will be able to record at the CD sampling rate of 44.1kHz via both analogue and digital inputs. Presumably if you can afford these prices then you can afford to buy your own CD?s and will not be tempted to copy them. The PCM-2500, so I am told, is based on the DTC-1000ES, presumably with such niceties as balanced inputs and outputs, output level control and error correction indicators. It?s a big price differential, considering that it probably won?t sound any better, but I am slightly worried that 48kHz recordings will be left out on a very definite domestic limb and only 44.1kHz recordings will be considered in professional circles.

Professional R-DAT machines (but possibly not all of them) will also support editing functions, so that with two machines and a suitable controller you will be able to edit in much the same way as video editing is done. There is no obvious way in which the DTC-1000ES could handle this. I can?t speak for anyone else but editing is an important professional tool to me and I am reluctant to give it up. With two DTC-1000ES?s it would be possible to make compilations of takes - copying via the digital output and input - provided they had silence in between and you were not too fussy about the gap between being exact to the millisecond, but there is no way you could edit parts of two bad takes into one good one - or make a 12 inch mix from a three minute multitrack master.

Buy one now?

If £1000-ish is your price bracket and you are convinced that 48kHz sampling rate masters are going to be acceptable to the people you deal with, whether they are record companies, publishers or paying studio customers, then it?s probably right for you to invest in R-DAT straight away. If you want to wait and see, then you might as well save up for a professional machine while you are waiting because I can see no possibility of anyone bringing out a cheap 44.1kHz recording machine. As with any completely new product it will take a little while for the market to settle down, both in professional and domestic circles. I like the DTC-1000ES but I think I shall wait six months and see what?s happening. If I thought that I could get a return on my money then I would get one now, but until I know that R-DAT masters are acceptable to the recorded music libraries I deal with then there would be no economic point. I feel a little guilty because I?m not writing a ?Wow - this is wonderful? review, because the product is very good and deserves one. It?s unfortunate for everyone that political arguments have muddied the water, but I feel that my duty is to give as complete a perspective as I can.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The R-DAT Cassette

The R-DAT cassette comes in lengths up to two hours and uses metal powder tape. Standard tape speed is 8.15mm/s, making a two hour tape nearly 60 metres long. Rather smaller than the conventional Compact Cassette, it measures approximately 73 x 54 x 10mm. The tape is completely enclosed when not in the machine and therefore relatively safe from contamination. When the cassette is closed, the hubs are locked preventing tape slack from occurring. A sliding record-prevention tab is provided.

Pre-recorded R-DAT material is promised to be available. As this will be produced by contact printing rather than re- recording, the signal-to-noise ratio of the digital signal on the tape (not the audio signal) is reduced. A greater track width is employed to compensate for this which uses tape at a faster rate. Pre-recorded tapes produced by this method will therefore last for a maximum of 80 minutes, rather than two hours.

Blank tape costs at the moment are around £6 per hour.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright protection

You may not be aware that the music industry is engaged in a major war with the equipment manufacturers. The argument is of course over the re-recording at home of copyright material. The moral issues, I will not go into for the moment. The practical upshot is that record companies see R-DAT as yet another method of copyright infringement. Since it is possible that R-DAT will take over completely as the domestic recording medium, record companies argue that it should be straightforward to include a system in every R-DAT machine to make it difficult or impossible to copy records or CD?s. They would go so far as to say that it should be mandatory for R-DAT players to contain such a system. There are two proposals, from CBS and Philips.

CBS have invented a system known as Copycode. With this system, every commercially released record or CD would have certain frequencies ?notched out?. A circuit in the R-DAT machine would look for this notch, and if it was found, it would drop out of record mode. The circuit would be integrated with other essential functions so that it could not be removed. Copying of any music containing this code, even purely in the analogue domain, would be impossible.

Philips have suggested that recordings made using the digital input of an R-DAT machine should have a ?copy prohibit? digital flag set. This would mean that although one direct digital dub would be possible, any further dubs would have to go through an analogue stage.

Both systems have important ramifications for anyone involved in studio recording. The Copycode system would involve severe filtering in a part of the audio spectrum where the ear is very sensitive. Many audio professionals regard this as making nonsense of all the work they put into making recordings sound as good as possible. It would also intrude into everyone?s listening, whether or not they desired to, or were in a position to, infringe copyright. The Philips proposal would mean that one of the most important features of digital audio to the professional user - the ability to make EXACT copies of recordings by direct digital dubbing - would be lost. Most domestic users would in any case forgo the advantages of digital copying and re-record in the analogue domain and the record companies would be no better off.

The equipment manufacturers regard their concession of making direct digital copying impossible for domestic machines at the CD sampling rate of 44.1kHz as sufficient. It is however possible that some sort of tape levy may be introduced to compensate copyright owners for their ?lost earnings? due to domestic copying. In this case it would be difficult to justify a restriction on direct digital copying and in future domestic machines this may be possible.

It is highly probable that the first R-DAT machines will be on sale before either of the proposals I have discussed becomes in any way compulsory, and I think it would be unlikely for any manufacturer to submit to them voluntarily. However, I feel it would be wise to make sure that the machine you buy does not incorporate either of these systems.
 
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elektro80
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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 4:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I guess most Sony repeair shops will still have the original manual for this one.. and can send you the specs
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Norm Vogel



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Posts: 157
Location: Central NJ

PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 7:02 am    Post subject: Thanks for the info! Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

...but, what i REALLY wanted to know is at what sampling rates it can record?

"For a start, it will not record at 44.1kHz so there is no chance of making a CD direct from a master made on this machine. There are such things as sampling rate convertors, but will CD mastering facilities be prepared to handle 48kHz sampling rate recordings? "

I gather from this that 44.1 is out. I kinda disagree with him on not being able to "burn a cd at lower rates". People burn cd's from standard audio cassettes all the time! (But, of course, the sound quality suffers a bit).


What rates CAN it record on????

THAT"S my Main Question!

Thanks!
Norm

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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 7:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

What about calling the tech department of Sony in the US.. and ask for it... and or ask for the largest DAT service provider in the US that Sony uses.. and then call them? They will have all this info in the general section of the service manual.. ??

I am sorry that i do not have the time to surf the web for you, I am still at work you see. I am also pretty sure you could find on the web a studio that HAS that DAT and you call them and ask.. easy.. most people are very willing to help out.
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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 7:56 am    Post subject: Rats! Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I called Sony USA. They said that, since this item wasn't made in the USA, they DON"T have any specs on it!

"But", I said, "it has the SONY name, and that's YOU, right??"


They said, "true!, but again, if it wasn't MADE in the USA, we don't have any specs on it".


Oh, well.....so much for the "horse's mouth"!

Norm

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elektro80
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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 8:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

You did not get on touch with any service people who have the service manuals? products of that kind usually have a pretty OK section about the product specs. they also often have a kool section about what adjistments you can do and real world values you get in the service lab.

Seems like corporate America is still corporate America even when it comes to Sony
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Norm Vogel



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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 8:26 am    Post subject: Sony Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I'm sure (HOPE!) that they would've transferred me THERE, if the info was avail.

You're right -- "Corporate America" sucks!

Norm

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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I am pretty sure that the info IS avaiable from Sony. They just kick your butt anyway. Corporate America... you know the drill. They will have service manuals, marketing material, FCC clearance or whatever.. and they DO have a review clipping archive too... that I actually know for sure.. well.. they did have that back in 85.. hmm.. I guess your best shot is to read thru a few stacks of old issues of magazines like Stereo Review etc.. those consyumer oriented rags which never erally say anything sensible about if the product sucks or not.. but they ALWAYS go into extreme detail when it comes to specs and such. Hmm.. I guess Stereo review might have died in the early 80s.. but you know the kind of magazines I think of? hey... is this the ES version?
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Norm Vogel



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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 9:05 am    Post subject: I dunno Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I dunno if its the es version. i saw it on ebay, and the guy isn't responding to my emails. I think i'll skip this one, as, since it's Sony's FIRST, it's probably "on it's last legs".

Norm

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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

A Tascam Portable DAT? Those are pretty kool.

i would not Trust Sony´s first DAT.
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Norm Vogel



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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 9:43 am    Post subject: Agreed! Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I agree! Esp since the guy isn't giving out too much info on it!

I'll pass.

Norm

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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 9:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Best in order to get something really useful would be a semipro / pro secondhand portable DAt recorder. I seem to remember that a lot of the hifi stereo gear had some sort of copyprotection thingie.. I do not remember musch of it.. the only home stereo DAT player I have ever had was a late Denon model. Pretty kool. Used it for taping vinyl.
But a portable is so much more useful and some have very nice mic imputs
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mosc
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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 10:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Norm,
I actually have one of these machines! Mine is busted so I don't use it. It chews up tapes. The machine was made for only 48 Khz, but there was a mod to make it work at 44.1. The rates are selected from the front panel "timer" switch. This was sold in the US by importers. It costed $2000 then. You need a step down transformer with this baby. It works on 220 V.

My advice is get something more modern, if you can. How much does the one on EBAY cost, or what are the bids. Just curious.

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Norm Vogel



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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2003 11:32 am    Post subject: Ebay Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

So far, the bidding is only up to $50.


Norm

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DES



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PostPosted: Fri May 09, 2003 10:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Look around for a used Tascam DA-20 or DA-30 (several different versions). I have a DA-20 that's been well behaved for me. And Tascam US won't disavow any knowledge of it...
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Norm Vogel



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PostPosted: Fri May 09, 2003 10:38 am    Post subject: Tascam Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I just bought (ebay) a "like new" Tascam DA-20MKII.

If i like it better than the other one i won, i'll just sell the OTHER.

(You can tell I"M a "gear hound"!!!!! LOL!


Norm

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