Dat?

[avraham]

Anyone using DAT recorders?

I Have three decks and two portables.

 

[KentTeffeteller]

I use a Panasonic SV 3900 at home. Mainly for transferring existing tapes. Still have several Tascam DA-30 decks in use at work. :tresbon:

 

[dr*audio]

Panasonic SV4100
(2) Sony DTC-1000ES
Tascam DA-20

 

[CarlV]

I have a DA-30 with a parts unit and a TC-D8.


Carl

 

[Fred Sanford]

Never could get my two Sony portables to be reliable. My Sony DTC-690 worked fine for a while, now it also is unreliable. My Panasonic SV-3700 has been perfect from day 1.

je

 

[PacificStereo]

Sony DAT (in the sig) and a Sharp portable DAT (model # escapes me).

 

[avraham]

I started using DATs to replace R to R in the mid-nineties. I use them to dub mainly Jazz recordings into "Best Of" tapes (albums) for personal use.
I presently have a Tascam DA-45HR (switchable to 48k 24 bit), a Pioneer D-05 (switchable to 96k 16 bit). I have been using these to experiment with recording SACDs and DVD-As. I also have a Sony DTC-A8. I have been using it to record RBCDs. So far I am pleased with the results.
I am interested to know in what ways others are using their DATs. :scratch2:

 

[dr*audio]

I use mine to record programs off the radio, because of the 2 hour record time. I have also recorded my band on DAT. I intend to use them more to record CDs, now that I have a bunch of tapes.

 

[Fred Sanford]

Just one bit of advice for anybody stocking up on tapes these days - every single TDK, Maxell, and Sony DAT tape I have still works flawlessly. Every single Ampex DAT tape I have does not play anymore. These are Certified Mastering Audio tapes marked "467 R-90" and "467 R-94" by Quantegy. Not a playable one among them, and there are dozens of them. Buyer beware...I used these as mastering tapes, and have now lost countless hours of work.

je

 

[Marantz 500]

I have a Sony DTC-2000ES and a DTC-57ES. I record from radio, live concerts, jazz and classical music. I also use the DTC-2000ES as a DA converter for my Rotel RCD965BX CD player. Sounds great!

http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sonyes/DTC2000ES/DTC2000ES.html

 

[House de Kris]

I've got a Tascam DA-30mkII that is a very solid machine, always performs flawlessly. I use it to record DJ mixes at parties at my house. Later, I add start IDs and burn CDs from the tapes.

I also have a Sony PCM-300R (I think that's the number) that is an absolute turd. I hate this machine so much I refuse to sell it, since I don't want others to have the same headaches.

 

[vinyldavid]

I use a Tascam DA30 at school not for DAT recording, but for it's nice headphone amp section....and peak level meters.....

If they would give it to me, I would use it for taping off of the radio...

 

[mid-fi-ry]

I used to have a pair of Tascams and a portable sony when i used to swap concert tapes but I downsized and only have one now.

Sony PCMR500, I bought it when the medium was starting to fade and I primarly use it as a playback deck since I still have a few hundred tapes in the closet somewhere.

 

[dr*audio]

Just one bit of advice for anybody stocking up on tapes these days - every single TDK, Maxell, and Sony DAT tape I have still works flawlessly. Every single Ampex DAT tape I have does not play anymore. These are Certified Mastering Audio tapes marked "467 R-90" and "467 R-94" by Quantegy. Not a playable one among them, and there are dozens of them. Buyer beware...I used these as mastering tapes, and have now lost countless hours of work.

je

Having had my share of Ampex reel tape and VHS tape that became sticky, I no longer use Ampex tape, other than 641 reel tape, those held up fine.

 

[Fred Sanford]

Having had my share of Ampex reel tape and VHS tape that became sticky, I no longer use Ampex tape, other than 641 reel tape, those held up fine.

Yeah, but I guess that since I'd bought these a good bit after they'd discovered the sticky shed problem, that maybe they'd have fixed it...I was wrong.

je

 

[Cadillac Kid]

Wonder if it is a "sticky" problem or something else with the Ampex tapes.:scratch2:


I have a bunch of Quantegy that I need to check.

 

[avraham]

I guess I have been lucky. I have several hundred DAT tapes. The only tape I have had a big problem was a Fuji tape that became completely unplayable. About three of the BASF tapes I bought in the early 90's have one or two dropouts that last less than a second. Since I have 98% of the source material that I use to dub to make personal albums, I can always re-record.
I have never been one to copy material so I didn't have to purchase the original.

 

[mid-fi-ry]

About 3/4 of the tape I have is either on Sony or Maxell DDS. Do you think there is a major difference between using the DDS or audio grade DAT tapes in regards to how they have held up over the years....

My failure ratio has been pretty low with the Sony's and Maxells...

 

[dr*audio]

I have been using only Audio DAT tapes until recently when I got some DSS tapes for free. They seem ok, haven't used them long enough to know. I doubt there is a difference in the archival quality. I had heard that DSS tapes don't work well in some machines.

 

[Kiwi]

I am using a Panasonic SV3800 mainly to record LP's for transfer to CD . It has a very good A/D converter then I plug into the PC using an optical cable and make a straight digital copy on to CD. I have also used it to re record CD's that are a bit thin sounding via an Equaliser with reasonable success. Particularly since there is a DA conversion , then tweaking and then another AD conversion.

I have been lucky enough to score a few new Sony Professional quality blank tapes as well.