Anyone using a DAT recorder these days?

[jdandy]

I have a Sony DAT 60ES recorder that I purchased new in the late '90's. I have enjoyed many hours of recording and playback with the machine and still have it installed in the living room sound system. I feed the input a digital signal from a Simaudio MOON Neo 260D transport. The DAT digital output is fed to my Schiit Audio Yggdrasil DAC. I don't use the DAT 60ES analog inputs at all so I am not listening to the nearly 20 year old internal DAC in the recorder.

Last night I spent about three hours recording a new mixed music DAT 120 tape with all piano recordings from CD's spun in the MOON 260D. This morning I listened to the tape. The Sony DAT 60ES sounds remarkably clean, dynamic, and natural through the Yggdrasil DAC. My two hour mixed music tape of piano artists was most enjoyable. It is amazing that technology over two decades old can still hold its own for quality music reproduction with today's arsenal of high-end equipment.

So, is anyone besides me still using and enjoying a DAT recorder?

 

[Hounddog]

Not currently using a DAT deck, but it’s awesome to hear that you are.

DAT has had a big impact on my life though, as I wrote a paper about DAT in law school (when they were considering changing the copyright laws due to DAT). Unbeknownst to me, a professor submitted that paper to a national competition, which I won, and lawyers at my current firm saw that paper and made me an offer. The rest, as they say, is history.

So, it’s great that you’re still using the real deal!

Apologies for the random off topic post.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[jdandy]

Not currently using a DAT deck, but it’s awesome to hear that you are.

DAT has had a big impact on my life though, as I wrote a paper about DAT in law school (when they were considering changing the copyright laws due to DAT). Unbeknownst to me, a professor submitted that paper to a national competition, which I won, and lawyers at my current firm saw that paper and made me an offer. The rest, as they say, is history.

So, it’s great that you’re still using the real deal!

Apologies for the random off topic post.

Jim.......What a fine outcome to your effort on the legal front for DAT in the early days. Cool story.

I have been a tape nut since I was a teenager. I once bought an inexpensive little battery operated 3" reel to reel tape recorder, not so much for recording music but because I was fascinated with the mechanics of the machine. I made a few recordings on it with a cheap little ceramic microphone that came with it, before tearing the machine apart to see how it worked. Needless to say, I should have left well enough alone but my inquisitive nature got the best of me. The tape machine never worked correctly again.

 

[rbbert]

I have 2 Sony R500's (one is out on semi-permanent loan). Haven't used them in years, though

 

[jdandy]

I have 2 Sony PCM-R500's (one is out on semi-permanent loan). Haven't used them in years, though

Rob.......If you still have some DAT tapes, you should pull the R500 out of the closet and run a digital cable to your Oppo 205 digital input. The R500 will surprise you, especially feeding the new ESS DAC chips.

 

[rbbert]

Rob.......If you still have some DAT tapes, you should pull the R500 out of the closet and run a digital cable to your Oppo 205 digital input. The R500 will surprise you, especially feeding the new ESS DAC chips.

As dminches said on the other board, pretty much everything is already transferred to hard drive or CD.

 

[Jim Smith]

I still have my Stellavox DAT - haven't used it in 15 years or so.

 

[jdandy]

In the past day or so I have had the opportunity to compare several DAT recordings I made in 1999 and 2000 using only the analog inputs to the Sony DAT 60ES. This method used the Sony DAC, which I have no idea what that may be. What I discovered is the sound quality of those mixed music recordings made with an older Denon CD player with its internal unknown DAC, feeding its analog output through the A/D processor in the Sony recorder, created decent sounding playback through my external Yggdrasil DAC, but was nowhere near the transparency and dynamics of the piano recordings I recorded to DAT tape the other night. Bypassing the analog section of the DAT recorder by using the DAT recorder's digital input fed from the digital output of the Simaudio MOON 260D transport, then played back from the Sony's digital output through the new Analog 2 version of the Yggdrasil DAC's coaxial input produced an exceptional recording that was clearly superior in all respects. It is evident the analog input and output of the Sony DAT 60ES is showing signs of its DAC's age and capabilities, but using the digital input and output through a modern external DAC allows this DAT recorder to sound fresh and current when compared to other modern digital sources. This is quite remarkable considering the Sony DCT-60ES is two decades old.