Anyone using a DAT recorder these days?
 

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?


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An intriguing technology that always interested me, but I never got around to making a purchase, way-back-then. I still use analog cassette tapes and make recordings on my Dragon. Seems there's lots of life left in this "older" technology. Happy to hear your getting some satisfaction from it, Dan

Yes, a Sony PCM R500

Purchased new in 2000 to serve as the master deck in my home studio.
After dismantling the studio about 8 years ago, it found work as my “tape deck” in the main system.

During my ebay days was able to pick up a lot of new DAT tapes on the cheap.
The Sony still gets regular use and performs admirably.

My DAT and MiniDisc hit Salvation Army about the same time. Quite a while ago now.

I have a Sony DTC-700 which has worked perfectly(sofar).My good friend gave it to me about ten years ago along with about thirty tapes full of very well recorded blues,jazz,classical and rock music.

When I worked for the U of IL School of Music as their Audio Director, we transitioned from PCM-701/F1 format to DAT. First machines were Sony PCM-2500's and then Tascam DA-30's. We archived hundreds if not thousands of concert recordings that are all in storage today. When DAW's became available, all but a few of the DAT machines were sold. When we had to play archive tapes, we started having problems with both the tapes and machines even though all machines were calibrated to insure tapes would play back on machines they were not recorded on.

Keep your heads clean and good luck with that format. Not sure if anyone is still around doing maintenance on them. Also not sure how long the tapes will hold up, very fragile medium. I had to do repair on some tapes, splicing the head of the tape back to the leader and even splicing tape in the middle of reels. Not fun but it salvaged them. I much preferred 1.5 mil thick analog reel to reel tape splicing. For a while, we recorded to DAT and transferred to the first DAW format, Digidesign (Pro Tools) SoundDesigner II. When the Alesis Masterlink (ML-9600) came out, DAT was done for us.

Using your modern outboard D/A converter should help playback quality of the 16 bit 44.1kHz DAT format a lot. The early machines had some A/D and D/A converters that were still not great even though that technology had been around for several years.

I am well aware of the reputation which is like you say.It will be a sad day if mine goes south as my friend passed away after he gave it to me.He put a lot into recording those tapes.

Jim.......The MiniDisc never was worth a crap in my opinion. DAT, on the other hand, is still a formidable digital format, albeit the mechanics of tape control and song access cannot compete with the immediacy to digital file access with today's modern music servers. None the less, the quality of DAT recording and playback is excellent, particularly with a modern external DAC. Granted, DAT is old school digital by today's standards, but for tape enthusiasts it remains a viable and valuable source component. Tape formats can be fun to play with. I still own and use a Nakamichi BX-300 cassette deck, a Revox B77 Mk II and Akai GX-636 reel to reel tape recorders, as well as the Sony DAT 60ES recorder. Digital audio tape recorders deliver exciting full range performance with wide dynamic range and dead silent background noise level. Considering the age of my DAT recorder and the age of the technology, it is impressive to me that it sounds extremely competitive, and most of all enjoyable when compared to current digital technology. Granted, tape is not for everyone, but for those who can appreciate both the analog and digital versions of the format I hope it remains useful, even if the niche group is small.

My Sony DAT, like Dan's, said goodbye.

David.......Sorry to hear that. If my DAT recorder goes tango uniform, it is unlikely I would consider repairing due to cost, but while it continues to provide good service I am enjoying playing with it form time to time. I had fun last night making the two hour tape of piano performances and thoroughly enjoyed listening to the tape this morning. It's just another facet of the audio hobby that has always held my interest.