Can anybody direct me to a source that explains the difference in the various Sony DAT decks? I know that some models are more suseptible to problems, than other models.
I have a Sony 57ES.
MLStrand56
I have a Sony 57ES.
MLStrand56
Wow, So Many DAT recorders!!!
I now have a LOT of reading to do!!!
MLStrand56
Wow! I never knew there were so many DAT recorders.
I now have a LOT of reading to do!!!
MLStrand56
By the DTC57ES generation, Sony had gotten most of the reliability issues behind them, but had gone down in sound quality, especially in the dac. Were I to want to maintain having a dat, it would most likely be a DTC-75ES, with some attention paid periodically to it's tape guide alignments, unless I could find an incredibly well-preserved 1st gen pro model PCM2500 two piece unit.
search for the old mailing list called 'dat-heads' and you will find LOTS of info on the dreaded sony dat mechanisms and such.
I am aware of the early Sony DAT problems.
Does anybody have any experience with the Pro DAT decks? I'm looking at the Sony 700 or 690 decks.
Thanks
Does anybody have any experience with the Pro DAT decks? I'm looking at the Sony 700 or 690 decks.
Thanks
I used to own a 670 (I think that was the model) and then 690. those were consumer, iirc. sony was famous for having 'tension problems' in their consumer transports. most people I knew who used DAT heavily used the pany sv3700 or equiv.
Although the Panasonic/Technics dat decks, esp. the SV3700, were very good sounding & ostensibly nice, the tape threading mech is a terrible mess of small plastic clockwork gears that are prone to crumbling. The Sony 670/690 generation had pretty reliable mechs, save for minor fragility in the loading mech, but sounded very mediocre, at least at the dac end.
from what I recall, that was just the opposite, re: mechanism.
I used to do a lot of DAT taping and at one time had 7 decks. 2 panys (one technics svda10), 3 or 4 sonys and a few denons. the sonys were the most finicky and only worked if you kept up on their regular (annual or more frequent) cleanings at the sony service center (along with any retensioning that the svc ctr would do). the sonys did the worst on the non-spec 90meter tapes and the pany sv3700 style drive did pretty well, as I recall. it was the go-to drive of its day. not great on analog in or out, but pretty serious for being able to play back and not glitch like the sonys often did.
that's not to say the pany didn't need cleaning/lube/align periodically, as well. but the sonys were great right after a service and then would fade as time went on. you'd hear a buzz-saw as it would mistrack, and it was not something you'd miss, it was so obvious.
I used to do a lot of DAT taping and at one time had 7 decks. 2 panys (one technics svda10), 3 or 4 sonys and a few denons. the sonys were the most finicky and only worked if you kept up on their regular (annual or more frequent) cleanings at the sony service center (along with any retensioning that the svc ctr would do). the sonys did the worst on the non-spec 90meter tapes and the pany sv3700 style drive did pretty well, as I recall. it was the go-to drive of its day. not great on analog in or out, but pretty serious for being able to play back and not glitch like the sonys often did.
that's not to say the pany didn't need cleaning/lube/align periodically, as well. but the sonys were great right after a service and then would fade as time went on. you'd hear a buzz-saw as it would mistrack, and it was not something you'd miss, it was so obvious.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.