I have read somewhere the best DAT deck may be a Sony 1000ES? Am I correct in that assumption? I know DAT decks have changed over the years including some that used 1 bit converters, 1 that went to the 96khz sampling frequency which was a Pioneer model, and 1 that was a 24 bit recorder (Tascam). Any suggestions on these decks? I'd be looking at Ebay probably for a deck should I get one eventually.
Secondly there was a specific Sony minidisc recorder that was the best sounding unit (was it a JB930 or JA3ES?) Sony made, but after that the quality went down hill. I think the model came out in the late 90s? Any ideas here? The two mentioned above (930 or 3ES?) which of these two would be prefered?
The Sony MDS-JA3ES Mini Disc Recorder Deck measures 430 x 345 x 125mm (W x D x H), while the JB830 is W 430 x H 110 x D 287 mm.
And a question about the Atrac DSP conversions. In 1998 Type R was introduced and was known for being the best sounding conversion for mini disc. Yet Sony claims that in 2004 their type 3 Plus conversion used in HD-MD recorders has improved minidisc sound to a quality the rivals CDs. Anyone have any opinions on these two conversions?
I know this probably belongs in a digital forum, but I know there are a lot of tapers in this forum who have used these two formats and would be able to give an opinion on these.
I have a consumer Sony DTC-700 that has embarrassed my Panasonic SV-3700 pro DATs in terms of maintenance and longevity. What are you looking to do with DAT or MD?
I have moved past DAT and MD for recording and gone to a Tascam HDP2 CF recorder.
The MDS-JA50ES would be their best MD recorder, along with the MDS-JA555ES.
http://www.thevintageknob.org/SONY/sonyes/MDSJA50ES/MDSJA50ES.html
As for the ATRAC, that HI-MD stuff was/is only available on portable decks if I'm not mistaken, Sony stopped making decent home decks after the ones mentioned above.
As for JA3ES vs 930 QS, the latter one has the more recent ATRAC, and pretty good build quality, and will probably be found for a cheaper price than its ES brother. I don't think you could go wrong with either of these, and soundwise they would probably go alongside anyway, so it's your choice I think
Best DAT Recorder ever made: Panasonic SV-3500. Best MiniDisc Recorder ever made: Sony MD JA3 ES! These units sound excellent and are the most reliable of each medium. :tresbon:
I would strongly recommend not using a DAT or Minidisc. Transport parts
are no longer being made for DATs, so if anything breaks there, you're up the
creek without a paddle. As far as MD goes, why subject your recordings to
compression? I realize that you can do uncompressed .wav on some MDs, but
you need to do a software format conversion which adds extra steps and will
possibly effect quality. These days, IMHO the way to go is with a flash recorder or a laptop with a good external interface.
I have 4 DAT decks: (2) Sony DTC-1000ES, (1) Panasonic SV-4100, (1) Tascam DA-20. All work well and sound very good. The SV-4100 and the DA-20 have been the most trouble free. The DTC-1000ES is built like a tank, and has separate motors for each reel spindle, direct drive (none of the others has this.) The only real issue with the Sony, and it is common to many other Sony mechanisms, including older CD players, is the grease gets gummy with age. This causes some levers and linkages in the mechanism to bind, and the result can be mangled tape or loading / eject problems. You have to disassemble the unit and completely clean out the old grease and regrease with white lithium grease. If you don't get all the grease cleaned out, or miss a linkage, you will have problems later on, and have to troubleshoot and re-clean and lube those parts. Also the tape sensing switches in the Sony get dirty and have to be cleaned. I have a friend that is a recording engineer and he claims the DTC-1000ES is the best sounding DAT recorder he has used.
I do not recommend the Panasonic SV-3500, because it is extremely difficult to do basic maintenance, like cleaning the heads, and generally very difficult to work on. It also uses the very small diameter head, about the same diameter as a dime. I have heard that the smaller diameter heads wear out faster than the larger diameter heads.
Anyone wanting to know just about anything about DAT machines, maintenance, and tips should check out Eddie Ciletti's website:
http://www.tangible-technology.com/
sony type r atrac 4.5 is what you want..with current pulse dac.
the dac in the jb930 alone is worth buying it for. as its probably as good as if not better than that in your average sub high end cd player.
i'm no fan of sony to be honest..but this one they got right.
i wouldn't touch any of their later atracs.
forget hi-md blah blah.
as for compression. if you can 'hear' it let alone tell the difference between a cd and the minidisc copy on this machine. i'd love to know what equipment you're using.
for making recordings from vinyl. the recordings are literally as good as your front end. and you wont be in a hurry to play precious records once youve heard them copied.
IMO, the best DAT is a Sony DTC-1500ES followed by DTC-2000ES. Best MD Deck MDS-JA50ES. I've owned a MDS-JA3ES MD (great), DTC-59ES (poor transport), DTC-87ES (near perfection), DTC-75ES (good so far), DTC-A7 (poor transport) and a Technics SV-DA10 (good overall) DAT decks.