So I'm just wondering if this is normal or not. If this is the normal noise floor on the PMD620 while using line in I find it high...I'm sure my 1990 old DAT TCD-D3 had a better S/N ratio
The 620 measured to have a lot of low frequency (not so
audible) noise that could
visibly rattle the VU's noticeably.
In retro-perspect, all those Sony DAT decks cost at least two times more and weren't designed as done today with current 1-chip CODEC IC wonders by disassociated (mis-managed) engineering groups scattered all over the globe.
It does seem that these products are being patched together without
anyone looking back at what is actually working as expected or not, letting the trusting customers discover all those loose threads in the hardware and software.
No, those were the days when a single team of designers and closely monitored production staff were held accountable by one or two project managers for 'crossing their technical T's and dotting their I's' to refine a product's
as shipped quality now seems gone as we experience the
new world 'global' way of doing business. Prices are dropping, profits are way up, and quality is fading fast.
I've heard even Nagra has embraced the single CODEC IC recorder craze and has produced a real piece of crap for the first time.
Lately the only
real quality seems the descriptive words in marketing ads that after purchase are found fictitious seeming more hype than anything else.