Topic: Tascam DA-20, any reason not to use for a playback deck

[cleantone]

I might have a good line on a cheap(ish) DA-20. My DA-P1 has been giving me errors on playback. I would like to back up my masters. This DA-20 supposedly has about 100 hours on it. It was in a studio with multiple DAT machines. It is pretty cheap but I do have to drive to pick it up. Anything I should know? Handle DDS and 90 meter tape okay? Other issues?

Thanks!

[darby]

if you can find a Sony R500 you would be better off
I've owned both

[cleantone]

If you could or would tell me the cons please do. Thanks.

[darby]

the R500 is built like a tank 
since it has 4 direct drive motors it will play pretty much EVERY tape

the DA-20 is a good machine but not as good
I still had issues with a few tapes and tracking errors
but not as bad as the Fostex D-5 I used to own
that thing SUCKED

I guess it depends on how much it is going to cost you

I picked up the R500 for around $200 on ebay
and considered it a good investment

[jhirte]

I have had zero issues with my DA20MKII. Never had any playback issues on a myriad of tapes (60 and 90m). I dont know offhand if there are major differences between it and the DA20 though..

One thing I will say about Sony decks, run away from the R700(I think thats the model). friend of mine has one, and its a total POS.

[George]

I recently sold off my DA20 for dirt cheap on ebay.  It played 90m tapes just fine, never had any issues with it so I imagine you'll be happy with it.

[datgirl333]

I have had zero issues with my DA20MKII. Never had any playback issues on a myriad of tapes (60 and 90m). I dont know offhand if there are major differences between it and the DA20 though..

ditto.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

I still have a pair of the original DA20s.  They play 90m tapes flawlessly.  The only rare issue I've seen is that if I try to unload a tape too quickly after hitting stop, the mechanism will sometimes leave a small loop of tape exposed.  This has been the case on both decks since I bought them new and both have been serviced and are known to be in operating within spec.  I had the same issue with my D7.  If I hit stop and the wait a second for the transport to settle before hitting eject, it does not happen.  I vaguely remember someone posting that MKII doesn't do this.

If Paul Plotnik is still servicing these and your new deck hasn't been tuned in a while, it's cheap to get a calibration and lube.

[George]

Paul purchased my DA20...I imagine he's still working on them.

[cleantone]

Thanks guys! I knabbed it last night. $45. It looks pretty much new. It is supposed to have less than 100 hours and he said probably closer to 50. He used it as a mastering deck for some projects and it has sat for a long time since then. I'm happy so far!

[cleantone]

Fuck. This morning I put a DAT in that I had transfered already a week ago. It was a 45 minute set and I was going to transfer it and invert it over itself to look for errors. Using the coax output I was getting loads of pops on the left channel. It The meter on the unit looks fine and the headphone output sounds good. I put in a difference tape and it seems to be playing back okay so far. Both were 46khz Sony DDS  tapes. I think the bad one was a 60m and the okay is 90m I think. They were recorded both in Spring of 2001 on a DA-P1. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Frustrated to say the least. I don't really want to use RCA's to transfer DAT's.