Topic: Difference between DAT and R-09 / MT2496 / H4 etc ... ?

[ead666]

Could someone explain me the main difference between old DAT recorders and all this new generation of recorders (R-09, MT 2496  etc...) ?

Is there a diffence of sound quality ?

Thanx for your lights

[willndmb]

the main difference is tape vs "hard disc"
with the new recorders you also save a ton of time transferring since you don't need to play the show to do it

as for sound all recorders have a different sound, depending on your ears you may or may not really notice it
it also depends what other gear you may or may not use rather the recorders "sound" comes into play

[danzz1234]

as for sound all recorders have a different sound, depending on your ears you may or may not really notice it

Yeah. For example, I've seen some people here at the TS that retired their old DAT recorders and went to iRivers/NJB3s and were happy with the results.

[H₂O]

Also the R-09, MT2496, and Zoom H4 are all 24-bit recorders which will typically increase sound quality due to wider dynamic range.  Most DAT is 16-bit (only the Tascam DA-45HR supports 24-bit on DAT to my knowledge).

Just note that some newer lower end 24-bit gear doesn't have a high quality front end and this can offset some of the increases gained by 24bit.

[Belexes]

DAT is tape and the tape will degrade over time.    You could also have drop-outs on tape that you won't have with a flash recorder.

I have a R-09 and M1 DAT and the M1 is the backup now.

[ead666]

DAT is tape and the tape will degrade over time.    You could also have drop-outs on tape that you won't have with a flash recorder.

I have a R-09 and M1 DAT and the M1 is the backup now.

What kind of drop-outs you can have on DAT tapes ? I mean, these are numeric tapes and no analogic tapes, so i don't see what kind of quality loss could occur ?

btw, thanx for all your answers 

[JasonSobel]

What kind of drop-outs you can have on DAT tapes ? I mean, these are numeric tapes and no analogic tapes, so i don't see what kind of quality loss could occur ?

btw, thanx for all your answers 

while its true that DAT is a digital medium, it's still magnetic tape.  with time, age, environmental conditions, etc, etc, the magnetic material can flake off.  that can produce drop-outs or digi-noise, depending on how much or how little the tape has degraded.  And it also depends a great deal on how robust of a playbkac deck is used, and how good the error correction is.  (i.e. playback on a Sony D8 or the like isn't going to be as good as on a nice home deck like the R500)

[Belexes]

What he said! ^^^^ 

[greenone]

as for sound all recorders have a different sound, depending on your ears you may or may not really notice it

Yeah. For example, I've seen some people here at the TS that retired their old DAT recorders and went to iRivers/NJB3s and were happy with the results.

I think you mean they have different sounds if you go through analog circuitry. From a digital perspective, bits are bits and will sound exactly the same on playback through a digital output.

[danzz1234]

as for sound all recorders have a different sound, depending on your ears you may or may not really notice it

Yeah. For example, I've seen some people here at the TS that retired their old DAT recorders and went to iRivers/NJB3s and were happy with the results.

I think you mean they have different sounds if you go through analog circuitry. From a digital perspective, bits are bits and will sound exactly the same on playback through a digital output.

Well, I meant that there's this "magical" thing about DAT's for some ppl and they may think that a $100 iRiver/NJB3 would not replace it in anyway.

[greenone]

No, I hear ya...I was more responding to willndmb. You just had the misfortune of appearing to agree with him.

[Nick's Picks]

to chime in.

most of the new gen recorders write to some format of flash media (and not hard drives).  No moving parts.  unlimited potential (multiple chips)...and the whole no moving parts thing means no wear, no maintenance, no serious battery drains.

the only HDD recorders out there, in production right now are the SD 722/744 and the Edirol R4. 
There is also the Korg MR1000 and MR1 , which are both hdd based recorders (and DSD format).
there are others, but these are the main players that cost under $10k.

I dont know of many dedicated 16bit recorders out there these days, sans a few Marantz models, and as mentioned the 24bit world is much more "friendly" for live recording and can certainly yield superior results.

the bummer w/all the new recording gear out there is that none of the less expensive "pocket" style recorders have a digital input (should you require one).  the exception here is the M-Audio MT2496.  But the jury is still out on this 2nd revision of the product.

the good news is that the analog front ends (especially the line inputs) are very acceptable, and trump the circuitry of the older DAT decks.  Seldom are these little decks brickwalled or screwed up by hot signals that they cant take.