Tascam DA-30 DAT deck... how does it compare with other DATs?

[Arkay]

Tonight I was offered a Tascam DA-30 DAT recorder. It appeared to be a quite functional studio type deck, very much like their regular cassette decks, but with the specific features that would go with being digital. But it was the first time I'd ever seen this unit, and I wasn't sure if it is actually a good one.

How does this unit compare with other DATs such as those by Sony or Denon?
Would this rank as highly among DATs as Tascams otherwise rank among cassette units?
Can anyone here who has this unit please offer comments on it?
If it is worth getting, is there any market value to it (i.e., what would be a good price)?

P.S. - I know DAT is a defunct format, with tapes getting increasingly hard to find. That isn't my question. I want to know whether, IF one is going to have a DAT, is this a very good one to get, or would it be wiser to look for another?

[Garrard201]

I've never seen a DAT deck I wouldn't recommend... I have a DA-30mkII and am quite pleased, though as you hinted in your post, it does not get much use anymore. Not sure of a price to offer, but I would say Tascam gear is always near the top of the food chain.
BTW, somewhere online someone has posted directions on disabling the DA-30 (or 30mkII)'s SCMS protection.

[Arkay]

I've never seen a DAT deck I wouldn't recommend... I have a DA-30mkII and am quite pleased, though as you hinted in your post, it does not get much use anymore. Not sure of a price to offer, but I would say Tascam gear is always near the top of the food chain.
BTW, somewhere online someone has posted directions on disabling the DA-30 (or 30mkII)'s SCMS protection.

Thanks for the quick response. I saw that info about disabling the protection: seems like a very easy tweak. What I haven't found is a review or description or ranking for the unit. Although I suspect it should be good, because, as you say, Tascams usually are. The guy's asking price was $38, which is more than I had to pay for my 122 Mk IIs... so I hesitated and wondered what a fair value should be. [Mind you, this is a wholesale market, and the gear is as-is, untested. PLUS one corner of the rack-mount part of the faceplate was bent! :tears: . I might be able to at least plug it in before buying, and I can try to offer less. If it is a really good DAT, I don't mind paying his price... just want to be sure.]

[SaSi]

This is a good studio DAT. Compares with the Panasonic SV3700-3900 decks.

There are better units out there but are rare and cost more.

Sony has three general categories of units.
The consumer level (DTC 55,57,59,... 670,690,790,..., ZE...)
The pro-like versions of some of the above that simply have a different color and balanced jacks (e.g. PCM2300)
The real pro models (e.g. PCM R500) that have a much more robust transport

If you want just one decent+ unit, then the DA30 is a good one to get.

Now, that rack mount bending makes me wonder if the unit has been dropped. If so, something might have been dislocated inside or even broken. I suggest you power it up.

One good thing about DAT is you can get hours of continuous play of uncompressed music in a physical medium that can be handled (in contrast to playlists on music servers).

[Garrard201]

With the bent faceplate, don't just power it up, pop in a tape (if you can) and see if it reads it. Because it might just play the tape but not produce signal, OR it will eat the tape.

[vincei]

I vaguely remember using a DA-30 about 16 yrs back and recall it being a nice, solid player, I transferred some master DATs to another deck. Of course if yours was abused, I would certainly test it if possible before purchased.

[KentTeffeteller]

Hi,

I prefer Panasonic and Tascam DAT Recorders to most Sony DAT recorders. I own a SV 3900 myself (A freebee at that) in cherry condition. Tascam DAT is pretty reliable as far as DAT decks go and well made.