CD to DAC to DAT to DAC?


So I receive my Panasonic SV-3800 DAT deck yesterday...

I connect my turntable to the analog input (obviously) and connect my CD player to the digital input (TOSLINK).

I then take the coax out on the DAT deck to my DAC (and then out to the amp over RCA).

For some reason the DAT deck acts like the CD player isn't there. Do I need to run it into the DAC, then out via coax back to the DAT, and then back out to the DAC (and then into the amp)?

This doesn't seem right to me, but I'm just a bit baffled - I mean, does the signal from the CD player need to be processed prior to hitting the DAT?

Thanks,
Mark
ballywho
What are you trying to achieve ? Do you want to sample the turntable and put it through the DAC ? Is the turntable directly connected to the DAT, or do you mean the output of the phono preamp ? Why route the CD player through the DAT ?

Does the DAT digital input auto detect the sample rate ? CD is 44.1khz and DAT is 48khz, so sample conversion would have to occur somewhere, and if not in the DAT then this could be the problem.

Also why would the DAT player output the data stream from its digital input unless you were recording that input and monitoring (like an analog tape deck .... it doesn't automatically route the input to the output unless you're recording).
Well, I think I may have wasted tread space here and I apologize.

The deal is that I would like to have the DAT available for any source, like the old days with my Nakamichi, but why on earth would I do this with a CD (thinking of mix tape days) when I could just rip the whole darn thing in nothing flat at 320Mbps and then burn it back to a CD (entire CD, assorted tracks, etc.).

So, I'll just stick to archiving my ancient 78s and 33s, and maybe recording a radio show or two ;)

Sorry again for the space-waster.

Cheers,
Mark
The answer to your question is in the back of the SV3800 (I have an SV3700, but I assume the answer is the same). There are a series of DIP switches in the back. One of them (I believe it's the one that's farthest to the left) selects either the analog input or the digital input.

Of course, in either case, the only way you can pass the incoming signal on to your analog preamp or amplifier is to put the DAT into record mode.
This reminds me of an old geography lesson my 6th grade teacher Mr. Wren used tell us to help us get acquainted with the Middle East and Asia.

"Iran to Greece to fry the Turkey."
Dollysowner:
There are no DIP switches on the 3800. The selector for digital/analog is on the front. It flashes, however, indicating a problem with the signal it sees, when set to "Digital" and the "Record" button is depressed.

I simply don't understand this; unless there's something slightly "clogging" the optical transmitter in the player (I see light just fine) I don't see why it wouldn't lock to the signal.

Gunbei:
After coming back to it just a bit later after posting I had a good laugh.
Like I said earlier DAT operates at 48kHz sampling rate and CD at 44.1kHz. Unless the DAT is specifically designed to accept both 48kHz and 44.1kHz in the toslink input it will not accept the digital output from a CD player since it has a different sampling rate. If it can accept both frequencies the selection might be automatic or manual.
Gunbei
Mr.Wren's lesson is a nice play with words,but it is not accurate .Greece is located in Europe,Turkey is in Asia and Iran in Middle East.So if traveling from West to East,you will visit Greece ,then cross over to Turkey and after to Iran.
Regards
George
Gunbei
Mr.Wren's lesson is a nice play with words,but it is not accurate .Greece is located in Europe,Turkey is in Asia and Iran in Middle East.So if traveling from West to East,you will visit Greece first,then cross over to Turkey and finally to Iran.
Regards
George
The DAT machine is able to accept both 44.1k and 48k rates. The darn thing is that the player (I guess I should be happy) has no issues playing through the external DAC.

~mjm~