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Audiophile recording and playback - Tascam DA-3000


Hi, some months ago I bought the Tascam DA-3000 recorder, having used a small Korg MR-1 for some years. I mainly record from my vinyl rig (Lyra Atlas – SME V – Hanss T30 – Aesthetix Io Eclipse – Einstein The Tube mk2).

I have found that even with the hassle of very big files (one LP = almost 3 GB), the dual speed DSD sound is superior to anything digital I have heard so far.

In my rig, analog blows digital out of the water, but this is the best candidate.

In a former thread, someone asked, is the Da-3000 ‘audiophile’ level. The answer is a clear yes.

This is the first digital recorder I have owned (after some DATs and others) that does not make me ashamed that my old analog and much-modded Revox A77 stands in my loft. Also, for some, the Tascam may be a good investment since its DAC may outperform the DAC you already have. I had a Stello DAC that went out the door.

However, some aspects of the Tascam are problematic, and others can probably be improved.

A first issue is connectivity and ease of use. It would be great if the Tascam could record to a hard disk, or at least play back from it. The manual says a hard disk can be connected through the USB port. I bought a Seagate Wireless Plus 1 TB hard disk to try. However, the Tascam won’t recognize it, even when I reformatted to Exfat (instead of NFTS). Perhaps it would be recognized if I reformatted to FAT32, but then I would not have any use of a big hard disk, the limit is 32 GB I think. So I am back to recording to my 32 GB Sandisk SD card, eight LPs or so, with hand written notes, what track is what title, and then carrying the card and paper to my main PC, naming folders and transferring the files. BTW this was very slow, 19 mbps, since my card reader was not USB 3 compliant, I changed, and now it is much better, 84 or so mbps.

The ideal would be to have the Tascam drive as a unit on my home network, this is why I bought the Seagate wireless, but as stated - no success so far.

Experiences with the Tascam (or similar), in this and other respects, are welcome.

Note that, the problems so far are minor, for me, compared to the benefits. The sound is usually much better than what I get from CDs or the web (excepting some SACDs). I can bring my analog rig around, so to speak, playing back on the Korg Mr-1 (or the Tascam itself, which is light weight and semi-movable). I think that DSD playback will become more easily available in the future. If Pono had included DSD, I would have bought one.
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o_holter OP
952 posts
 
Suggestions welcome - a good dsd capable dac able to read my dsd files on my home network, ethernet input.
The Tascam is very attractive as an allrounder but it is really a recorder with addons for playback that are limited, and every change of role of the Tascam is a hassle, with a limited user interface and maybe some cable change at the back. The DAC in the Tascam is good, no worse than my former April DAC, although not high end. I don't do high end digital. That is limited to analog. What I need is a fairly good dac, no worse than the Tascam dac component, able to do dsd over ethernet.
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o_holter OP
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1graber2's avatar
1graber2
303 posts
 
Do u have to have a rack mounted system? 

IME, 24/192 is as good or better than DSD ADC, depending on the other components used, their quality, and synergy. 

For vinyl ADC conversion, why not use the Pure Music/Pure Vinyl software?
It is excellent. RIAA in the digi range with 64 bit architecture. 

The associated interface ADCs range from good to TOTL.
Eg, from Focusrite for a few hundred bucks,
to an Apogee Duet for about $600, 
to a better Lynx Hil
to the TOTL Seta designed/engineered by Rob Robinson, who is of course, the owner/designer of Pure Vinyl  $3500. 
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o_holter OP
952 posts
 
tgraber2 - rack mounted yes, well, even better, everything on its own dampened shelf, audiophile style. Trying to get the best environment for the recorder.

PCM better than DSD on the Tascam? Not so in my system. DSD is the reason I bought this recorder.  In my system, recording from a top level vinyl rig, the format difference is very clear.
No one is up there with direct analog. Thats the way it is. All digital formats are poorer. More or less. Double DSD is closest to analog. Then single dsd. Then the best pcm 192/24, then the next best, and so on, down to mp3.
Prove me wrong - this is what I hear.



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o_holter OP
952 posts
 
tgraber2 - i dont want to sound like a "format fetishist" proclaiming the value of the recorder at its top capability  - good sound depends on a lot more than the format, like your write.

I have been wondering, should I use the DA3000 only as a recorder, and get another / better DAC. Not as simple as it seems, however. The DA3000 plays DSD raw / native, while external DACs are less reliable, may introduce noise, not to speak of down conversion (DoP) etc. Although the use of the DA3000 in dual roles - switching between playback DAC and recorder - is  inconvenient - and the playback user interface is restricted, no remote control, etc.

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