Tascam DA-3000

Jwm - People I have talked to like the Korg better than the Tascam. But, to each his own.

I do not have the Tascam but I do have a Korg MR-2000s. When you record, it recreates files that are a a maximum of 1 GB. A typical album side is greater than 1 GB, so I end up with a 1 GB file and maybe a .3 GB file.  When I input the files into Korg's AudioGate software, it puts the files together into 1 file (1.3 GB in this case) and everything is fine. I do not think Tascam has software comparable to AudioGate, so you would have to have your processing software put them back together.

At 24/192 or DSD 128 I typically get a album side in well less than 2 GB. So, if you are worried about the software putting the files back together, you can just record one side at a time. If one side goes over 2 GB, you could have the Tascam to create a new file for each track. You can do that with the Tascam's Auto Track function or by manually hitting the Record button  (page 28 of the manual).

Hopefully you will get some input from a DA-3000 user with direct experience.

You might also want to look at the new Korg DS-DAC-10R. It is just coming out and the software is not out yet, but it looks like a nice product. It connects directly to your PC for digitizing. It is $600, i believe, which is less than the Tascam.

I do not have the Tascam but I do have a Korg MR-2000s. When you record, it recreates files that are a a maximum of 1 GB. A typical album side is greater than 1 GB, so I end up with a 1 GB file and maybe a .3 GB file. When I input the files into Korg's AudioGate software, it puts the files together into 1 file (1.3 GB in this case) and everything is fine. I do not think Tascam has software comparable to AudioGate, so you would have to have your processing software put them back together.

At 24/192 or DSD 128 I typically get a album side in well less than 2 GB. So, if you are worried about the software putting the files back together, you can just record one side at a time. If one side goes over 2 GB, you could have the Tascam create a new file for each track. You can do that with the Tascam's Auto Track function or by manually hitting the Record button (page 28 of the manual).

Hopefully you will get some input from a DA-3000 user with direct experience.

You might also want to look at the new Korg DS-DAC-10R. It is just coming out and the software is not out yet, but it looks like a nice product. It connects directly to your PC for digitizing. It is $600, i believe, which is less than the Tascam.

I think Busman Audio has experience modding the Tascam. Not sure exactly what they replace, but you might want to talk to Chris about his experience. I know he did the Korg MR-2000s.

If you are interested in Spectral quality (and price) you can look at Merging Technologies Horus or the Grimm AD1. At an intermediate price, there is the Ayre QA-9. I am not familiar with the design of their input stages.

Dhl93449 - there is an Ayre QB-9 listed for sale here. The B is the successor to the Ayre with DSD, but opnly does 88 MHz DSD.

There is a Korg MR2000 available here for $900. Busman does mods to those. They did mine and the recordings at 24/192 are very comparable to my turntable. The Korg records to a disk but than you can transfer to a PC via USB. That unit is no longer made, but was a "low end" professional unit.

Opps, my mistake.

Did you look at the old Korg or the new DS-DAC-10R?

The Korg MR2000 has been discontinued but it records to disk as you want. Don't know about the op amps, but, as I said above, Busman Audio modified mine with, among other things, different op amps.

It will be interesting to see what you think of the Tascam.

Ozzy - Have you tried Vinyl Studio for processing files? It includes a album lookup feature to get timings and names for album tracks, which makes it easy it pretty easy to split tracks. It does take a little time but, for me, it is better than sitting in front of the unit hitting a button. I spend that time working on another album in VS.

Thanks for the update. I typically digitize at 24/192 but from your report, that is no going to make enough difference to make the Tascam viable. I know Chris at Busman modded one. Not sure if he can help. Did you look at the Korg MR-2000?

No experience with the Benchmark and I don't read much about it anywhere. John Atkinson did a short review of it and compared it to the Ayre.

Benchmark ADC1

Sounds like you may need a Horus but your wallet may not like it.

Bruce Brown from Puget Sound Studios did an interesting test of 5 A to D converters. This was a DSD comparison. He put the files blind on his website and people downloaded and listened. The thread is long, but interesting to skim through. He provided files from a Merging Horus, Grimm AD1, EMM Labs ADC8, Korg MR-2000(modded) and a Tascam DS-3000. There are some passing very positive comments on the Aye QA-9. There are lots of opinions, but the Merging and Grimm generally came out on top. The Tascam was generally on the bottom. Clearly in this test, price mattered.

Bruce Brown Comparison

Sounds like you are making progress. I will say one reason I went with my Korg was to avoid usb.

I think you can output to the usb and the Tascam at the same time. It might be interesting to do that and compare the wav files. I believe you can also do 24/192 to the Tascam if that is of interest. Not sure the usb supports that.

Good stuff. Hope the Benchmark works.

Music Direct and Benchmark themselves also have trial periods.

I agree I would rather go straight to disk, but if you have a computer near by you can go direct. All you are sending is the bits, the timing is not an issue. For the price of the Tascam you can even buy a PC and then transfer to your main system over Ethernet. You could even use the PC as your music player if you do not have one already.

I'll be interested in the results you get from the Benchmark.

If you happen to be in the Boston area, you can try my Korg.

Topten - sorry for diverting the thread. Have you make any decisions?

Yes, my mistake. I was thinking the phono preamp was separate, but it is part of the preamp. The tape outputs sound like the best test.

Al - your theory would be easy to test. All he has to do is turn off the Spectral pre and record from the Tascam, using the headphone jack as the monitor. Then, turn on the pre and listen to what was recorded. My guess, is he will get the same result. There is other evidence that the input section of the Tascam is not as good as that on other higher priced ADCs. But it would be an interesting and quick little experiment to do.