I need a professional external sound card to digitally transfer recordings
from a portable DAT player (with a 7-pin I/O jack) to PC. Would appreciate a
suggestion. Private replies welcome - Noam

The card is easy - just about any one will do. Do you want a real
"card" (that plugs into the PCI bus of a computer) or do you want an
"interface" that connects to the computer through a Firewire or USB
port? Any one of a large pool that has a coaxial S/PDIF input will do
the job adequately. Pick your price and convenience level.

I need an "interface", because I don't know how to open a computer and
install cards.

The cable to connect to the digital I/O connector on yhour DAT
recorder is a bit harder to find. Here's a link to a reliable source
(Oade Brothers). Better be sitting down when you check the price.

I can get it from core-sound for $45 (not rugged), but they all have a
coaxial RCA connection, so I need an "interface" with a coax (RCA) inputs.
Do these interfaces come with software to complete the DAT-to-CD transfer?

http://www.core-sound.com/7-pin-coax...l#INTRODUCTION

You may decide that your recordings aren't so pristine that you have to
make a digital transfer.

They are pristine - seriously. The other options I am considering is simply
connecting the DAT (through the SONY 7 pin) to the
coax (RCA) input of the Alesis Masterlink ($800)
http://www.alesis.com/products/ml9600/

OR

connecting the DAT to the optical input of a standalone CD recorder (or into
the coax RCA input - if there is one).

What do you think about these options?

thanks for the (coax/optical) input - Noam

Transfer what you have on DAT to your computer then sell the recorder and
the sound card in favor of a Nomad Jukebox 3. You'll thank us the first
time you transfer a 2-hour recording to the computer in 5 minutes over
Firewire and don't have to buy more batteries or tapes. Ever.

The Nomad Jukebox 3 has a microphone jack? Does this it employ obligatory
AGC (Automatic Gain Control)? That
would be a big drawback.
2) What is the quality of the preamp? Is it as poor as most minidiscs, or is
it DAT quality? How easy is it to set recording volume levels manually?
3) How well does it work with external mics, are there different mic input
settings (like High and Low (-20db) to avoid brickwalling?

Can this thing really compete with DAT for live high quality recordings

Noam

Transfer what you have on DAT to your computer then sell the recorder
and
the sound card in favor of a Nomad Jukebox 3. You'll thank us the first
time you transfer a 2-hour recording to the computer in 5 minutes over
Firewire and don't have to buy more batteries or tapes. Ever.

The Nomad Jukebox 3 has a microphone jack? Does this it employ obligatory
AGC (Automatic Gain Control)? That
would be a big drawback.

No AGC, and unfortunately no mic preamp. Still, the mic preamps in the
pro-sumer grade DAT decks like yours do more harm than good. Better to have
a low level than have that preamp crap all over the tone. I field tested
with a pair of guitar pedals as preamps and it sounded better. For loud
shows use the line input. A Behringer MXB1002 is only $99 and is handy for
a hell of a lot more than just battery powered preamps and phantom power.
But kiss any ideas of stealthing goodbye.

2) What is the quality of the preamp? Is it as poor as most minidiscs, or
is
it DAT quality? How easy is it to set recording volume levels manually?

There is no analog input control, only digital gain adjustment, again an
outboard rig is necessary.

3) How well does it work with external mics, are there different mic input
settings (like High and Low (-20db) to avoid brickwalling?

Can't clip the line input without an outboard preamp. At loud shows I slap
a 9V into my Rode NT4 and go straight in with the provided minijack cable
(thanks Rode!), works great.

Can this thing really compete with DAT for live high quality recordings

As a digital transport it's excellent, and its analog line input is easily
on par with any portable DAT. No portable DAT has a good front-end, so the
NJB3's lack of preamps is of no concern if it's high end you're after. Even
that Behringer board will keep up with a Tascam DA-P1's preamps. Wherever
possible I use a DBX 386 and go digital into the NJB3, along with the Rode
NT4 it's an extremely cost-effective combo. If you're hell-bent on pristine
portable quality you'll have to get a Grace Lunatec V2 or V3 sooner or later
no matter what transport you use.

The bottom line is that DAT represents an inconvenience factor that
supercedes sound quality concerns. What good is optimal quality if it
prevents you from recording? Until you become accustomed to having a NJB3
around, you can't appreciate how much more you get recorded compared to DAT.
It's comparable to the difference between film and digital cameras.

From May 2003 to May 2004 I averaged over an hour of live recording per day
for a full year, and in Sept 2003 I recorded, polished, and burned to CD
over 50 hours of live recordings in one month. Try that with DAT. You
won't have much time left for more gainful work, and you won't make it three
months before you've spent the cost of a NJB3 on batteries and tapes. All I
paid for was CD-R's and gas, and I still worked 30+ hrs a week.

"Noam" wrote in message

Transfer what you have on DAT to your computer then sell the
recorder and the sound card in favor of a Nomad Jukebox 3. You'll
thank us the first time you transfer a 2-hour recording to the
computer in 5 minutes over Firewire and don't have to buy more
batteries or tapes. Ever.

Rather than just posting "what he said" to Sugarite's factual post, let me
confirm his claims in my own words:

The Nomad Jukebox 3 has a microphone jack?

NO.

Does this it employ obligatory AGC (Automatic Gain Control)?

NO.

That would be a big drawback.

Agreed.

2) What is the quality of the preamp?

There is no mic preamp in a NJB3. Its line input performs near the
theoretical limits of the 16/44 format if you run it near 0 dB gain. It's
digital input performs even better.

How easy is it to set recording volume levels manually?

I don't set levels on my NJB3, I just set its record gain for 0 dB and set
levels on my Behr MXB 1002.

3) How well does it work with external mics, are there different mic input
settings (like High and Low (-20db) to
avoid brickwalling?

Read my lips - if you want to do legitimate recording with a NJB3, just get
a good small mixer.

If you want to go bootleg, pay lots more bucks for dedicated mic preamps
that have far less flexibility, but do have the desired smaller size.

Can this thing really compete with DAT for live high quality recordings

No doubt. Plus the NJB3 is a ton more convenient than DAT if you want to do
quality work. To me quality work in live recording means touching up the
recording using DAW sofware on a computer. You can move recorded files off a
NJB3 and into a comptuer a lot faster than real time, unlike a DAT.

A NJB3 has two types of modes of recording - .wav file format for exacting
work like a DAT, and high-bitrate MP3 format like a MD recorder.

You can handle far longer recording sessions with a NJB3.

As long as you keep the environmental shock and vibration within reason, the
NJB3's hard drive is vastly more reliable than DAT tapes, and far more
resuable. Dust and dirt is far less of an issue with the NJB3 because the
critical guts are sealed.. Plus, NJB3s are dirt cheap, as B-stock direct
from the manufacturer on eBay.

If you start trying to estimate how many DAT tapes worth of recording time
there is on a 20 GB NJB3 hard drive in .wav file format, or how many MD
discs worth of recording there are in MP3 format, you'll probably be truely
amazed. And if you are handy with tools or lucky on eBay, a 60 GB NJB3 is
not beyond reason.

In article writes:

I can get it from core-sound for $45 (not rugged), but they all have a
coaxial RCA connection, so I need an "interface" with a coax (RCA) inputs.
Do these interfaces come with software to complete the DAT-to-CD transfer?

Lots. About the simplest and least expensive is from Edirol. UD-1A or
something like that. Look on their web site.

They are pristine - seriously. The other options I am considering is simply
connecting the DAT (through the SONY 7 pin) to the
coax (RCA) input of the Alesis Masterlink ($800)

OR

connecting the DAT to the optical input of a standalone CD recorder (or into
the coax RCA input - if there is one).

You can't connect a coax output to an optical input and vice versa
unless you put an adapter in line. Those aren't that expensive but
it's an extra piece. Either a Masterlink or stand-alone CD player will
work fine, too. Pay your money and take your choice. No particular
reason to use one over the other, or over your computer other than
convenience.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

In article writes:

The Nomad Jukebox 3 has a microphone jack? Does this it employ obligatory
AGC (Automatic Gain Control)?

It has a jack. It has a menu selection for mic input. It has no AGC.
You can set gain from the menu and watch the dinky meters.

2) What is the quality of the preamp? Is it as poor as most minidiscs, or is
it DAT quality?

It isn't really a preamp and the mic input sucks. I never use it. They
get the gain on the digital side and boost the noise by 35 dB along
with it. With a microphhone, it's about as quiet as a cassette
recorder.

How easy is it to set recording volume levels manually?

It's easy enough to set (scroll wheel) but you don't want to ride the
gain because it mutes momentarily when you change the gain.

3) How well does it work with external mics, are there different mic input
settings (like High and Low (-20db) to avoid brickwalling?

Only the gain control. I suspect that with a loud source or a
particularly sensitive mic it might be OK, but I record relatively
quiet stuff and need 50-60 dB of gain, which gives me more noise than
I want to put up with. I do not use the mic input at all.

Can this thing really compete with DAT for live high quality recordings

Yes, with a clean input signal. In fact, I'd say its A/D converters
are better than those in any of my DAT recorders.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

I can get it from core-sound for $45 (not rugged), but they all have a
coaxial RCA connection, so I need an "interface" with a coax (RCA)
inputs.
Do these interfaces come with software to complete the DAT-to-CD
transfer?

Lots. About the simplest and least expensive is from Edirol. UD-1A or
something like that. Look on their web site.

I'm going to order the M-Audio's Audiophile USB Digital I/O interface from
Core Sound (http://www.core-sound.com/audiophile_usb.html), the best price
on-line (I need an interface with a coaxial input, the only way to transfer
from 7-pin, as 7-pin to optical are no longer made by anyone).

This is what I was told about the Nomad Jukebox 3: sound is DAT quality, you
pretty much have to use an external preamp for decent classical sound, and
the input jack is notoriously flaky. Setting it up properly to record is
tricky (meters are not good, implemented in an upgrade to the firmware),
many prefer to use an external preamp/AD converter to bypass all the
internal stuff. Some have an issue with reliability, though others claim
to have it running dependably.
The batteries are proprietary and hard to find, and some people have
trouble getting the full life out of them. - Noam