Tascam DA-3000

DTC
Did not look at the Korg 10R, but it does not appear to be significantly better than the Tascam 3000. It uses a different op amp (OPA1662) instead of the 5532, and has built in phono preamp (which I don't need or want, I'll use my Spectral DMC-10). Plus, it cannot record directly to digital media like a USB drive or memory card like the Tascam can. The Korg must be connected to a computer via a USB cable to save digital files. The Tascam is much more of a stand alone solution. I have not auditioned the OPA1662 vs the OPA627 so I cannot comment on that.

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.

Dtc:

I got my DA-3000 today. It has a large number of op amps, either 5532s or 2114s (JRCs version of the 5532). No matter. Sound quality is mediocre at best.

I did a test recording of Blind Faith "Had to cry today" because I have the UK vinyl LP and three different versions on CD (US Polydor 1986, German RSO 1986, and 2001 "deluxe edition"). The vinyl sounds better than any of the CD versions, so a faithful recording of the LP has a leg up. I recorded a 24 bit, 96K copy of the song direct from the outputs of the Spectral DMC-10 (what I listen to, not the tape monitor) and converted the .wav file to FLAC with dB Poweramp. I then A/B'd with all the CD versions and the LP playing directly.

The copy recording made with the 3000 could not hold a candle to the LP. Period. Not even close. It was not even as good as most of the CD versions (although these are all different sounding from the LP). Symbols, in particular, were "mushed" and distorted compared to the vinyl.

Actually quite disappointed. Swapping opamps is not really practical due to the large number. And what is worse, it appears all these amps are cap coupled with electrolytic caps. Without a schematic, modding is not even possible.

For making copies of rare, vinyl not released on CD, or maybe versions were the CD is unlistenable, maybe the DA-3000 will work. But don't expect that vinyl air and magic to come through in the recording.

And I also found out the DA-3000 will NOT record to USB drives, only CF or SD cards. It will not even function with USB HDs. It will only play back from a USB drive. So you have to record your files to an SD card and then convert it or transfer it to a USB drive on another computer. You can transfer files on the DA-3000 directly, but it very complex and slow. Better done on an outboard PC.

Looks like I'll be looking for an Ayre.

Anyone used a Benchmark ADC1? Reviews indicate it may sound close to the Ayre at about half the cost.