techmoan
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A Hi-Fi Unicorn - The first Integrated Digital Audio Tape Recorder
🕑 Added 2020-07-08 18:10:24 +0000 UTCI finally managed to finish this video I’ve been working on for the last couple of weeks. So here it is, a look at the first integrated Digital Audio Tape Recorder.
Complicated videos like this really do take it out of me nowadays, but I felt this one deserved all the stops pulling out. It wouldn’t have been possible to make this without the support of all the patrons here. So naturally you get the usual advance screening. I hope you enjoy it. All being well, this one will go public on Saturday.
Tomorrow I’m rearranging a couple of things in the ‘studio’ but when I’m happy, I’ll get right on with shooting the next Patreon update video. A lot of people have congratulated me on the channel reaching one million subscribers, so I’ll no doubt talk a little about that and throw in a few other topics as well. If it all works out, I plan to have that video on here at the weekend.
I’ll be moving the release of the (shortened) dust-off head-to-head video on a week.
Have a good one (or two).
UPDATE: A re-edit has been made to apply a slight correction. This is the version now posted above.
Comments
Techmoan
I’ve yet to try my PCM-F1 combo system - with it being 16 bit it should really sound as good as a CD - and many CDs started off on the F1. I saw an article from back in the day about a famous sound engineer who recorded classical concerts for CD releases. He tended to record them on a PCM-F1 but he also took along a giant professional fridge sized PCM recorder at the same time, because he found that people didn’t take him seriously if he just rolled up carrying the F1 and they thought he wasn’t taking them seriously either. So to make sure he looked like he was earning his wage, he carted a load of unnecessary equipment along.
Gordo
Excellent video Matt, takes me back to my recording studio days when we used a PCM-F1 & SL-F1 combo for mastering. Now I'm thinking I'll have to get a PCM-F1 (I already have an SLF-1 recorder) and do some tests to see if it sounds as good as I remember.. Your outro sounded the same to me - that would be down to that last step your processing chain - analog audio -> perception-of-sound in my noggin.. Weird seeing a 'dew alert' indicator on an audio recorder though..
Per Hedetun
Very late to the party with this comment, but I'm already on my third wee dram for the evening so here goes: Isn't the most plausible explanation for audio playback through a VHS player that the PCM-stream is actually being decoded by the player's NICAM circuitry? NICAM is also PCM-based, running at 14 bits with a 32 kHz sampling rate. The similarity, yet incompatibility, would explain the drop-outs during playback. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NICAM The Orion Combi 650VR isn't all that old, from what I gather (2003?) Thus, it might have a NICAM decoder in it without the fact being advertised on the box. It seems to have a headphone output - whether or not stereophonic sound comes out of it would indicate a definitive answer. BTW, also like that the SV-P100 has an indicator marked "dew check". Wouldn't want that early-morning mist interfering with your hi-fi enjoyment... 😳
