Tascam DA-20 = Fostex D-5??
David Warren
D-5 and Tascam DA-20. The price range of the D-5 is
similar to the DA-30 MKII but I couldn't beleive my eyes
when comparing the photos of the DA-20 and D-5, they are
identical. I would even bet that somehow they're sharing
the same production cast to build their housings. How
could this be since they are arch competitors?
Does anyone have any inside info on this? I've been
struggling with the purchase of my first DAT mastering
deck and now (with the DA-20) I am totally confused.
Any thoughts would be appreciated,
Dave Warren
Nicholas Velharticky
They do look similar, but they are not identical. I spoke to a tech
person at Teac Canada who said that the Fostex and Tascam use the same
chassis for their respective machines (which chassis is made by Panasonic,
I believe he said, but I'll have to double-check on that).
One of the 3-way switches in the lower left hand corner of the front
panel and the buttons beside it have different functions on
the D-5 and the DA-20. On the Fostex, the leftmost 3-way switch is for
INPUT (analog XLR, digital AES/EBU, optical S/PDIF), whereas, on the DA-20,
the leftmost 3-way switch is for TIMER (rec, off, repeat play). The
D-5 has an error check button, whereas the corresponding button on the
DA-20 is an input button. The D-5 has a set button; the corresponding
button on the DA-20 is execute (they may do the same thing; I
haven't worked with a DA-20 yet). And on the right-hand side of the
DA-20 is a button labeled "character"; I think the corresponding
button on the D-5 is labeled "wireless" (somebody check on that for
me; I rented a D-5 a few weeks ago and memory may not serve too well).
I don't think that the DA-20 has an error checking feature, as the
D-5 does. And I know that the back-panel jacks are not the same,
since the D-5 has AES/EBU XLR connectors and balanced analog ins
(XLRs), whereas the DA-20 has only S/PDIF coax and probably unbalanced
RCA analog ins, if it's like the DA-88 and the DA-30 mk II.
I was also considering getting a DA-20 -- the ad I saw in _Sound on Sound_
indicated that SCMS defeat was possible on the machine. I figure that
it is the same deal as with the DA-30; you'll probably have to cut a
jumper inside to disable SCMS copy protection on anything recorded
from the analog ins.
But the suggested retail price of the DA-20 seems pretty close to the
DA-30 mk II's. I wonder whether the DA-20's price will drop
significantly; else, I can't see why anyone who was planning to buy
one wouldn't spend the little bit extra to get the DA-30 mk II.
As far as I know, the DA-20s are not in Canada yet; but the fellow at
Teac said they would be in by mid-August. Suggested retail: $1600
Canadian.
Hope this info helps.
Cheers :')
Nick
--
Nick Velharticky | "Not only do I deny the allegation,
vel...@epas.utoronto.ca | but I also deny the allegator."
| -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson
C.M. Hicks
>But the suggested retail price of the DA-20 seems pretty close to the
>DA-30 mk II's. I wonder whether the DA-20's price will drop
>significantly; else, I can't see why anyone who was planning to buy
>one wouldn't spend the little bit extra to get the DA-30 mk II.
Not in the UK. The DA-20 is 800 pounds, and the DA-30/II is 1400
pounds, both inclusive of 17.5% sales tax.
Christopher
--
=======================================================
Christopher Hicks http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/~cmh
c...@eng.cam.ac.uk Voice: (+44) 1223 3 32767
=======================================================
A. I. Nordahl
production)
Fortex D-5 are also made by Casio.
TACSCAM is the Pro and Semipro
TEAC is Low-Fi(not always) but its is the same firm.
Like Studer PRO-Line
Revox Semi pro
Made in Switzerland and Germany By WILLY STUDER
Mr.Studer is dead, and his company is own by arabs,and other
investors.
Ok...Does it help?-I hope so.
YOURS TRULY:
"Credo et Dobito"
ARVID I.NORDAHL
OSLO,NORWAY
e-mail anor...@powertech.no
Sean Olive
>
>In article <3v8hir$b...@tott.powertech.no>,
>A. I. Nordahl <anor...@powertech.no> wrote:
>>Mr.Studer is dead, and his company is own by arabs,and other
>>investors.
>
Thanks Gabe for that correction. Yes, Harman International bought
Studer almost 2 years ago.
Harman is publicly owned and is traded on the NY Stock exchange under
HAR. So it is probably partially true to say Studer is "owned by Arabs
and other investors" , although I don't think the shareholders are all
necessarily Arabs.
The largest individual shareholder is Dr. Sydney Harman who owns about
20-25% of Harman's shares, and I think it is accurate to say that he is
not Arab.
Cheers,
Sean Olive
Manager Subjective Evaluation, R&D Group
Harman International
Gabe Wiener
A. I. Nordahl <anor...@powertech.no> wrote:
>Mr.Studer is dead, and his company is own by arabs,and other
>investors.
Studer is owned by Harman International.
--
Gabe Wiener Dir., Quintessential Sound, Inc. |"I am terrified at the thought
Recording-Mastering-Restoration (212)586-4200 | that so much hideous and bad
PGM Early Music Recordings ---> (800)997-1750 | music may be put on records
ga...@panix.com http://www.panix.com/~gabe | forever." --Sir Arthur Sullivan