DAT Tapes???

[Andy]

Anyone had a chance to listen to a DAT tape recently? Tom Port told me the DAT tapes that DCC gold discs are recorded or mastered (not sure about the exact terminology) from sound better than the cd. The way it was explained to me was that the problem with digital music is not that it’s digital it’s that the cd medium is flawed. I just wanted to see what other members here thought. The only thing I can say with any certainty is Tom has a much more critical ear than I.

[Grant]

Most DAT tapes are 16-bit/48k or 44.1k. There are 24-bit DAT recorders with sampling rates anywhere from 32k to 96k.

Since there really isn't much sonic difference, if any, between 48k and 44.1k DAT,I fail to see if DATs do sound better unless the bit depth is better than 16-bit.

There are many things that could and do affect the sound of CD playback, so if someone (like our own Steve Hoffman) says that a DAT sounds better there could be a sound reason. Heh!

If you have a DAT at 16-bit/44.1k, and a CD, ideally, the only differences you may hear should be because of the converters of the respective player. All things being equal, there should be no differences.