Tascam DA-40 DAT Recorder Shipping

January 28, 1999 --

TASCAM, a world leader in professional audio products and related accessories is proud to introduce the DA-40 Digital Audio Tape Recorder, the new standard in professional DAT mastering, at the NAMM Convention, held from January 28 to 31 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, Booth W1015. The DA-40 is the worthy successor of TASCAM’s industry standard DA-30mkII, providing additional functionality and reliability.

“The DA-40 represents a technological leap in performance over the legendary DA-30mkII,” says Roscoe Anthony, marketing manager for TASCAM. “With the DA-40, TASCAM offers a superior performance machine that is comfortable in the most demanding professional environments at a price point that allows the project studio to enjoy the benefits of a high-end mastering DAT machine.”

The DA-40 offers an impressive range of controls, sampling rates, and analog and digital I/O, thus allowing the unit to seamlessly interface with existing audio systems of any complexity. The new features added to the DA-40 include trim controls for the analog, XLR outputs, character pack recording and playback, two memory locate points, variable AUTO ID time setting from one-half to three seconds in half-second steps, auto END ID recording, variable REC Mute time from two to seven seconds in one second steps, and programmable repeat times.

Standard sampling frequencies supported are 48kHz, 44.1kHz and 32kHz (SP and LP mode) at 16-bit linear resolution for SP mode and 12-bit non-linear for LP mode. The full-featured I/O section includes XLR balanced analog and RCA unbalanced analog I/O; menu selectable digital outputs supporting AES/EBU (AES3-1992) or IEC60958 Type II (SPDIF) through XLR balanced or RCA unbalanced (coaxial) outputs; and auto selected digital inputs supporting AES/EBU or IEC60958 Type II through XLR balanced or RCA unbalanced (coaxial) inputs.

The DA-40 includes a full-featured shuttle/data dial, SCMS-free recording with selectable copy ID, D-Sub 15-pin parallel interface, independent left and right channel analog level controls and a CAL/UNCAL level switch for the analog inputs. The unit occupies three rack units with standard 19-inch mountings. The DA-40 has an optional RC-D45 wired remote control. The transport allows up to 120 minutes of recording in SP mode with a standard 120-minute DAT tape (240 minutes in LP mode) with a head drum speed of 2,000 rpm in SP mode and 1,000 rpm in LP mode. Fast-wind time equals 60 seconds for a 120-minute tape end to end.

The DA-40 delivers a frequency response of 20 to 20,000Hz at ± 0.5dB in SP mode and 20 to 14,500Hz ± 0.5dB in LP mode with a signal-to-noise ratio better than 92dB and a dynamic range of better than 93dB. Total harmonic distortion in less than 0.005 percent in SP mode (0.075 percent in LP mode) with channel separation better than 90dB at 1kHz, full-scale. Wow and flutter are virtually unmeasurable. Power consumption is a thrifty 21 Watts and operates in both AC 120V 60Hz and AC 230V 50Hz power environments.

“We listened closely to DA-30mkII users expressing their desire for extended controls and performance, without compromising sound quality,” Anthony states. “The DA-40 delivers exceptional audio and transport stability, while meeting the demand for specific feature enhancements. The DA-40 is unquestionably the new standard in high end digital mastering decks.”

For more information, visit the Tascam web site at www.tascam.com.