Denon MAT-4 (c. 1987)
The Denon MAT-4 is a full-size Digital Audio Tape (DAT) deck from the early consumer DAT era. It survives mainly in the hands of dedicated enthusiasts, and the documentation that remains is largely technical.
The MAT-4 uses a rotary-head helical scan recording system, the same basic approach as a VCR, adapted for 3.81 mm metal particle tape in a DAT cassette. The service manual confirms a 30 mm head drum spinning at 1800 rpm, a tape speed of 8.15 mm/s in SP mode, and a relative head-to-tape speed of 3.133 m/s. It records at 48, 44.1, or 32 kHz sampling rates with 16-bit linear quantization, and uses double-encoded Reed Solomon error correction. The spec sheet is solid for the era: frequency response of 20 Hz-20 kHz ±0.5 dB, THD of 0.005% or less, dynamic range of 92 dB or better, and channel separation of 85 dB or better.
Some internal details. The A/D converter is a Sony CXA-1110, the D/A converter is a Burr-Brown PCM-62P, and the digital filter is a Sony CXA-1101. The DAC stage is described as multi-bit delta-sigma (1-bit) conversion. The DAT mechanism was built by Denon, not cloned from a common Sony transport, though it shares the heads-and-drum assembly approach typical of early DAT machines. The head has a 3-µm magnetic gap.
The MAT-4 has both analog and digital connections. Analog inputs are 100 mV into 47 kΩ. Outputs are 2 V RMS from 50 Ω. Digital I/O includes both coaxial (RCA, 0.5 V p-p, 75 Ω) and optical (TOSLINK). There's a 3.5 mm headphone jack on the front panel (5 mW into 32 Ω), and a wired remote control (RC-129) was included. Power consumption is 28W, dimensions are 435 × 145 × 335 mm, and it weighs 8.5 kg.
The record on the MAT-4's history is thin. A single eBay listing claims a 1987 introduction. That is plausible, since the DAT standard was ratified in 1986-87, but no other source corroborates the year. No original price has surfaced.
Owner reports, mostly from AudioKarma, paint a mixed picture. The transport is described as sturdy and quiet, and sound quality is praised - arguably better than most early-90s consumer decks. The analog input stage can introduce a faint hiss (not an issue with digital sources), and the transport can be finicky with certain tape brands, TDK specifically. The most common failure is the loader belt, a standard replacement.
Current asking prices found: $250 and $400, from isolated listings. No meaningful market average exists.
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