Sony TCD-D7
A full-performance DAT recorder that fit in a vest pocket - and cost less than a studio deck.
Overview
The TCD-D7 is roughly the size of an analog cassette Walkman from a few years earlier - about 5 x 4 x 1¾ inches - and weighs just over a pound. It still carries full digital-audio conversion and the DAT features that mattered most. Sony billed it at $629.95. Electronic Musician (the review carried the byline of Daniel Kumin) reckoned that at a street price well under $600 for the deck, or a little more than $700 for a fully functional package with accessories, it was "a steal" as a second deck for tape-dubbing and portable use. The same review sized it up as a legitimate primary DAT for a small studio, one that could also disappear into a pocket for trips to another studio or for sample acquisition, provided the owner spent about $200 on accessories.
The converters are the interesting part. The D7 uses 1-bit A/D and D/A converters, and the reviewer found it stood up "amazingly" against full-sized decks. The numbers back that up. Audio (June 1994, p.51) measured an A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio of 87.9 dB in each channel, and in the fade-to-noise test the deck's linearity held excellent all the way down to approximately −100 dB. The published specs are frequency response of 20 Hz to 22 kHz, ±1 dB; greater than 90 dB dynamic range; and .008% THD at 1 kHz. On paper, that's a lot of performance for a box this small.
A few things about recording behavior are worth knowing. In its normal SP mode, the D7 records at DAT-standard 48 kHz when sampling from its analog inputs. Fed a digital input, it automatically clones the sampling frequency of the source - 48, 44.1, or 32 kHz. It includes the SCMS copy-inhibit scheme, so only first-generation digital-to-digital copies are possible. Audio (June 1994, p.50) noted the machine permits first-generation digital dubs from sources such as CDs, DCC tapes, or MiniDiscs but prevents digital copies of the copies. There's also an automatic level-limiting function for headphone volume, which presumably extends battery life somewhat.
The D7 is easy enough to operate, though its controls are small and somewhat cramped. It sets no records in fast-winding - a DAT-90 tape took a minute end-to-end - but the transport keys work positively and relatively quickly, ID seeking was fast and sure, and there's a two-speed audible cue/review. The display is fussy and small but well laid out. It has a two-channel, 11-segment, 50 dB-scale input-level meter, a four-segment battery meter, and assorted numerics and indicators. The window is tough to read in dim light, but the blue backlight makes a large difference in legibility, at the cost of battery life. The D7 never truly shuts off, because there's no power switch. After a few minutes in unattended Pause or Stop, the tape automatically unwraps and the backlight, if on, turns off. The alloy-resin chassis and simple leather case seem roadworthy enough, though not the equal of a hardshell case.
For the sound test, the reviewer compared CD dubs and multitrack mixes against a full-sized JVC studio DAT. The lack of distinguishing audio artifacts between the two machines was impressive. The D7's analog input tracks were just a hair noisier than the studio deck's and seemed slightly restricted spatially, front-to-back, but that was about it. Nothing would discourage mastering a high-end demo or a serious reference on the little Sony. Field recordists agreed: the TCD-D7 turns up in the period literature as a working tool, tracking sound effects direct-to-digital on location and serving as the capture deck for field recordings later manipulated in the studio.
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