[19lexicon78]

 
hi,
 
just bought a sony pcm 7010.
i know the 10 has different motors than the 30 and 50, are the heads also different?
what about the 7040.
which of the series is best for audiophiles?
 
 
greets,
stan

 

[19lexicon78]

 
perhaps somebody has knowledge about these?

 

[sterling1]

I have a pair of Sony PCM-7010F DAT Recorders connected to a Sony RM-D7200 Dual Remote Controller. These units have been  primarily used for archiving radio commercials  produced by my creative company. The unit's have memory start, time-code generator, AES-EBU, IEC 958, Word Clock, and S/PDIF digital in/outs, as well as balanced analog in/outs.. These recorders sound, in my opinion, as good as it gets. They're built like a tank, and Sony still services them. Flat rate is about $895.00 for full service/repair. The unit's are obsolete; yet, I love 'em. With the RM-D7200, simple automatic editing is possible with accuracy to within 3 frames. With these unit's outfitted with all options, they cost me about $7200.00 each in 1995. The remote was another $2750.00. The PCM-7010 is, I've been told, the best sounding of the 7000 series, perhaps, something to do with its DAC, I have never compared to other recorders in the series. I can tell you these  units are way beyond typical consumer audio equipment build quality. I've had other DAT recorders, including Sony 57es and 87es decks, which sound good, but, don't have any sort of playback/recording/editing capability such as the 7000 series. I think you will come to appreciate your PCM-7010 as the jewel in your audiophile system, for both playback and recording. As long as Sony is servicing these units you will  enjoy yours, I'm sure. 

 

[19lexicon78]

 
nice to read.
 
yes, i've also red, the 7010 is the best one.
but from other readings, it's the 7030.
indeed, the 2 dac's of the 7010 seem to be very good. perhaps you could use this unit also as a dac. my 7010 has 126 hours, so it's still "young".
 
also red the panasonics are good ones.

 

[sterling1]

I hope you have an operator's manual for your PCM-7010.  There is an extensive list of recording/playback parameters  you can access from the menu which can make  the PCM-7010 more useful than alternative devices. In 1995, or thereabouts, this recording concept replaced professional 1/4 inch reel to reel analog recorders in many post production studios across the globe. The Panasonic 3800 was also popular but less capable. Today, a laptop computer with iTunes and Audacity can do almost everything you can do with the PCM-7010; but, 15 years ago it was state-of-the-art, coming to the aid of production engineers and artists long before  CD recorders and wide spread computer based recording became common. For mastering and archiving I still like DAT; and, I use the PCM-7010's regularly for those purposes and more, like transcribing my LP collection to DAT, and then to CD and iTunes.

 

[19lexicon78]

 
i do have a manual for the 7040.
there are so many options, i don't think i'll use 99% of them.
perhaps you can tell, which ones to use for recording from LP's or cd's?
oja, the setting 32khz, tapes will have 2x more hours. use the 32 or use the 44 one?
 
ok, so the panasonics aren't that good.

 

[sterling1]

I record at 44.1.  LP to DAT, I set the PCM-7010 to create start ID's between LP tracks. This is done by  setting  the threshold level at which  start ID's will be written . That's just one of about a gazillion things  you can adjust to your liking with the PCM-7010. Now, I'm a little unclear, do you have a PCM-7010, as well as a 7040?

 

[sterling1]

BTW,  just curious, but what inspired you to get a PCM-7010? I think it's superb in it's category of digital recorders; and my pair, with digital edit controller is certainly the center piece of my A/V system; but, I've got to tell  ya, unless you've got a lot of DAT material which you have not yet achieved onto CD, the unit is somewhat obsolete. Nevertheless, for mastering and playback of original material I've not heard better; and, LP's transcribed to DAT are indistinguishable from  LP. It's great to have the LP sound and convenience of digital.

 

[19lexicon78]

 
no, i don't have a 7040. 
the reason for this machine, before the 7010, i bought a tcd-d100. i was suprised by the soundquality of DAT. still, i prefer R2 though.
i have other pro-audio machines, so that's the reason i wanted to buy a pro-DAT sony.
i have alot of LP's, for convenience i want those on DAT, cassette and some on R2R.
i don't know much of DAT, let alone those 1000 options on the 7010.
perhaps could use the 7010 as a dac. it has pcm63k

 

[sterling1]

Well,,,. I think it can be used as a DAC; but, its applications are limited.

 

[sterling1]

BTW, I have an extra Sony RM-D7100 remote. This is a wired remote for the Sony 7000 series. It makes recording much easier. If you are interested make me an offer. As I recall, new, I paid about $700.00 for it. Some, recently on E-Bay have been selling for about $395.00 in used condition. Mine is mint.

 

[greatwl]

I have  pcm-7030 used as DAC which is pretty good compare to Theta Pro basic II.

 

[sterling1]

I thought this thread was dead. I still have my 2 units and they're still the jewels of my system.

 

[anastasialaser]

Was googling to see if there are any likers of these still?
 
Wanted a big challenge and brought four dead 7040's separately from ebay, transfered the tape transport from the DAT computer SCSI drives hey presto fully functioning units. As these are built to survive the worst I tried DJing with these as the variable speed and the cue functions means that this is totally possible, so a couple months ago I ditched the Pioneer CDJ's and done a set with these. Its not something you really think about but the outstanding quality of sound coming out of these really sounded good through the PA in the club and made the laptop DJ before me sound in a word s***, Esp after him and his mate laugh at me for bringing two of these and my XLR mixer with my tapes. I recorded the tracks even from mp3 CD's before, owning two DTC-60es after these being given to me and my boyfriend a few years ago, recording the tracks on these with the SBM setting on after being told that was a must when recording from these, sounds better than the original track I started with. When DJing the amazing sound really fills the dancefloor, glad I took a chance and kind of mistakenly bidded and won one of these a while back as I learned a lot repairing these with my boyfriend, not to mention the bemused faces of the staff at maplin, and the hours building the new tape drives.
 
All these units 7010-7050 are really the best of the best, even the 24bit HDD recorders don't sound quite as good as these, "Old technology" sometimes if something was doing the job better than you could imagine doesn't mean you have to ditch it, just because something new comes along with a picture of an apple on it.
 
Now putting most of my music generally onto DAT as I was given quite a lot of DAT tapes recently, as DAT although old and cumbersome, has a unique warm sound to it. Speaking to people I have come to a conclusion it comes down to the way the PCM data is encoded to the tape using double solomon read code maybe Sony have known this a while. I remember why I missed these the first time around as someone told me these were £6000 and up 20 years ago with each PDP 124 costing £5-10. Glad to be enjoying these high end units now though as when you listen to a 7010, 7030, 7040 and 7050 you will definitely understand why!!!
 
These units are awesome glad I dared to be different and give them a new lease of life, especially when people are dancing to my DAT Trance mixes!

 

[sterling1]

I used my pair of 7010's to archive  radio commercials I produced before computer audio made DAT obsolete. Nevertheless, I still use my two machines today for various recording chores. These DAT recorders have a sound that's just better than any  other recording devices I've auditioned. My recorders cost about seven thousand dollars each as they are fitted with F type options. I have not had a need for service for my units for at least five years; and, I don't know if Sony even services them anymore; but, for now, both of my units run like a sewing machine. One more thing, the price of these 7000 series recorders on the internet is so low, just  a fraction of their true value for many recording scenarios. I particularly like that I can record music that cannot be downloaded by conventional means.