data collected May 1993
First Edition
(c) Copyright 1993 by Jeff Maggard on behalf of all the contributors. This information is for private, non-commercial use only. Neither the editor, nor any of the contributors, may be held accountable for the data or comments listed here. This information may be copied if 1) it is not used for financial gain in any way, and 2) if it is reproduced in its entirety with this copyright statement.
Multiple reliability problems (including multiple trips for service) with a single deck were counted as one problem with one deck. Replacement decks were treated as separate decks.
Brand # decks % of popln #, % w/pblms %pblms/mfr ----- ------- ---------- ------------ ---------- Aiwa 1 1.4% 0 0% 0/1 0% Blaupunkt 1 1.4% 0 0% 0/1 0% Casio 1 1.4 0 0% 0/1 0% Denon 4 5.6% 4 5.7% 4/4 100% Kenwood 1 1.4% 1 1.4% 1/1 100% Panasonic 21 29.6% 6 8.6% 6/21 29% Sony 41 57.7% 21 30.0% 21/41 51% Tascam 1 1.4% 1 1.4% 1/1 100% -- TOTALS 71 99.9% 33 46.5%
Model # decks % of popln #, % w/pblms avg age (mos) ----- ------- ---------- ------------ ------------- Sony TCD-D3 13 18% 9/13 69% 15.3 Pan. SV-3700 12 17% 3/12 25% 26.1 Sony DTC-670 7 10% 2/7 29% 4.3 Sony DTC-700 7 10% 3/7 43% 12.6 Sony DTC-55ES 4 6% 2/4 50% 28.0 Pan. SV-255 3 4% 0/3 0% 22.3 Sony DTC-75ES 3 4% 1/3 33% 11.7 Pan. SV-3500 2 3% 0/2 0% 36.0 Denon DTR-80P 2 3% 1/2 50% 10.0 Denon DTR-2000 2 3% 2/2 100% 7.0 Pan/Tech SV-DA10 2 3% 2/2 100% 21.5 Sony DTC-59ES 2 3% 0/2 0% 7.0 Aiwa HD-S1 1 1% 0/1 0% 6.0 Tascam DA-30 1 1% 1/1 100% 2.0 Casio DA-2 1 1% 0/1 0% 36.0 Kenwood DX-7 1 1% 1/1 100% 3.0 Blaupunkt DTP08 1 1% 0/1 0% 2.0 Pan. SV-250 1 1% 1/1 100% 36.0 Sony EV-S900 1 1% 0/1 0% 30.0 Sony DX-10 1 1% 1/1 100% 18.0 Sony 2700A 1 1% 0/1 0% 3.0 Sony DTC-P7 1 1% 1/1 100% Sony DTC-1000ES 1 1% 1/1 100% -- TOTALS 71 100% 33/70 46% 16.8
age rptd service
deck (mos) probs probs loc/qlty comments recommend?
---- ----- ----- ------ -------- -------- ----------
Sony DTC-700 15 yes
Pan. SV-255 7 yes
Pan. SV-3700 7 yes
Sony DTC-55ES 29 1,2 yes
Sony DTC-55ES ~24 A UK, good 3 no
Sony DTC-670 5 B no
Denon DTR-80P 5 yes
Blaupunkt DTP08 2 4
Pan. SV-3700 yes
Sony DTC-670 3 yes
Sony DTC-75ES 7 C Detroit, slow
Pan. SV-255 24 yes
Pan. SV-255 36 yes
Pan. SV-3700 ~36 D good yes
Pan. SV-3700 ~36 yes
Pan. SV-3700 ~36 yes
Pan. SV-3700 ~36 yes
Pan. SV-3700 ~36 yes
Pan. SV-3700 ~36 yes
Sony DX-10 18 skips
Sony DTC-700 6 yes
Sony DTC-670 8 yes
Sony 2700A 3 5 yes
Pan. SV-250 36 E yes E
Pan. SV-3500 36 5 yes
Sony DTC-670 4 F yes,F
Sony DTC-55ES 32 G
Sony TCD-D3 26 G
Sony DTC-55ES 27 yes
Sony TCD-D3 0 H yes,H no
Sony TCD-D3 1 H yes,H no
Sony TCD-D3 7 H yes,H no
Pan. SV-3900 ~6
Aiwa HD-S1 ~6
Tascam DA-30 2 I yes
Sony TCD-D3 ~4 yes
Sony TCD-D3 36 J KS, good 6 yes
Casio DA-2 ~36 7,8 7
Pan. SV-3700 8 8 yes
Sony DTC-59ES 6 8 ~yes,7
Kenwood DX-7 3 K 9 see K,9
Sony DTC-700 16 L yes,L 10
Pan. SV-3700 16 M yes
Sony TCD-D3 ~24+ 11 yes
Sony TCD-D3 22 N yes
Sony DTC-700 20 yes
Sony DTC-700 4 yes
Sony TCD-D3 13 O good yes
Pan. SV-3500 ~36
Pan. SV-3700 15 P many see P
Denon DTR-80P 15 see 12 12 yes
Sony EV-S900 ~30 yes
Sony TCD-D3 ~12 Q yes
Sony DTC-670 4
Sony DTC-700 24+ R yes
Sony TCD-D3 16+ R yes slow,R no
Sony DTC-75ES 15 yes
Sony DTC-700 3 S yes quick yes
Sony DTC-670 3 13 yes,13
Sony DTC-670 3 14 yes
Pan. SV-DA10 ~25 T poor,T yes
Sony TCD-D3 25 yes
Sony DTC-59ES 8 yes
Sony DTC-77ES 4 no
Sony DTC-P7 * U poor,U no
Sony DTC-1000ES V yes see V
Pan. SV-3700 24 yes
Pan. SV-DA10 18 W yes
Denon DTR-2000 2 X yes poor,X no
Denon DTR-2000 12 X yes poor,X no
Sony TCD-D3 13 Y good yes
Sony DTC-75ES 13 yes
B -- Sony DTC-670. The first deck that I had wrote tapes that played with many errors on other DAT decks, and had some *minor* problems reading tapes written on other decks. It had no problems reading back its own tape... sounds like a classic alignment problem. Since the deck came to me this way, I got the store that I bought it from to swap me with a new DTC-670. This one has worked since without any problems.
C -- I had dropout problems and start-ID problems from the get-go with my 75ES. It was in the Sony service center after one month of light usage in my home studio. It took 5 weeks to get my 75ES back from the Detroit service center! I don't know what to recommend. I've heard as many good things as bad about the 75ES. I was not pleased with the transport at all, but the features were all very useful. Typical Sony product: Mediocre quality with tons of cool and useful features-per-dollar, and great styling.
D -- Muting caused by a flaky transport. No problems since a local authorized Panasonic shop fixed it. Turnaround faster at the local shop vs. 'mother' shops.
E -- SV250 transport started eating tapes and not loading tapes correctly, after perhaps 400 head hours. Apparently this a "known problem" with this model. Robbs Repair made the standard fix, but I'm still having problems with it. I don't really have a negative impression of Robbs repair, because I'm afraid it's really a design fault with the SV250.
F -- I have had severe problem with the tape mechanism: It had a hard time rewinding tapes. (especially "official tape brands" like Maxell and Sony-tapes !) I've had it serviced and they swapped the complete mechanism. Yet, sometimes it still has problems rewinding tapes. I really can't give an advice to people solely on these experiences. In addition, 3 of my friends bought the same machine too, and they haven't had problems so far. (you can include these 3 no-problem-owners in your survey. They are not subscribed to the DAT-Heads-list and are not aware of this survey :-)
G -- 55ES: Tracking & transport on MANY occasions. Last time the entire innards was changed for a transport that LOOKS somewhat different. After that the machine has been performing flawlessy !! No problems with D3 after ~700 hours
H -- Sony TCD D3; Sample #1, On purchase: loud chopper noise from display backlight driver. Replaced by: Sample #2, Within four weeks of purchase: no output for several seconds after starting tape motion. Returned to dealer and replaced with: Sample #3, This operated reasonably well for about six or seven months. Occasionally, there would be some transport error and the caution indicator was displayed. Ejected one tape whilst running, chewed another to the extent that the tape was broken. Finally, the transport became very unreliable and the device failed ot load the tape correctly. Returned for maintenance under warranty. Transport problem recurred and I sold the machine. The transport mechanism was eventually replaced, but not before three months had elapsed with the machine travelling back and forth from the service centre. I could not recommend a D3 based on my experiences, however I know of four others that have operated without major problem. The D3 battery pack also caused problems. The HD-S1 pack is not a great deal better.
I -- DA-30, occasional transient glitches. a) Twice when renumbering a tape the deck has run to the physical end of the tape, and contemplated its navel. The deck ignored STOP, EJECT, etc. I had to power cycle it. (Yea gods! I rebooted a tape deck!!) Fortunately, the tapes were okay afterwards. b) Sometimes |<< (skip back to previous start id) goes back 2 ids. c) A few times when I've hit PLAY, nothing has happened (the PLAY led came on, but that was all). When this happens, STOP then PLAY has always started it up. This may happen if I hit PLAY too soon after REWIND/STOP, but I haven't been able to repeat it.
J -- TCD-D3, When it was about 60 days old it quit powering up, turned out to be a broken wire. On occasion it fails to unload on first try with 'CAUTION' indicator flashing. Cycling power or repeating unload command clears it and ejects tape ok. Serviced at Sony service center in KS. Excellent service only marred by long wait for parts. When 90 day warranty ran out due to parts wait Sony still fixed it under warranty. Also replaced the $70 battery under warranty in spite of me killing it by forgetting to remove it before storage. Yes, I recommend the D3. I love my TCD-D3. It reminds me of a fine miniture German camera. I do warn people of its very high current consumption and the limits of 1/8" jacks.
K -- Kenwood DX-7: I have had problems with the deck shutting off in hot environments while recording. On ONE occassion the deck didn't want to eject a tape. It is not a horrible deck, but I'm sure that there are others out there that are better.
L -- Sony DTC-700. Problem noticed occasionally soon after purchasing deck; got worse over time. 'Dropouts' where output just stops for about half a second or so. If the first five minutes of a tape played OK, the whole tape would play OK. For a long time, problem happened about once every five or six times I'd play a tape, but it got worse recently and deck is now in (for the second time!) being fixed. There is a SONY service center in Tempe AZ (driving distance from home) where I took it, under extended warranty from Silo (electronics chain). When I brought it home, the first two tapes I tried to play showed the problem, even though they had replaced the drum and pinch roller in the deck. I would recommend the DTC-700, assuming the problem can be fixed - I have a friend who has the same deck, and has never had a problem.
M -- Early on, my SV-3700 developed an intermittant grinding-gear kind of noise as the tape tray moves in during loading. So far it is noise only and no jams.
N -- I had the a/d replaced in the d3 at about 6months of use. It may have been my fault for leaving an unterminated cable plugged into it. Warantee repair through Good Guys, recommended.
O -- D3: No problems that required maintenance. Estimate a total of 250-300 hours of use since purchase. Rechargeable battery died in August 1992 after just 3 months! Dealer replaced defective battery free of charge. Great service. Regular warranty service through dealer worked well for battery. I once loaded a tape (one of my favorites) in my Sony TCD-D3 (battery powered at the time) only to have the door open after about 5 seconds of playback. Needless to say, my tape was damaged (near the start) and was almost playable afterwards. I was never able to repeat the problem since (March 1993) not that I wanted to :-) So I assume it was a human error and that I probably failed to fully insert the tape.
P -- (No problems in SV-3500 in ~50 hours. Machine probably has ~200 hours in about 3 years). Problems with SV-3700: a. Under 50 hours (2 months). "Ate" two tapes - couldn't tell a tape had been inserted and left tape hanging into mechanism when un-loaded. b. Under 100 hours (5.5 months). Mis-loaded a tape, crinkling it. In the process, also damaged one head beyond cleaning (head out of warranty). c. When machine came back from repair (b), drum motor bearings squealed. d. Under 200 hours (15 months). Loses A-time momentarily and drops sound in reverse scan, even at slowest rate. Error rate < 30 in Play.
Deck sent to Robb's Repair in Seattle, authorized Panasonic DAT repair for Oregon and Washington (purchased in Seattle). Their repair tech seemed very knowledgeable on the phone and came recommended on DAT-Heads. a. He called this "the ususal tension/loading arm problem". One arm pushes the other out of the way when loading, and if one of them gets a little warped, it mis-loads the tape. Replaced the warped arm. b. He said he had used a little too much lubricating grease on the arm and tape guides when it was in for repair (a), per Panasonic's recommendation (which has now been changed). Caused the tape to adhere to the arm and mis-load. The error rate had risen to 4800 and he was unable to clean the head enough to reduce it. (A new head assembly costs $360). After much discussion with the regional repair tech for Panasonic (if they had repaired it right the first time...), Panasonic supplied the head assembly and I only had to pay $160 labor (!) c. I sent it right back, and they said "It sounds about normal" (the squeal does come and go). They replaced the entire head assembly in (b), including the drum motor. He cleaned the bearings and said it was now quiet. It's not - squeal still comes and goes. I do live recordings where the machine is in the same room as the performers, and squealing is unacceptable. They said "No repair, so it's not warranty repair, so you pay the return shipping and handling". d. I'm hoping that cleaning the pinch roller will help. There are no tension adjustments (all done with springs pulling on arms...).
I bought the SV-3700 partly on the reports of excellent reliability seen in DAT-Heads. I just want others to know that all is not perfect with these machines. I know of two other machines with the same tension/loading arm problem (at local PBS station), and I know of four machines with no problems at all. However, there doesn't seem to be anything better. I have read of problems with the DA-30 and many problems with the PCM-2300. So, what's a guy to do?
Q -- The D-3 has proven to be very unreliable. After 35 days it munched a brand new tape and jammed nd all the controls and transport were frozen. Then 3 months later, it suddenly went dead, a power supply frying I was told. The warranty had just expired a week previous and it cost me $125 to fix. The supplied rechargeable battery was dead (wouldn't hold a charge) after 2 months and I don't really understand the battery pack process yet so I don't use it at shows anymore much. I got the DTC-670 because I needed a more reliable deck. No problems (yet) and I therefore don't use my D-3 much except for copying so it's newfound reliability is due as much to non-use as anything. I have purchased 5-year warranties on both products out of fear of another major repair though. ($100 each from Neil Berkowitz at Harvey electronics).
R -- Both decks have had problems. No idea about hours, but i'd say heavy use when they're not in the shop. Upwards of 2-10 playback/ records per day DTC-700: over the past 5 months, it has occasionally to mostly had difficulty with fast forward and rewind. this seems pretty common to 700's/75Es's, i just haven't had the energy to take it in for service, since it plays back and records just fine. D3: first one would mistrack on one outta every 3 tapes and play some horrible music. sent it in for service after 2 months, eventally the deck was replaced (took 5 months total and three trips to Sony) The replacement deck started not loading/unloading tapes correctly after 4 more montths, this gradually got worse for several months, took it in for service last Thanksgiving, got it back just after NY, it's worked flawlessly since
Serviced the D3 first time: Sony, Mahwah NJ. could not fix the deck, barely acceptable service help. Took a loong time, but by the end they had a much nicer 800 number to call. Second time: Sony, San Bruno CA: some confusion between the san bruno and san jose service centers, but fixed completely first time in a little less than a month. I would have had the deck back much faster had they been consistent about telling me where it was and what it's status was. I wrote them a rather nasty letter about this and got a *very* apologetic call :-)
The 700 is an ok deck, i like it's features a lot. i don't think anyone should pay more than $300 for a D3, and even that price is steep. they are not reliable in my hands, or any of my friends
Service is a crapshoot as far as i can tell. i'll give san bruno another shot with the 700 when it finally dies
Dont drop a d3 6' onto a hardwood floor. this is pretty much guaranteed to bust the little toy. this happened to a friend :-) When you send a deck in for service, check back once a week
S -- SONY DTC-700 bought refurbished, minor problems right out of the box -- headphone output not balanced, tape door not properly attached, and developed within 2 weeks an unwillingness to eject tapes. Serviced at Sony Service Center, San Bruno. Fixed the problems, but had to take the deck in twice, as they fixed the eject problem and didn't address the others the first time. They were quick (~3 weeks total) IMHO, and I recommend them.
I love both of my decks and have had no problems with dropouts or eating tapes or anything like that.
T -- Panasonic SV-DA10 had a problem after about one month of use (not particularly heavy use, either!) -- it would not rewind the tape fully (would stop, refuse to rewind again until the tape transport was opened and closed). Sent to Panasonic (Matsushita) repair service -- local dropoff point was in Sunnyvale. The unit couldn't be repaired locally, so they SENT THE UNFIXED DECK BACK TO ME and asked me to ship it along to the Los Angeles office!!!! The cost to send it back to me could have gotten the deck to the L.A. repair site. They did NOT reimburse me for the cost to ship it to L.A. It took a long time to get this resolved! I complained loudly but the repair office (that had it in the bay area) said that they had to return it to me because they didn't want the liability of having the deck get lost in transit. Yeah, sure.
Service not recommended, but I don't believe there's any choice if you're doing it under (original) warranty. (My subsequent warranty, with Harvey Electronics, has not yet needed testing. :-)
U -- Sony DTC-P7, failed after 1 week of use, took 3 months to be repaired then failed with same fault (transport) after 1 day of use. Sent to Sony authorized service centre in UK, they sent it to main Sony service centre who took 3 months to completely _fail_ to solve the problem.
DTC-77ES seems ok so far, but I'm NOT impressed with Sony UK customer support. (ie. I won't buy Sony again if I can help it)
In reply to a letter of complaint I sent to Sony UK, they say "I am enclosing two DT-210 DAT tapes which I hope you will accept with our complements". In the package were two Minidiscs. :-( I sent them back asking for the DAT tapes instead, two months later I still haven't had a reply.
V -- I had exactly the same problems with my Sony DTC-1000ES, and took it into the local Sony service center. Paid $70. Worked fine for about 4 months, and then having the same problem. Took it back in, mentioned something I head from DAT heads about a Engineering fix for the DTC-75ES with tension arm problems. They charged me another $70, and it has worked flawlessly for a year and a quarter. (The San Bruno office shipped it to San Jose, who shipped it back UPS to me at no extra charge, although I explicitly asked them to return it to San Bruno for pickup).
By the way, there is a diode on the back of the front panel you can lift to permit copying at 44.1 (but it will still shut down on copy prohibit). I forget which one; maybe somebody else on DAT-Heads will remember.
W -- Panasonic SV-DA10, 12 months old, tape jam, transport screwed up. Sent to Hi Fi Sales and Service (Oades), Thomasville, GA. Service seemed adequate, and is recommended.
X -- The first DTR-2000 one went back to Denon almost immediately, while the second DTR-2000 has been somewhat sturdy. I have had problems with both units. The first was in horrible shape right out of the box. It was new, but had a mismanufactured transport which gave it a good appetite for tapes and an inability to read and write about 70% of the time. It was a joke. It was still factory sealed, but just couldn't seem to do anything twice. It recorded correctly at first but eventually just gave up - on 4 different tapes. This all happened in the first 2 hours of use. The unit only went downhill from there. The replacement has managed to display that it is recording - only to display no information and produce no output upon playback. This has only happened twice, but it was after hours of taping. The replacement for that has shown a few defects such as inability to read start/end id's, but has been much more reliable. The id situation arose after about 20 hours or so of infrequent use.
I ended up sending my first unit back to Denon itself (I bought it through a direct dealer) in Niles, Illinois and received no flack about the replacement. They seemed to expect it when I called. They were quite helpful and had no red tape. On the newer deck, however, my dealer (Ultimate Audio) has not been able to find the problem with reading start/end id's and has returned the unit to me without a fix twice. I would probably not recommend this unit. It has some strong points, but is also flaky at times to the point of cancelled band rehersals. They needed to make a thrid generation machine, but instead have opted to continue with this model. I would not recommend my current dealer to anyone. They know about as much as a 4 year old does about DAT. They're lucky to even know what I'm talking about.
Y -- (Have not had any problems whatsoever with the 75ES.) Have had some problems with the D3. Twice I reversed the polarity on an external gell cell and fried the DC input. Both times was on tour and my own fault. I have also had the infamous "caution" light come on a few times when the deck either was too hot or had been out in the cold for awhile and came inside. Whenever that happened I let the deck sit (powered-down) for awhile and it was okay. I would say it has been relatively trouble-free.
Both time I fried the D3 DC I sent/took the deck to the Sony Service Center in Costa Mes, CA. I was very satisfied with the service, they repaired it each time within two days of their receipt of the unit.
The only thing I don't like about the D3 is the lack of coax digital connections without purchasing the extra accessories and the lack of reliable batteries (easily remedied externally, however).
I would recommend someone buy the Sony for consumer use. The price is not bad when compared to the higher end cassette decks, or HiFi VCR's. I realize it is not the best unit but it does very well for me. My main interest is the elimination of tape hiss, 2 hours (4 hours at 32 Khz) recording time and the timer capability. I tape primarily live and concerts off the radio.
The only thing I am worried about is a change in the recording format, 16 bit vs 32 bit and some of the other differences between the low end units and the high end professional units.