Tascam has announced an updated version of its Tascam DA-3000 master recorder. The new DA-3000SD is a two-channel DSD/PCM reference grade master recorder with AD/DA converter.
Recording, mastering and monitoring
Tascam has designed the DA-3000SD for the recording, mastering and monitoring needs of recording studios and live sound engineers. The new model adds support for high-capacity SDXC card media up to 512 GB in capacity. This gives you over 100 hours of two-channel audio recording at 24-bit/192 kHz. In addition, you can adjust the brightness of the DA-3000SD’s 24-dot level meter to set it as bright or dim as you prefer. The device also features a 128 x 64-dot OLED display with a wide viewing angle for high visibility.
Direct Stream Digital
The DA-3000SD supports future-proof DSD (Direct Stream Digital) recording as well as PCM audio. It can capture PCM audio at sample rates up to 192 kHz and supports DSD at 2.8 and 5.6 MHz. DSD captures your audio at a much higher resolution and dynamic range than PCM audio. This means that you can convert your recordings to PCM formats such as 24-bit/96 kHz from the highest possible source quality.
Inputs and outputs
Tascam’s DA-3000SD has a comprehensive range of inputs and outputs for both analog and digital signals. These include unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR analog inputs and outputs. Digital audio for PCM is also provided via AES-EBU and S/PDIF. In addition, the DA-3000SD supports digital audio input and output for DSD with SDIF-3/DSD-raw terminals. There’s a port for USB memory for audio playback or mutual copying with SD cards. The device has a dedicated USB keyboard port as well.
Rack-mountable
The DA-3000SD has a compact 1RU rack-mountable form factor. You can also synchronize recording and playback by cascading multiple units to create a DSD multitrack environment. This means you can record up to 16 tracks simultaneously by connecting eight DA-3000SDs. In addition, the recorder is ready to sync with Word Clock and can be controlled via the included RC-10 remote for integration with professional audio systems.
What we think
Tascam’s new DA-3000SD master recorder has been designed to build upon the success of the original DA-3000. The added support for recording to high-capacity SD cards is a welcome feature. In addition, the new device also has all of the inputs and outputs you need to integrate into a production environment. The Tascam DA-3000SD looks set to become the new industry standard in professional master recording.
Pricing and availability
Tascam hadn’t revealed any details of pricing or a launch date for the DA-3000SD master recorder at the time of writing.
