Transfer cassette to digital; use preamp?

I am gonna be working on a few cassettes that are being transferred to a Tascam DA3000.

There is choice to go;
1. From analog out on the cassette to the analog in from the tascam. Both unbalanced ofcourse.

2. Going from cassette to the analog in from my preamp and then analog to tascam DA3000.

I do not have this option, but since a future preamp will:
3. Going from cassette to the analog in from my preamp and digital to TascamDA3000.

Maybe a bit theoretic but is the shortest way (1) always considered the 'best' way to go? Which aspect play a part in this?

 

I would go for 1 but if your next preamp has a better ADC than the Tascam then 3 should be an option to consider. But! Unless your tapes are of extreme good quality and the tape deck is too, I would not worry about it and just go 1. The 2 I wouln't do.

 

Straight from cassette deck to DA3000 is my preference.

Shortest path with least chance of affecting the signal

 

In theory direct analogue to analogue is the way to go, but in practice I doubt that there's going to be any audible difference.

Jeff

 

Its cassettes. Already pretty much the bottom of audio quality. Nothing you suggest can possibly hurt it any further.

 

Obligatory Techmoan video incoming:


TL;DR - Cheap cassette gear was cheap, and not very good. High quality cassette gear, and cassettes, were very good.

 

"very good" relative to what?

 

Way back in the 1960s, the BBC refused to accept reel-to-reel tape recordings at any speeds slower than 7½ inches per second, since they were declared to be not "broadcast quality". So Philips recorded a program to 1⅞ IPS cassette tape, dubbed it to 7½ IPS reel-to-reel, and gave it to the BBC.

They never noticed the difference, and happily broadcast the program.

 

You've confused a quality assessment with procedure. How could you possibly know if they noticed a difference? The 7.5ips met one standard, which acted as a pre-filter. It had nothing to do with the actual recorded material, and they weren't wrong either. In general, lower speeds are worse.

@jbmcb stated cassettes were "very good". That's a qualitative judgement statement. My question remains: "Relative to what"?

 

I used one of the top line Sony ES models for years through the 80's. Primarily for vinyl mix tapes etc. Aside from some added noise floor/hiss, I always thought the fidelity sounded good. Just good old Maxell and TDK chrome tapes.

 

I'm just going to state that you should probably record direct to the Tascam or eliminate it altogether. What would be the point in transferring digital into it? This should be a lossless transfer and therefore unnecessary. Just dump the digital stream directly to your computer for post processing.

 

The old saying "seeing is believing" (in this case "hearing") is the only way one could judge, know or have an opinion.
First your need quality gear (all formats) and multiples of an album on all (different pressings, year made, country, mfg plants....)
Then you can listen and make an educated decision.
It's expensive to do but if it's an album you really like and know well, you will (with more than one album being end all of test) then be able to hear where differences in sound occur.
Again, quality gear, multiple formats, same album (and it helps to have different copies of each, sorta like how we all look for best sounding version of a album).

Many surprising finds doing this.

 

I would copy mp3 from YouTube before going back to Cassettes...

 

All of the above describes subjective judgement, and while valid to some extent, it's hardly the "only way one could judge, know or have an opinion", nor is it provable or repeatable.

 

I realize I'm probably fighting an uphill battle, but it sounds like you've never owned a decent cassette deck. Granted, pre-recorded cassette quality can vary wildly, but a recording made on a good deck to high bias metal tape can capture vinyl or a CD with sufficient quality that most listeners will not be able to distinguish between the original source and the tape source. Some will, of course, but your original post suggests that cassette quality is so atrocious that the OP shouldn't worry about how it's transferred to digital- this simply makes no sense.
The specs on my early 90's JVC deck are as follows: frequency response, 15kHz-19,000kz, S/N ratio 74dB, wow & flutter .035%. That's for a mid-range deck, and I can tell you for sure it meets (and actually exceeds) the frequency response spec. Is it a hi-res format? No way! Are cassettes the junk you suggest they are? Nope.

 

That would entail taking the computer to the room in which the cassette deck lives, or taking cassette deck to computer. The OP may find it more convenient to place the DA3000 next to the main HiFi which includes the cassette deck. Or maybe not.

You're presuming the material the OP wants to transfer is actually on YouTube, though...

 

Interesting impression, but wrong. I've owned many, and maintained many pro units in studios, from my first Pioneer TCF-2121, through a Technics RSM-85, through Revox B710, various Nakamichi machines, Tascam 122, mkii, mkiii, and so on. I also spent many years maintaining analog recording machines, from my first Wollensak T-1515-4 to Magnecord, Ampex, MCI/Sony, and Studer.

My post asks "relative to what?' That is not a statement of anything, it's a question.

Yeah, specs are wonderful, right up until you actually test the unit. Do that, and you discover the realities of the format real quick.

Please reference, exactly, where I stated that cassettes are junk. Or, even better, stop misquoting me.

 

Choice 1 (IMHO) is your best option. The only problem is getting your input levels exactly where you need them (ref. owner's manual pg. 24/Recording/Adjusting the input level.)

M~

 

Pick one of your tapes, try it both ways, and see if you notice a difference in the result.

If it were me I would hook the tape deck up to the Tascam recorder directly.

 

I've read somewhere that upper range on a record drops from 20K to 18K in a couple of listens, and drops to 14K in about a dozen listens. But I suppose LPs are better flutter-wise than cassettes. Cassettes can have great range, and with Dolby almost no hiss, but wow & flutter is a bitch. And each re-recording loses 3 dB and adds more W&F. Both formats are crap compared to CD and its equivalents like FLAC. Even 320 kbps MP3 is miles better than both LP and cassettes.

I would not care much for the cassette-to-digital procedure as long as the playback deck is in good working order.

 

#1. tape deck to da.

what tape deck are you going to use ?

 

Thanks guys for all the comments, analog to analog it is gonna be. There is a lot hooked up to the tascam as being the main recorder.

I use it for all digital transfers, from sources like vinyl, DCC (digital compact cassette) and cassettes (mostly liveaudience recordings). Occasionally I try recording prerecorded tapes to see what I can make of that. Decks are all Nakamichi (i have a few). The CR7 is the one i prefer for transfers.

Prerecorded tapes.....well some sound great, some don't, Just like vinyl

 

I never mentioned any one format to be superior, or across the board either.
Simply stated one needs to hear many versions of a single album to get a better spectrum of where a good or poor sounding copy may be, and that is how so many on this forum are able to opinion on a version as well as a consensus of a best sounding copy,pressing,version could be, as it's all subjective.
With the help of many who have made thoughts and opinions of an album (and you know there could be in the hundreds of pressings of many) you would need to have heard many cassette versions of an album one is familiar with to find a good/great sounding version of.
Your response was a misinterpretation of what I posted, also have you heard hundreds of cassettes to even make your statement about my post to know for yourself??

 

Looks like a really nice recorder... happy transferring!

 

Why would that be a problem?