Archival equipment

The webmaster has the following equipment at his disposal to digitize or transfer several different formats.

Audio cassette tapes

Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1

• Three head, closed-loop dual capstan transport with pressure pad lifter
• Manual playback azimuth adjustment, allowing best frequency response of a tape that was recorded on any other device

• Upgraded with:
  • Pacific Stereo Universal Capstan Motor
  • Two underspec'd capacitors in the playback amplifier circuit replaced with high-quality audio-grade properly sized ones; see this thread for more details

• Serviced:
  • Calibrated according to A.N.T. Audio's stellar alignment tapes
  • Fresh capstan drive and back tension belts
  • Thoroughly cleaned and demagnetized regularly

• Output stage:
  • 6 foot premium 3.5mm to RCA cable -> ASUS Xonar DX sound card (32-bit depth and 96khz sample rate) -> Adobe Audition CC 2014.2 (32/96)
  • Each tape is fully wound (fast forwarded) and then rewound to ensure tape spools are properly packed with the least amount of potential friction due to lengthy storage
  • Azimuth is optimized per tape, sometimes per each individual tape's side

Digital Audio Tape (DAT)

Sony SDT-9000 SCSI DAT drive

• Flashed with firmware that is able to read audio DATs
• Most direct option to rip audio DATs to WAV format in their native sample rate (i.e. 16/44.1 or 16/48)
• Allows error correction which no standalone DAT deck / recorder can perform
• Regularly cleaned according to manufacturer recommendations using "new old stock" Seagate DAT head cleaning tapes