7-pin Interface Cables for Sony Portable DAT Decks
Core Sound is pleased to offer the widest range of low cost 7-pin digital audio interface cables. They allow Sony's portable DAT recorders (e.g., TCD-D3, TCD-D7, TCD-D8, TCD-D100 and PCM-M1) to interface to other pro and consumer digital audio devices and to each other. They're a low cost alternative to Sony's high-priced accessory cables, often in short supply here in the US and around the world. Some of our cables offer interface options that are otherwise unavailable.
All Core Sound digital audio cables use the highest quality Teflon-jacketed, impedance controlled coaxial cable. All connectors are soldered using premium high-strength, silver-bearing solder.
All of our 7-pin cables are passive. Passive cables work fine in almost all situations except in a very few situations. (Need to know more about the constraints and limitations of various 7-pin cables in lots of different situations? See our 7-Pin Bible!)
Feel free to call us to discuss your cable needs.
The Sony 7-pin interface uses the S/PDIF data format but its voltage levels are not per the standard. If you need a strict S/PDIF-standard signal, the Sony signals must be converted to the proper levels.
7-Pin-To-Coax Cable
Straying from the ideal (i.e., you don't need a strict S/PDIF-standard voltage level), if you want to record from a Sony portable DAT to another device's coax (RCA) inputs, almost all of them will accept the Sony's levels even though they're not per the S/PDIF standard. We've found that Sony DTC-75ES, -59ES, -60ES, -670, -690, PCM-2600, PCM-R500/R300, Tascam DA-20, -P1, -30 Mk II, Panasonic SV-3700 and -3900, Radius Telecast and Audio Media II and III cards (for the PC & Mac computers), Zefiro ZA1 and ZA2 cards (for the PC), Lucid Technologies PCI-24 card (for the Mac and PC), Event Gina, Audio Alchemy DTI Pro32, Audiowerk 8, Terratec EWS64XL, Creative Labs SBLive, Opcode DATport and Sonicport, the DAT-heads DSD, Fairlight CMI3 Digital Sample Card, Yamaha 03D digital mixer, Midiman/M-Audio's Audiophile and DIO, Philips Acoustic Edge, all Turtle Beach cards and our DFT and DPP products all accept it with no problems. So we offer the "7-pin-to-coax" cable at low cost ($45). It works fine with every deck it's been tried with, including between the new Sony TCD-D100 and the Tascam DA-20.
Coax-To-7-Pin Cable
If you want to record from a device with a coax output to your Sony portable, another simple cable: the "Coax-to-7-pin" cable will do the job. It too is $45. This cable will work fine with all modern Tascam decks including the DA-P1, DA-20 and DA-30, most Sony decks including the DTC-59ES, -A7, -R500/-R300 and PCM-2600, the MTU Microsound system, Fairlight CMI3 Digital Sample Card, Lucid Technologies PCI-24 card (for the Mac and PC), Yamaha 03D digital mixer and Roland VS-880 hard disk recorder. It also works fine between the TCD-D100 and the Audio Alchemy DTI Pro32. It works fine between the newer Sony portable DAT decks (PCM-M1 and TCD-D100) and the Opcode DATport/Sonicport, however older Sony portable decks (TCD-D3, -D7 and -D8) will not accept the Opcodes' voltage. There are some devices that do not generate the right voltages for the Sony portable DATs -- these include the oldest Sony DAT decks (e.g., DTC-75ES), Marantz CD players, some Turtle Beach sound cards, the older Creative Labs SBLive card (the newest cards do work!), some Event cards (Layla), E-Mu ESI-4000 turbo sampler, Ensoniq ASR-10 sampler and the Audiomedia III card for the PC computer. Sony also makes a cable (the RK-DA10P) that will work with these. The Zefiro ZA2 card will work fine after shorting one resistor on the ZA2 -- contact Zefiro for details. Some Event Gina card work fine. If you have a deck or device that we haven't mentioned please contact us.
7-Pin Combi Cable
The two simple 7-pin/coax cables can be hooked together with a simple coax-jack-to-coax-jack adapter (a "barrel"). This creates a 7-pin-to-7-pin cable assembly identical in function to our TCD-Cable (see a description of the TCD-Cable further on). You can use it to record from one Sony portable DAT machine to another Sony portable DAT. And you can disassemble the cable assembly and use its two cables to interface your Sony portable to other devices. We can provide this very useful assembly for $95.
7-Pin-Coax-I/O Cable
If you need both input and output from your Sony portable, a third cable provides them in a single product. It's a "Y" cable with a 7-pin plug at its base and two RCA coax plugs at its branches. Each branch is three feet long. One coax plug is for input and the other is for output. This cable is called the "7-pin-coax-I/O" cable and is priced at $70. The same limitations hold for it as for the 7-Pin-To-Coax and Coax-To-7-Pin cables.
TCD-Cable
If you need to cnnect two Sony Portable DAT machines, Core Sound is pleased to offer the TCD-Cable, a three-foot cable with a 7-pin plug on each end; it allows direct digital connection between two Sony TCD-D3s, TCD-D7s or TCD-D8s. One end is labeled "play/out" and the other "record/in." The "play/out" side is plugged into the playing machine; the "record/in" side is plugged into the recording machine. The TCD-Cable is $65.
7-Pin-to-XLR Cable
We're pleased to introduce a new cable that allows Sony portable DAT machines (TCD-D8, -D7 and -D3) to transfer digital audio to the Fostex D5, Otari DTR-8S, Tascam DA-30, Panasonic SV-3800, T.C. Electronics Finalizer and Sony PCM-2600 via their AES/EBU XLR inputs; it works between the Sony TCD-D100 and the Otari DTR-8S. It also works fine transferring data to an EMU E4X sampler. The Fostex, Sony and Tascam are all smart enough to recognize the Sony's S/PDIF data stream, ignore the the non-standard voltages and even accept Start ID information; they also ignore SCMS. The SV-3800 respects SCMS but does not increase generation counts. We expect to have more information about this cable's suitability for use with other AES/EBU decks soon. The 7-pin-To-XLR cable is priced at $45.
XLR-to-7-Pin cable
We're please to now offer our newest cable, to allow professional digital audio devices using the AES/EBU XLR interfaces to send data to Sony's PCM-M1 and TCD-D100 DAT recorders. (This cable will not work older Sony DAT recorders.) We know that it works fine with the StellaDAT, and expect that it will work well with any device using the standard AES/EBU data and physical format. The XLR-to-7-Pin cable is priced at $45.
All of our cables come with right angle 7-pin-plugs.
Daisychain Tips!
Our cables can be used to "daisychain" between Sony portable DAT machines (other brands too). For example, if you were dubbing from a DAT deck and someone else wanted to dub from you at the same time, you'd use a daisychain. And if someone was recording using microphones at a concert and you wanted to take a digital feed from him and pass it on to another taper, you'd again use a daisychain.
The daisychain would look like this:
The first DAT machine would use a 7-Pin-to-Coax cable to output its digital data stream. The second machine would use a 7-Pin-Coax-I/O cable. A simple RCA-coax-to-RCA-coax barrel would connect the first cable to the input side of the second cable. The third DAT deck could also use a 7-Pin-Coax-I/O cable and hook up the same way as the second deck. The last deck in the chain could use either a 7-Pin-Coax-I/O cable or a Coax-to-7-Pin cable.
If you were dubbing a tape that had SCMS limitations, an SCMS stripper could be inserted anywhere in the daisychain.
When connecting cables to Sony Portable DAT machines, be sure that the power is off.
The Sony 7-pin jack has a channel that surrounds the 7 sockets. Be sure that the cable's pins are not accidentally seated in the channel rather than in their sockets.
7-Pin Ordering
We are happy to accept orders via phone, mail, email or FAX.
Payment
Payment is via any major credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express), a PayPal account, personal checks, money order (available from the Post Office or bank), traveler's checks, wired funds, cash or certified check, US funds only. Please allow some additional time for personal checks to clear the bank prior to shipment. COD shipments are available in some situations -- contact us for details. You may wire funds directly to our bank account -- please contact us for details.
PayPal handles our credit card processing. You need not have a PayPal account to pay with a credit card.
We also accept purchase orders from pre-qualified US universities, corporations, and state and federal governments.
Checks should be made out to "Core Sound LLC" and sent to:
Core Sound LLC
405 Cedar Lane, #1
Teaneck, NJ 07666
USA
Orders are typically shipped within two or three days but delivery times vary with our order load. We can usually accommodate "rush" orders, including same day shipments -- call and ask!
If you have questions, call and ask for Len Moskowitz. He can be reached at (201) 801-0812. His electronic mail address on the Internet is:
moskowit@core-sound.com
Customs Taxes
If you are ordering from outside the United States or Canada, your government may (or may not) charge you import taxes. Those taxes are your responsibility. If you are not certain, please ask your local Customs authority for more information.
VAT and Sales Taxes:
Core Sound LLC collects only State of New Jersey sales tax. We do not collect UK/Europe VAT taxes or any other taxes
7-Pin Trial Offer
To give you a chance to try our cables and decide if they're for you, Core Sound provides a 30 day trial period. All cables returned within 30 days of shipment qualify for a full refund (minus shipping and handling charges) provided that they are returned in as-new condition.
7-Pin Limited Warranty
The cables are sold with a 90 day limited parts and labor warranty. If a cable requires repair during that period, please ship it back to Core Sound postage paid with a description of the problem. We will repair or replace it and ship it back to you at no charge. No consequential damages are covered by this warranty.
7-Pin User Comments
G.A.S., in Italy, wrote:
“I received the [7-Pin-Coax I/O] cable yesterday. Works fine, including with my "vintage" Revox B226 CD player and an inexpensive coaxial to optical converter. A very good alternative to the overpriced Sony cables!”
7-Pin Bible
Have questions about 7-pin cables, how they're used, the difference between "active" and "passive" cables, daisychaining, the various cables that Sony offers, and those available from Core Sound and other vendors? This page is intended to help!
7-Pin Bible Introduction
On the DAT-heads mailing list, this request appeared:
I was just wondering what the deal with the Sony M1 & D100 is, and patching at shows.???
I have heard sometimes you can patch first in line, and feed d8's and others say you need to be in the back of the line due to voltage differences and other sony logic stuff.
I have also heard that sometimes it has trouble locking onto a digi-signal sent by an Apogee and other times not. Are both of this issues solved by just buying an [another manufacturer's] passive cable?
As with many Sony issues, the answer is a little complicated. The complication stems from the fact that Sony decided that, while its portable DAT decks ("DATmen") comply with the S/PDIFdataformat standard, they do not comply with the S/PDIFvoltage levelstandard. Adding complication is the fact that successive generations of DATmen are not voltage compatible with earlier generations.
History of the 7-Pin Cable!
Here's a little history that should explain:
The Sony TCD-D3 was the first of the Sony portable DAT decks to use the 7-pin I/O connector. It used much higher voltage levels (roughly 5.2 Volts) than the S/PDIF standard's .5 Volts. Sony provided two interface cables: the RK-DA10 which was an "active" (voltage level translating) cable to allow the -D3 to accept the lower S/PDIF-standard voltages; and the POC-DA12 cable with Toslink (fiber optic) input and output.
The next generation TCD-D7 and its successor, the TCD-D8 (solving most of the -D7's transport problems), used slightly lower voltage levels: around 4 Volts. The same two cables worked fine with them.
The next generation is the current one: the TCD-D100 and the pro (SCMS-free) PCM-M1. It uses a still lower voltage: 3.5 Volts. The old cables won't work on this voltage so Sony issued new ones: the RK-DA10P for coaxial (RCA) input, with a gray casing instead the older RK-DA10's black one; and a variety of POC-DA12x cables, each having a different suffix:
POC-DA12P is 7-pin to optical Toslink digital in/out
POC-DA12MP is 7-pin to optical Miniplug in/Toslink out
POC-DA12SP is 7-pin to optical Miniplug in/out
Third Party Suppliers
There are also third party suppliers of 7-pin cables.
The Oade Brothers and one or two other shops have started with the Sony RK-DA10 (black casing) and RK-DA10P (gray casing) active input cables and added a passive output. Since the outputs are passive, the voltage the cable will provide depends on the model of recorder you're using. If you use a -D3 it'll be 5.2 Volts. If it's a -D7 or -D8 it'll be 4 Volts, and if its a -D100 or -M1 it'll be 3.5 Volts.
Core Sound provides the widest variety of cables, but they're all passive. "Passive" means that they do not translate voltage levels. They are not based on Sony's RK-DA10 but rather on Core Sound's own 7-pin plug. The plug does not have the metal shield around the pins that Sony's plug has, and so is a bit less rugged. Even so, thousands of the cables are in use and they have proven reliable over 6+ years of use.
Again: There are no cables that are active (voltage translating) for output.
Interfacing
So what can you hook your deck up to?
The rule is that higher voltages can feed lower voltages with no problems. Since the DATmen have higher voltages than the S/PDIF standard, all Sony DATmen can output to other S/PDIF devices (e.g., CD recorders and S/PDIF soundcards with coaxial inputs) reliably and with no need for active cables.
In contrast, for a strictly S/PDIF compliant device to feed a DATman, you'll need an active input cable for your DATman. Luckily, most common non-Sony and Sony-non-DATman DAT machines put out much higher voltages than the S/PDIF standard. For example, Tascam DAT decks (DA-P1, DA-20, DA-20II, DA-30, DA-30II) all will output to all Sony DATman reliably, without active cables. And most Sony home DAT decks (e.g., DTC-A7) do the same.
Most home CD players however, are strictly S/PDIF compliant and you'll need an active cable to feed your DATman.
Daisychaining
What about daisy chains at shows?
If you are in a daisy chain consisting only of DATmen, if you have the correct active input cable for your deck, then you can reliably accept signals from any of the other DATmen.
If you are using a passive input cable, remember that only older generation decks or ones of your deck's generation will reliably feed your deck; you probably won't be able to accept a feed from a deck of a later generation. So, if you have a -D3, you can accept a feed from another -D3. If you have a -D7 or a -D8, you can accept a feed from a -D3, a -D7 or a -D8. If you have a -D100 or an -M1, you can accept a feed from any machine. (This is the origin of folks wanting some machines to be at the tail of the chain and others at the head.)
For mixed active/passive chains, remember that all cables are passive on output, so even folks with so-called "passive" cables can feed all active cables with no problem. For example, you can have an -M1 with a passive cable at the head of a chain, feeding a -D3 with an active cable. That -D3 can then feed a passive -M1 or any other combination of decks and cables.
Remember that if you have a TCD-D100 or PCM-M1, and you need an active input cable, you must buy a cable based on the RK-DA10P with the gray housing; the older RK-DA10 with the black casing may or may not work.
I hope this helped!