TASCAM has introduced the DA-6400, a new 64-track recorder that records to an internal SSD drive caddy for live and event recording.
I/O options like MADI and (Audinate) Dante make it well-suited for live recording, event capture, and as a backup for DAW sessions. It’s available with a single or dual/redundant power supply.
Included with the DA-6400 is an AK-CC25 hot-swappable caddy containing a 240 GB TASCAM solid-state drive. The caddy includes a USB 3 jack for stand-alone use, with the drive simply to the client to offload the BWAV files into DAW sessions.
The DA-6400 records 64 tracks at 48 kHz/24-bit or 32 tracks at 96 kHz/24-bit. Included on the rear panel are SMPTE timecode, word clock, RS-422, parallel and Ethernet connections.
The IF-MA64/EX interface card provides both coaxial and optical MADI connections, with the coaxial connection being redundant so that MADI is passed through even if power is lost. Other I/O options include the lower-cost IF-MA64/BN coaxial MADI card, IF-DA64 Dante card, and IF-AE16 AES/EBU card, with more to come.
The DA-6400 uses an embedded operating system for quick startup and simple operation, and the system is designed for reliable recording when using high sampling rates and large amounts of data transmission. Files are saved approximately every 20 seconds during recording, so data losses due to unexpected power supply interruptions are kept to a minimum.
Because the clock generator can influence drift and digital signal quality, the DA-6400 employs a temperature-compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO) with a high precision of +/-1 ppm (0.048 Hz when 48 kHz).
The DA-6400 can receive timecode from a Pro Tools system for backup recording with synchronized operation. Using serial or parallel control, DA-6400 recording operations can be started from Pro Tools.
The 1RU main unit of the DA-6400 weighs about 7 pounds, and with a single Dante cable from a digital console, an entire tour can be recorded in only a single rackspace. Other applications include backup track playback and rehearsal recording for a “virtual soundcheck.”
The DA-6400 records in Broadcast WAV (BWF) format, which includes timecode information in the files. File searches and importing files into Pro Tools and other DAW software is made simple with recording information baked into the files.
