Fitting comfortably into a 3U rack space, the R500 sports a slick matte silver-gray finish. The right hand side of the front panel houses the display window, shuttle wheel, record level knobs, and the main control buttons. The tape transport, headphone jack, and ID related utility buttons are on the left. The front panel’s most striking features are the crisp LCD display and a large, smooth jog/shuttle wheel.
Flip the box around and you have all the standard goodies. The analog connectors include balanced +4 dBm XLRs and unbalanced -10 dBm RCA ins and outs. Above each of the balanced connector sockets are trim controls that can be adjusted with a Phillips head screwdriver. Digital I/O supports both AES/EBU and S/PDIF connectors with a slide switch that selects between the two. Also on the rear panel are the AC power supply socket and several connectors for the hand held remote control.
The PCM-R500 ships with the basic RM-D757 serial remote control. However, the more feature-rich RM-D750 ($75) is available as an option. On the DAT’s front panel is a three-way slide switch for configuring the remote control settings. Choices include wired or wireless control and a remote Off position.
Again, what sets the PCM-R500 apart from the competition is SONY’s Super Bit Mapping (SBM) process. SBM is a type of noise-shaped dither that works while recording analog signals. The PCM-R500 processes the digital data in a 20 bit format. SBM is then enabled during the conversion to 16 bit storage. The advantage of this process is a greater frequency response and improved noise floor.
DAT tapes processed with SBM can be played back on any machine. SONY allows the user to turn SBM on or off from the front panel. This may come in handy if the digital audio has already been dithered (or will be dithered later). Dithering material more than once may add unwanted noise and artifacts to the audio. SBM is not available in Long play mode or with digital transfers.
Start IDs and the corresponding Program Numbers can be written automatically or manually. These index markers are embedded in the DAT subcode and used to locate and play specific tracks. When recording from an analog source with auto start ID, the threshold level and the length of time the signal must remain below that level (before writing the ID) can be adjusted. The factory setting for the threshold level is -45 dB; this can be changed in 1 dB increments from -12 to -60 dB. The “length of time” setting ranges from 1 to 10 seconds with 1 second intervals; the factory setting is 3 seconds. These default settings worked fine for me, but it’s nice to have the flexibility to change them if need be.
The PCM-R500 also writes Skip IDs and End IDs. A Skip ID indicates tracks or recorded material that are to be skipped during playback. Skip IDs are 1 second in length during Standard Play mode (Long mode is 2 seconds). As the name implies, the End ID indicates the end of a recording. Unfortunately, you can only write and erase End IDs with the optional RM-D750 remote.
When transferring tapes digitally, all subcodes are automatically written, so the new digital copy or “clone” is a perfect match of the original. Note that subcodes are independent from the recorded material, so they can be written and erased without affecting the audio.
Other standard features on the R-500 include Skip buttons that rewind or fast forward to the next or previous selection (or beyond, with multiple pushes). In addition, the Data wheel can be used to locate specific program numbers.
Another handy feature is called Shuttle Play. By rotating the outer Shuttle wheel, the playback speed can be varied from 1/2 to 8X the normal playback speed. This is very useful for queuing up an exact location that is close to the current time. However, excessive or prolonged use of shuttle play can cause damage to the tape and drum. So use it judiciously.
The Repeat function is another useful transport control. This allows either one track or the entire tape to play 5 times in succession.
By pushing the Mark button, the PCM-R500 will memorize the absolute time of a given location. Hitting Locate will then recall that location. The R500’s locate points are not remembered if a different tape is put in the machine or if the power is turned off and on again. Still, I find this function extremely handy - in fact, I’d like to see multiple locate points on DAT machines similar to those found on MDMs.
Other amenities on the R-500 include an emphasis indicator. When an audio signal is present with an emphasis in higher frequencies, the R-500 plays the signal while automatically deemphasizing it (with attenuation proportional to the degree of emphasis). Emphasis is rarely used today, but it’s good to be able to deal with tapes that have it.
Also on the display is an error rate correction indicator. As with most digital gear, the R-500 corrects digital errors. However, it’s surprising to see how often these occur.
Buried within the user interface is a rather extensive set-up menu. The PCM-R500 works right out of the box without any kind of special configuration, but the menu accesses a number of interesting options.
You simply press the menu button to access these operations. By using the Data/Shuttle wheel, parameters can be set as desired. Rotating the outer Shuttle wheel scrolls through menu options while rotating the inner Data wheel chooses the specific settings.
Some of the menu choices include a calendar that can be set with the current date, time, and day of the week (and also the date and time of the recording); SCMS copy codes that can be defeated or engaged; a Mute control for setting the duration of blank spaces between tracks; settings for level sync threshold; displaying the total drum operating time; and control options for writing track IDs.
How does SBM sound? Great. But in all honesty, dithering is rather subtle stuff. It’s not going to hit you over the head the way a killer reverb does. However, SBM seems to “open up” the sound and clarify the details.
The manual is one of those combined English-French-German translations. So if you are a foreign language major, this documentation is for you. Otherwise it leaves a bit (no pun intended) to be desired. At 24 pages, I found the English section rather slim. Most of the basics are covered but not much more. For instance there is no information on the calibration of the balanced trim controls or technical data on Super Bit Mapping.
But in all fairness, the R500 is easy to use and its bare-bones manual should not pose a problem.
What’s the verdict? The SONY PCM-R500 is one great sounding machine. It has all the features (and more) one would expect from a professional DAT recorder. The clear LCD display and smooth shuttle/jog dial are a joy to use. And for those aficionados who like to tweak their settings, the menu options allow parameter preferences be set to perfection.
So if you’re in the market for a new DAT machine, you owe it to yourself to check out this one.
SONY PCM-R500
by J. Arif Verner
Overview
The PCM-R500 is a 2 head machine with four direct drive motors (drum, capstan and two reel motors). All things being equal, 4 motor machines have real advantages: better tracking and tape stability, lower error rates, longer motor life, and better cueing and shuttling. Features
It seems that over the past few years DAT manufacturers have incorporated many of the same features in their machines. The PCM-R500 is no exception. Analog sampling rates include Standard play modes at 44.1 and 48 kHz and a Long play at 32 kHz. The Long mode doubles the play and record times on the DAT tape. This is fine for speeches, interviews and lectures, but forget about it for music.In Use
Since installing the PCM-R500 at Infinite Sound Studio we have mixed two complete albums and numerous smaller projects on it. The unit has worked flawlessly. Super Bit Mapping has been used almost exclusively; if fact, we leave it on most of the time.
Conclusion
Other new siblings in the R-500’s family include the R300 and the R700. As the product numbers indicate, the R300 ($995) offers fewer features than the R500, while the R700 ($2,695) has a few more. All three models include the Super Bit Mapping option.