TASCAM and OTARI made pro (commercial) and semi-pro machines.
Perhaps my post was missed in the fray...
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showpo...60&postcount=12
I might add… the concepts of pro and semi-pro are largely marketing designations that ended up having little meaning in practice.
For example, the TASCAM 52 and 32 were introduced in the same year as “Pro” and “Semi-pro” respectively, but the industry largely ignored these designations. People chose machines based on features they needed, or could live without. The 32 proved to be a very robust industry workhorse.
Originally the idea was to cut cost for home and small studios. Editing features were Spartan to non-existent and a line level of -10dB was chosen for compatibility with consumer hi-fi equipment. The lower cost TASCAM machines were not made with ease of maintenance in mind. So-called Pro machines are designed for easier accessibility to calibration controls, but that’s because the industrial environment requires more frequent maintenance and adjustment.
Where you see the biggest difference is in features like return-to-zero, Counter memory locations, spooling mode, dump editing, remote control, on-board editing block, center time-code track, balanced +4dB input/output, switchable flux and equalization schemes, etc.
An inexpensive machine can sound as good as one ten times the price, but of course it won’t hold up so well in a busy commercial studio and the lack of features may make it unsuitable for that environment.
To be frank the sonic differences between so-called pro and semi-pro machines have been overstated and are more urban legend than fact. But these designations were carefully managed by the manufacturers who wanted to strictly control the markets. That is, they wanted people that could afford it to buy the expensive pro line and people that couldn’t to buy the semi-pro stuff. To the industry’s chagrin many very large and well-known studios found the less expensive machines fit nicely for certain applications. Such is the saga of the TASCAM 32.
Young editors and writers were spoon-fed the concept of pro and semi-pro, and it still lives on in news groups like rec.audio.pro… probably the worst offender. If everything one knows was learned on such a forum, one should probably start over.
The objective for most people on this forum is to have a working machine they can rely on, rather than simply having a Rolls-Royce emblem around their neck to impress their friends. Many Studers are such maintenance nightmares you can end up with a very expensive doorstop… er, albatross.
It sounds to me like talon is a collector/hobbyist that is curious about machines he hasn’t used. In that case the TASCAM Fostex and Otari machines can be had for so little you can hardly afford not to try one or two and see. If I had to pick one it would be the TASCAM 32.