Sony DTC-2000ES
(november 1993 - 1996)

Unveiled late in late 1993 for the '94 lineup, when the efforts to impose DAT as a consumer format were by then useless and vain to say the least.

This last worthwhile deck was hailed by all as the best D.A.T. recorder ever. If there were of course other obvious contenders for that Palme d'Or, but the DTC-2000ES was indeed the best (fairly) affordable consumer recorder, and that is a fact ! It also was the first consumer recording machine to have an the SBM circuit. Among features aplenty, a nice touch was the presence of microphone inputs - plug in your ORTF microphone duet, hit record, (play well), and you have a MASTER tape.

Compared to the energetic sound of Sony's first DAT deck (DTC-1000ES, which I own as well, Philips TDA1541 DAC), the 2000ES is close to being the perfect recording device - linear as can be. Thanks to its 4 heads design, it still is one of the best stand-alone AD and DA converter available as well (to my ears).

True to itself, Sony made two versions of the DTC-2000ES : the regular one (on this page, available in back or champagne) and a puzzling one. The puzzling one is the same, except it does not have the tape/source monitor switch ! It seems this version was mainly sold in Germany. Of course, the utility of having a four-head deck becomes rather futile since monitoring isn't possible... Pre-production samples finally discounted ? Cheaper 2-head version planned ? I don't know.

Anyway - Sony complemented the DTC-2000ES in late 1995 with a batch of lower end models and the lightweight DTC-ZA5ES. The 2000ES was thereafter quickly withdrawn and last seen in the '95/96 lineup ; it can thus be seen as the last "classic" ES unit. Due to a hefty 2500$ price tag back then, the 2000ES isn't that easy to find nowadays but did sell very well worldwide - most of us owners hang on to ours like mad.