Generally the sound quality of the DAT mic preamps is not as good as an external mixer or mic preamp. Consumer type with RCA phono jacks. The DAT recorder has an LED or LCD display window which shows various aspects of the recording. Absolute time, remaining time on the tape, or elapsed time for the current selection. Usually the electronics can correct for this loss.
Some units show the error rate.
The frequency at which the machine is sampling audio signals, such as 44.1 kHz. This indicator works both during recording and playback. On most models you can switch between 48 kHz and 44.1 kHz. Some units can also record at 32 kHz. A rate of 44.1 kHz is preferred if your tapes will be duplicated on compact disc, because no sample-rate conversion is needed.