Portable digital recorder

hbarrett@gmx.ne · 18th February 2007

Hello,

I am looking for a portable device that I can use to do basic music recording, eg. recording lessons, rehearsals, practice sessions, gigs etc. without having to set up a whole lot of stuff. So for this purpose I think I will need the following features:

* Portability
* Ability to record up to say three hours of high quality stereo audio (without compression, ie. better than MiniDisc) (it is for music)
* Built-in high-quality mics (so that I don't have to set up mics if I don't want)
* External mic inputs (I have a pair of Samson C02 condenser mics that I can use if I want to set them up); and therefore:
- Mic preamps
- Phantom power

A cheap option would be good as I can already record onto my computer, but want something else which is less hassle to set up. I have looked at a few that look quite good, including: Marantz PMD-660; Edirol R-1 and R-09; M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 (no built in mics); Zoom H4 (looks pretty awesome and fairly cheap; I'm looking for the problem with it); AEQ PAW 120.

Any suggestions as to what the best choice would be?
Thanks

sheetKnows · 18th February 2007

I wouldnt recomend the m-audio, cause it is VERY VERY VERY fragile!!
Other than that the only portable recorder i used was a sounddevices, wich has no built in mics, and costs more than you probably wanna spend, but it really kicks ass,
a lot of options, great sound quality and built like a battle tank!
As for the other ones i cant give an opinion because i never tried them.

Sticky Shed · 18th February 2007

Edirol R-09.
http://www.edirol.net/products/en/R-09/
I'm very happy with it. I'm getting 10 hours recording time in the wild with Sanyo 2700 reachables and a Maha MH-C401FS charger. I also use it as an mp3 player by swapping cards about. The operating system has been changed recently to remove the 2gig limit on the SD cards.
It's surprisingly sturdy except for its battery compartment which is very poorly designed.
Actually, Sweetwater are doing a good price on them at the moment.

18th February 2007	#1
hbarrett@gmx.ne Gear interested Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 1 Thread Starter	Portable digital recorder Hello, I am looking for a portable device that I can use to do basic music recording, eg. recording lessons, rehearsals, practice sessions, gigs etc. without having to set up a whole lot of stuff. So for this purpose I think I will need the following features: * Portability * Ability to record up to say three hours of high quality stereo audio (without compression, ie. better than MiniDisc) (it is for music) * Built-in high-quality mics (so that I don't have to set up mics if I don't want) * External mic inputs (I have a pair of Samson C02 condenser mics that I can use if I want to set them up); and therefore: - Mic preamps - Phantom power A cheap option would be good as I can already record onto my computer, but want something else which is less hassle to set up. I have looked at a few that look quite good, including: Marantz PMD-660; Edirol R-1 and R-09; M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 (no built in mics); Zoom H4 (looks pretty awesome and fairly cheap; I'm looking for the problem with it); AEQ PAW 120. Any suggestions as to what the best choice would be? Thanks

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18th February 2007	#2
sheetKnows Gear Head Joined: Dec 2006 Location: New York Posts: 60	I wouldnt recomend the m-audio, cause it is VERY VERY VERY fragile!! Other than that the only portable recorder i used was a sounddevices, wich has no built in mics, and costs more than you probably wanna spend, but it really kicks ass, a lot of options, great sound quality and built like a battle tank! As for the other ones i cant give an opinion because i never tried them.

18th February 2007	#3
Sticky Shed Gear Head Joined: Aug 2006 Location: New Zealand Posts: 43	Edirol R-09. http://www.edirol.net/products/en/R-09/ I'm very happy with it. I'm getting 10 hours recording time in the wild with Sanyo 2700 reachables and a Maha MH-C401FS charger. I also use it as an mp3 player by swapping cards about. The operating system has been changed recently to remove the 2gig limit on the SD cards. It's surprisingly sturdy except for its battery compartment which is very poorly designed. Actually, Sweetwater are doing a good price on them at the moment.