Whats a good Portable Recorder?

[NEWTON IN ORBIT]

Sorry if it's already been suggested.
JoeCo - Home of the BlackBox Recorder

J

[Rick Sutton]

Originally Posted by PoxyMusic

I really hope the Giants don't sweep the Phillies, so that I can record crowd sounds next week! (I've rented it out for the week)

Well...........that boat sailed a while back. They're playing the Rangers now.

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by PoxyMusic

...<snip>There are a few irritating design features, like the headphone jack on the front panel. It gets in the way of my portabrace flap. (my Portabrace was designed for a different machine, I'm sure the official PB case for the DR accommodates it)<snip>...

Right angle connector might do the trick quite nicely.

[PoxyMusic]

Originally Posted by Rick Sutton

Well...........that boat sailed a while back. They're playing the Rangers now.

D'Oh!
Uh yeah, the Rangers.

[PoxyMusic]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

Right angle connector might do the trick quite nicely.

Double D'oh!

[Ozpeter]

I think the only equivalent to the DR-680 (for 8 channels in terms of price/performance) would be a pair of R-44's linked via the sync cable. Opinions differ on whether the sync cable actually syncs their clocks, or whether it just syncs the transport commands. Some owners claim the first is true, others only the second.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by Baithak

I would really look at the Sound Devices USB Pre 2 when the release it later this year.

Thanks for the tip! That unit was not on my radar. Looks nice. 80dB of gain.

One thing, though, is the USB powering requirement. I don't bring
a computer into the field so I guess I'd have to find a standalone
USB powering unit. Anyone have a recommendation on a powering
unit?

[JonesH]

Originally Posted by Brackish

One thing, though, is the USB powering requirement. I don't bring
a computer into the field so I guess I'd have to find a standalone
USB powering unit. Anyone have a recommendation on a powering
unit?

If you're a Mac guy, maybe the hypermac batteries are worth looking in to? Until this Monday they can be bought with MagSafe cables in addition to the on-board USB connector for charging phones, iPods and apparently preamps

[Baithak]

Originally Posted by Brackish

....

Anyone have a recommendation on a powering unit?

Hey Brackish : thanks to an EU mandate, most cell phones and portable devices now come with standard USB power supplies. I am not sure as to the current requirements for the device in standalone mode but assuming that it is the same as when connected to a PC, any USB power supply should work just fine so long as it fits the specific USB port size on the device.

Looks like a winner overall.

Baithak

[PoxyMusic]

Regarding powering, this is from a GS thread a month or two back:

myGearStore Just Mobile Gum Pro USB MP3 iPod GPS PDA External Battery - 4400mAh - Accessories for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch/nano, Macbook, Blackberry, and more!

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by PoxyMusic

Regarding powering, this is from a GS thread a month or two back:

myGearStore Just Mobile Gum Pro USB MP3 iPod GPS PDA External Battery - 4400mAh - Accessories for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch/nano, Macbook, Blackberry, and more!

Thanks for the link!

I wonder what kind of runtime that device would give.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by Baithak

Looks like a winner overall.

I'm impressed that it seems to have the same ADC as the 700 series!
Atleast that's my reading of the features.

When is the USB Pre 2 due for release?

[Baithak]

Originally Posted by Brackish

When is the USB Pre 2 due for release?

SD website says that it is available this month and a quick check reveals
it is up on the Sweetwater and Dale proaudio sites. e,g:

sound devices USBPre 2 | Sweetwater.com

It states that the product has shipped from SD and should be with Sweetwater "anyday" now. I am just waiting to see it at AES before buying it from my regular dealer: Gotham Sound.

Baithak

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by Baithak

I am just waiting to see it at AES before buying it

Thanks!

Say ... I ran across this posted elsewhere on this site and it has me a
bit concerned:


"The Tascam people told me that when recording w/ the DR680 via
SPDIF the recorder locks its convertor to the incoming SPDIF clock."


Does that mean that if one were doing 8-track recording, that the
2 tracks coming in digitally would not be on the same clock
as the 6 analog tracks? I would think that if the digital inputs are
on a different clock, this could lead to sync issues over time,
the same as if the 2 digital tracks were being recorded on a
separate recorder. Or am I reading this wrong?

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by PoxyMusic

I didn't really consider the Edirol. Same price, fewer channels.

I just made a quick price comparison of the Edirol R-44 to the 680
and the 680 was much less in price! So they aren't even the same
price now, atleast at the one place I looked.

[Baithak]

Originally Posted by Brackish

Thanks!

Say ... I ran across this posted elsewhere on this site and it has me a
bit concerned:


"The Tascam people told me that when recording w/ the DR680 via
SPDIF the recorder locks its convertor to the incoming SPDIF clock."


Does that mean that if one were doing 8-track recording, that the
2 tracks coming in digitally would not be on the same clock
as the 6 analog tracks? I would think that if the digital inputs are
on a different clock, this could lead to sync issues over time,
the same as if the 2 digital tracks were being recorded on a
separate recorder. Or am I reading this wrong?

There will be no sync issues. The entire recorder - all tracks will be clocked to the incoming signal from whatever is connected to the SPDIF port (including the outputs) so there will be no drift between the tracks.

Baithak

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by Baithak

There will be no sync issues. The entire recorder - all tracks will be clocked to the incoming signal from whatever is connected to the SPDIF port (including the outputs) so there will be no drift between the tracks.

That's great news! I was getting worried there for a minute.

You're sure of this? It's beyond my understanding how the 680 could
sync the analog inputs with the clock of the USB Pre 2 but if you say so.

[PoxyMusic]

I just got a text from the guy I rented my DR680 out to for a week. (He now has way more time on it that I do!)

After 5 days of intensive dialogue recording...8 hours a day...no complaints. That's all I know so far, but no news is good news. I'll post more of his observations when I hear them in person.

[MichaelPatrick]

Originally Posted by Brackish

That's great news! I was getting worried there for a minute.

You're sure of this? It's beyond my understanding how the 680 could
sync the analog inputs with the clock of the USB Pre 2 but if you say so.

Bathiak is right. The DR-680 is designed like other recorders that have a digital audio input; they slave their internal clock to the external converter to keep all the tracks in sync. High-end recorders from Sound Devices, for example, do the same thing.

[Brackish]

Got a quick question here about the 680. Channels 5 and 6
are 1/4" inputs with phantom. If I just use an XLR-to-1/4" adapter
plug on these channels, will the phantom be passed to the mics the
same as if the 1/4" sockets were XLR?

[MichaelPatrick]

Originally Posted by Brackish

Got a quick question here about the 680. Channels 5 and 6
are 1/4" inputs with phantom. If I just use an XLR-to-1/4" adapter
plug on these channels, will the phantom be passed to the mics the
same as if the 1/4" sockets were XLR?

Yes.

Instead of using an adapter I recommend a patch cord with 1/4" at one end and XLR-F at the other. Those short barrel adapters put physical strain on the recorder's 1/4" receptacle, making the connection less reliable.

[PoxyMusic]

Originally Posted by Brackish

will the phantom be passed to the mics the
same as if the 1/4" sockets were XLR?

Yes. My condensors had no problems with 1/4", and that's good advice about the patch cables....hadn't thought about that.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by MichaelPatrick

Instead of using an adapter I recommend a patch cord with 1/4" at one end and XLR-F at the other.

Thanks. Will do.

[PoxyMusic]

Originally Posted by PoxyMusic

I just got a text from the guy I rented my DR680 out to for a week. (He now has way more time on it that I do!)

After 5 days of intensive dialogue recording...8 hours a day...no complaints. That's all I know so far, but no news is good news. I'll post more of his observations when I hear them in person.

OK, I just debriefed the person whom I rented my unit to. He was using it to record dialog and wild effects/atmos for an industrial video at some windfarms in the Sierra Nevadas. Here was his setup:

Ch 1,2 Neuman RSM 191 (48v)
Ch 3 Senn 416 (48v)
Ch 4,5,6 lavs (all 48v)
Ch 7,8 mix

Multiple locations every day, 15 hours/day shooting, three days' worth of shooting. He's not a location recordist by trade, but has been in post for 15 years or so and knows the difference between good and bad production sound.

He really liked the DR680. He found it easy and reliable to use. The only real negative was battery consumption. He went through a set of batteries (8AA) every three hours or so...so that's about 32-40 per day. I can't say if that's excessive or not, but an external aftermarket battery solution seems like a good idea for hectic shooting schedules. However if your like me and use it to record field effects at a leisurely pace, it's just a minor to moderate inconvenience.

Ruggedness is obviously a concern: gotta protect the gear, and be gentle with the connections. You get what you pay for.


So in my opinion, for $1,000 it's a great value. If your a professional production recordist the trade offs may not be cost effective, but for many of us they are.