Looking for a portable digital recorder and would like some recommendations.
Budget: $500 or less
Features required: -XLR inputs with phantom power- minimum 2x (stereo) -battery and AC power capabilities -ability to record at least 4hrs at high-quality -independent channel (input) level controls with metering Objective: Transitioning to Blu-ray delivery and want to record compatible high quality audio that will sync well with HDV footage without wordclock or TC in (since cams are not sync capable.) Primary usage: To record supplemental audio from board feeds or external microphones or wireless receiver. Example of usage: Cams record ambient via shotgun, recorder captures direct feed from wireless lavs or 2 (or more) channels from soundboard with mics on one channel, music on the other, etc. Background: I have been doing more stage and dance recording lately and have in the past always rented a Marantz PMD-660 and have had good experience with it so far. However, I have reached the point where it makes more sense to purchase than rent and I want to make sure I am not overlooking a better recorder before I move forward. B&H is currently offering the 660 for $469.99. What are your opinions of the 660 vs other recorders in this price range? Thanks! |
Hi Bryan ...
Don't know if you've seen the new Zoom R16 which is causing a bit of a stir- I'm considering getting one to record shows. Samson - Zoom - R16 It records up to 8 channels simultaneously - ideal for recording soundboard feeds as well as your own mics. It has 8 XLR/line inputs (2 phantom), can run on batteries (not sure if it will do 4 hours) and as a bonus will connect to your PC to act as an audio workstation and controller - can't wait to get my hands on one ! Tony |
The Samson R16 only records 44.1kHz when portable, not good enough for professional use. I bought the Zoom H4n recently, it's a great recorder when coupled with a mixer.
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Tony,
Great to hear from you. That Samson does look like a nice piece of kit but the 44.1kHz limitation would be a problem. It is too bad that they don't offer a 48kHz (or better) option... Nicholas, I am hoping to use a recorder without a mixer. With the 660, I would monitor the level while recording but do all of my mixdown in post. Would you still recommend the H4n when used without a mixer? How do you feel it compares to the Marantz 660? Thanks! |
'The Samson R16 only records 44.1kHz when portable, not good enough for professional use. '
When you're recording a stage show, two or even four channels is never enough. You need to grab as many channels of audio as you can and do a proper mix-down in post. So eight channels at CD quality is much more useful to me than 2/4 channels at studio quality with something missing - its a personal preference. |
Tony,
I see where you are coming from but since I can't sync (TC, genlock, blackburst, etc not supported on cam) then wouldn't there be a greater risk of recording drift at 44.1 kHz? I really like the layout of the recorder though. In the past, for stage events, I capture 2 shotguns stereo to tape (on camera) the orchestra pit on one channel of the recorder, and the house lavs on the other channel of the recorder then in post I mix LF-left channel shotgun Center-lav mics RF-right channel shotgun LR-orchestra RR-orchestra LFE-extracted from all audio I do have some other events where the additional tracks could come in handy, though. What has been your experience with this? |
After thinking about it some more, the r16 also doesn't seem very portable. It still presumes you are mixing/recording from a table-top environment vs the 660 which can fit in a mixing bag or on a shoulder sling.
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Nicholas-Thanks for the follow-up. Those issues make the H4n out of the running but at that price point it probably was too much to hope for the extra features. Thanks!
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I just got my H4n and haven't even had a chance to test it out, so can't really comment from personal experience... but you should know Nick is the only one I've heard who is unhappy with either the mics or the 4ch recording on this unit. The reviews at B&H are pretty glowing.
But the complaints that the manual is the worst one ever written? Take those seriously. Again, take with a grain of salt .... |
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Again, haven't used it yet, but looking at p24 of the manual, seems to imply that while the onboard mics cannot be adjusted independently of each other, the two XLR inputs can:
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I went hunting in the boards looking for an answer and have found quite a bit of confusion on level control with the H4n and also asked for help on a few threads where the conversation is already in the same vein. But here are some of the posts/threads I found so far:
http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/1397705-post15.html http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...ng-levels.html http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/1026192-post1.html http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/1026245-post2.html http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/1028108-post21.html http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/1028174-post25.html As best as I can tell, the consensus is that there is no consensus. Most seem to say that you cannot adjust levels independently except when in multi-track mode using all four inputs and recording at lower quality... All of that aside though, I don't really see the H4n as a great option against the PMD-660. I really appreciate everyone's input so far. Keep the info flowing! Thanks again. |
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