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Old March 22nd, 2006, 01:42 PM   #1
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iKEY Portable USB Recorder

iKEY Portable USB Recorder (http://www.ikey-audio.com/ikey.htm)

"Designed to record directly to any external USB storage device"

Records audio to uncompressed WAV format or MP3 format (w/ selectable bit rate, up to 256kbps).

At only $148 at The Sound Professionals it looks pretty interesting:
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cg...KEY&type=store
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Old March 23rd, 2006, 09:50 AM   #2
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That does look interesting. I was wondering if there was an alternative to a minidisc recorder.
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Old March 23rd, 2006, 10:54 AM   #3
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Cute.

No mic preamps, though. Bungie together a preamp, the i-Key, with a flash drive hanging out the end? Seems awkward.

However, if you're recording in an environment where signals are already at line level it might be a handy device.
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Old March 23rd, 2006, 11:08 AM   #4
 
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just imagine all the iRivers it could replace.
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Old March 23rd, 2006, 04:03 PM   #5
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Just ordered one from B&H for $99.
I've been looking for a reason to get a new iPod!
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Old April 7th, 2006, 07:51 AM   #6
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Do you know if that can record using a condensor microphone?
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Old April 7th, 2006, 11:43 AM   #7
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No mic preamps means you have to get the signal to line level somehow. Nor would it supply phantom power for condensors.

But if you already have a mixer that provides preamps and phantom, the iKey *ought* to work fine.
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Old April 7th, 2006, 11:45 AM   #8
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You need a pretty hot preamp to drive the converters. I've noticed some low level noise from the way this buffers the signal with mp3s and with wavs. This is a great product for recording things with a high noise floor (like a concert, or anything outdoors). But, for critical, close up recordings, I'll still use the 442 and DAT (that cost ALOT more, so apples to oranges here).
I would have liked a way to hear back the recording, or even hear what's going to the hard drive (like a post converter out), but with an ipod that's easy... what you record just shows up in the playlist.
8.5 out of 10.
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Old April 7th, 2006, 03:03 PM   #9
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iKey

John
Check out the review on CNet today. They say background clicks and lack of time stamp are a real problem.
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