#22

i’m using a Tascam dr44wl , i find it pretty decent! the pres are too noisy to record microsounds, but for general field recording or sampling its very cool.
i love the fact that you can use simultaneously the two on board mics and external microphones (a thing the tascam dr100 cannot do, i was deciding between those two and this feature set the game).
i like that you can remote it with an app on the phone (no sound monitoring but display meters are working correctly) so you can put it somewhere and distance yourself (perfect for trying to record wildlife).
my only real issue with it is that the gain control is clumsy and everytime you adjust the gain on it the movement noise gets recorded by the internal mics. that’s another good reason to use the app, but then you need two hands, one on the phone one on the recorder, not really handy if you are using it handheld.

1 Like
#23

I really enjoy the Sony PCM-A10. I use it as a small recorder and portable FLAC player.

The battery life is great and combined with LOM’s mikroUši it’s a marvelous setup.

1 Like
#24

What would be a good choice (with budget in mind) if I wanted something with an XLR input and no need for built in mics?

To me the experience of holding and pointing an external microphone is important, and while I have had lots of fun doing this with “portable” heavy tape recorders, sometimes it would be nice with a smaller, lighter solution…

#25

I use a MixPre 6II when I need XLR inputs but if I only needed two XLRs I would have bought the the CEntrance MixerFace Pro. I love how minimal the interface is.

3 Likes
#26

Mixpre 3 (MK1) go for peanuts on the used market. I’ve seen them for £350 on eBay UK and I’m sure they’re even cheaper in the USA. I picked one up used and it is very solid and reliable, no problems. I much prefer the interface and sound to the tascam dr100 MK3 I owned previously. Absolute bargain at that price!
I used the mixpre 3 for desk recordings and with a pair of clippy XLR mics, also with a jrf contact mic

2 Likes
#27

Thanks! I might look for that used - was hoping something for something even cheaper, but I hear so many good things about the mixpres…

#28

Cheaper, I feel you - but once you have a mixpre you’ll know you can’t really do any better without spending 1000s if the functionality suits you - I had a tascam dr100 MK3 to sell which covered most of it. Quite (pleasantly) surprised how the price crashed on the used market after the MK2 arrived - pretty much half the price of new! Can also operate as a USB computer interface which is cool - although I haven’t recorded to computer since I got it.

2 Likes
#29

I can second that.
I have the SONY A10 the M10 and the D100
Own the D100 for a while and it’s absolutely great sounding recorder. I don’t miss the mic inputs with recordings sounding this good with the built in mics. And i don’t like to carry too much stuff on me for field recording.

I got the A10 because i wanted a recorder that is always in my bag.

And recently got the M10 because i could get a good deal for a second hand one and was curious about it.
I recently did a comparison between all of them.
D100 is clearly the best,
M10 comes close.
A10 is quite noisy with the inbuilt mics for low level sources and has a totally different feel in the sound.

I also compared them using DIY mic’s based on the same capsules as the USI’s.
I noticed the A10 is much less noisy that way. The preamps and the converter actually sound pretty good.
It’s a huge difference with the built in mics. And the difference with the M10 and the D100 is much smaller.

2 Likes
#30

Looking for the Mk 1 is a very good tip actually. Thanks! I put up an autosearch for it in the norwegian used market. Selling my Zoom H2n that I never enjoyed that much will get me part of the way there :).

1 Like
#31

Nice! I need to pick up a D100. I think I was skeptical because of it being an older product and I kept expecting a new version to come out :see_no_evil:

#32

All the best finding a good deal - different level to all the tascam and zoom I’ve tried (which are still ok though!). I’ve been powering it from a USB c wall charger (HAS to be USB c to c) and a generic USB c power bank (cheap but heavy) and rechargeable AA eneloops on the move

#33

I had that problem, and kept just putting $10 and $20 away until I realized that (a) I had enough to buy one, and (b) Sony wasn’t going to release anything until after I’d spent the money on it, so I gave up and bought one.

3 Likes
#34

No mention of the Sony PCM-D10… I also have a Tascam D44 and find myself grabbing it over the Tascam even though the Tascam is smaller.

Built in mics are great. Pairs well with my Geofón, Usi Pros and others. Battery life is impressive enough to notice and when I’m feeling particularly motivated to use it I can record at 192kHz.

Anyone else share these experiences?

1 Like
#35

A bit more at the prosumer end of the market, but I really liked my Olympus LS-P4. Metal body, very small (possibly too small) form-factor, very decent sound, bluetooth…

1 Like
#36

for what you want to do, it literally doesn’t get any cheaper or smaller than this:

image

depends on what mic you’re trying to use, of course, but it just might fit the bill perfectly.

2 Likes
#37

oh, we send journalists out with these (the DR-10X) at work, with a Beyer M58 (omni) it works great for voices. It’s mono (obviously), there are only 3 gain settings (lo/mid/hi), the headphone out is ok-ish, and the auto-gain feature is even acceptable (it can pump a lot, but in most ENG situations, it’s fine). Only slight caveat, the battery status indication is very unprecise and the locking mechanism can be cumbersome. But the plastic did not break in two years of abuse, so it’s not as fragile as it feels (we never put the sd card out and only use usb to get the files though). And the interface is a bit sluggish.

1 Like
#38

Thanks! That looks very interesting, and was about what I had in mind. Then it comes down to the preamps and gain control etc. as commented above, but very attractive in a minimalist way.

#39

What’s the noise floor like with the D10? Curious about internal and external mics in that regard.
Seems to be one of the few handheld formfactor recorders that have combo jacks.

#40

I only have a Tascam D44 and SD MixPre-6ii to compare to. It is somewhere in between them. Much quieter than the Tascam.

1 Like
#41

Ahh that’s quite a range of devices! Any chance you’d be willing to record a short, quiet sound at home with the Usi on each to compare the noise levels? Something like the D-10 and the MixPre are what I’m curious about and I have a Tascam myself for reference.