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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
 Posted - 08/31/2006 : 12:46:35 PM
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Aloha -
My review of the new Edirol R 09 flash recorder is online: http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/
There's a number of audio clips so you can hear what's good -- and what isn't. No buying advice, tho'. There are also links to my review of the MicroTrack so you can compare.
One quick thing -- the first audio example was recorded on the lanai of the Beach House -- not indoors, per se. So you can hear the ocean and a bit of wind (and a group of hungry campers...) - it might sound as if I've got the gain maxed and you are hearing pre-amp noise. Nope, it's da environment.
As Craig P said, the new Zoom looks like a contender -- but it isn't shipping yet and review units are in high demand. I may get a crack at that one, but not for quite some time.
A couple points of local interest: I did field tests at both the Aloha Camp and Lark Camp. Mahalo to Chris Yeaton for the sweet slack key, and to Puna for supplying one of the pix I used. Thanks also to Cano & Kevin at Lark and to the usual oldtime gang in Ashland.
Cheers,
Mark
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Edited by - Mark on 08/31/2006 12:56:46 PM |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2006 : 03:05:06 AM
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That is a fine review Mark. Unlike so many gear reviews it really tells us what's hot and what's not. Fair and unbiased journalism. And you obviously put a lot of thought and work into the testing. The playing was also fine, BTW; you and Chris both played sweetly - especially through the AKGs.
Bottom line for me: the inability to power standard mics, the fact that the AGC is a compressor of limited value (I had hoped that it would make recording semiautomatic and easy), and the unexpectedly bad effect even slight breezes had on the recording (I suppose I could dummy up some foam covering) are gonna make me wait to see how the Zoom turns out. The E-9 has lots of good features, too, but, since there is no pressure, I'll wait for a shoot-out.
I hope you get to review a Zoom, because all the other reviews I read of the Edirol are either puff pieces, or address all the wrong issues (like the inconvenience of the leather case), and I don't expect that situation to change for the Zoom.
Again, great job.
BTW, I wonder why 48khz is getting included all the time in a field recorder - that should be for DVDs or other video applications, no?
Also, for folks who don't know lots about SD Cards: They are actually RAM with a controller on-board the chip. The controllers determine the speed of data transfer, and that is important in lots of applications like this. The specs on them are hard to figure out, too, since they often say things like 60X or 130X (130 times what exactly?). What you really want to know is the data transfer rate stated in megabytes per second. The input rate is usually different than the output rate, too. You usually have to look at the mfg.'s web site. I get the fastest I can afford. There has been a threshold in failure rates, too. 8 Months ago, 1gb cards would croak very often, while .5gb cards were uniformly solid. I don't know what the situation is now, but look at reviews such as those on Newegg. The higher capacity cards will have higher failure rates, and you don't want to have some precious recording or pictures on a card that dies before you unload the data. It turns out, too, that there are only a few manufacturers and most are rebranded, so if you can find out who actually made the card, you can often get a better deal with another brand. Sandisk is most often the most expensive, BTW. Lastly, there was a recent article about SD cards used in cell phones. Erasure of data on SD Cards is only partial and can be read by someone with the knowhow. The cell SD Cards revealed some very important and, sometimes, very embarassing information. So, don't record anything you wouldn't want me to hear or see.
...Reid |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 09/01/2006 : 10:29:17 AM
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quote:
BTW, I wonder why 48khz is getting included all the time in a field recorder - that should be for DVDs or other video applications, no?
48Khz was the standard sample rate for Digital Audio Tape (DAT) drives, and they became the de-facto standard for shipping release files to Mastering Houses. Why 48Khz? I think it was so the DAT's could use less-steep Nyquist rolloff filters and thereby get better HF PHASE response than CD's. The HF amplitude response difference is negligible. I do not particularly like using 48K because the conversion to 44.1 necessary for CD can introduce problems if the sampling filters are not handled carefully. However Audition seems to do it correctly, by upsampling first then downsampling to 44.1. Of course, 48K should be fine if you are heading for DVD at 96K or 48K, since I think DVD supports both.
But for me, for a field recorder, if it cannot be set to 44.1K I would probably not buy it. P.S. I bought an Edirol UB101 for field use with my LapTop and it woiks fine, but it is overkill compared to the R-09.
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
Edited by - Lawrence on 09/01/2006 10:31:11 AM |
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