Topic: Best stealthable 24bit device?

[travelinbeat]

I'm very used to my iRiver h120 however I fear that it may have one foot in the grave.  I've been uneasy about making the leap into the 24bit world, mostly because it would mean leaving the good ol' days of my beloved iRiver.  Can anyone point out some key differences between some of the more popular (and inexpensive) 24bit recorders out there?  I'd like to keep it similar in size to my old h120 (cigarette pack size, give or take).  Most of my shows are indoor alternative rock shows however I mix it up with all sorts of different scenerios.  I use Church mics (CA-11's and CA-14's) and a Church 9100 Preamp.

Thanks in advance!

[flintstone]

Below is a list of all the recorders I can think of that are
--available in USA as a new item
--less than $500
--have built-in mics,
--about the same size as the H120.

The list is sorted by size, smallest first. 
There are lots of other machines available used.

Most of the advice you'll receive here is "I own X and I like it,"
which is fine as far as it goes.  More valuable is advice that says,
"I tried X and Y and Z, and decided to keep X." 

There is no comprehensive comparison that includes all of these machines. 
Guysonic has bench tests that show input noise levels for many on the list. 
Use the search function to find his posts.

Flintstone

---------------

Yamaha Pocketrak 2G
Yamaha Pocketrak CX (expected in August)
Sony MZ-RH1 and MZ-M200 HiMD
Marantz PMD620
M-Audio Microtrack 2496 (discontinued, external T mic)
M-Audio Microtrack II (external T mic)
Edirol R-09 (discontinued)
Zoom H2
Olympus LS-10 
Edirol R-09 HR
Tascam DR-1
Galaxy Audio HDR2
Zoom H4
Sony PCM-D50

Can anyone think of any I missed?

[stantheman1976]

I thought Hi-MD only did 16 bit.

I have the Sony D50.  It's a little bulky but it's a great machine.  It has good quality internal mics and preamps and I enjoy the fact that it has dedicated buttons and controls for every major function.  The main complaint is that it only uses Sony MS Pro Duo sticks.  Other than that I cannot find one bad thing to say about the unit.  I've also heard other people complain that it doesn't record directly to MP3 but these are people who don't appreciate high quality audio in the first place.

[Arni99]

Yes, the SONY MZ-RH1 does only 16bit 44.1kHz.
Nevertheless it sounds really great BUT 16/44.1 recording is limited to 94min 55seconds on a 1GB HI-MD.
HI-SP mode recording allows 7h55min compressed ATRAC3 256kbit/s on a 1GB HI-MD..

[stantheman1976]

Not denying its quality at all.  The OP was looking for 24 bit recorders.  That's the only reason I pointed that out.

[69mako]

Suscribing to this thread because I am looking up upgrade from my trusty JB3 by christmas....

Mako

[ScotK]

No one's thrown the Korg MR-1 in here - just got one and haven't used it in the field yet, but it
can do 24bit and should be stealthable, plus there are good bargains these days on them.

s

[travelinbeat]

I really like the way that MR-1 looks, but the price tag is pretty heavy-- looks like I could get 2 r09's for the price of one MR-1 and I just don't know where Korg gets off... I've heard that the MR-1's battery leaves a lot to be desired (2.5hrs?), so what is it doing to warrant such an incredible price difference?

[flintstone]

Thanks for mentioning the Korg MR-1.  It used to cost $700. 
Today, the best price I could find is $569 at http://www.djdeals.com

Guysonic has a review of the MR-1 here
http://www.sonicstudios.com/mr-1revw.htm

Korg is offering a $200 rebate on the MR-1 if purchased by
August 31.   Here's the link to the Korg mail in rebate form
http://www.korg.com/gear/promotion_img/MR1_Rebate_$200.pdf

To be eligible for the rebate you have to purchase from an authorized
dealer. DJ Deals is OK.

The rebate brings the final price to ($569 - $200) = $369
That's more like it!  (The rebate kinda makes you wonder if there's
an "MR-2" model coming soon!)

In addition to its ability to record in 1-bit mode, the Korg MR-1
is unusual in that it records to a 20 GB hard disc.  So you don't
have to purchase any flash cards to use with the MR-1.

One problem with the MR-1 is short battery life, only about 2.5 hours
using the internal rechargeable battery (can't be removed).  Korg
addressed this by offering to give away an external battery sled
with 4 AA cells to people who register their MR-1.  Here's the link
for the mail-in request for the battery sled
http://www.korg.com/gear/promotion_img/MR1_coupon.pdf

Flintstone

[edtyre]

My 02 cents on the Korg MR-1

I recorded 50+ shows (all stealth) with it.

Internal battery doesn't last 2 hours.
You can power it with Korg's external pack (takes 4 AA's)
or any external  batt pack of choice.

Hard drive unit, so bumps and movement can effect the recording.
i had a few skips on GA shows where i was bumped into a lot.

Sound quality is great. Audiogate software is really simple
and easy to use.

Build quality is top notch, when you hold the Korg in your hand
it feels like a quality piece of gear, not a plastic toy like most
of the others (hey i still use my plastic toy recorder too)

Also if you have to add gain using the Korg (and not an external pre)
going above 6-7  adds a LOT of noise to the recordings. Not good for
Nbox users (fixed gain) recording medium to low volume shows.

[ScotK]

I picked up an MR-1 recently from JR. Besides the $200 rebate, I got the free Korg battery pack
and a $75 gift card for JR.  Someone posted the deal over in Retail, but don't know if it's still
on at JR or not.

s

[travelinbeat]

So is it fair to say that the three biggest differences between the MR-1 and most other stealthable 24bit recorders is >$200 (before rebate), shortass battery life, and an onboard 20GB harddrive instead of CF?

[bgalizio]

So is it fair to say that the three biggest differences between the MR-1 and most other stealthable 24bit recorders is >$200 (before rebate), shortass battery life, and an onboard 20GB harddrive instead of CF?

Don't forget the "records in DSD" feature. IMO, the MR-1 has excellent convertors and the DSD recording is quite nice.

[travelinbeat]

So then the DSD is what accounts for the price variations between it and it's peers?

[edtyre]

My feelings are the MR-2 is going to be killer (expensive)
probably with solid state hard drive, which will make
the battery issue go away as they are easy to power.

The form, feel, build quality, metering, menus and
software are all first rate.

One other thing no one has mentioned. You can record straight
to 24/192 and then master right to DVD-A if thats your thing.
Or play the files back from PC. No other very small unit has these
higher res abilities. Its the reason i still keep one and use it.

Who knows when we will have the abilty to play DSD files
or make DSD disks? (easily on my Mac with cheap or free software)