Topic: Sony's new $600 recorder PCM-D50

[BlackCrowe]

Great idea to use the PS-2!

Sound professionals is selling one with a 1/8 mini already installed for $199.
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/DEN-PS2-MINI

But if you bought the regular one for $129.99 here
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/406897-REG/Denecke_PS2_PS_2_Portable_Dual.html
and had it adapted yourself, you'd save even more.

Great! Thank!

The only thing I dislike is that it runs on a 9V block battery...you cannot use rechargable batteries on that one since they won`t last some 2h+ compared to the AA NiMh...

[fmaderjr]

I don't know much about rechargeable 9 volt batteries, but this new one, with the appropriate charger, might be a possibility.
http://www.thomasdistributing.com/ipower-9v-lithium-rechargeable-battery.php

Among their claims is "Will actually out perform a standard 9 volt alkaline battery in High Drain Applications."

[Nick's Picks]

any phantom source w/a xlr > mini cable.
the rolls is more than 1/2 the price of the PS2 even (and runs longer)

[udo]

I am leaning towards ordering one, going C4s (hopefully at some point a apir of schoeps) -Mixpre-PCm-D50. I like the possility to do a quick on the fly recording, if I hear an interesting sound etc., and I cannot carry my entire setup with me all the time, but the PCM-D50 I could, I believe.
I think the 70 Dollar for the Tripod are a nusiance, though. I have a small 12 Dollar Tripod with a 5/8" male thread - does anyone know, where I could get an adapter from 5/8" male to the Sony?
udo

[Chilly Brioschi]

At 24/48 the recording time is 1:54 at the 2GB limit on any recorder.   The fact that they're giving the 4GB time limit leads me to believe there is no "2GB problem".  We shall see.

The FR-2 uses BWFF and will record straight 4.7GB files onto a 5GB PCM card and supposedly nearly 8GB on an 8GB CF, tho' I've never tried it.(there is file overhead that decreases the size slightly)
The problem comes during transfer, when you carry the file to a computer which doesn't have an application to open the file.
Audition will import it, Wavelab will import it, AudioHack will split it, I've heard that Samplitude works with large files, and even the latest version of Audacity can handle it.
I'm guessing that we'll start to see more large file support with 24/96 and big flash cards getting to be more commonplace.

[Chilly Brioschi]

Is there any chance this might be an acceptable substitute for the XLR-1 at half the price?
http://www.samys.com/product_detail.php?item=3355

I'm guessing there might be an audible difference in quality. Anybody know anything about Beachtek or this particular model?

1/2 (left mic-only) phantom...

[F.O.Bean]

how about those internal mics! 90 and 120 degrees!! that thing looks schweet 

Its not even true XY tho At least they could have made it true XY by putting one capsule over the otehr at the same place on the capsule

[Chilly Brioschi]

how about those internal mics! 90 and 120 degrees!! that thing looks schweet 

Its not even true XY tho At least they could have made it true XY by putting one capsule over the otehr at the same place on the capsule

Yeah, but they at least have gotten past SCMS and 7-pins!

OK, so why do I want the PCM-D50 over an FR-2LE?

[spoogles]

Sweetwater's site has this on it:
 We've confirmed this item has shipped from Sony and should arrive in our warehouse within a day or two. Go ahead, place your order now. We will ship it immediately, the very same day we receive it from Sony. Call now. We promise you'll have it soon.

[Arni99]

this ebay-guy called "whetzky" is selling it for 600€(870$) HAHA!!!
seems there are always some crazy nuts people buying extremely overpriced stuff from him......
he´s a german guy living in japan.

http://cgi.ebay.at/Sony-PCM-D50-Semi-Professional-PCM-Recorder-PCM-D1_W0QQitemZ330187798097QQihZ014QQcategoryZ21775QQcmdZViewItem

[BlackCrowe]

this ebay-guy called "whetzky" is selling it for 600€(870$) HAHA!!!
seems there are always some crazy nuts people buying extremely overpriced stuff from him......
he´s a german guy living in japan.

http://cgi.ebay.at/Sony-PCM-D50-Semi-Professional-PCM-Recorder-PCM-D1_W0QQitemZ330187798097QQihZ014QQcategoryZ21775QQcmdZViewItem

Yeah, I`ve seen his auctions...ridiculous...he sells it at german list price and here you must still add taxes (20+%) and shipping !!!

[oivindi]

B&H has the PCM-D50 in stock for $499:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/524130-REG/Sony_PCMD50_PCM_D50_Professional_Portable.html

I'm veeery tempted to replace my Edirol R-09 with this one, but I want to know how noisey the internal mics are - and the input for external mics.

Ah, decisions, decisions.

[Nick's Picks]

i bet it smokes all of the other "in hand" decks.
but...we'll see.

also, they are NOT in stock at B&H.
says so right on that link you posted.

you'll see them...in 2008 sometime.

[DSatz]

The XLR-1 box seems overpriced, but when looking for a less expensive solution, people need to realize that there's no such thing as a universal passive adapter from two XLR inputs to an unbalanced mini-plug unless it contains a pair of audio transformers. And the good ones of those, such as Jensen or Lundahl, are quite expensive (see for example http://www.jensen-transformers.com/ms2xx.html).

Without transformers or active circuitry, no matter how you wire the box (among the several possibilities that exist) there will be some good mikes that it won't work with, or won't work properly. It may pass no signal at all, or it may pass signal from one output lead while it shorts the other one to ground, increasing the distortion and lowering the maximum SPL of the microphone. Or it may work fine. But that depends on exactly how the box and the output circuit of the microphones are designed. There's no one formula such as "just connect pin 3 to pin 1" or "just connect pin 2 to pin 1" or "just connect pin 2 and leave pin 3 hanging" all of which I've seen people give out as if it was the most obvious, well-known thing in the world.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news here, but let the buyer beware. There is a standard for balanced operation of phantom-powered microphones, but no standard for unbalanced operation. If you imagine that this subject has a simple solution, you're simply wrong and you're headed straight for the problems I'm talking about.

--best regards

[Nick's Picks]

so you can't get any ol' phantom supply and "unbalance" the output ?
well..you can, but there could be problems..as you say.

i'm just trying to understand why.  I can't see how you take a straight up balanced signal, kill it w/wiring and end up with a bad, or no signal at all.