Topic: Modern all-in-one recorder help

[Brian Skalinder]

Hi All — Long time no see!

My old Fostex FR-2LE finally bit the dust and I'm in need of a new 2-4 channel recorder.  I have about a week to get one in-hand before my next recording and I have no clue about the current landscape of recorder options.  What better place to take advantage of the hive mind and identify a good replacement recorder?

Looking for something that roughly satisfies the following:

• ~$500-ish, but not set in stone.
• 2-4 channels of 48v phantom power (though I'm not opposed to more channels)
• Min of 24-bit / 48 hz (I assume everything these days will do this)
  
• Low noise analog components / internal preamps / ADC at high-ish gain.  I record a bunch of unamplified choral music and while the ambient noise floor relative to source sound isn't particularly low in the field — even with dead quiet audiences (e.g. HVAC) — I'd rather not add to it unnecessarily with noisy analog circuitry
• Internal / onboard battery power of minumum 3 hours actual with 2-ch P48 / 10 ma draw
• Ideally a plug for an external DC power source
• Seamless WAV splitting
• Non-proprietary media, e.g. SD
• Non-proprietary file format, e.g. WAV / BWF (I assume everything is WAV / BWF?)
• While not critical at all, I'd prefer to NOT have built-in X/Y mics sticking off the side / end (what a waste of space)

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

These days I record mostly choral and organ music, with the occasional amplified bluegrass mixed in.  I anticipate getting back to louder amplified shows at some point in the next ~6 years (when the kiddo starts driving himself around).

[breakonthru]

welcome back!

certainly many users who could help a bit if you take the time to search and post in threads that are more topical to that which you seek

[AbbyTaper]

WOW!  Looks like your first post in over 5 years.

[voltronic]

Zoom F3 is the only thing I can recommend in your price range. If you can stretch your budget a bit, I would recommend an F6 instead.

Both options will require external power, however. I would not trust the internal batteries to get you 3 hours powering two mics with either recorder. If you get the F6, My recommendation is to use Sony L-mount style batteries that attach to the back.

One caveat with Zoom products that I recently discovered: they will not repair anything. My F6 suffered a short fall and two of the inputs were damaged. I had to spend $300 to replace the whole thing.

The other option I'd recommend is look for a used Sound Devices 702T or 744T, both of which could be had used around your price range. These are tanks and will last a very long time, and the company will repair them. I recently got a 788T-SSD and have been very happy with it.