Topic: Sony PCM-D100

[Amir]

OK...  back to discussions of recording capability (instead of playback).

The famous audio recorder reviewer -- Neal Ewers from Ravenswood Productions -- has released part 1 of his PCM-D100 podcast. Don't miss it if you're interested in Sony's latest recorder. The download URL is https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10881362/PCMd100%20recorder%20review%20part%201.mp3
In short -- and according to his comparisons and what my ears confirmed, the D100 has fantastic internal mics (noticeably quieter than those of the H6, D50 and LS-100) with a good balanced audio representation. It also has ultra-quiet preamps for ENG dynamic mics -- good news for radio reporters.

[Mike Davis]

Wow!  What a voice!  Captivating.

[Amir]

Wow!  What a voice!  Captivating.

Neal is a great singer and musician: http://www.ravenswood.org
He's the go-to man for audio recorder reviews of any ilk.

[mitchellm]

The review by Neal Ewers is great! I'm definitely looking forward to Part 2 of his review. 

Does anyone know where his audio reviews are stored? I could easily download the MP3 provided by Amir, but I don't know where these reviews "live" permanently on the web. (Went to Ravenswood, but no luck there.) I'd actually like to listen to some of his other audio reviews if they are collated in a convenient location.

[Amir]

The review by Neal Ewers is great! I'm definitely looking forward to Part 2 of his review. 

Does anyone know where his audio reviews are stored? I could easily download the MP3 provided by Amir, but I don't know where these reviews "live" permanently on the web. (Went to Ravenswood, but no luck there.) I'd actually like to listen to some of his other audio reviews if they are collated in a convenient location.

Neal's reviews are scattered on a couple of websites and I don't have the URL to many of them. In the meantime, I'm providing the following links to his reviews.
Zoom H6: http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/3-98839556b66feeea5fbbaaad6c392a4c/2013/09/Zoom-H6-Recorder-Review.mp3
Olympus LS-100: http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/3-98839556b66feeea5fbbaaad6c392a4c/2012/12/Olympus-LS-100-Recorder-Review.mp3
Olympus LS-14: http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/3-98839556b66feeea5fbbaaad6c392a4c/2012/12/Olympus-ls-14-Recorder-Review.mp3
I'll try to find and share his Sony PCM-D50, Zoom H2N and Zoom H4N reviews.

[mitchellm]

Amir: Thanks so much!

[Amir]

The review by Neal Ewers is great! I'm definitely looking forward to Part 2 of his review. 

Does anyone know where his audio reviews are stored? I could easily download the MP3 provided by Amir, but I don't know where these reviews "live" permanently on the web. (Went to Ravenswood, but no luck there.) I'd actually like to listen to some of his other audio reviews if they are collated in a convenient location.

Neal's reviews are scattered on a couple of websites and I don't have the URL to many of them. In the meantime, I'm providing the following links to his reviews.
Zoom H6: http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/3-98839556b66feeea5fbbaaad6c392a4c/2013/09/Zoom-H6-Recorder-Review.mp3
Olympus LS-100: http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/3-98839556b66feeea5fbbaaad6c392a4c/2012/12/Olympus-LS-100-Recorder-Review.mp3
Olympus LS-14: http://www.blind-geek-zone.net/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/3-98839556b66feeea5fbbaaad6c392a4c/2012/12/Olympus-ls-14-Recorder-Review.mp3
I'll try to find and share his Sony PCM-D50, Zoom H2N and Zoom H4N reviews.

And this is the URL to Neal's Zoom H2N review: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/10881362/Zoom%20H2N%20Recorder%20Review.mp3

[mitchellm]

First, I'm not a sound professional. Heck, not even a sound wannabe! So here's my question:

I recently got the Sony D100 and am very happy with it. There are some situations where I'd like to use it as part of my rig to record interviews/dialogs. I'll be using two lav mics (Countryman E6) going into a MixPre-D. From there I have XLR going out and then into the D100 via stereo-XLR-to-3.5-jack cable to line in. This setup sounds very good, but I'm wondering if there's any better way to send audio from the MixPre-D to the Sony D100.

On another thread (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=146929.0) they are discussing going from a MixPre-D to Marantz 661 via SPDIF input. I have no idea what SPDIF is, or if there's really a better way to send audio to the D100. But if there is a higher-quality approach, and the only cost is acquiring the right kind of cable, then I'm all ears! Any suggestions/comments on this?

[yates7592]

I dont think you need a new cable. To go digital in to the D100 you need the USB-pre, not the mix-pre.

[AB52]

And the question would be if it is worth going digital in.  For music and critical recording, yes.  For someone talking - I doubt it.

[mitchellm]

AB52 and  yates7592: Thanks for both of your responses. Great to know that the setup I already have in place is probably the best I can do for recorded conversations.   

The D100 is quickly becoming my "go to" device. Very happy with it.

[AB52]

You should be in great shape for conversastions.  I tried a Sony PCM D1 with a Mixpre and it was great.

[Amir]

Guys, the first PCM-D100 firmware is now available. V1.01 fixes a problem with fast forward/rewind under certain circumstances. You may want to grab it from here: http://www.sony.co.uk/support/en/content/cnt-dwnl/prd-dna/sony-pcmd100-firmware-update-ver101/PCM-D100

[aaronji]

Guess that means Sony has abandoned, or at least relaxed, their no firmware update policy...

[Amir]

Guess that means Sony has abandoned, or at least relaxed, their no firmware update policy...

Whatever route Sony has chosen, that's a very good piece of news. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember having seen a firmware update for the D50. Of course, one might argue that the D50 never needed a firmware update, but with this facility one is always hopeful to see potential bugs squashed sooner or later.