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

[illconditioned]

OK, can someone (the early adopter in this thread, lol) measure the plug in power?

In particular, measure the open circuit voltage, and the loaded voltage (eg., with a 1k resistor).  I need both measurements to see what kind of mics it will power.

Thanks already.  This info is great!

 Richard

[Nick's Picks]

i'm supposed to have one of these coming at some point. 
when it does...its going straight to the bench for dissection.

[finao1]

LOL - really I am not an expert.  Someone else is going to need to handle the measurements.  There are screws at the back swivel point of each microphone.  But I can't be clear if this will give someone access to the mic internals.   I believe the mics will end up being the major differentiator between the D50 and the D1.  If you are willing (or want) to use external microphones, the D50 may be the ticket.  Otherwise, invest in the D1.  The samples I heard of those mics were very good.

BP

[WiFiJeff]

Now for the rub.  The internal (topside) mics are no-where close to what I'm getting with the externals.  Hiss using the built in mics is similar to the hiss I get with the Edirol R-09 internals.  That would make them good for loud sources such as bands, but not so good for low level recording.  I do hear background hiss with the built in mics.  It must be the mics (not the pre-amps); I hear slightly more hiss in the left channel (right mic) when I'm in XY configuration.  When I switch to wide configuration (right mic is now right channel) the hiss is stronger in the right channel.  Again, nothing major, but I would not expect the D50 to be a strong contender with its built-ins. 

This is not at all surprising.  Sony reps (at AES) admitted that the D50 mics were not as good as the D1 mics, and those are nothing to get excited about.  I did a test a few weeks back with the D1 positioned on the same mic stand as my usual setup for a classical string quartet, the tape sounds acceptable until you compare it to my AKG 426 recording, which makes it sound like a step above a wax cylinder.

Jeff

[prof_peabody]

This is not at all surprising.  Sony reps (at AES) admitted that the D50 mics were not as good as the D1 mics, and those are nothing to get excited about.  I did a test a few weeks back with the D1 positioned on the same mic stand as my usual setup for a classical string quartet, the tape sounds acceptable until you compare it to my AKG 426 recording, which makes it sound like a step above a wax cylinder.

Jeff

Are you saying these are as good as analog recordings?   

[mandoman]

If you really don't like the mics, you could put new ones in there.  But I'd be curious to hear how the builtin mics sound.  The Edirol R09 ones are not very good, but I suspect the Sony might be better.

Maybe someone like Busman will do a mic cap mod for this? Put some nice AKG caps
in there instead

Good news so far on the internal mic pre.

Welcome back Sony, we've missed you!

[ilduclo]

I run dpa 4061's to a spsb3 battery box, all 1/8" single connections. Any of this work ok with this new box?

for loud shows?
for quiet ones?

[Nick's Picks]

yes
yes
yes

[Jamos]

B&H is backordered now...
looks like I missed out on the first shipments.

I put in an order but I bet I won't see one for atleast a month.

 

[SClassical]

You can get it from ebay.

DJDeals is selling it for $498 with free shipping. I'm sure there'll be other places selling it for cheaper.

How long does the recorder last with a set of 4 AA batteries set @24/96?

[flintstone]

The online docs say the D50 will provide about 12 hours of recording from four AA cells.  Sony's reports of battery life for minidisc machines has been pretty accurate, so I'm guessing 10 hours should be possible even with the LCD display on.   

Flintstone

[Arni99]

at least 3 pcm-d50 are available on ebay right now for 499$ shipping worldwide with USPS.

[mrsoul]

Regarding extra media memory for this PCM-D50.  The manual states only Duo Pro HG and Duo Pro (High Speed) are compatible and goes on to state that other forms of memory sticks are not guaranteed.  So, you can't use anything but HG or High Speed with this unit?  If anyone can confirm and test that would be cool.  Lots of deals going for Black Friday and I want to get something that will work but cheap would also be nice!

[mrsoul]

Also, got this off Wikipedia...confused me more!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Memory Stick PRO

The Memory Stick PRO, introduced in 2003 as a joint effort between Sony and SanDisk [2], would be the longer-lasting solution to the space problem. Most devices that use the original Memory Stick form factor support both the original Memory Sticks and the PRO Sticks; some readers that were not compatible could be upgraded to Memory Stick PRO support via a Flash ROM update. Memory Stick PROs have a marginally higher transfer speed and a maximum theoretical capacity of 32 GB. High Speed Memory Stick PROs are available, and newer devices support this High Speed mode, allowing for faster file transfers. All Memory Stick PROs larger than 1 GB support this High Speed mode, and High Speed Memory Stick Pros are backwards-compatible with devices that don't support the High Speed mode. High capacity memory sticks such as the 4 GB versions are expensive compared to other types of flash memory such as SD cards and CompactFlash
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Does that mean if I get a Pro Duo over 1Gb, then it will be High Speed compatible?

On a good note, I received a shipping confirmation from Musician's Friend.  When I get home from the inlaws, I hope to find it (my new PCM-D50) on my door 

[flintstone]

Memory Stick HG Pro Duo has a theoretical max speed of 60MB/second.  That's about three times as fast as the max speed of the Pro Duo.

It's more informative to check out the **minimum** write speed of the two memory sticks:

Pro Duo: 1.875 MB/second
HG Pro Duo: 6 MB/second

Two channel 24/96 WAV recordings generate data at a rate of 576,000 bytes per second, three times less than the Pro Duo's minimum.  So the Pro Duo should be a good match with the PCM-D50.  It's unknown why Sony would recommend against the Pro Duo.

The Pro Duo costs about $65 for a 4GB stick.  The 4GB HG Pro Duo costs $95.

Flintstone