Topic: edirol r-44 or fostex fr2-le

[Manuell]

Hi Colin,
it would be great to hear more about r-44 vs. fr2-le from you. Can you tell me which one you like more? and why? Or is it just the difference of four vs. two channels? Are you going to record a concert with the r-44 in a while?

At the moment I'm more interested in the r-44.

Manuel

[Colin Liston]

Okay, so I recorded "dead air" in my room the other night.  Both recorded in 24/44.1  Using the following:

DPA 4023> Stock R44 with the preamp cranked all the way

http://www.sendspace.com/file/f4us28


DPA 4203 > Busman "Vintage" mod FR2-LE with preamp cranked all the way

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k7ygmv

The noise you hear in the back ground is the TV going.  Hopefully this test of just the preamp noise will suffice.  If not I am more than open to suggestions for running other tests.

Check them out...

[rastasean]

Okay, so I recorded "dead air" in my room the other night.  Both recorded in 24/44.1  Using the following:

DPA 4023> Stock R44 with the preamp cranked all the way

http://www.sendspace.com/file/f4us28


DPA 4203 > Busman "Vintage" mod FR2-LE with preamp cranked all the way

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k7ygmv

The noise you hear in the back ground is the TV going.  Hopefully this test of just the preamp noise will suffice.  If not I am more than open to suggestions for running other tests.

Check them out...

Any reason the file size is nearly double for the fostex? Is it just a longer recording?

[Colin Liston]

Any reason the file size is nearly double for the fostex? Is it just a longer recording?

No, the Fostex is just longer.  My bad I meant to trim them the same size.  I think one is 30 seconds and the other is about 45.

[Ozpeter]

Hey Colin, thanks for those samples!

To get a good idea of the difference I suggest increasing the amplitude of the Edirol sample by 20dB and the Fostex by 16dB, and then they match in measured level fairly well at the lower frequencies.  The difference in higher frequency noise then seems to be of the order of 4dB in favour of the Fostex.  Listening to them at normal levels you'd be hard put to tell the difference, and even at the amplified levels the difference isn't huge.  On the face of it I'd be inclined to the view that for nature recording (sounds unnaturally amplified) the Fostex would be best, and for music recording (sounds reproduced at authentic level) you'd not be able to tell the difference.

On a spectral display it's interesting that the TV whistle at about 16kHz is much clearer on the Fostex in the left channel but that could simply be that Colin was standing in the way during the R-44 recording!

[Ozpeter]

I've uploaded a 256kbps mp3 of the two files side by side, with the level compensation I suggested above, to here -

http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/22/1451533/Edirol%20fostex.mp3 - less than 2MB I think.

The mp3 format while not being fully representative of the originals gives a reasonable impression of the differences up to about 16kHz, after which most of us will probably be deaf anyway...

[digifish_music]

Okay, so I recorded "dead air" in my room the other night.  Both recorded in 24/44.1  Using the following:

DPA 4023> Stock R44 with the preamp cranked all the way

http://www.sendspace.com/file/f4us28


DPA 4203 > Busman "Vintage" mod FR2-LE with preamp cranked all the way

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k7ygmv

The noise you hear in the back ground is the TV going.  Hopefully this test of just the preamp noise will suffice.  If not I am more than open to suggestions for running other tests.

Check them out...

Great thanks Colin (+T). By 'flat-out' R44 do you mean Sensitivity at -56 dB and Level @ 12 O'Clock or was that fully right too?

Any chance of following this method so the input levels are matched...

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,103270.msg1387447.html#msg1387447

That would be maxing which-ever recorder gave the lowest gain available then matching it with the unit that has more gain.

digifish

[sonidista]

The preamp is not as good as in the fr2-le?
I can get the r-44 for 650,- euro and the fr2-le for 470,- euro.
With four channels I can record the audience in stereo an also get the sound from a mixer in stereo, that's much more better for me :-)

What would you say about the rode NT-5?

I want to record rock festivals and atmosphere for film. I think two Rode NT-5 would be better than the beyerdynamic mce 72.

Manuel

Hey Manuel, if you want to record ambience for film (quiet stuff that is) the Rode NT5 will be a great choice since they're very quiet. I use 2 Oktava Mk012s, they sound great, but when I have to raise the preamp levels a lot you can hear the noise.
I'm using my R-44 for film, and you can't do it without a mixer preamp, because you want to change the levels quickly and inaudibly. However for Atmo only (stereo or surround maybe) with quiet mics (Rode! or Schoeps/Neumann if you got ze cash) you will get good results.

As for "quiet" music: In my book classical music is not quiet, rather is it very dynamic, i.e. the highest level will be quite loud, and since you don't want to change the dynamics of a classical concert while recording, you are likely to use a rather low preamp gain, so there will be no noise problems. If anybody should hear the R-44's own noise while recording a rock show you're either on drugs or there are no amps and no audience. Or both

So: go ahead and buy the R-44, it's unbeatable at its price! Alles klar?

[Colin Liston]

Great thanks Colin (+T). By 'flat-out' R44 do you mean Sensitivity at -56 dB and Level @ 12 O'Clock or was that fully right too?

Any chance of following this method so the input levels are matched...

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,103270.msg1387447.html#msg1387447

That would be maxing which-ever recorder gave the lowest gain available then matching it with the unit that has more gain.

digifish

On the fostex I had the mic sense dials all the way to the right and the main level control all the way to the right also. 

If I can find a clock that isn't digital, I'll try your method later today.

[Manuell]

Hey sonidista,
das klingt ja super :-)
I think I will go witht the rode NT-5 and the edirol it seems to be the perfect choice for my budget.
Thanks for helping me.

Manuel

[digifish_music]

On the fostex I had the mic sense dials all the way to the right and the main level control all the way to the right also. 

If I can find a clock that isn't digital, I'll try your method later today.

Thanks for the reply, I was asking about the Edirol R44 tho   I look forward to hearing the comparison if you can find a clock. The other way is to download this file at Freesound...and play it back from your hi-fi at a low level and (fairly) close mic the speaker...

you will need to create an account to download the raw file.



digifish