Topic: Well I went an' done it - 'scratch 'n dent' DR-680 is on it's way...

[groovon]

I must have gambler's itch. Just took a chance on a customer returned 'good condition, but cosmetically flawed' DR-680 from Musician's Friend. $640 and free shipping(!) Potentially saved nearly $200 on the list price over the cheapest I've seen anywhere else. No factory warranty(!)  but MF has a 45-day return policy. Is that nuts? (Tascam ain't exactly renowned for their customer service anyhow...)

It could be an incredible deal. If someone here's interested, and it turns out I'm not, I could pass it along ...or I can return it if it's too damn ugly. Lack of a manufacturer's warranty is the other thing to think about.

Tell me if you think I'm crazy... 

Dave

[Chris K]

I recently pulled the plug on a factory restock Sony PCM-M10 from Musician's Friend. I got it for $224 shipped using a 20% off coupon. They had ones listed as used which would have been $215 but for $10 more I thought it would be best to get the restock. It carries the same warranty. So far so good. Only thing I found 'wrong" with it is a slight smudge on the lcd screen that is barely visible, and really only when the backlight is off. It does have a B STOCK sticker on the back.

Sony is having a mail in rebate for a $30 case for the M10's if you buy between June 1st and September. I just got another 20% off coupon for MF. hmmmmm.......

Good luck with your DR-680. Report back and let us know how if goes. 

[groovon]

Thanks guys, I'll let you know what it looks like. Gravel rash, chipped plastic? Hey I can bondo it up and give it a paint job. Maybe it's not too bad... The lack of a factory warranty is the thing that's making me a bit nervous.

Anyway, at worst I get to play with it for awhile before I return it! Can't wait.

BTW, I was pretty solid on getting a PMD-661 only a week ago (can't really justify a SD722), but then I had a look at the DR-680 reports starting to come out. Hey, you don't need to use all 6 or 8 channels, do you, but they're there if you feel the urge to make use of 'em.

The mic preamps are the big question, though.  I'll soon see. It sounds like you guys are liking yours.

PS - Chris, let us know how you like your new Sony!

Cheers
Dave

[groovon]

I think they sent me a bedside clock radio by mistake! oh wait it's got four XLR mic inputs on the side...

Wow! I was expecting gravel rash.. or dings. At least a scratch or two... There's not a mark on this thing! So much for 'scratch and dent'. Some finger smudges on the top surface is all I can see. I keep thinking, 'no factory warranty', and wondering 'why'?

OK... fresh-charged NiMHs in, format (my only) 2GB card in the machine. Stick a couple of C460s in inputs 1 and 2, headphones in...  Preamps seem pretty quiet, but hard to tell anything yet. Must get out and do some proper recording ASAP.

The menu options and access to controls seem easy enough to get by trial and error. A few things I don't like so far include the ratchety digital headphone volume control, and the backlight ON max of 30 secs on batts... you need that thing lit up! And that dinky little cheap-looking data wheel on top!

I tried accessing menu options and controls through the front panel data knob... but it doesn't do the same things as the wheel up top, as I heard it will. Is this due to the firmware update no being present here? It says V. 1 - I'm looking up the firmware updates now...

Levels, Solos, Pans, on the row of small knobs, doesn't seem like it'd be too difficult to get the hang of. I can see liking this thing a lot.

It's 3/4 the size of a DA-P1! I thought it might be smaller. probably no big deal...

I like it OK so far. As someone said, it's the only game in town at this price for 6/8 mic preamps/channels, anyway. I really hate that dinky little data wheel on top, though!

The big question for me now is - is it worth another $200 to have a new machine with a factory warranty? How good is that anyway, if you need it? I've never needed one, but I guess there's always a first time.

Still, this thing would be a steal for the $640 I paid. It'll be hard to send back. What do you think about risking the 'no factory warranty'?

Will make some proper recordings this weekend if I can. This thing looks like fun! 

Dave

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Nice deal.

I'd think of that $200 the same way I think about the money I save by not buying Extended Warranties.

I just put that money in a "virtual jar."

I figure that most of the things I buy last quite a bit longer than the Extended Warranties, so when something does break, I just buy another one with the money in my virtual jar.

Can't beat less than $100 per channel.

[groovon]

Yeah, I know what you mean - 200 bucks is not to be sneezed at. I'll just have to remember that 'virtual' thing when one channel craps out and I have to make a virtual service call to Tascam begging for assistance(!)

(PS - The more I think about it, the more I really like your 'virtual money jar' concept! I'm going to try and extrapolate on that, and see where it ends up!)

I wish I could figure out how to update the firmware on this thing... 

Cheers
Dave

[fmaderjr]

I wish I could figure out how to update the firmware on this thing... 

It looks pretty easy. just download firmware version 1.10 here:
http://www.tascam.com/products/dr-680;9,12,3868,19.html
and follow the instructions at the end of  p.3 of the included pdf file.

[groovon]

Thanks, yeah that's what I tried to do, but the unzipped file is a weird type (.zip.tgz) that seems to needs $30 worth of software to open! I tried to find freeware for it, but had no success yet.

Dave

[fobstl]

Thanks, yeah that's what I tried to do, but the unzipped file is a weird type (.zip.tgz) that seems to needs $30 worth of software to open! I tried to find freeware for it, but had no success yet.

Dave

You don't want to open the unzipped .tgz file. It should be left as is and installed onto the machine.

Also, you can set the deck to keep the light on when running batteries. Go to the Backlight section of the System Menu and set it to "Off".

[groovon]

Yeah, I just found that out. I think it might work now. I'll let you know.

Dave

[groovon]

Also, you can set the deck to keep the light on when running batteries. Go to the Backlight section of the System Menu and set it to "Off".

Youre right, it worked. hmmm... Set it to OFF when you want it to stay ON! Ah, I think I'm getting the hang of it now!   

[fobstl]

Also, you can set the deck to keep the light on when running batteries. Go to the Backlight section of the System Menu and set it to "Off".

Youre right, it worked. hmmm... Set it to OFF when you want it to stay ON! Ah, I think I'm getting the hang of it now!   

Yeah, it took some random experimentation for me to figure that one out. Certainly not very intuitive.

[groovon]

Yes. Anti-intuitive, even!

Can you think of any reason the update file might be read by the machine as an error?

[fobstl]

Can you think of any reason the update file might be read by the machine as an error?

The only thing I can think of is that the file might have been somehow altered with your attempts to open it. May want to try a fresh download and install.

[groovon]

Can you think of any reason the update file might be read by the machine as an error?

The only thing I can think of is that the file might have been somehow altered with your attempts to open it. May want to try a fresh download and install.

You may be on to something. The unzipper program may be set on auto open. I'm uninstalling it now...

[groovon]

Just to catch this thread up to the other one: The update still won't take. I've checked and triple checked, and still get the error messages. Waiting till Tuesday to call the Tascam service center.

Other than that, the deck seems to work fine...

Feedback from other 680 owners on firmware update experiences would be much appreciated.

Dave

[darby]

no problems updating mine on my Mac
you have to install the file on a card in the machine

[groovon]

no problems updating mine on my Mac
you have to install the file on a card in the machine

The update release notes say to transfer the downloaded file directly from the computer to the deck via USB, and that, when started in 'update mode', the deck will recognize the file and perform the update automatically. No such luck here. I doubt that removing the card (if that is what you meant) and doing the transfer outside the deck would solve th problem.

But you have given me another idea - I'll try a different SD card just for the heck of it. This one (a Sandisk Ultra II 2GB)seems to work fine to record to, but it was used in a camera previously, and although reformatted, possibly there's something still on it that the deck doesn't like. Probably a vain hope, but I'm getting used to trying vainly by now! 

Thanks. Glad that yours is OK.

(UPDATE: Just to note that, with the help of Tascam tech support, I got the FW update to work (you must unzip the file first), and it's been going fine since. I love this deck.)