Topic: Tascam HD-P2 Anyone using one and what's the verdict?

[jessedscott]

this unit is already on back order. sheesh....

[OOK]

I love my Tascam.  I am really happy with my purchase.  This thing is really easy to use and it supports 8gig cards with out issue(the marantz doesn't), thats 4 hours of 24/96,or 8 hours of 24/48 or 12 hours of 16/44.

Transfers from the HDP2 are easy...hook it up the computer via firewire and drag and drop your music to whatever file your using.  It took 15min to transfer a 24/48 2hour show....and my computer is already 5years old..its not the fastest out there..easy.

[JasonSobel]

I love my Tascam.  I am really happy with my purchase.  This thing is really easy to use and it supports 8gig cards with out issue(the marantz doesn't)

I really wish people would stop posting this since the only thing anyone knows for sure is that you can't format an 8 gb card in the 671 itself and have it recognize all 8 gb's (it still see's it as 4 gb).  marantz says that if they are formatted in a computer instead the 671 will recognize all 8 gb.  noone has tried it yet from here, so noone knows if this is true. 

except it looks like one person has treid it, and it didn't work. this quote is from the "671 in the field" thread:

I tried formatting an 8 gig card on my computer and when I put the card in my 671 it still shows as having 4 gigs.  I did just use the standard card format with Windoze XP though and am not sure if another formatting utility would work differently.

now, I hope it does work out for all you PMD-671 users, but at this point, it doesn't look good.  Marantz says it'll work, but the only person who has tried it here on TS says it doesn't work.  so maybe it'll work, and maybe not.  regardless of the final outcome of that situation, the point that is being made here is that 8 gig cards work perfectly in the Tascam HD-P2.

[spyder9]

Which card, specifically, are you using Jason?  My P2 arrives Saturday, hopefully.

[jmerin]

as long as it is a Brand name it will, meaning Sandisk

[spyder9]

standard or Ultra II?  Which Sandisk?

[JasonSobel]

standard or Ultra II?  Which Sandisk?

both Jon and I use Sandisk Ultra II cards.

[spyder9]

Thank you gentlemen.   

[jessedscott]

made the purchase today(well earlier yeasterday). can't wait. Saw Jon Merin the last few weeks running it  during moe. tour. Thing runs like champ! Bought a 4g  Sandisk Ultra II card. Thanx to Frank and Jeff at cascademedia!  Just need t oget a flash card reader for dumping, since I don't have a firewire card in the pc.

[OOK]

I love my Tascam.  I am really happy with my purchase.  This thing is really easy to use and it supports 8gig cards with out issue(the marantz doesn't)

I really wish people would stop posting this since the only thing anyone knows for sure is that you can't format an 8 gb card in the 671 itself and have it recognize all 8 gb's (it still see's it as 4 gb).  marantz says that if they are formatted in a computer instead the 671 will recognize all 8 gb.  noone has tried it yet from here, so noone knows if this is true. 

except it looks like one person has treid it, and it didn't work. this quote is from the "671 in the field" thread:

I tried formatting an 8 gig card on my computer and when I put the card in my 671 it still shows as having 4 gigs.  I did just use the standard card format with Windoze XP though and am not sure if another formatting utility would work differently.

now, I hope it does work out for all you PMD-671 users, but at this point, it doesn't look good.  Marantz says it'll work, but the only person who has tried it here on TS says it doesn't work.  so maybe it'll work, and maybe not.  regardless of the final outcome of that situation, the point that is being made here is that 8 gig cards work perfectly in the Tascam HD-P2.

I couldn't have said it better myself....
Sounds like P2 envy   LOL

[spyder9]

My Tascam just arrived today.  Gonna give it a run tomorrow night.  Can't wait.     Now I just got to sell my old rig.

[F.O.Bean]

congrats jesse

FWIW, when i was gonna make the 24-bit jump, i had to take into consideration firmware upgrades, the 671 has to be sent to the manufacturer to be upgraded, thats a BIG minus IMO, and the tascam can be done from any computer

after adding up all of the flash cards and AA battery switching and pre inf ront of the hdp2/671 nonsense, i just bought a 722, its an all-in-one and i think i saved money, i would have kept the v3 to run in front of the 671/hdp2 and had to buy 2x 4GB CF Cards and one of those eastgear portadrives, and another battery setup to lug around, instead i sold the v3/jb3/accessories and only ended up spenind a couple hundred out of pocket, where as the hdp2 was gonna cost 850 new+400 in CF Cards+200on the portadrive, thats 1650

so if you have a pre to run in front, id say go hdp2 cause tascam is a rock solid company, if you wanna sell your pre/ad and use an all in one, go w/ a 722, they sound fantastic stock and dont need a pre in front, and the 40GB HD was the kicker for me, and they occassionally have firmware upgrades, like the one coming out very soon that had firewire>HD mirroring and faster firewire transfer speeds, all of which can be downloaded from home like the hdp2

just felt like giving my opinion, i know you said the 722 was out of question but if you have a pre/ad to sell and fund some of the money, it would be a great choice

[spyder9]

I'm very happy with my purchase.  P2 is a nice, solid, easy to use, decent sounding box.

Dickey Betts was pretty loud last night.  3 guitars and a thumping bass.  P2 handled my 480s with no problems.  Ran no pad.  Had the box set at 4 on the dial, and was running between -3 and 0.  Ran over a couple of times, but the P2 didn't distort.  This box should handle Mule or any loud band pretty easily.  And it does come with a -20 pad, just in case, but I didn't need it.  Analyzed the wav files via Adobe Audition, and they were accurate.         

Can't get over the battery consumption.  Ran 2 hours last night, only dropped 2 bars on brand new Energizer AA 2500 mah rechargeables.  Lost 1 bar on the get go, because it was the first charge of these bats out of the box.  The meters are very accurate and easy to read too, from a full standing position with the P2 in a Rakgear bag.  I hate crouching over my bag with a flashlight.

The sound of the P2 is a little flat, but warm and smooth, not quite as musical or transparent as my Busman UA5.  But that's because this box was more geared towards Eng than what we do (aren't all of them?  ).  Not bad sounding at all for stock.  I have no problems running stock until Oade comes out with his mods. 

Transferring a 2 hour show via firewire is slower than transferring with my JB3.  Took about 8 minutes for a 44.1/16 file.  A little over double of what it takes the JB3.  The time probably relates to the speed of my CF card (Kingston 50x).  I bet you would get faster transfer times with an 150x card.  I had previously formatted my card with the Marantz 660 and had music still on it.  The P2 recognized the card and formatted it properly.  I have yet to test whether a P2 formatted card can be accepted by a Marantz.

The box itself was a little warm at the end of the night.  But not as warm as a JB3 can be.

I'm gonna run the P2 in a Rakgear bag.  I'm a little nervous running upright in my current bag.  The top on my bag has an inside compartment, where I throw accessories.   Some are made of metal.  Don't want to crack that big-ass screen while zipping the top up in a hurry.  The P2 is slightly taller than my UA5 in the Walmart cage, too.  Its nice to carry a bag that's 10 lbs lighter.
 
Only knock: when you reformat a card, it reformats the entire P2 to factory settings.  Tascam engineered the settings to be stored on the card, as opposed to the 671, which is stored in internal memory.  No presets, which is an advantage of the 671.  I plan on running 24/48 once I get a 4GB card.  Eventually, I'll get an 8GB card, once the 16gb cards hits the market strong.

Below are some pics I took last night in the field.  The recorder next to mine I believe was a Sony D8.

[JasonSobel]

Only knock: when you reformat a card, it reformats the entire P2 to factory settings.  Tascam engineered the settings to be stored on the card, as opposed to the 671, which is stored in internal memory.  No presets either, which is an advantage of the 671.  I plan on running 24/48 once I get a 4GB card.  Eventually, I'll get an 8GB card, once the 16gb cards hits the market strong.

well, you can change the "default template", which will be stored internally on the HD-P2, and will not be lost when you reformat.  I have my "default" set up for 24/48 via S/PDIF (both signal and clock source via S/PDIF), and pre-record on.  Everytime I format a card, it sets up a new project per the settings in the default template, and I'm good to go...

[spyder9]

Only knock: when you reformat a card, it reformats the entire P2 to factory settings.  Tascam engineered the settings to be stored on the card, as opposed to the 671, which is stored in internal memory.  No presets either, which is an advantage of the 671.  I plan on running 24/48 once I get a 4GB card.  Eventually, I'll get an 8GB card, once the 16gb cards hits the market strong.

well, you can change the "default template", which will be stored internally on the HD-P2, and will not be lost when you reformat.  I have my "default" set up for 24/48 via S/PDIF (both signal and clock source via S/PDIF), and pre-record on.  Everytime I format a card, it sets up a new project per the settings in the default template, and I'm good to go...

Thanks Jason!   Making the changes now.