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Author Topic: Tascam DR100mkii Review  (Read 135028 times)

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Offline dogmusic

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #60 on: December 22, 2011, 04:35:21 PM »
^^^ Interesting!  What is the current consumption of the mics you used?

I'm an ignoramus about these things. Not quite sure what to look for but the spec sheet says:

"Phantom power requirements:  48V DC, 6.4 mA typical – both channels total"

It's a stereo mic.
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Offline newplanet7

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #61 on: December 22, 2011, 07:38:51 PM »
Mark, can you try running straight in for one set?
The opener perhaps, if there is one? I know a ton of us are curious about
the spls/distortion/brickwalling of running straight into the stock pres.
Thanks for the reviews Steve and hopefully Mr.T

-todd

Todd.  My first night out with the recorder in a venue will be in a week, so if nobody has tested the pre's by then, I'll run the opening set straight through the internal preamp to see what we get. 

I've got the rest of the year off, so I think I'll do a basement music test in the meantime.  Even though I don't really like that method of testing, I'm losing patience to find out a little more about what they sound like.  ;)
Steve, that would be stellar brother! I can tell you're curious as well.
I will be back in the game soon and I have a few recorders I have been rushing through my brain.
The top contenders as it stands right now are the 661 because I ran the 660 and am familiar with Marantz
and this tascam. So  am digging what yo are kicking out here Steve.Big time thanks.
MILAB VM-44 Classic~> Silver T's~> Busman PMD660
News From Phish: Will tour as opening act for Widespread Panic for Summer
hahaha never happen, PHiSH is waaaaayyyy better the WSP

They both ain't got nothing on MMW... Money spent wisely if you ask me...


FYI, it is a kick ass recording of a bunch of pretend-a-hippies talking.

Offline newplanet7

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #62 on: December 22, 2011, 07:42:34 PM »
I am also curious about the switch on the back.
I'm thinking it will stay in the Low position once SPL's from the PA are involved.
I was thinking it was more for mini-mics?
MILAB VM-44 Classic~> Silver T's~> Busman PMD660
News From Phish: Will tour as opening act for Widespread Panic for Summer
hahaha never happen, PHiSH is waaaaayyyy better the WSP

They both ain't got nothing on MMW... Money spent wisely if you ask me...


FYI, it is a kick ass recording of a bunch of pretend-a-hippies talking.

stevetoney

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #63 on: December 22, 2011, 08:01:26 PM »

Steve, that would be stellar brother! I can tell you're curious as well.
I will be back in the game soon and I have a few recorders I have been rushing through my brain.
The top contenders as it stands right now are the 661 because I ran the 660 and am familiar with Marantz
and this tascam. So  am digging what yo are kicking out here Steve.Big time thanks.

Well this works out well then.  My basement test will be the stock pre's on the 661 vs. the stock pres on the DR100mkII vs. the AETA PSP-3.  I'll probably do it tomorrow when my wife leaves the house since it requires some blasting of tune-age.

Definitely one of the things I'm going to check out is what the different gain steps are when you switch between L, M, and H and then what gain range at each setting the level dial goes through from zero to ten. 

stevetoney

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #64 on: December 22, 2011, 08:05:59 PM »
I ran a stereo mic XLR IN into the DR-100mkii with phantom power on. It got about 3 1/4 hours out of the fully-charged lithium battery.

That's not as good as I expected based on my run-time test with the internals. 

Did you fully cycle your Li-ion a couple of times?  If not, you might not be getting your max run-time until you run your Li-ion down a time or two. 

(EDIT:  I don't necessarily think that new Li-ion batteries need to be cycled because Li-ions don't have a memory effect.  Therefore, I'm not sure from a technical perspective if the above comment is accurate or not, but just out of habit, I've always cycled my new rechargeables once or twice before taking them out into the jungle we call the real world.)
« Last Edit: December 22, 2011, 08:27:15 PM by tonedeaf »

Offline spyder9

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #65 on: December 22, 2011, 09:20:08 PM »
Does the hold switch lock the level adjustment?

The hold switch DOES NOT lock level adjustment.  Seems to lock almost everything else though.  I'll do a detailed test and review and put it in the report.

That's fine for now.  The Sony M-10 suffers from the same issue.  Just tape the puppy down.

Offline spyder9

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #66 on: December 22, 2011, 09:25:37 PM »
I ran a stereo mic XLR IN into the DR-100mkii with phantom power on. It got about 3 1/4 hours out of the fully-charged lithium battery.

Thank you!!  Can you try with a pair of AA only and report results?  Thanks again.   

Offline willndmb

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #67 on: December 22, 2011, 09:40:29 PM »
wow what a review
nice work

so is it safe to assume the overall pros (also assuming it sounds good) vs a m10 are...
48v
dig in

the con is battery life
Mics - AKG ck61/ck63 (c480b & Naiant actives), SP-BMC-2
XLR Cables - Silver Path w/Darktrain stubbies
Interconnect Cables - Dogstar (XLR), Darktrain (RCA > 1/8) (1/8 > 1/8), and Kind Kables (1/8f > 1/4)
Preamps - Naiant Littlebox & Tinybox
Recorders - PCM-M10 & DR-60D

Offline newplanet7

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #68 on: December 22, 2011, 09:54:51 PM »

Steve, that would be stellar brother! I can tell you're curious as well.
I will be back in the game soon and I have a few recorders I have been rushing through my brain.
The top contenders as it stands right now are the 661 because I ran the 660 and am familiar with Marantz
and this tascam. So  am digging what yo are kicking out here Steve.Big time thanks.

Well this works out well then.  My basement test will be the stock pre's on the 661 vs. the stock pres on the DR100mkII vs. the AETA PSP-3.  I'll probably do it tomorrow when my wife leaves the house since it requires some blasting of tune-age.

Definitely one of the things I'm going to check out is what the different gain steps are when you switch between L, M, and H and then what gain range at each setting the level dial goes through from zero to ten.
This intrigues me the most since you brought up the SD7xx feature and Hi and Lo brought up the
similar switches in the 680.
Can't wait!! If I was female I would be moist. Thanks again man.
MILAB VM-44 Classic~> Silver T's~> Busman PMD660
News From Phish: Will tour as opening act for Widespread Panic for Summer
hahaha never happen, PHiSH is waaaaayyyy better the WSP

They both ain't got nothing on MMW... Money spent wisely if you ask me...


FYI, it is a kick ass recording of a bunch of pretend-a-hippies talking.

stevetoney

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #69 on: December 22, 2011, 10:04:10 PM »
wow what a review
nice work

so is it safe to assume the overall pros (also assuming it sounds good) vs a m10 are...
48v
dig in

the con is battery life

Pros
Digital In
Locking XLRs
Mic In or Line In on XLR
On-board 48V Phantom
Multiple battery options for hot-swap-ability
Small size (fits in pocket)
Metal construction
Wired or wireless remote
Included accessories and especially case included
Recessed back switches (to prevent accidental re-positioning)

Cons
File header isn't written on a file when all power is removed
AES/EBU digital standard isn't recognized

While this clearly doesn't run as long on the same amount of juice as the M10, I'm not sure that battery life should be called a con since they've designed to eliminate all issues with limitations on battery life.  The only reason it's an issue is if you insist on buying alkalines and feeding it those, but I'm planning on using nothing but rechargeables.

« Last Edit: December 22, 2011, 10:11:36 PM by tonedeaf »

Offline dogmusic

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #70 on: December 22, 2011, 10:05:05 PM »
I'm thinking it will stay in the Low position once SPL's from the PA are involved.

I'm pretty sure it will. My second test http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=152385.0 [see further down the page] with only acoustic piano had the switch at M and the gain at 5.0, and peaks were hitting -12db. When I had the switch at L, the gain was 8.0 and reached the same peaks.

I imagine with a PA, even with the switch on L, the gain will have to be quite low.
« Last Edit: December 22, 2011, 10:15:49 PM by dogmusic »
"The ear is much more than a mere appendage on the side of the head." - Catherine Parker Anthony, Structure and Function of the Human Body (1972)

"That's metaphysically absurd, man! How can I know what you hear?" - Firesign Theatre

Offline dogmusic

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #71 on: December 22, 2011, 10:07:06 PM »
Did you fully cycle your Li-ion a couple of times?  If not, you might not be getting your max run-time until you run your Li-ion down a time or two.

It didn't occur to me to do that, but I'll give it a try.
"The ear is much more than a mere appendage on the side of the head." - Catherine Parker Anthony, Structure and Function of the Human Body (1972)

"That's metaphysically absurd, man! How can I know what you hear?" - Firesign Theatre

Offline dogmusic

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #72 on: December 22, 2011, 10:07:53 PM »
I ran a stereo mic XLR IN into the DR-100mkii with phantom power on. It got about 3 1/4 hours out of the fully-charged lithium battery.

Thank you!!  Can you try with a pair of AA only and report results?  Thanks again.

Will do.
"The ear is much more than a mere appendage on the side of the head." - Catherine Parker Anthony, Structure and Function of the Human Body (1972)

"That's metaphysically absurd, man! How can I know what you hear?" - Firesign Theatre

stevetoney

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #73 on: December 22, 2011, 10:19:57 PM »
Does the hold switch lock the level adjustment?

The hold switch DOES NOT lock level adjustment.  Seems to lock almost everything else though.  I'll do a detailed test and review and put it in the report.

That's fine for now.  The Sony M-10 suffers from the same issue.  Just tape the puppy down.

Actually, I like that level can still be adjusted even with the lock switch on.  This is the same on I think all of the recorders I've owned.  Even though I usually don't touch my levels much after the show starts, sometimes the FOH guy will lean on the levels as the show progresses and you might need to back yours off a little bit.  Regardless, you'd need to be pretty messed up to accidently move the level knob on this unit. 
« Last Edit: December 22, 2011, 10:29:37 PM by tonedeaf »

stevetoney

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Re: Tascam DR100mkii Review
« Reply #74 on: December 22, 2011, 10:26:51 PM »
I ran a stereo mic XLR IN into the DR-100mkii with phantom power on. It got about 3 1/4 hours out of the fully-charged lithium battery.

Thank you!!  Can you try with a pair of AA only and report results?  Thanks again.

Will do.
 

LOL, don't forget to take out the Li-ion first.  The first AA battery run-time test I did, I wasted a pair because I started it and went to bed while leaving it running.  When I got up in the morning it was still running and I was thrilled, but realized that sometime in the middle of the night it had swapped over to the Li-ion which I hadn't removed.  Doh! 
« Last Edit: December 22, 2011, 10:31:01 PM by tonedeaf »

 

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