Topic: Tascam DR-680 MKii

[Twenty8]

Would be nice if they updated this device to allow for continuous illumination of the screen.
Sorta annoying to have to hit the a button when recording to check my levels in the dark.
Running this thing once a week - it's a workhorse.  Having to hit the menu button over and over - gets redundant.

[GLouie]

Would be nice if they updated this device to allow for continuous illumination of the screen.
Sorta annoying to have to hit the a button when recording to check my levels in the dark.
Running this thing once a week - it's a workhorse.  Having to hit the menu button over and over - gets redundant.

I'm confused. Mine stays on all the time, even under battery power, which I complained about to Tascam. I set the backlight menu item to "off".

On the mark 1, the light would go off after the time indicated when on batteries and stay on when running from the external power jack. I guess they figured users running batteries into the external power jack did not want this behavior on the mk2.

[dallman]

Would be nice if they updated this device to allow for continuous illumination of the screen.
Sorta annoying to have to hit the a button when recording to check my levels in the dark.
Running this thing once a week - it's a workhorse.  Having to hit the menu button over and over - gets redundant.

Set it to "OFF" and it stays on all the time.

[Twenty8]

Would be nice if they updated this device to allow for continuous illumination of the screen.
Sorta annoying to have to hit the a button when recording to check my levels in the dark.
Running this thing once a week - it's a workhorse.  Having to hit the menu button over and over - gets redundant.

Set it to "OFF" and it stays on all the time.

My thoughts of "how did I not know this?" are mixed with wondering why it would not just label that as "ON" .. ...
Yeah, wtf.
Why would that not be Backlight : On ?

[Gutbucket]

^ Off turns the display time-out function off.

Stated that way it makes more sense, no? 
.. or should that be- makes more sense, yes ?

[Twenty8]

Yes, it makes more sense explained that way.
But, I mean... even the manual is worded strangely -

Use the BACKLIGHT item to set the amount of time since being last used until the backlight automatically turns OFF when operating on batteries.

Options: OFF, 5 sec (default value), 10 sec, 15 sec, 30 sec

A footnote mentioning that selecting "off" keeps the backlight illuminated might be appropriate.
I don't know.
Seemed odd.  I tend to fiddle enough to figure things out, but selecting off seemed the opposite of what I was trying to accomplish.
Thanks again, guys.

[IronFilm]

I have a 680 and am thinking about buying a 680MK2. Do you notice a big improvement in the mic preamps in the 680MK2?

The Zoom F Series (and also the MixPre series, which Sound Devices had to respond with rather than just standing still) is such a big leap forward, I'd say just ignore Tascam for now (or at least until Tascam decides to wake up from their slumber and make their own response to the Zoom F8).

Not unless you get some insanely insanely great deal on a DR680

[lukpac]

The Zoom F Series (and also the MixPre series, which Sound Devices had to respond with rather than just standing still) is such a big leap forward, I'd say just ignore Tascam for now (or at least until Tascam decides to wake up from their slumber and make their own response to the Zoom F8).

Not unless you get some insanely insanely great deal on a DR680

The F8 may or may not be better, but it's also twice as much money. So it's not exactly a fair/direct comparison.

[IronFilm]

The Zoom F Series (and also the MixPre series, which Sound Devices had to respond with rather than just standing still) is such a big leap forward, I'd say just ignore Tascam for now (or at least until Tascam decides to wake up from their slumber and make their own response to the Zoom F8).

Not unless you get some insanely insanely great deal on a DR680

The F8 may or may not be better, but it's also twice as much money. So it's not exactly a fair/direct comparison.

It is not "may or may not be better", the Zoom F8 is better.

And look around at second prices of a Zoom F8/F4/F6 or MixPre3, you can find them for comparable (or only a couple of hundred more) than what a Tascam DR680mk2 goes for.

[lukpac]

It is not "may or may not be better", the Zoom F8 is better.

And look around at second prices of a Zoom F8/F4/F6 or MixPre3, you can find them for comparable (or only a couple of hundred more) than what a Tascam DR680mk2 goes for.

The F8N is selling for $999. The DR-680MKII is selling for $499. That's not a small difference. The MixPre3 with 8 mic inputs is $1,450, and even larger difference. The F6 is closer in price, but for my use the Tascam is preferable.

Not everyone has the same price point, and not everyone is looking for exactly the same features.

[IronFilm]

It is not "may or may not be better", the Zoom F8 is better.

And look around at second prices of a Zoom F8/F4/F6 or MixPre3, you can find them for comparable (or only a couple of hundred more) than what a Tascam DR680mk2 goes for.

The F8N is selling for $999. The DR-680MKII is selling for $499. That's not a small difference. The MixPre3 with 8 mic inputs is $1,450, and even larger difference. The F6 is closer in price, but for my use the Tascam is preferable.

Not everyone has the same price point, and not everyone is looking for exactly the same features.

The original F8 can be found secondhand for much cheaper than the new F8n.
Ditto the F4.

The MixPre3 Gen2 is US$680, and the mk1 is of course even cheaper on eBay. (mine was well under half that)

Like I said, on basically ever measure I can think of the F8 is superior over the DR680
(and I say this as someone who has both the Tascam DR680, and other Tascam recorders too, and the Zoom F series, and Sound Devices too)

[Gutbucket]

I moved from DR-680 to DR-680mkII to F8 (with some trial use of R-88 prior to the F8).

I'm very happy with the preamps in the F8, which are better, probably most apparent when needing lots of gain for dynamic mics or recording in especially quiet conditions.   However if I didn't need 8 channels all the time I would have been happy sticking with the 680mkII for concert recording.  It's a great recorder and one of the best values around.

For concert recording using condenser mics I was fully satisfied with the Tascam preamps. I occasionally used a V3 in front, most often whenever I needed 2 additional channels.  Yes for some things I'd run the V3 on a main pair simply because its a better preamp, but mostly just because I could, rather than because I felt I needed to.

I do like the improvements of the 680MkII over the MKI. Supposedly the preamps were improved but it's the menu navigation improvements primarily, and a total lack of any problems in hot outdoor conditions that drive that preference.  Second hand 680 MKIIs can be had quite inexpensively, and represent a value that is very hard to beat.

I've fully shifted to using the F8 and now keep the 680MKII as a second recorder. Upon shifting to F8 I sold my original MKI to another member here. My primary reasons for moving to the F8 was the need for 8 channels with built-in preamps. Other practical features I like is the particularly compact format of the F8, and having all controls on the front of the unit.  The larger brighter meters are nice, but the 680 meters were always sufficient for my use.  I do prefer the F8 overall and am very satisfied having made the shift, yet there are some minor fidgety details that sort of bug me, a feeling I never had with the simpler 680s.

In these ways I actually prefer the 680MKII over the F8:
Simpler to fully understand and operate
Easier/simpler menu navigation
Better implemented easier to use channel ganging/unganging feature
digital in/out and word clock syncable
6 channel analog outputs

A more similar comparison both in channel count and cost is probably to the 6-channel F6. I've not used one.

[lukpac]

The original F8 can be found secondhand for much cheaper than the new F8n.
Ditto the F4.

The MixPre3 Gen2 is US$680, and the mk1 is of course even cheaper on eBay. (mine was well under half that)

Like I said, on basically ever measure I can think of the F8 is superior over the DR680
(and I say this as someone who has both the Tascam DR680, and other Tascam recorders too, and the Zoom F series, and Sound Devices too)

Looking on eBay, I'm not seeing the F8 for less than about $750. And of course used 680s are cheaper than new 680s as well.

The F4 doesn't offer the same number of mic inputs as the 680, nor does the low end MixPre3. So those aren't really valid comparisons.

The F8 doesn't have digital I/O for linking/cascading machines, does it? Because that would be a deal breaker for me.

The F8 may be a great machine, and the perfect machine for some people, but it's simply wrong to suggest it's necessarily preferable to the 680, especially when considering the price difference.

[Gutbucket]

You can likely find great deals on the 680mkII.  I originally picked up the 680MKII second hand for something like $250 years ago (nice portabrace cover I never used included), simply because it was such a good deal at the time.  It is that kind of price point that makes it very attractive.

I picked up the F8 new for $700 just after the F8N came out.  They can probably be found for less now.

I remember buying an OCM R44 from Oade for a grand a little over a decade ago. Features and channel counts have grown as well as performance specs which no longer requiring preamp mods, but I'm still happy with the performance and simplicity of that elder 4-channel recorder.

I just Google searched "zoom f8 for sale" for grins and see a used F8 for $570 at Reverb and a used F8N for $580 at LensAuthority (whoever that is).

Consider the features you need (channel count, digital in/out) before getting into the details of things like preamp quality.  Do you really need linking/cascading of recorders if you have 8 channels?

[lukpac]

Consider the features you need (channel count, digital in/out) before getting into the details of things like preamp quality.  Do you really need linking/cascading of recorders if you have 8 channels?

As I've recorded 12 to 14 channels (14 with an external ADC) for some shows, yes.