Topic: Tascam DR-680 MKii

[taper420]

So, I found a good deal and couldn't pass it up... my unit arrived today. Came with the Tascam case, and it wasn't listed, but it came with a 32gb card and a set of eneloops, making it an even better deal. File naming is not as cumbersome as I feared, I'll be able to work with it just fine; no more difficult than the P2.

Question: when I have DIN set (to either 5&6 or ST) but I don't have those channels set to record, will it external clock to the SPDIF? I would imagine so since I get a DIN unlock warning with those setting (if I'm not feeding the DIN).

[Gutbucket]

Cool.  Hope it works well for you.  I dig this machine.

Question: when I have DIN set (to either 5&6 or ST) but I don't have those channels set to record, will it external clock to the SPDIF? I would imagine so since I get a DIN unlock warning with those setting (if I'm not feeding the DIN).

Yes.

[taper420]

So, question and battery report...

After reading the manual, this thread, and playing around, it seems that you can monitor the 6 analog inputs, or the DIN (if on ST channel), but not both at the same time, and you can't switch between them while recording (as extensively talked about in this thread). Is this correct? No way to monitor all 8 channels at once? In the somewhat rare situation where I will be using 7 or 8 channels I suppose I could use my MOTU Ultralite or Traveler for monitoring them by running out of the 6 RCAs and the SPDIF (with the monitor set to DIN) and using the MOTU as a mixer.

I am quite surprised by the battery life I am getting on my old DVD batteries. I know running at 9v is not ideal, but that's why I'm testing now before I'm in the field. Most of my batteries were purchased in March 2009, and I have one older one that I got used with my HD-P2 (2006-2008ish)... with 3 mics on phantom, screen always on, and headphones plugged in and volume at 3 o'clock,  I'm getting 10 hours with the 9 year old batteries and 7.5+ hours with the older one. In each test I've run, the 680 has switched seamlessly to the internal batts once the 9v dies... a huge improvement from the P2 which always chose the power source with the higher voltage (meaning you couldn't use internal batts if running an external 9v). Seems these things still have some kick left in them. Back in 2009 when I first got the DVD batts I was getting 12 hours powering the P2 and 6 hours powering a V3, so 10 hours for the 680 is pretty awesome for nearly 10 year old batteries.

[Gutbucket]

No way to either headphone-monitor all 8 channels nor play all 8 simultaneously afterwards.   I had originally hoped I could play the 6 channels via the RCA outs and the stereo track via the SPDIF out simultaneously but no.  Other than having no playback/monitoring EQ capability, that's my biggest gripe with this machine, but really I'm just happy to have the ability to record 8 time-locked channels simultaneously with it at all.  In reality it's a 6 channel recorder with the option of 2 more via SPDIF (or a stereo mix of the six) and not an 8-track machine.

I ran both the MKI and the MKII on old 9V DVD batts for years with mostly no problems.  Just be cautious in warm weather with lots of phantom channels running and keep the machine well cooled.  I've now moved on to a Talentcell 12V which can literally run it for days.  Highly recommended when the DVD batteries eventually go iffy.  For me their meters went bad before the batteries totally died, so I could never be sure how much juice was actually left.

[zorba]

Hello, how does it work the SPDIF in? Does it record the audio data in a file as they are or is there some conversion that change them?

[Gutbucket]

Records the SPDIF input to a WAV file. Can be routed to either channels 5&6 or to the stereo file.  If routed to the stereo file you keep all 6 analog input channels available as isolated tracks, effectively making it an 8-channel recorder.

[zorba]

I'm working with Taskam dr680MKII. I get best results if I set mic gain on high and "rec trim" <= 0.
For higher values of "rec trim" I get a lot of noise.
Good results also if I use an external preamp and I enter with a line signal.

[zorba]

I made this test with my DR680MKII without mics, I set:
- Mic gain: high
- rec trim: 31 (max value)

There's a lot of noise but it's relatively normal with this values, but when I attach the phantom power I can listen some electric discharges (is it the right term?)
Is it normal or not? Sometimes, when I keep my ears close to the tascam I can hear the same "electric discharges".
In attach there's a short clip, with only noise.

[IronFilm]

Saw a DR680mk2 sell for just US$200 on eBay yesterday, surprised it went for so low! Was kinda tempted to buy one myself again at such a cheap price. As I really enjoyed my time with owning a DR680, but I guess the competition is just too fierce now from the very good F8/F4/MixPre3. Nobody wants to spend three or four hundred on a DR680 when the rather good F4 is only a little teeny bit more.

[flask]

What SD cards are you all using? I've tried SDSDXPA-128G-G46 and SDSDXVF-128G-ANCIN but both return invalid card error.

Alec

[Gutbucket]

SDHC 32GB typically.

[rumbleseat]

I use a similar SanDisk 128GB card, SDSDXXG-128G-ANCIN in my MkII machines.  If you have a MKII machine, it's surprising that your SanDisk cards aren't working.
If you have an original DR680 (not MKII), that machine is limited to 32GB SDHC cards.

[flask]

I use a similar SanDisk 128GB card, SDSDXXG-128G-ANCIN in my MkII machines.  If you have a MKII machine, it's surprising that your SanDisk cards aren't working.
If you have an original DR680 (not MKII), that machine is limited to 32GB SDHC cards.

I'll give that one a try. In the mean time I went out and got a 32G card (SDSDXXG-032G-ANCIN) and it is working fine.

[jefflester]

I've been using
SanDisk 32GB Ultra Class 10 SDHC UHS-I Memory Card Up to 80MB, Grey/Black (SDSDUNC-032G-GN6IN)
without issue.

[lukpac]

I'm working with Taskam dr680MKII. I get best results if I set mic gain on high and "rec trim" <= 0.
For higher values of "rec trim" I get a lot of noise.
Good results also if I use an external preamp and I enter with a line signal.

The gain and trim depend on the type of mics used and the level of the source. For higher level signals, the gain should be set to low; for lower level signals, it should be set to high.