Topic: SD Cards for Audio

[moondust.and.solitude]

In the pursuit of perfection (that's a joke, so don't read too much into that) I came across Tascam's 128GB SD card.  I am curious if it's worth shelling out $179 for it? I don't mind the price if it has benefits over other SD cards ... is there other SD cards (microSd, SDxc ...) that I should look into besides this one?

I'm not a newbie, but if I can learn something here and upgrade my current transferring rig, I'm always up to learning and listening.

https://tascam.com/us/product/tsqd-128a/top

[SMsound]

In the pursuit of perfection (that's a joke, so don't read too much into that) I came across Tascam's 128GB SD card.  I am curious if it's worth shelling out $179 for it? I don't mind the price if it has benefits over other SD cards ... is there other SD cards (microSd, SDxc ...) that I should look into besides this one?

I'm not a newbie, but if I can learn something here and upgrade my current transferring rig, I'm always up to learning and listening.

https://tascam.com/us/product/tsqd-128a/top

Why would you pay $179 for an SD card rebranded by an audio company when you can get a top quality (SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston, LeXaR) fast SD card for $10-$30?

Just use whatever your recording company recommends. If they say it doesn't matter, then get one of these brands above. If you care about transfer speed, then get one of the newer faster models (still sub $30). If you don't care about transfer speed and are doing less than 6 tracks, then consider an 'endurance' model that are supposedly even more reliable. For reference, the Tascam branded card you linked to is very slow (85MB write speed -- new cards are 180MB). It may very well be a rebranded Samsung Endurance or something similar.

You're recording bits...this is not analog gear with fancy capsules and electronics inside.  Carry a backup SD card, make a backup recording, and swap/reformat your cards after every so many recordings to be extra safe.

[moondust.and.solitude]

Why would you pay $179 for an SD card rebranded by an audio company when you can get a top quality (SanDisk, Samsung, Kingston, LeXaR) fast SD card for $10-$30?

Just use whatever your recording company recommends. If they say it doesn't matter, then get one of these brands above. If you care about transfer speed, then get one of the newer faster models (still sub $30). If you don't care about transfer speed and are doing less than 6 tracks, then consider an 'endurance' model that are supposedly even more reliable. For reference, the Tascam branded card you linked to is very slow (85MB write speed -- new cards are 180MB). It may very well be a rebranded Samsung Endurance or something similar.

You're recording bits...this is not analog gear with fancy capsules and electronics inside.  Carry a backup SD card, make a backup recording, and swap/reformat your cards after every so many recordings to be extra safe.

This has always been my thoughts, and process, as well. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on anything.

[guitard]

I came across Tascam's 128GB SD card.  I am curious if it's worth shelling out $179 for it?

When I buy SD cards, I don't necessarily go for the cheapest I can find.  But even name brand SD cards (Sandisk, Samsung, etc.) are really cheap these days; as the prices have continued to drop, while capacity just continues to climb. 

For example, on Amazon, you can get a Samsung 128GB microSDXC 130MB/s card for $10.99+tax (free next day delivery with Prime).

Or a SanDisk 128GB Ultra SDXC 140MB/s card for $12.99+tax (free next day delivery with Prime).

I just can't imagine that the $179 card you looked at is worth anything close to that price.

[goodcooker]

I went to Best Buy looking for something for work a few weeks ago. Found some Sandisk Ultra XD 128 gig cards for $11 and bought 2.

As long as the card is compatible with the recorder there's no reason to spend more on name branding (like a Tascam card for a Tascam recorder) that costs 10 times more.

I did a "stress test" on some new Samsung 32 gig cards that I bought for $5 with my SD Mixpre6 recording 8 channels at 24/96. Perfect.

[moondust.and.solitude]

Awesome. Thanks for the replies. You all said what I was thinking & hoping. It never hurts to check ... unless it involves your checkbook. Lol.
Thanks again!

[morst]

some recorders are very picky about what card they accept. Check your manufacturer's website for a list of approved cards for your specific recorder. The tascam DR70D was the first recorder which I knew to be overly picky, for instance.