So the R26 can take a max signal that is 32dbu hotter than the LS10, meaning the R26 can take a signal that is over 16Volt rms hotter than the LS10 without clipping. 2 different worlds, on this level, the R26 is pretty much like the 722 and the LS10 is junk.
Todd: can you please explain avisoft's dynamic range number? If the R-26 can take that large a difference, why isn't the dynamic range bigger?
I suspect it is because the avisoft numbers are at max gain, and max gain between different recorders is different.
Say you have 2 recorders that have EIN of -120dbu. One recorder like the R26 can reach 0dbFS given an input as low as -70dbu. So this recorder has a dynamic range of 50db at max gain. The other recorder can on reach 0dbFS with a signal as low as -55dbu, so it has a dynamic range of 65db.
The second recorder on that basis sounds better than the first. But if you need to record a low signal that only reaches -70dbu (say a nature recording), and you want your ultimate recorded product to be at 0dbFS. With the first recorder, you just record the sound at max gain, and you have a recording at 0dbFS, and it has the dynamic range of 50db. With the second recorder, you record the -70dbu signal at max gain, and your recording comes out at -15dbFS, since that recorder doesn't have as much gain. So in post, you boost the recording 15db, to get the recording up to 0dbFS. But in boosting the signal, you just boosted the noise of the recorder too. So you've effectively reduced the dynamic range of that 2nd recorder from 65db to 50db, since you boosted the recorded signal by 15db and by doing so boosted the noise from -120dbu to -105dbu.
Ok, late at night, but I think I got that right. At any rate, the difficulty is that it is difficult to compare across the numbers in the avisoft, since they depend on the recorders max gain, and the max gain varies across recorders.
