Topic: Edirol R-09 is Hissy; What's Quieter?

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I just got an Edirol R-09. Nice, easy to use, good sound quality. Except for the noticable hiss (using the internal microphones), even when recording at the highest sound format/sampling level. I know hiss has been mentioned in some reviews. I don't record concerts much. I want a recorder to primarily record steel string acoustic guitar music. Although a separate preamp and external mike would probably silence the hissing, I'd rather start with the quietest recording possible.

I'm considering the Sony PCM-D50 or the Marantz PMD620. My question for anyone who owns or has owned either machine: Are the recordings made through the internal mikes on these quiet?

Thanks very much.

[bhakti]

for closing mic'ing with the Edirol's internal mics, there should be very little hiss... sure when you put it up to 30 you start getting loads, but if you recording acoustic guitars at a close distance [i find steel string's, you can mic really close with my Edirol and its internal mics]. yes, an external preamp and mic will be better, so take a look at Chris Church's mics and preamps... otherwise, it should be fine if you close mic it... unless you mean recording solo acoustic guitar concerts?

bhakti

[digifish_music]

I just got an Edirol R-09. Nice, easy to use, good sound quality. Except for the noticable hiss (using the internal microphones), even when recording at the highest sound format/sampling level. I know hiss has been mentioned in some reviews. I don't record concerts much. I want a recorder to primarily record steel string acoustic guitar music. Although a separate preamp and external mike would probably silence the hissing, I'd rather start with the quietest recording possible.

I'm considering the Sony PCM-D50 or the Marantz PMD620. My question for anyone who owns or has owned either machine: Are the recordings made through the internal mikes on these quiet?

Thanks very much.

The internal mics suck for anything but very loud sources. Agreed! The solution is to use some external mics, I use the Sound Professionals SP-TFB-2s and they are good enough for field-recording ambiance. Not perfect but good enough. Far better than the internal mics for self-noise.

Most of the recordings here were made with an R-09 and Sound Professionals SP-TFB-2

you will need an account to download the high-quality versions.

digifish

[Ozpeter]

If you're chiefly talking low noise internal mics, the humble Zoom H2 is no disaster - http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/9/22/1451533/Dogs%20in%20park%20for%20net%20MS.mp3 is simply me up the park with the dogs. M, 100, 4ch mixed down with my MS method to mp3, Rode dead kitten windshield, all settings on their defaults.

You hear distant urban sounds, Australian birds, much panting by the dogs, and then us getting into the car and the car and its radio starting. The sample shows the available dynamic range pretty well.

It's been posted on the net before and I've read that a couple of H2 owners got out their wallets after hearing that sample!

[Mass. Wine Guy]

I'm bidding on eBay for a Sony ECM-MS907. Figure I'd start low and go from there.

That said, I would rather not have to use anything other than the internal mikes. Any comments on the Marantz or Sony for being quieter?

Has anyone tried the new Edirol T mike:

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-R09-MIC

Would this help reduce hiss?

[Arni99]

I'm considering the Sony PCM-D50 or the Marantz PMD620. My question for anyone who owns or has owned either machine: Are the recordings made through the internal mikes on these quiet?

Thanks very much.

Check this review of the Marantz PMD620 with sound-samples included:
http://www.transom.org/tools/recording_interviewing/200712_marantz_620/

[DSatz]

Mass. Wine Guy, the situation is unfortunately a little more complex than whether one microphone is quieter than another, or whether one recorder is quieter than another. Different microphones have different noise levels, but also different sensitivities (= output level at a given sound level). Different recorders have different noise levels, but also different gain levels (= amount that they amplify whatever you feed into them, including both signal and noise). Microphones and recorders both have overload levels to consider as well.

As a result, unless you do the whole homework assignment with the millivolts, Ohms and decibels, you can sometimes buy the quieter mike and end up with noisier recordings or vice versa. And doing the whole homework assignment is an expression of faith in the manufacturer's specifications, which sometimes is like trusting the purity of swamp water, especially with low-priced, mass-produced equipment. Honesty in specifications is unfortunately one of those things that cost extra in this business.

Thus the most reassuring thing you can read on a board like this is, "I've made many recordings with just that combination of equipment and it worked perfectly well." Otherwise one is left with wishful thinking which come in many varieties and flavors, but is usually at least somewhat misleading.

--best regards

[Mass. Wine Guy]

DSatz,

Thank you very much for this. It's all true. My needs are not too sophisticated, but what I would do is try other recorders with acoustic guitar music and keep the one that sounds quietest. Under the heading of manufacturer hype, Sony's unit claims a quieter signal path because of separate circuits for the various functions. Who knows? Of course, I can just remove hiss using Audacity, but I want a clean original recording. I also want to be wealthy, but that hasn't happened yet. That's days away.