Topic: Fr-2 Vs. SD 722

[Govt Mule]

I was close to purchasing the Oade mod FR-2. But after looking at storage, battery life and size the 722 looks like a better machine. And after buying media and Mods for the fr-2 it is potentially more expensive than the fr-2.   And having an internal hard drive seems to be much better way to go.

The big drawback is the fact that I can't get a 722 till I don't know when.
I would like to be up and running by xmas jam. But I could live with my current UA5/jb3 till then.

Any Comments?

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

I talked with someone at SD last week.  They expect to have all current orders shipped by the end of the year, assuming no further delays, with the initial customer 722 units shipping in November.  (He explicity declined to say early or late november ;-).  So if you already have an order in, then you may have one. 

All your reasons for waiting are the same as mine.  Although I guess that there is a point where you have to go with what you can get. 

[BobW]

I was close to purchasing the Oade mod FR-2. But after looking at storage, battery life and size the 722 looks like a better machine. And after buying media and Mods for the fr-2 it is potentially more expensive than the fr-2.   And having an internal hard drive seems to be much better way to go.

The big drawback is the fact that I can't get a 722 till I don't know when.
I would like to be up and running by xmas jam. But I could live with my current UA5/jb3 till then.

Any Comments?

For FR-2:

5GB (8 hours at 24/48)  removable HD = $120
4Ah (good for 4-5 hours) NiMH pack and charger = $40
T or W mod is about $300
O mod I don't know enough about.

[F.O.Bean]

I was close to purchasing the Oade mod FR-2. But after looking at storage, battery life and size the 722 looks like a better machine. And after buying media and Mods for the fr-2 it is potentially more expensive than the fr-2.   And having an internal hard drive seems to be much better way to go.

The big drawback is the fact that I can't get a 722 till I don't know when.
I would like to be up and running by xmas jam. But I could live with my current UA5/jb3 till then.

Any Comments?

For FR-2:

5GB (8 hours at 24/48)  removable HD = $120
4Ah (good for 4-5 hours) NiMH pack and charger = $40
T or W mod is about $300
O mod I don't know enough about.

wow, thanks for the info bob, that sounds VERY tempting

and the HD goes right into the DAW

how easyily does that actually happen

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

and the HD goes right into the DAW

how easyily does that actually happen

You can buy a card reader for your PC or use the FR2's USB port.

[F.O.Bean]

+T teabag, thanks

[Ed.]

how much is the actual fr-2

i need to investigate...

[caymanreview]

how much is the actual fr-2

i need to investigate...

i think from oade it is 1250 or 1200 w/out any mods. but it needs at least a few mods to be acceptable by use for an all in one box. Doug found some flaws in the stock pre's

[Nick's Picks]

I was close to purchasing the Oade mod FR-2. But after looking at storage, battery life and size the 722 looks like a better machine. And after buying media and Mods for the fr-2 it is potentially more expensive than the fr-2.   And having an internal hard drive seems to be much better way to go.

The big drawback is the fact that I can't get a 722 till I don't know when.
I would like to be up and running by xmas jam. But I could live with my current UA5/jb3 till then.

Any Comments?

I'd like to know where you are coming up with the cost data?
as I understand it, the W or T mod FR2 will cost approx $1600 (or less)
add $130 for a single 5gb PCMCIA card drive for 5 hours of 24/48 or 2.5 hours of 24/96 and you are only at $1730.
even adding a second drive for easy 24/96 will be under $1850 i bet.
on a tech note...when you have a drive in the slot of the FR2 and change the sample rates or bit depth, the "time remaining" updates instantly w/the new recording setting.  very cool.
btw, they brickwall stock.  so you need the "O MOD" at the least, which allows you to run the stock unit (which I hear from the oades sounds good on its own) w/o brickwall issues.  as we allready know from the UA5, the T and W mods make for wonderful sounding preamps.  Easily on par w/other gear we pay 4 figures for.


what does the 722 run?  $2100 or there abouts ?

plus, there WILL be a hdd mod for the FR2.  Trust me.  the 5gb cards will go away and an internal or external drive of many gigs will be the replacement.  I've got an exteran drive experiment pending a small hardware delivery next week.  i''ll report back.
It should be an EASY mod.

yea, its a little bulky.  but it doesnt weigh anything.
battery life can be handled via 12v NimH packs of 4amps.  (giving you better than 3.5hours of run time).  Still nice and small.

while I think the 722 wins on the "cool factor", the price goes to the FR2.  Sound...we'll have to wait and see, but i'll be very surprised if it outperforms an Oade mod'd FR2.

[John R]

The big drawback is the fact that I can't get a 722 till I don't know when.
I would like to be up and running by xmas jam.

not gonna happen, imo

[Govt Mule]

I want to run 24/96 so I will need more media. And have to bring the laptop along for three day runs.
Also I have yet to find the 5g drives that cheap.
The oade mod fr-2 is $1550
two sets of batteries $100
Could be wrong here but 5g drives are about $170 each
that's for less than 2.5 hours each based on my needs (or to be egual to a stock sd 722 that's 4)

total $2330.

the SD722 is $2375 stock
 
Or if you buy the RAW model at $2100 you can get a larger HD and your own battery any you could shave off a few $


Thanks for the input. I am still pondering. I might just wait till the fall for the sd 722. the W mod UA5 and the jb3 will get me through xmas jam and I could use the spare $ while in europe this winter.

Also, I just fed my equipement jones with the purcace of a pair of Neat speakers. They are amazing. Put on Oak Mountian 02 to test them and Houser's guitar just ripped through the room 

thanks again
Pat 

[wboswell]

Don't forget that you'll have to upgrade batteries for the 722 as well, unless you want to carry a 12v around, which I don't.  Also, the 722 is now shipping with a 40g hard drive.  I think that you could get buy with 2 5g cards and be fine.  To be safe and cover all your regular (non-festival) nights, you would need 3 if you want to do 24/96.  For me, the cost difference would be about $350-$400, but there would be less storage, but I won't get too hung up on storage space.  I am pretty much over festivals and transferring to a laptop after the show would be a snap. 

No one has really talked about the ergonomics of the FR2.  Are the levels controlled on top of the unit?  That is what it looks like to me from the pictures.  Nick mentioned that the unit is light, but how is it built?  The MMe was light when compared to the ad1000, but I think most would prefer the ad1000 construction.

Bottom line, the FR2 is a great option.  Its cheaper and comes with the availability to be tailored to your tastes via multiple modification options.   I haven't heard any samples, but I don't have any doubts that it more than likely sounds stellar.  Does Doug mod anything that doesn't sound killer?

[nic]

the Toshiba PC Card 1.8" 5GB HD p/n: HDD1232CZP41002
on pricewatch, 2 vendors $136 shipped

[Joe w.]

how much is the actual fr-2

i need to investigate...

i've seen b-stock units, that are warranteed, go for 1k on ebay.

[John Kelly]

The other thing to think about is that the SD box will be built like a tank.  You can run over their other products with a car and they'd still work.