Topic: Tascam DR100mkii Review

[dogmusic]

^^^ Those DPAs are spec'ed for 48V phantom (http://www.dpamicrophones.com/en/products.aspx?c=item&category=233&item=24026#specifications), so it should be OK.

Right you are. I thought (mistakenly) that they would be the same as 4060's.

[stevetoney]

Bought a DR-100MKII and used it for the 1st time the other day. Seriously NOT IMPRESSED at all.

This comment probably belongs in the Remote Power subforum but whatever...it applies here. I also bought a Tascam BP-6AA for external power. It uses 6 AA batteries to supply 5V to the A/C power jack. I should have known it would not be efficient since 6 AA = 7.2V. They are stepping the voltage down in this box. There is a green 'on' light and a red 'low power' light. The red light came on after 1 hour. The green light turned off after 1.5 hours. It continued to power the recorder with only the red indicator on. It only lasted for a total of 4 hours. Used 2600mah AA's with phantom power on (powering AT4053a's).

How are people powering this thing (while supplying 48V phantom) for festivals?

I just returned from Summercamp and powered my DR100mkii for 4 straight days using two batteries, although I wasn't powering any mics.  So I was happy enough with the performance of the unit. 

Nearest I can tell, the unit draws between 300 and 400ma without phantom power.  Different mics pull different current, so you'll need to conduct your own testing to determine what run-times to expect when you add powering your mics into the mix. 

4 hours from six AA's doesn't seem all that bad to me when you're powering your mics too.  Obviously, if you used an external pre, your run-times using that AA pack would probably increase fairly significantly.

[bhadella]

Bought a DR-100MKII and used it for the 1st time the other day. Seriously NOT IMPRESSED at all.

This comment probably belongs in the Remote Power subforum but whatever...it applies here. I also bought a Tascam BP-6AA for external power. It uses 6 AA batteries to supply 5V to the A/C power jack. I should have known it would not be efficient since 6 AA = 7.2V. They are stepping the voltage down in this box. There is a green 'on' light and a red 'low power' light. The red light came on after 1 hour. The green light turned off after 1.5 hours. It continued to power the recorder with only the red indicator on. It only lasted for a total of 4 hours. Used 2600mah AA's with phantom power on (powering AT4053a's).

How are people powering this thing (while supplying 48V phantom) for festivals?

Tonedeaf states his review post (the 1st post in this topic) that you can feed it 5 volt power via Radio Shack Adaptaplug B.    I use an Energizer XP8000 to power my USBPre2 with it's 5 volt output and found it easy to use.   Prices seem to have skyrocketed on the XP8000 (I bought mine for $40) but I would give it a positive review.   Make yourself or have one of our cable makers a USB to B cable and your good to go.

[alpine85]

Tondeaf states his review post (the 1st post in this topic) that you can feed it 5 volt power via Radio Shack Adaptaplug B.    I use an Energizer XP8000 to power my USBPre2 with it's 5 volt output and found it easy to use.   Prices seem to have skyrocketed on the XP8000 (I bought mine for $40) but I would give it a positive review.   Make yourself or have one of our cable makers a USB to B cable and your good to go.

It should also run just fine off of one of these - http://www.amazon.com/Digicom-DC-EPP3000-Xtreme-Power-Pack/dp/B00028VKRM  (12 bucks!)

Haven't tested this one specifically, but it looks just like the old "PP-99", which some of you may have laying around from the old days of powering a JB3.   I have tested the PP-99 and it works just fine with the Tascam.  Not sure about the battery life with phantom on, but the Tascam shows "AC" when it's hooked up, and says the internals are charging. 

In fact the MK2 has exactly the same power config as the JB3 - 5V with a "B" tip (this battery has a "N" tip, btw).    The AC adapter is almost identical too - other than the Tascam spec is "2.0A" and the JB3 is "2.4A"  (this wouldn't make a difference, would it?).  Wish I would have known this before I wasted $20 on the Tascam power supply!

[runonce]

Max file size?

[jbell]

Here is the cable you need for cheap!  http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Male-5V-DC-4-0mm-Barrel-Connector-Power-Cable-/221011998439#ht_4119wt_1254

I also grabbed one of these and use this setup for my DR-2d and it works great and is really cheap.

 http://www.batteryspace.com/batteryholderaax4withusbinterfaceconnectorandbeltcliponoffpowerswitch-rohscompliant.aspx

Tondeaf states his review post (the 1st post in this topic) that you can feed it 5 volt power via Radio Shack Adaptaplug B.    I use an Energizer XP8000 to power my USBPre2 with it's 5 volt output and found it easy to use.   Prices seem to have skyrocketed on the XP8000 (I bought mine for $40) but I would give it a positive review.   Make yourself or have one of our cable makers a USB to B cable and your good to go.

It should also run just fine off of one of these - http://www.amazon.com/Digicom-DC-EPP3000-Xtreme-Power-Pack/dp/B00028VKRM  (12 bucks!)

Haven't tested this one specifically, but it looks just like the old "PP-99", which some of you may have laying around from the old days of powering a JB3.   I have tested the PP-99 and it works just fine with the Tascam.  Not sure about the battery life with phantom on, but the Tascam shows "AC" when it's hooked up, and says the internals are charging. 

In fact the MK2 has exactly the same power config as the JB3 - 5V with a "B" tip (this battery has a "N" tip, btw).    The AC adapter is almost identical too - other than the Tascam spec is "2.0A" and the JB3 is "2.4A"  (this wouldn't make a difference, would it?).  Wish I would have known this before I wasted $20 on the Tascam power supply!

[adrianf74]

I'm going to be a little lazy here as I'm at work but I do have a quick question (which I'm sure has been answered in this thread so I apologize in advance):

I'm looking at having two mic setups available.  I have an M10 and will have an option of running either setup to the M10 when I have to be somewhat discreen.   When I can run open, I would like the option of having one deck that would do what I need it to do (allowing me to run both mic sources or a board feed via XLR if need be with the same clock timings).  The gear I'm looking at running is:

CARDS: MBHO KA200N's > active cable (mini XLRs) > Tinybox > 1/8"

OMNIS: Countryman B3's > Naint PFA > XLR  (also will have a battery box available for ultra low-pro)
 
I already have an M10 which would work well in low-pro situations with either option but I would like to have something that would allow me to record both sources at once.  Would the DR100mkII be what I'm looking for?  Are there any other solid options?

Thanks.

[DATPAT]

Just got my dr100mk2 modded by busman. I should get it back tomorrow. And once I get a pull I report in.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Just got my dr100mk2 modded by busman. I should get it back tomorrow. And once I get a pull I report in.

Cool.  Though I haven't heard a single comp that compares the stock unit to anything else.

[ashevillain]

Just got my dr100mk2 modded by busman. I should get it back tomorrow. And once I get a pull I report in.

Interesting...I sent him an email about a month ago asking whether he was doing mods and never got a reply. Guess he doesn't want the business

[hermannhesse70]

Just got my dr100mk2 modded by busman. I should get it back tomorrow. And once I get a pull I report in.

Interesting...I sent him an email about a month ago asking whether he was doing mods and never got a reply. Guess he doesn't want the business

Yeah!  WTH?  Nothing on the site about that nor have I heard anything else about it.  Be interested to hear about any improvements.  I think the stock amps sound really good, and like the previous responder - haven't heard any comparisons to anything else.  How much was the mod, and of what order?

[pine_tree]

Hey Now!  First post here.  I'm a longtime music fan and new owner of a DR100MKII.  I bought this about a week ago and have been reading through this thread and messing around with it throughout the week.  I took my first go at recording with it a couple nights ago at a performance by the Legendary Les McCann with Javon Jackson.  This is a video of their closing song using the DR100MKII is the audio source.  I used the internal UNI mics only.  The unit was propped up on a couple of drink menus on the table with another menu covering the unit to draw as little attention to the device as possible.  The Mic Gain switch was set to medium, input dialed to 10 and Auto/Limiter switch was on.   Recorded as WAV 16bit  44.1k.  I think the internal mics sound very nice but please share feedback of any kind and I welcome any tips for better stealth/better sound quality with this unit. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hsqzWgXk3M

[hermannhesse70]

i'm super new to the mk2 also, but have some input.  CA14s would be the thing to add.  cards for indoors, omni's for out.  they will sound 6000 times better than those internals.  you can keep the unit out of site and get creative with the mics, which are small.  sound good with the stock pre amps.  uh-uh on using the auto anything or limiter.  cranking up the dial to ten will add unnecessary noise.  go for signal to noise balance by finding the gain switch setting that allows you to keep the dial somewhere in the middle for optimum level.  also, may as well record 24/48 so you can get the best sound and leave enought room to boost CLEAN volume in post production, say with something free and easy to use like Audacity!  I have been making mostly field recordings and will post some soon when the stuff I've collected is edited.  Got a great one of a uhhhh chorus of cockroaches in downtown houston that sounds huge, full and outright creepy. 

[pine_tree]

Thanks for your comments hermannhesse70.  I fully intend to upgrade to some good stealth mics as soon as possible.  The CA14s look fantastic and would be perfect for my stealth needs.  I do have a matched pair of Rode NT-5s that I use for drum overheads.  Though not an ideal mic and definitely not stealth, I am guessing they will be better than the internals in certain situations.  Good to know about the auto-limiter and input dial set too high.  I should know better than to use any auto-anything when recording.  I have some opportunities in the coming weeks to record several more live bands so I will try some different settings along the way.  I'd like to hear some of the recordings you've made with this unit (cockroaches!) so please post here when you have them done.

[fmaderjr]

I do have a matched pair of Rode NT-5s that I use for drum overheads.  Though not an ideal mic and definitely not stealth, I am guessing they will be better than the internals in certain situations.

They're good mics. When you don't need to stealth, they should be quite a bit better than the internals in most situations- especially when recording live music.