Topic: Tascam HD-P2 Anyone using one and what's the verdict?

[gusbud1]

I am going to be upgrading my equipment and wondering which of the solid state recorders are getting the best marks.  I know the sound devices are out of my league for the time being, but the fostex, tascam, and marantz models are in my price range and I would like some feedback and what people are using and liking.

[spreetaper]

hd-p2 and marantz pmd-671's are both winners.. ive seen guys running them in the field and have heard nothing but good reviews

i know when i go from a 16 bit flash recorder to a 24 bit one that this will be a tough decision for me

[philb]

I've had great success with the Fostex fr-2 (zero problems). The size is the only real drawback to this device. It is slightly larger than the Tascam and Marantz units. However, the fostex is excellent for film/tv production and live recording (SPDIF or EBU/AES digital, the ability to handle all types of media, good stock pre-amp, good S/N ratio, etc.).

[gusbud1]

I know Doug at Oade praises the Fostex, but the size is definatley a drawback.

[JasonSobel]

I've been using the HD-P2 for a few shows now, and it's fantastic.  I've only run S/PDIF into the unit, so I won't comment on how the pre-amp and internal A/D sound, but I will say that it's easy to use, not a single quirk or bug that I've run into, and it's quite reliable.  For me, it was a tough decision between the PMD-671 and the HD-P2.  they are both very similar in size and price and features.  What ultimately pushed me to the HD-P2 were reports of 8 gig CF cards not working properly in the PMD-671.  At this point, I know others have been trying out 8 gig cards, and I'm not sure if the issue is resolved or not.  but that's what swayed me.

[jmerin]

both are great but the tascam can use a 8 gb card, so if you want to go with 24/96 i would go with the tascam

[balou2]

The Tascam also does 24/192.  The Fostex will too, but doesn't it only have XLR digital input?  The Marantz only goes to 24/96...though I don't know how many people are even doing 24/192

[joekar]

Hi ,
  I  have a Tascam HD-P2...I have taken it to three shows but got shut out all three time....I'll probably grab a Phil show in a month or two to really test it....I have been using it at home testing numerous mic set ups...(LSD2,C4's,AKGC1000 and some AT853's) The unit has performed flawlessly....No lock ups, great battery life, great functionality. It's tough to produce volume loud enough, in my house, to determine the units concert characteristics (sound)...The samples I grabbed sound great.....I run a MixPre in front of it most of the time and I'm pretty happy...In the future I plan to add a V3,which for now the budget does not permit.....I'm waiting to see/hear what Doug has in plan for this unit but I understand he has a stack of 671's to mod first. I hope the mod he has planned makes it a true all in one box...I heard he said that the Tascams line in is really NICE so I'm going to grab some XLR-RCA interconnects to try it out...Hope this help .....


Peace,
jk

[gusbud1]

I appreciate the info. keep the dialog going I am hearing some interesting things.  What about battery solutions for these recorders?  Who sells them, or are the internal options good enough to sustain an active taper? 

[philb]

The Tascam also does 24/192.  The Fostex will too, but doesn't it only have XLR digital input?  The Marantz only goes to 24/96...though I don't know how many people are even doing 24/192

The fr-2 has both digital input and output via xlr (switchable between spdif or AES/EBU).

I appreciate the info. keep the dialog going I am hearing some interesting things.  What about battery solutions for these recorders?  Who sells them, or are the internal options good enough to sustain an active taper? 

I used an eco-charge EC-90 SLA battery to power my Fostex for several hours. I believe 2300+ maH nickel metal hydride batteries with last two to three hours.

[joekar]

Hi,
   In regards to battery life , since I dont get out much, I do alot of testing at home. I have a Power Runner 12v battery pack and I tested the HD-P2 and MixPre. Both units were powered via a kustom kable from Kind Kables in Kolorado ( sorry I just could'nt resist) ,,,They ran for 9 hours with NO INTERNAL batteries installed. So the next test will be WITH the internal batteries installed......This test was run with phantom power on (MIxPre phantom on HD-P@ phantom power off) and using AT 853 onmis. I just got the mics and have been burning them in.......I expect alot less time with larger mics.....I'm going to run some battery tests with just the HD-P2 and my SP LSD2...just to get come comparative data...I will post the times.

Peace,
jk

[joekar]

OK
 I ran the HD-P2 with my SP LSD2 from the Power Runner 12v battery and it ran for 9 hours and 23 minutes ...I was suprised, I didn't expect it to last that long...This test was run with NO batteries within the HD-P2.......With the internal batteries (2500mah) i would expect around 13 hours or slightly more......Hope this helps...I'll post more times as I run more tests.....Next up  LSD2>MixPre>HD-P2   with ALL internal batteries installed....

Peace
jk

[gusbud1]

Thats some good taping time.  Good to know.

[KenH]

I have the HD-P2 as well.   Did my first recording on June 2nd, soundboard sourced (The Radiators) at 24b/48K.
Sounds fantastic!  Performs flawlessly.  EZ and inuitive UI.     http://www.archive.org/details/rads2006-06-02.sbd.hdp2.flac

Using 8xAA Duracell akalines, the battery meter dropped to ~50% after just a couple of hours, at which point I plugged in the AC adaptor.  The unit transparently switches to the best available power source.  Played back via battery power for at least 2-3 hours afterwards.   Batteries reading just under 9V currently (no pun intended , and need replacement obiously.

I'm planning on using KM184s straight to the HD-P2...  I'm new to live digital recording, and esp audience recordings.

What HD-P2 internal batteries are you referring to above that run for 13 hours ?   

And what's the deal w/ Tascam and Frontier Electronics ?  (both names are on the HD-P2).

Thx
Ken

[spyder9]

Powerex, Energizer, or Duracell 2500mah AA rechargeable batteries.

The P2 was co-developed by Tascam and Frontier.

[jessedscott]

this unit is already on back order. sheesh....

[OOK]

I love my Tascam.  I am really happy with my purchase.  This thing is really easy to use and it supports 8gig cards with out issue(the marantz doesn't), thats 4 hours of 24/96,or 8 hours of 24/48 or 12 hours of 16/44.

Transfers from the HDP2 are easy...hook it up the computer via firewire and drag and drop your music to whatever file your using.  It took 15min to transfer a 24/48 2hour show....and my computer is already 5years old..its not the fastest out there..easy.

[JasonSobel]

I love my Tascam.  I am really happy with my purchase.  This thing is really easy to use and it supports 8gig cards with out issue(the marantz doesn't)

I really wish people would stop posting this since the only thing anyone knows for sure is that you can't format an 8 gb card in the 671 itself and have it recognize all 8 gb's (it still see's it as 4 gb).  marantz says that if they are formatted in a computer instead the 671 will recognize all 8 gb.  noone has tried it yet from here, so noone knows if this is true. 

except it looks like one person has treid it, and it didn't work. this quote is from the "671 in the field" thread:

I tried formatting an 8 gig card on my computer and when I put the card in my 671 it still shows as having 4 gigs.  I did just use the standard card format with Windoze XP though and am not sure if another formatting utility would work differently.

now, I hope it does work out for all you PMD-671 users, but at this point, it doesn't look good.  Marantz says it'll work, but the only person who has tried it here on TS says it doesn't work.  so maybe it'll work, and maybe not.  regardless of the final outcome of that situation, the point that is being made here is that 8 gig cards work perfectly in the Tascam HD-P2.

[spyder9]

Which card, specifically, are you using Jason?  My P2 arrives Saturday, hopefully.

[jmerin]

as long as it is a Brand name it will, meaning Sandisk

[spyder9]

standard or Ultra II?  Which Sandisk?

[JasonSobel]

standard or Ultra II?  Which Sandisk?

both Jon and I use Sandisk Ultra II cards.

[spyder9]

Thank you gentlemen.   

[jessedscott]

made the purchase today(well earlier yeasterday). can't wait. Saw Jon Merin the last few weeks running it  during moe. tour. Thing runs like champ! Bought a 4g  Sandisk Ultra II card. Thanx to Frank and Jeff at cascademedia!  Just need t oget a flash card reader for dumping, since I don't have a firewire card in the pc.

[OOK]

I love my Tascam.  I am really happy with my purchase.  This thing is really easy to use and it supports 8gig cards with out issue(the marantz doesn't)

I really wish people would stop posting this since the only thing anyone knows for sure is that you can't format an 8 gb card in the 671 itself and have it recognize all 8 gb's (it still see's it as 4 gb).  marantz says that if they are formatted in a computer instead the 671 will recognize all 8 gb.  noone has tried it yet from here, so noone knows if this is true. 

except it looks like one person has treid it, and it didn't work. this quote is from the "671 in the field" thread:

I tried formatting an 8 gig card on my computer and when I put the card in my 671 it still shows as having 4 gigs.  I did just use the standard card format with Windoze XP though and am not sure if another formatting utility would work differently.

now, I hope it does work out for all you PMD-671 users, but at this point, it doesn't look good.  Marantz says it'll work, but the only person who has tried it here on TS says it doesn't work.  so maybe it'll work, and maybe not.  regardless of the final outcome of that situation, the point that is being made here is that 8 gig cards work perfectly in the Tascam HD-P2.

I couldn't have said it better myself....
Sounds like P2 envy   LOL

[spyder9]

My Tascam just arrived today.  Gonna give it a run tomorrow night.  Can't wait.     Now I just got to sell my old rig.

[F.O.Bean]

congrats jesse

FWIW, when i was gonna make the 24-bit jump, i had to take into consideration firmware upgrades, the 671 has to be sent to the manufacturer to be upgraded, thats a BIG minus IMO, and the tascam can be done from any computer

after adding up all of the flash cards and AA battery switching and pre inf ront of the hdp2/671 nonsense, i just bought a 722, its an all-in-one and i think i saved money, i would have kept the v3 to run in front of the 671/hdp2 and had to buy 2x 4GB CF Cards and one of those eastgear portadrives, and another battery setup to lug around, instead i sold the v3/jb3/accessories and only ended up spenind a couple hundred out of pocket, where as the hdp2 was gonna cost 850 new+400 in CF Cards+200on the portadrive, thats 1650

so if you have a pre to run in front, id say go hdp2 cause tascam is a rock solid company, if you wanna sell your pre/ad and use an all in one, go w/ a 722, they sound fantastic stock and dont need a pre in front, and the 40GB HD was the kicker for me, and they occassionally have firmware upgrades, like the one coming out very soon that had firewire>HD mirroring and faster firewire transfer speeds, all of which can be downloaded from home like the hdp2

just felt like giving my opinion, i know you said the 722 was out of question but if you have a pre/ad to sell and fund some of the money, it would be a great choice

[spyder9]

I'm very happy with my purchase.  P2 is a nice, solid, easy to use, decent sounding box.

Dickey Betts was pretty loud last night.  3 guitars and a thumping bass.  P2 handled my 480s with no problems.  Ran no pad.  Had the box set at 4 on the dial, and was running between -3 and 0.  Ran over a couple of times, but the P2 didn't distort.  This box should handle Mule or any loud band pretty easily.  And it does come with a -20 pad, just in case, but I didn't need it.  Analyzed the wav files via Adobe Audition, and they were accurate.         

Can't get over the battery consumption.  Ran 2 hours last night, only dropped 2 bars on brand new Energizer AA 2500 mah rechargeables.  Lost 1 bar on the get go, because it was the first charge of these bats out of the box.  The meters are very accurate and easy to read too, from a full standing position with the P2 in a Rakgear bag.  I hate crouching over my bag with a flashlight.

The sound of the P2 is a little flat, but warm and smooth, not quite as musical or transparent as my Busman UA5.  But that's because this box was more geared towards Eng than what we do (aren't all of them?  ).  Not bad sounding at all for stock.  I have no problems running stock until Oade comes out with his mods. 

Transferring a 2 hour show via firewire is slower than transferring with my JB3.  Took about 8 minutes for a 44.1/16 file.  A little over double of what it takes the JB3.  The time probably relates to the speed of my CF card (Kingston 50x).  I bet you would get faster transfer times with an 150x card.  I had previously formatted my card with the Marantz 660 and had music still on it.  The P2 recognized the card and formatted it properly.  I have yet to test whether a P2 formatted card can be accepted by a Marantz.

The box itself was a little warm at the end of the night.  But not as warm as a JB3 can be.

I'm gonna run the P2 in a Rakgear bag.  I'm a little nervous running upright in my current bag.  The top on my bag has an inside compartment, where I throw accessories.   Some are made of metal.  Don't want to crack that big-ass screen while zipping the top up in a hurry.  The P2 is slightly taller than my UA5 in the Walmart cage, too.  Its nice to carry a bag that's 10 lbs lighter.
 
Only knock: when you reformat a card, it reformats the entire P2 to factory settings.  Tascam engineered the settings to be stored on the card, as opposed to the 671, which is stored in internal memory.  No presets, which is an advantage of the 671.  I plan on running 24/48 once I get a 4GB card.  Eventually, I'll get an 8GB card, once the 16gb cards hits the market strong.

Below are some pics I took last night in the field.  The recorder next to mine I believe was a Sony D8.

[JasonSobel]

Only knock: when you reformat a card, it reformats the entire P2 to factory settings.  Tascam engineered the settings to be stored on the card, as opposed to the 671, which is stored in internal memory.  No presets either, which is an advantage of the 671.  I plan on running 24/48 once I get a 4GB card.  Eventually, I'll get an 8GB card, once the 16gb cards hits the market strong.

well, you can change the "default template", which will be stored internally on the HD-P2, and will not be lost when you reformat.  I have my "default" set up for 24/48 via S/PDIF (both signal and clock source via S/PDIF), and pre-record on.  Everytime I format a card, it sets up a new project per the settings in the default template, and I'm good to go...

[spyder9]

Only knock: when you reformat a card, it reformats the entire P2 to factory settings.  Tascam engineered the settings to be stored on the card, as opposed to the 671, which is stored in internal memory.  No presets either, which is an advantage of the 671.  I plan on running 24/48 once I get a 4GB card.  Eventually, I'll get an 8GB card, once the 16gb cards hits the market strong.

well, you can change the "default template", which will be stored internally on the HD-P2, and will not be lost when you reformat.  I have my "default" set up for 24/48 via S/PDIF (both signal and clock source via S/PDIF), and pre-record on.  Everytime I format a card, it sets up a new project per the settings in the default template, and I'm good to go...

Thanks Jason!   Making the changes now.    

[gusbud1]

What methods are being used to power the unit? (6v 9v 12v)  Pictures would be great.

[RobC]

and what type of CF cards are people using with success with this recorder,
I know that the Scan Disc ultra cards work,  how about some of the off brand el cheapo cards?

[JasonSobel]

What methods are being used to power the unit? (6v 9v 12v)  Pictures would be great.

for external power, you need a 12v battery.  I had my HD-P2 out for some DAT transfers, so I hooked up the battery and took a pic.  (normally, I just plug it into the wall when I'm transferring DATs)



this is a 12v 4200mAH NiMH battery.  it's 5.5" x 3.75" x 0.8"
so it slips into my bag nice and easily.  and it sure is a lot lighter than a 12v SLA battery.
I've never run this battery completely empty, but in theory, I think I should get ~9 hours of run time (running S/PDIF in and the backlight off).  in practice, I've never really run more than 5.5 - 6 hours or so.  and of course, if you were running analog into the unit, using the internal pre-amps (especially with phantom on) and the internal A/D, you'd be sure to get a good deal less run time.

[spyder9]

and what type of CF cards are people using with success with this recorder,
I know that the Scan Disc ultra cards work,  how about some of the off brand el cheapo cards?

I'm running a Kingston 2GB (50x) right now.  I have a Kingston 4GB (45x) on the way, which I expect to have no problems.  Kingston just debuted their 8GB earlier this month.  Best place to pick up the Kingstons brand new is on eBay.  The photogs bid up the Sandisks and eBay has been heavily invaded with fake Sandisk cards.  I've seen the Kingston cards go for brand new on eBay: 2GB -$60.00 and the 4GB  -$99.00.  Hope that helps.