Topic: Fostex FR2 LE

[Shadow_7]

I was tossing around between the FR2LE and Korg MR-1000 when I was gonna get a field recorder.  I got a used MR-1000 for about the same price as a fostex + CF card.  The fostex does have onboard mics and RCA outs (not that you'll use them, but for the budget conscious types...). 

Ultimately for me it came down to battery life.  I was looking at recording rehearsals (middle of a corn field) of a band I was performing in.  The 15 minute setup and power tether needs of a laptop didn't suit the situation.  Rehearsals typically being 5 hour blocks.  So the 2.5 hours of 8x AAs on 48V needy mics of the Korg meant I could sneak in a battery change on a break and not miss much.  The fostex with only 4x AAs left me wondering.  Factor in CF cards (not that high of a capacity at that time) versus 40GB internal HDD and for me the Korg was a clear winner.  But the fostex appeared to be one nice machine.  It just didn't have the specs for my needs.

[Will_S]

The fostex with only 4x AAs left me wondering.

But the beauty of the Fostex is it can run on a 7.2V RC battery INTERNALLY.  Which will last way longer than 8xAA in the Korg.  Easily over 6 hours with Audix M1290s which take a lot of juice. 

[Shadow_7]

There's non-off the shelf battery options for the korg too.  10+ hours.  And at DSD, a 40GB HDD is roughly 8 hours of content at the highest setting.  The Korg does have a 6 hour session limit however.  And for editing purposes it helps to keep audio segments at or less than 1 hour chunks.

The onboard mics and preamps on the fostex do seem pretty tops.  I've heard a lot of nice nature recordings made with that unit.  I would never consider using the korgs built in preamps for such a task.  But the converters on my Korg are simply amazing.  Even just using it as an MP3 player is something to be experienced.  And since I'm a weekend only type, the MP3 player route sees as much use as the field recorder aspect of said unit. 

Supplimented with a decent external preamp and it probably doesn't matter much what device is ultimately on the backend.  If you're looking to save a few bucks, that might be an option you'd consider.  There's a number of roughly similar in price preamp options that can make much cheaper field recording like devices shine.  It really depends on why you want a field recorder.  Fewer things to put batteries in?  Fewer pieces of kit to carry / items to claim on a customs form?  Immunity to the intended environment(s)?  Highest quality audio on battery power only?  Lots of options for various purposes.

[refrain]

The fostex with only 4x AAs left me wondering.

But the beauty of the Fostex is it can run on a 7.2V RC battery INTERNALLY.  Which will last way longer than 8xAA in the Korg.  Easily over 6 hours with Audix M1290s which take a lot of juice.

thank for your info, one of the things i've been looking around is this battery everyone talks, 7.2V RC, i found a brand, Tamiya (wich is used ion toys), but i find it hard to have it in europe, does anyone know similar brands easy to find here in europe? what kind of battery is this? and the life difference between the 4xAA?

I want a all in one field recorder with quiet preamps for the mentioned mics in the begining of the thread, using it oudoor for ambient, efx and some concerts... without going into SD territory... :-)

[John Willett]

.....i've been looking around is this battery everyone talks, 7.2V RC, i found a brand, Tamiya (wich is used ion toys), but i find it hard to have it in europe, does anyone know similar brands easy to find here in europe? what kind of battery is this? and the life difference between the 4xAA?

It's at least double the time of the AA batteries and the Fostex distributor in the UK sells them - as well as the fast charger.

[kozakz]

You can buy RC batteries at Model Shops in Europe.

[refrain]

I finally got the FR2 LE, also found here in Portugal a RC 7,2 volts battery and charger...
Didn't open it yet, but next sunday I'll be testing it in a video production context with a NTG3...
Thinking about taking it along with me on a trip to Beijing and Xangai next week... with the MS pair and the VP88...
but I don't know how chinese deal with this kind of objects on bag entering the country... I intended to record
some ambiences, voices, etc, in China... but... anyone did that, I mean, without written permission/official, just
material  for my own library?

CS

[rastasean]

I finally got the FR2 LE, also found here in Portugal a RC 7,2 volts battery and charger...
Didn't open it yet, but next sunday I'll be testing it in a video production context with a NTG3...
Thinking about taking it along with me on a trip to Beijing and Xangai next week... with the MS pair and the VP88...
but I don't know how chinese deal with this kind of objects on bag entering the country... I intended to record
some ambiences, voices, etc, in China... but... anyone did that, I mean, without written permission/official, just
material  for my own library?

CS

As much as I like my fr2le, its not something I would want to take into a foreign country especially with a vp88. If you want ambient sounds, I would recommend a small recorder (MD or 09, 09hr, m10, d50) and a pair of high sensitivity Binaural mics.
http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-TFB-2

[refrain]

I was planning on going just with the H4n and a pair of Church audio binaural mics, but Chris wasn't able to build them in time, so I will borrow a sonic studio DSM pair from a friend...
First impressions on the FR2 LE, built quality, very plastic... really, not sturdy, some parts even shake (my H4n is plastic, but robust, you don't feel this) the battery door is a design mistake, hard to change batteries... the menu system is very japanese, confusing, poor written software, you have to format the card in a specific file format, before start recording, if you have to change sampling format, you have to put another card... and choose if it is stereo or mono... incredible... the operating system is a nightmare... feels like windows... :-)
But the sound quality of the preamps is quite good, did some tests indoors with the rode and akg, you hear noise, but it comes from headphone amp, I can live with that, and also with the above... is this the price difference from the SD's? I mean you have to pay a lot for a decent operating system, robust build...
Anyway and despite all, I like the recorder, the main thing, preamps are very good... I will put it to test on the next days, until China...

Thank you for all the inputs...

[it-goes-to-eleven]

confusing, poor written software, you have to format the card in a specific file format, before start recording, if you have to change sampling format, you have to put another card... and choose if it is stereo or mono... incredible... the operating system is a nightmare... feels like windows... :-)

Wow.  I don't recall anyone here ever mentioning those significant details and limitations.

is this the price difference from the SD's? I mean you have to pay a lot for a decent operating system, robust build...

The 7xx are pretty much exceptionally engineered and thought out in every way.

[Will_S]

confusing, poor written software, you have to format the card in a specific file format, before start recording, if you have to change sampling format, you have to put another card... and choose if it is stereo or mono... incredible... the operating system is a nightmare... feels like windows... :-)

Wow.  I don't recall anyone here ever mentioning those significant details and limitations.

I don't think many folks on a music recording board have much use for mono files.  For bit depth and bit rate, most of us have our mastering format of choice and that's what we stick with.  And of course we'd never dare use the MP3 setting!  It's too bad none of us realized that would matter to the OP though.

Feels like Windows?  Nah, it's not that bad.  More like unix.  Not exactly inviting, but it gets the job done.

[refrain]

I don't think many folks on a music recording board have much use for mono files.  For bit depth and bit rate, most of us have our mastering format of choice and that's what we stick with.  And of course we'd never dare use the MP3 setting!  It's too bad none of us realized that would matter to the OP though.

Feels like Windows?  Nah, it's not that bad.  More like unix.  Not exactly inviting, but it gets the job done.
[/quote]

Do get me wrong... i like the recorder... but you know working with a SD is very easy, you can change setups on the fly... going from a mono (shotgun) to a stereo config (MS akg or VP88), or even going from 48 to 44... even the H4n does that very easy...

I started recording ambience, efx, concerts, etc back in 91 with a sony TCD7, than got into a DA-P1 (had a sharp MD, but pain in ass to transfer files to the computer, dac to adc) and I entered the solid state era with a MT2496, nice to work very small, stereo preamp on the front, but the internal battery just stop working, I waited and got the H4n against the DR-100, cheaper with MS on board, 4 channels, the works... and it delivers... but I needed good preamps in a all-in-one machine, only this one (FR2 LE) and the SD's because of the size...
But the SD´s are really expensive... so here I'am, but is kind of strange that after 5 years or more of solid state/HD portable recording (Hi-res 96/192), the machines still look very primitive in terms of operating systems flexibility... not so different from dat... well they're still audio recorders... but they have microprocessors in there... there's also the question of power, they have to keep things simple, not drain the batteries...

[flipp]

The FR2 has few of the limitations the LE has. You can change the sample rate and bit depth on the fly. It will recognize cards and recordings made on the LE but the LE will only recognize recordings made on it. It may have some plastic but is mostly metal. Battery door is only marginally better than on the LE - 8xAA but also will work with a variety of externals though nothing about that in the manual. Personally I like the control layout of the FR2 better, many options are made using switches, not navigating through a menu. Only thing I like about the LE better than the FR2 is size - the LE is less than half the size of the FR2. I own both and use the FR2 at least 75% of the time but in some situations, when size matters, the LE is the better choice.

< If price is a primary consideration then the FR2 is probably not for you. It occupies the middle ground between a 2LE and any of the SD boxes. >

[Shadow_7]

There's a few PITA issues with the fostex.  Like if you loose power without batteries in the unit. 

The only issue I've had is the battery life kind of sucks on the MR-1000 with 48V phantom enabled (2100mAh NiMH).  I'm able to change recording resolutions, not while recording afaik.  But I don't need to do anything other than change those settings.  The only issues I'm aware of with the Korg is that if you record past the 6 hour session limit you'll have issues.  And it wont playback formats that it doesn't record.  i.e. 16/96 i.e. MONO MP3, and others.  Although the latest firmware upgrade might have addressed some of that.  I did have one issue on playback with the latest firmware, on a one hour-ish concert it froze M$ style a little past halfway on the 2nd time through.  Batteries inside, and power tethered to the wall.  No such issues while recording (yet).  But I'm not exactly wearing the unit out as a weekend warrior.