Topic: Sony PCM-M10 (part V)

[BusDriver]

B&H still sells for $229, shipping included. They are fast and reliable, always.  I've bought a few m10's from them. Such a great gift ... a chicken in every pot and  a M10 in every hand.

[mloewen]

I hsve had that but I attributted it to my C14s.

[vanark]

I got home from recording Bruce Hornsby on Friday and when I turn my M-10 on it light's up and then powers down like it has dead batteries. I got new batteries today and it still does the same. I can't  find the USB cord or the power supply to check if they work. I recorded  on the internal memory so can not access the show at this point. any ideas what the problem might be I don't think I dropped it. Don't know if it would cost more to have it worked than getting a new one? Where is the cheapest it is being sold now? So many questions.

I would try to find your power supply before buying a new deck.  Also do you have a micro-SD card in the deck (even if you recorded to the internal memory)?  If so, I would remove it to see if it helps.

[beatkilla]

When it powers down do you get the "see you!" message?Maybe the power on slider is sticking. Try power on and quickly slide back over to HOLD. If thats isnt the problem than i am making a note to myself to only record to external card from now on.

[mloewen]

Good call vanark ! I took the SD card out and it powers up fine. But as soon as I put the card back in it goes dead every time. Ok so I guess this mean my card went bad? I would rather have that than the M-10 went bad I guess. I tried the SD card in my computer and it gives a USB has malfunctioned message and the card gets very hot. I think if I had recorded to the card I would have lost my show. Time to get a new SD card. I have a 2 gig one that came in my new phone I will try that one until I get a new one.

[pasteler]

Has anyone else experienced a problem with unmatched left-right channels on their m10? I know they bill them as matched to within 1db of each other, but mine has a left channel about 2db higher than the right channel. Easily correctable in post, and not extremely noticeable given that it's an omni pattern, but kinda annoying none-the-less.

Yes, I just got mine last week and have noticed same (with internal mics). Seems OK with an external mic. I agree, annoying. I did see 2 similar posts:

[

Hello everyone!
Just discovered this forum after searching for info on the M10. Today I returned an M10 that was recording hotter on the left internal mic than the right. When at the store, we tried another unit and it did the same thing. Has anyone noticed this with their M10?

^yes.  I was surprised to find that the channels danced so differently on the meters, considering the mics are so close together. The left does seem to peak a little hotter, though the overall balance isn't as bad.  It isn't audible.

[Scooter123]

Ran my M-10 this weekend for the first time.  I've had it for months, but was scared to death to break in a new machine, but I bit the bullet and gave it a test run with Robben Ford.

I ran Schoeps MK4 with an NBox on Line In.  The show was very loud and the best sound was at "6" although a second show was recorded at "5" and I felt more comfortable with that.

I had much trouble getting the Micro SD card to be recognized, but after about 30 minutes of fooling with it, its in place.  What is odd is that the screen does not seem to reflect the increased recording time although Cross-Disk recording is enabled. 

The clock was particularly agravating and I just gave up.  Its a recorder, not a watch, as another poster suggested.

I taped the 90 degree 3.5 plug to the deck, as well as taping the volume down as well, and stuck the whole mess into a pocket. 

The recording turned out perfect, as good as my old Edirol 09, so I am happy.  It is half the size, so that is good as well. 

When locked, I wish I could see the settings, but one has to unlock to see the VU meter, which is not a big deal. but inconvenient.

Not sure I really understand the difference between Mike In and Line In, but Mike In was easily twice as loud, the same source for the same result would be a "3" for Mike In and a "6" for Line In.  I tend to be able to guess the proper setting on the Ediorl quite accurately, so I'll probably stick to Line In at "5" to be safe. 

When plugged in to AC power, the display does not indicate that it is indeed plugged in.

More to come as I gain more confidence in the deck. 

[ScoobieKW]

Ran my M-10 this weekend for the first time.  I've had it for months, but was scared to death to break in a new machine, but I bit the bullet and gave it a test run with Robben Ford.

I ran Schoeps MK4 with an NBox on Line In.  The show was very loud and the best sound was at "6" although a second show was recorded at "5" and I felt more comfortable with that.

I had much trouble getting the Micro SD card to be recognized, but after about 30 minutes of fooling with it, its in place.  What is odd is that the screen does not seem to reflect the increased recording time although Cross-Disk recording is enabled. 

The clock was particularly agravating and I just gave up.  Its a recorder, not a watch, as another poster suggested.

I taped the 90 degree 3.5 plug to the deck, as well as taping the volume down as well, and stuck the whole mess into a pocket. 

The recording turned out perfect, as good as my old Edirol 09, so I am happy.  It is half the size, so that is good as well. 

When locked, I wish I could see the settings, but one has to unlock to see the VU meter, which is not a big deal. but inconvenient.

Not sure I really understand the difference between Mike In and Line In, but Mike In was easily twice as loud, the same source for the same result would be a "3" for Mike In and a "6" for Line In.  I tend to be able to guess the proper setting on the Ediorl quite accurately, so I'll probably stick to Line In at "5" to be safe. 

More to come as I gain more confidence in the deck.

The unit defaults to internal memory before card. After inserting the card, go into the menu and change the memory setting to card.

On hold, hit a button, after the lock screen displays, you will see the display and meters for a while before the light goes off.

[rastasean]

Ran my M-10 this weekend for the first time. 
Not sure I really understand the difference between Mike In and Line In, but Mike In was easily twice as loud, the same source for the same result would be a "3" for Mike In and a "6" for Line In.  I tend to be able to guess the proper setting on the Ediorl quite accurately, so I'll probably stick to Line In at "5" to be safe. 

Good job on running the recorder for the first outing!

mic in uses the pre-amp and can use plug in power and the line is if you're using an external pre-amp or recording loud music.

[earmonger]

The recording time displayed will only tell you the time for the memory you are using: the card or the internal. It doesn't add them up. But don't worry--it will switch.

If you push the Track or Record button on the remote while on Hold, it will light up the VU. (Obviously the Track will also make a track....)

As previous poster said, Mic in has a preamp and  amplifies the signal. Line-in has no preamp. It expects a powered signal or a mic through a battery box or preamp.

[ScoobieKW]

Somewhere in the dark past of this thread the numbers are quoted, but Mic - High, Mic - Low and Line In have an overlap in their ranges. Something like a 1 on Mic - Low = 5 on Line In.

Mic in also has plug-in power. The amount the M10 provides though, is insufficient for many small mics and preamps or battery boxes to provide mic power is strongly recommended. In these cases disable mic power on the M10 when prompted.

[Myco]

Has anyone else experienced a problem with unmatched left-right channels on their m10? I know they bill them as matched to within 1db of each other, but mine has a left channel about 2db higher than the right channel. Easily correctable in post, and not extremely noticeable given that it's an omni pattern, but kinda annoying none-the-less.

Yes, I just got mine last week and have noticed same (with internal mics). Seems OK with an external mic. I agree, annoying. I did see 2 similar posts:

[

Hello everyone!
Just discovered this forum after searching for info on the M10. Today I returned an M10 that was recording hotter on the left internal mic than the right. When at the store, we tried another unit and it did the same thing. Has anyone noticed this with their M10?

^yes.  I was surprised to find that the channels danced so differently on the meters, considering the mics are so close together. The left does seem to peak a little hotter, though the overall balance isn't as bad.  It isn't audible.

Thank you. 

[willndmb]

Ran my M-10 this weekend for the first time.  I've had it for months, but was scared to death to break in a new machine, but I bit the bullet and gave it a test run with Robben Ford.

I ran Schoeps MK4 with an NBox on Line In.  The show was very loud and the best sound was at "6" although a second show was recorded at "5" and I felt more comfortable with that.

I had much trouble getting the Micro SD card to be recognized, but after about 30 minutes of fooling with it, its in place.  What is odd is that the screen does not seem to reflect the increased recording time although Cross-Disk recording is enabled. 

The clock was particularly agravating and I just gave up.  Its a recorder, not a watch, as another poster suggested.

I taped the 90 degree 3.5 plug to the deck, as well as taping the volume down as well, and stuck the whole mess into a pocket. 

The recording turned out perfect, as good as my old Edirol 09, so I am happy.  It is half the size, so that is good as well. 

When locked, I wish I could see the settings, but one has to unlock to see the VU meter, which is not a big deal. but inconvenient.

Not sure I really understand the difference between Mike In and Line In, but Mike In was easily twice as loud, the same source for the same result would be a "3" for Mike In and a "6" for Line In.  I tend to be able to guess the proper setting on the Ediorl quite accurately, so I'll probably stick to Line In at "5" to be safe. 

When plugged in to AC power, the display does not indicate that it is indeed plugged in.

More to come as I gain more confidence in the deck.

imo there is no reason to run mic in with the nbox and i would drop it down to 4 unless i needed extra gain and didn't want to do it in post

[pasteler]

Looks like David Byrne field records with PCM-M10
http://www.aroomforlondon.co.uk/hearts-of-darkness/feb-2012-david-byrne

[Javier Cinakowski]

I recorded a couple symphony shows recently with the m10 internals, and I was amazed at the sound quality...