Topic: Which recorder for line in?

[wnt2rcrdchmbr]

Hello all, I am looking for a new recorder.  Record classical music, mostly brass quintet.  I have two Shure KSM141 for mics, Maudio dmp3 preamp which has 1/4 balanced outs.  Any recommendations on a recorder would be great.  It's time to get rid of the Fostex VF80.

[John Willett]

I record classical as well - my choice was the Nagra VI as it is 6 tracks, 6 x line inputs and 4 very high quality mic. pre-amps.  A superb recorder, excellent ergonomics, and probably the best portable around.

The Sound Devices 700 series are also worth looking at - various models from 2-track to 8-track and all excellent.

The 2-channel Nagra LB is also excellent.

I hope this helps.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

You might want to post your budget. Recorders run from about $100-$10,000, so it's hard to suggest something without know how much you want to spend.

[notlance]

Yes, a $ limit would be nice to know.

The Nagra and Sound Devices boxes certainly represent the upper end of the portable recorder market.  If you go that route, you might as well dump the M Audio as the Nagra and SD pres are better than the M Audio, IMHO.

And here is another unsolicited opinion: The Shure mics are fine if somewhat unappreciated mics and they should work well for your intended purpose.

[wnt2rcrdchmbr]

Thanks for the replies.  You're right, I should have put a budget out there.  I've read lots of good stuff about the Nagra and Sound Devices, but they are out of my league.  I'm hoping to keep the dmp3 and go line-in into, say, a sony pcm-m10 or edirol R09hr.  The microtrack II looks great with the 1/4" line ins, but I've read here that many don't like it.  I'm not sure what the differences are with line-ins with these smaller recorders as far as noise goes.  Most line-ins are 1/8".  The only cables I've seen for dual 1/4 to 1/8 are TS, not TRS.  I imagine that means it's unbalanced.  Would that be a problem?  It would be a short run, less than 3'.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

If your going to go line in, the M10 seems to be the most popular deck for that (which is why I just bought one).

I have also owned the MT and MT II, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you wanted run digi in to it. It's a finicky machine. The battery life is a little lacking (unless you have external power, and even then I had issues with the deck locking up or losing a recording every now and then). I do like the MT if you want to run phantom powered mics into the TRS jacks (handy if you need a super compact rig).

The R09HR is also very popular to run line in. I have never owned one so I can't really comment on it. I did choose the M10 over the R09HR because the battery life is better.

I don't think you could go wrong with either the R09HR or M10.

The M10 is on sale at B+H for $200 right now...another bonus.

[notlance]

Most line-ins are 1/8".  The only cables I've seen for dual 1/4 to 1/8 are TS, not TRS.  I imagine that means it's unbalanced.  Would that be a problem?  It would be a short run, less than 3'.

The m10 line in is 3.5mm stereo TRS so it will not be balanced.  However, that should not be a problem with line level inputs as the m10 will not need to amplify the signal much if at all, and any induced noise should be much less than the line level output of the dmp3.  The R09hr has a similar line input.

[jibooer]

Another suggestion - the PMD-661 is capable of handling a +4db line feed via XLR, as compared to the consumer -10db, you just need adapter cables. It also has a 1/8" line in as well...

[wnt2rcrdchmbr]

If I go the M10 route, should I bother keeping the dmp3 and KSM141s?  Would the noise floor be any higher if I went with CA-14s or comperable?  Keep in mind I'll be recording classical music.