Topic: best options for a small budget? advice needed, please....

[sunjan]

Go with the M10 if you can afford it.
I don't see why the extra weight/size of the internals should be an issue, if you used to schlepping an extra 4AA enclosure, which you can forget with the M10!?

And try to be rational about the DAT transfers. Skip the requirement for an all-in-one unit that does everything. Get a separate sound card or DDS drive, they can be had for dirt cheap apparently:
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5329
http://web.ncf.ca/aa571/datfaq.htm
http://computers.shop.ebay.com/Tape-Drives-/39976/i.html?_nkw=%284320NT%2C4330%2CCTD-8000%2C4326NT%2C4530%2CSDT-9000%29&_dmpt=PCC_Drives_Storage_Internal&_fln=1&_sop=3&_ssov=1&_stpos=&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282&gbr=1&_mPrRngCbx=1&_udlo=&_udhi=20

[andromedanwarmachine]

Sony stuff tends to last...

(other than the D6C's!!) I got my first Sony MD portable in '95 for £360 and it's still going!!

My Marantz PMD-650 (£750 in 2001) lasted a month.

I wouldn't think about it too much- the M10 is a standard now...

I would live off spaghetti for a month to own it- it'll last for years...

[rastasean]

I would live off spaghetti for a month to own it- it'll last for years...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks about food AFTER having the perfect recorder/microphone.

[aosone]

PCM-M10 has up to 45 hours of battery life out of 2 xAA's. It's a kick ass recorder, intuitive, and extremely affordable. I imagine there are a few people on this list who are like me and have a mountain of old gear that they will never use again because of this recorder. The only one I'm not planning to unload is the PCM-D1, and if I had a PCM-D50, I'd keep that too.

[earmonger]

It seems like Sony came to its senses with the PCM-M10 after all the sins of minidisc.  Standard connector (mini-USB). Standard storage (microSD). Standard formats (.wav, .mp3). And battery life like a beautiful dream.  Even the built-in mics are musical sounding. And every security guy who's ever looked at it thinks it's a point-and-shoot or a smartphone.

Wait a year and there may be something even better, but I'm finally satisfied with a stealth recorder that doesn't take workarounds.

[jb63]

Hey John...

Long Time No See and all that...

Looks like you already have your eyes on an MR-1.
I'm currently using 2 of them at shows, so I'm probably your best consumer advocate.

I wish the battery issue weren't an issue, but it is. My firs MR-1 holds a charge for about 20 mins now. That's it. So you can get ready, get set, then dig around for that adapter from the battery pack and make sure the switch is on-- taped on, if its in your pocket. I can't really get more than 2.5 hours out of it now before I have to power down, switch battery packs and power up again. I can do this in about 1 minute, but still, it is a pain. I'd love for Korg to sell me about 6 batteries so I can replace them myself, but Korg doesn't even want to believe that MR-1 exists now.

That said, I still love it, even if i have to have proprietary adapters made for the inputs.

The other thing that's a pain is that invariably, I record DSDIFF, which is huge. A 2-hour show can no longer be archived to a DVD. The files are just that big.

So while they are great, especially if you can get one with a 2 hr+ battery life, you will spend the money saved pretty fast on hard drives & storage for your giant files.

Oh!
And the cord to plug them in? HUGE and inconvenient. Taking 2 of those to NYC tomorrow and that is 1/2 of my audio gear bag.

But like I said, if you can get one for about $200 with a decent charge left in the battery, grab a few extra battery packs with solid batteries in them and you have a great unit. I love the interface and I can work that thing in the dark or in my pocket with no problem.

If I didn't already have one, I would not have just gotten another, and now that I have 2, if I could get one more, I would.

But since you are starting from scratch, I'd say go a different route. Korg discontinued these for a reason.

Right now the only unit I'm looking at to compete with the M10 is a Tascam DR-2D.
I don't think it really competes, but the price is the same.
I really want a PMD620. for $200, but that doesn't seem to exist.

Let us know what you decide!

jb

[rastasean]

Way back when the m10 was released, someone on this board was wondering why DSD wasn't incorporated with this (then) brand new recorder.
here's a reply: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=124639.msg1661131#msg1661131

desertsky, just to answer your question, DSD has been "dead in the water" in the professional audio market for some time now--maybe two, three years already?--and as far as I'm aware, Sony has stopped promoting it.

In carefully controlled listening tests it failed to live up to the extravagant claims that were made for its sonic qualities; it turned out not to offer any detectable audible difference from linear PCM. It was far more cumbersome for studios to edit and process, and really just didn't offer any benefit other than to the coffers of certain manufacturers.

So it's gone--not altogether forgotten yet, but not widely mourned, either, I must say.

--best regards


Sound quality of DSD vs. (24-bit/176.4 kHz) PCM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Stream_Digital
When comparing a DSD and PCM recording of the same origin, the same number of channels and similar bandwidth/SNR, some still think that there are differences. A study conducted at the Erik-Thienhaus Institute in Detmold, Germany, seems to contradict this, concluding that "hardly any of the subjects could make a reproducible distinction between the two encoding systems. Hence it may be concluded that no significant differences are audible."

[jb63]

well that's pretty interesting...

[andromedanwarmachine]

I've got to tell you I've never heard of DSD.

Perhaps not the right thread to ask in, but can someone give me a small paragraph crash course in what was/is involved? Connectors and Abreviations and such.

Thankyou

JimP

[goodcooker]

Shameless plug...I have a Tascam dr2d for sale in the yard sale for 185. Nice recorder I just don't need two decks right now. I'm sticking with my pmd620.

[jefflester]

I've got to tell you I've never heard of DSD.
Perhaps not the right thread to ask in, but can someone give me a small paragraph crash course in what was/is involved? Connectors and Abreviations and such.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Stream_Digital