Topic: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder for DSLR cameras

[leehookem]

Just purchased from B&H.  Had a few gift cards, so only paid $224 shipped. 

The phantom power on my Marantz 671 shit the bed, so I needed a replacement.  This fits the bill nicely.  Should arrive on Thursday...

[leehookem]

What bag is everybody using for this?  Anybody use the Strut Field Case?  Just wondering how big the side pouch is.  Just need a small form factor that holds the recorder firmly and a 2" tall by 4" square box for my mics, and a RAVPower® Element.  The pictures look like it would hold everything, just not sure. 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1118963-REG/tascam_str_dr70d_field_case_for_the.html/prm/alsVwDtl

[Craig T]

Petrol PS617 Deca Lightweight Audio Bag.  The Petrol label is being phased out, so I grabbed one on sale for cheap.  $80, I think.

[Life In Rewind]

I'm using a somewhat robust DELL laptop bag. Solid walls - Thickness seems perfect - and I like having the big lid for cover.

[leehookem]

Petrol PS617 Deca Lightweight Audio Bag.  The Petrol label is being phased out, so I grabbed one on sale for cheap.  $80, I think.

Is that bag not too wide for the DR70?  Does it shuffle or do you have something keeping it in place?  Do you have any pics by chance?

[Cheesecadet]

I use a lowepro nova 5 but I also have a separate pre, cables, mics, clamp, battery. Etc all in one bag.  I think it all fits nicely when using normal straight xlrs.  I wanted a little free space so I just ordered some stubbie xlrs to provide a little relief to the cables that were bending in the bag.

[2manyrocks]

Sorta mezzed up to pay $299 for the recorder, but a bag is $99. 

[spyder9]

And its not like my tapes are going to suck if I use the 4508 chips in the EXT 1/2 input until I get XLRs made

Correct! The stock Dr70D sounds very good right out of the box. I'm just looking to mod something 

Nice recording you made, with the Shure FP24 in the middle.  Got me convinced to try one these out.  Nice job.

https://archive.org/details/chancetrio2015-03-06.cemc6.flac

[Cheesecadet]

And its not like my tapes are going to suck if I use the 4508 chips in the EXT 1/2 input until I get XLRs made

Correct! The stock Dr70D sounds very good right out of the box. I'm just looking to mod something 

Nice recording you made, with the Shure FP24 in the middle.  Got me convinced to try one these out.  Nice job.

https://archive.org/details/chancetrio2015-03-06.cemc6.flac

Thanks.  I uploaded the Banyan set too but I think with the new LMA look the streaming got messed up.

I will be modding the deck on Thursday.  Very excited to try it out after the upgrade...possibly at the Darkwav show this weekend.

[leehookem]

For those with the RavPower battery, how do you know when the battery is fully charged?  Does it blink or anything?

[willndmb]

For those with the RavPower battery, how do you know when the battery is fully charged?  Does it blink or anything?

mine has four lights, you can see when all four light. I'm not sure if it lights when done or not so I usually leave it for a little after the last light goes on

[phil_er_up]

And its not like my tapes are going to suck if I use the 4508 chips in the EXT 1/2 input until I get XLRs made

Correct! The stock Dr70D sounds very good right out of the box. I'm just looking to mod something 

Nice recording you made, with the Shure FP24 in the middle.  Got me convinced to try one these out.  Nice job.

https://archive.org/details/chancetrio2015-03-06.cemc6.flac

Thanks.  I uploaded the Banyan set too but I think with the new LMA look the streaming got messed up.

I will be modding the deck on Thursday.  Very excited to try it out after the upgrade...possibly at the Darkwav show this weekend.

Ryan that sounds really good.

[jmerin]

For those with the RavPower battery, how do you know when the battery is fully charged?  Does it blink or anything?

I got 30 plus hours with out phantom power.

[Cheesecadet]

For those with the RavPower battery, how do you know when the battery is fully charged?  Does it blink or anything?

I got 30 plus hours with out phantom power.

Ditto

[Cheesecadet]

I contacted Tom at Tascam yesterday about the op amp chips and here is his response:

"You are looking at the wrong side of the PCB.  The 4 mic pres use NE5532 op amps.  The output stage and the 1/8" input for Channels 1/2 use the 4580s."

Well don't I feel like a buffoon. 

I will tear into the deck again today most likely and check this out and post more pics if needed.  Based on this new information it would appear that the JWmod will require 7 chips instead of just the 3 originally noted.  I am waiting for a response from Jim currently and have been in contact with him regularly talking about this mod so hopefully I hear something back from him today.

So does any of the JW's commentary/mod have anything to do with the mic input stage...or relevant to the quality of the NE5532? Doesn't sound like it.

Makes me wonder about the whole thing. Modding something he doesn't have a complete understanding of...?

His posts make it sound like he thinks the chips he swapped have something to do with the mic inputs - which apparently they don't.(if Im following this correctly)

And he does call it "misinformation from Tascam" - also misleading...and ironic.

Jim has since switched out the NE5532s for the LME and reported a significant decrease in noise, 4x the slew rate, and better top end detail around 20kHz.  So yes, I would say the mod is definitely worth doing if you can find someone skilled enough. Even Jim said it was risky (which is why he isn't offering the mod) and that guy is a pro.  Components are very tight inside not a lot of space at all.