Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: leehookem on July 14, 2010, 10:35:59 AM
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Part 1 can be found here...
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=131128.0
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Just marking....carry on.
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Anybody got hold of a PortaBrace case for theirs yet? http://www.portabrace.com/productA-AR-DR680
Not at B&H yet apparently.
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The portabrace looks nice - but I don't like the sewn on extra pouch and the fact they left out the RM-Multi.
The extra pouch on the SoundDevices CS-3 always got in the way in my bag.
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The Portabrace does look nice. Does anyone have the Tascam case for this thing. We have had it on order for some time now.
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I was wondering what y'all are using for your digital interface in order to input channels 7 & 8. I am currently using my BM2p+ and it works just fine but now I am beginning to consider changing. I know I could use a V3 but any thing else out there that might be considered?
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I see Sound Professionals has this on sale through tomorrow (Sunday 7/18) for $699. Have to use coupon code 100_off_dr680 at checkout.
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Thanks for the tip Matt. I ordered 1 on Sunday night and it arrived today. Now it's time to compare mics with everything else equal.
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PortaBrace has a prototype case on ebay w/BIN price of $100. Listing isn't clear whether it differs from what they have in production but at ~45% off it may be a good deal for someone who is considering the AR-DR680.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tascam-DR680-Portabrace-Recorder-Case-AR-DR680-/110562284870
< edited to add item description from ebay listing >
You are bidding on a Portabrace AR-DR680 recorder case. The case was one of our prototype models in out design process and cannot be sold for full price. The case is brand new and works fine and is fully functioning.
The AR-DR680 case is custom fitted to the recorder using waterproofed DuPont Cordura nylon laminated to a closed cell foam and soft inner lining. Protects against the elements and hard knocks of field recording. The front pouch holds 2 small wireless receivers or transmitters or a small hand held microphone. (If more room is required, the optional RM-Multi pouch or larger RM-MULTI/E case may be added over the sewn in pouch.) The front panel zips open to about 30 degrees to access controls and prevents the pocket contents from spilling. A battery access panel makes emergency battery changes go smoothly. Left & right cable areas can be sealed against dust, rain, snow or can be rolled back and left open. A shoulder strap is included or you can order the optional (AH- series) of Audio Harness/Belt combination. This case usually goes for $179. http://www.portabrace.com/productA-AR-DR680
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yahooo, I got that sucker!
$100 for a new Porta Brace! :o Jumped on it like a rat up a drainpipe. ;D
Just hope it has holes in the right places! I just emailed them...
[PS - THANKS to FLIPP!!]
dave
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Is there a real clock in the DR-680? I choose the Date format for take naming and I have to go set the date/time every show. It's like there is no real clock you set - just a static datetime value you have to set every time. Is this your experience, too?
Otherwise......I loooove this lil machine! I'm recording a musical theater production that I am also the sound designer and board op. I've got Crown PCC-160's direct into channels 1 and 2 for audience tracks, channels 3/4 get the stereo vocal outputs from the mixer, channels 5/6 get the stereo orchestra outputs. Beautiful sonic quality from the AD/DA's...... very pleased. Very, very pleased.
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Looks like PortaBrace has another prototype case up on ebay.
Item description and pics are identical to the one they listed yesterday.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Tascam-DR680-Portabrace-Recorder-Case-AR-DR680-/110562735951
SOLD
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I'm tempted to go for the Portabrace, but it looks too small for an external battery, extra cables, mics, etc.
I need to find something to use my expiring Ebay bucks...
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Is it considered slutty to buy a Portabrace for a recorder you don't own yet? :P
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Is it considered slutty to buy a Portabrace for a recorder you don't own yet? :P
if it is, then I'm slutty too :D
I'm tempted to go for the Portabrace, but it looks too small for an external battery, extra cables, mics, etc.
I need to find something to use my expiring Ebay bucks...
you can always add one of the various model RM-Multi to the AR-DR680 for additional storage
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Is it considered slutty to buy a Portabrace for a recorder you don't own yet? :P
if it is, then I'm slutty too :D
I'm tempted to go for the Portabrace, but it looks too small for an external battery, extra cables, mics, etc.
I need to find something to use my expiring Ebay bucks...
you can always add one of the various model RM-Multi to the AR-DR680 for additional storage
That's like asking if its slutty to save money for your kids college tuition....HELL NO, it the responsible thing to do...
love this machine!!!
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Does your DR-680's internal clock seem to work?
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Is it considered slutty to buy a Portabrace for a recorder you don't own yet? :P
Sure it is! wait ...that's a good thing, right? :D
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Hi y'all, I was looking at getting a mixer of sorts to mix my various mics in order to do closer comparisons of my mics sonic characteristics and instead of going for the Mackie Onyx 8 or 12 channel mixers, I came upon this Tascam DR-680 8 channel recorder which will allow me to mix mic channels or compare the separate channels. After reading through the forums and comments it seems to me that this is one nice unit. And for the price it is an unbeatable bargain. So I ordered one! Should have it delivered today.
In another thread asking about preamp noise level comparisons of the various recorders, someone posted this link showing the test results someone did to compare various popular recorders on a more equal level measurement basis. I was surprised to see that they rated this Tascam DR-680 having quieter preamp noise than the already excellent Sony PCM-D50 !!! Can this be?
And it is not far behind the highly rated Sound Devices 7xx series! Yikes! I hope those measurements are really true and accurate as I have now invested money into getting one of these babies! See this link for the measured noise levels: http://www.avisoft.com/recordertests.htm
Wow! Can't wait to get and use and check this unit out for myself! :-)
Updated 07-24-2010: I just noticed that the noise level comparisons link was already mentioned in the first Part 1 Tascam DR-680 thread. Sorry! But I guess that rementioning it here is worth while also for new comers since that info is buried so deep in Part 1, that it could be easily missed (like I missed it!). Anyway, I am liking this DR-680 very much~! I got it for the sale price of $699.99 when it was on special too so it makes it even a greater bargain! Excellent unit folks, except remember its mic input jacks are XLR and TRS, so can't use your regular 3.5mm stereo plugs.
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Got my unit in hand and did some preliminary testing using a pair of DPA 4060 mics in stereo channels 1 and 2, and with Countryman B3 mics on stereo channels 3 and 4. Adjusted levels to match using the level meters and made a couple of test recordings recording a stereo mix. Resulting stereo mix file sounded thin and phasey. All out of phase. So now I don't know which mic set is the one that is out of phase and have to figure out a way around this. There is no way to reverse wiring inside any of these XLR phantom powered connectors attached to either set of mics. So one glaring ommission on this Tascam DR-680 with its mixer is the lack of input signal "phase" reversal switch or "adjustable phase" knobs per channel. Anyway, I know with post processing you can fix that... but I am not one to spend extra time in post processsing on a PC to always have to adjust my recordings! I wish that they would add individual phase reversal setting in next firmware update!
As for my mic preamp noise observations so far, the preamps do seem quiet enough for most mics. I tried several mics with the unit so far briefly to asssess the hiss level. The only mic that had very much noticable hissy levels is the Countryman B3 low sensitivity model mics. That's because it was much lower sensitivity than the DPA 4060's and MXL V67Q stereo and Audio Technica AT8022 stereo condenser mics I tested with. I had the mic gain on high, set record level trim to "9" for the Countryman B3's and the hiss level is audible higher at that level setting.
The DPA 4060's needed only to be set at record trim level of -6 so preamp noise was totally inaudible. The AT-8022 needed record trim level set to "1" and the MXL-V67Q mic needed to be set at "0". Preamp noise was a non-factor with those last 3 mics. Only the Countryman low-sensitivity B3 mics had a noticable background noise level here. But I was not recording concert loud levels. So I would venture to say that if used to record a loud live band or concert, that the trim level would be set much lower than "9" and thus the noise hiss would also be inaudible.
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Got my unit in hand and did some preliminary testing using a pair of DPA 4060 mics in stereo channels 1 and 2, and with Countryman B3 mics on stereo channels 3 and 4. Adjusted levels to match using the level meters and made a couple of test recordings recording a stereo mix. Resulting stereo mix file sounded thin and phasey. All out of phase. So now I don't know which mic set is the one that is out of phase and have to figure out a way around this. There is no way to reverse wiring inside any of these XLR phantom powered connectors attached to either set of mics. So one glaring ommission on this Tascam DR-680 with its mixer is the lack of input signal "phase" reversal switch or "adjustable phase" knobs per channel. Anyway, I know with post processing you can fix that... but I am not one to spend extra time in post processsing on a PC to always have to adjust my recordings! I wish that they would add individual phase reversal setting in next firmware update!
As for my mic preamp noise observations so far, the preamps do seem quiet enough for most mics. I tried several mics with the unit so far briefly to asssess the hiss level. The only mic that had very much noticable hissy levels is the Countryman B3 low sensitivity model mics. That's because it was much lower sensitivity than the DPA 4060's and MXL V67Q stereo and Audio Technica AT8022 stereo condenser mics I tested with. I had the mic gain on high, set record level trim to "9" for the Countryman B3's and the hiss level is audible higher at that level setting.
The DPA 4060's needed only to be set at record trim level of -6 so preamp noise was totally inaudible. The AT-8022 needed record trim level set to "1" and the MXL-V67Q mic needed to be set at "0". Preamp noise was a non-factor with those last 3 mics. Only the Countryman low-sensitivity B3 mics had a noticable background noise level here. But I was not recording concert loud levels. So I would venture to say that if used to record a loud live band or concert, that the trim level would be set much lower than "9" and thus the noise hiss would also be inaudible.
I'd make some phase reversed cables (swap Pin2 & Pin3 on one end) for the pair of mics that are out of phase.
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Yes, indeed, I've just finished making myself a pair of TRS to female XLR balanced adapter cables so I can use my XLR mics on channels 5 and 6 of this DR-680. I ordered more mic cable and bought some extra XLR female connectors and extra TRS phone plugs and will be making phase reversal adapter cable for my Countryman B3 mics. Yes, it was the Countryman B3 mics going through their own XLR phantom power adapters that was "phase reversed". All my other mics are "in phase" with each other. I compared them against my referecnce set of AKG C-414BXLS mics and all of them were in same phase as the AKG C414's except for the Countryman B3 mics. fyi.
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I've checked all of my mics in the past and have noticed that all my AKGs are phased the same. My Franken-Naks are out of phase compared to the AKG's and most of my other mics are matched in phase to the AKG's.
FWIW, I find recording a 100Hz sine wave played through one speaker (all mics lined up, capsules same distance from the speaker) makes it very easy to see any phase discrepancies.
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I'm kicking around the idea of not using any outboard pre amps with my 680. I have not done any side by side comps, but anytime I have only used the stock preamp it has sounded just fine. I currently have a V2, SD-MP2, and a BM2p+ UA-5. I can't say I notice any great differences. Differences yes but not sure if it's that big a difference. Anybody else deciding on only using the stock pre's? I am going to sell the UA-5 and get an Apogee AD1K for the digital input. And am currently trying to sell the V2 also. How are y'all liking the box on it's own. I will be out taping with Busman next weekend so maybe we can do a side by side comp of stock VS his mod.
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Hi,
New member here - joined so as to come in on this discussion
I've purchased a DR-680 and find two things that are worrying. Before I return the unit, can someone give me a reality check?
1) With phantom power enabled, but no microphone connected, there's a huge amount of noise generated on input 2. I know this is a situation that should never arise, but it worries me slightly.
2) The headphone amplifier (with Sony MDR 7506 connected) seems very noisy. The noise doesn't print, but when trying to record low-level material, I find this very distracting.
I'm assuming that the noise on channel 2 problem is not usual, but would be pleased if someone could check that for me on their machine. It only happens on channel 2 on mine. I really want to like this recorder, so I'm keen to make sure these problems are specific to this machine and not generic.
Thanks for any information.
Regards,
John Leonard
http://www.johnleonard.co.uk
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Hi John - I just tried monitoring my 680's channel 1 and 2 inputs (Sony MDR-V6 'phones) w/ no mics/phantom power on, and can hear no noise at all at normal gain settings (up to 10 on the dial). Also, no undue noise from the headphone amp, unless turned up full. Both channels the same.
I'd definitely return the unit ASAP just based on your channel 2 anomaly.
cheers
Dave
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I have recorded several shows so far using the stock preamps as well as my V3
mainly to use as my AUD source for SBD/AUD mtx sources
but a few I used on their own and didn't mind the results compared to my V3
I recently acquired a Littlebox and plan to use it more instead of the stock preamps
because it is small enough and I prefer the sound over the stocks
it's all a matter of taste and how much stuff you want to carry in and setup
and of course... how much money do you want to spend?
EDIT:
it sounds like you have an issue with your channel 2 soundmanjohn
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Well, for me, I'm already carrying a bunch anyway....SD MP-2, V2, BM2p+. But I am going to switch from the Ua-5 to an apogee Ad1000. Even though it is a 20 bit pre, I'm guessing/hoping/figuring that the real 20 bits of Apogee bit depth coupled with the quality of the pres and A/D conversion will be an upgrade from the UA-5. I have been looking around at other A/d preamp options and while a V3 is a solid choice there are some that have caught my eye for the use of tracks 7 & 8 spdif inputs.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/634313-REG/RDL_HR_ADC1_HR_ADC1_Analog_to.html#features
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/686615-REG/Whirlwind_AESAD_AESAD_Portable_Analog.html#features
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/316598.html
All of which can be bought new for about the same price as a V3. Of course, if the Little box/big box came out with Spdif, I'd jump on that.
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If people are looking for new preamps with A/D for the digi-in channels, I've heard good things about the Audient Mico ($660 street):
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/372095.html
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If people are looking for new preamps with A/D for the digi-in channels, I've heard good things about the Audient Mico ($660 street):
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/372095.html
thanx Todd
looks cool and promising
and any time you actually talk to a Full Compass rep on the phone you can usually get a lower price then posted on the web mines Ron V and he's been there many years an is a good guy.
--Ian
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The mico is awesome. I like it much better than my old v3.
Tom
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The mico is awesome. I like it much better than my old v3.
Tom
Could you give us more detail? I'd love to hear more about how you're using it and what you think of it.
What else is in your rig? How do you power it? The manual says 10-16V DC (10-14?), so a 12v battery should work, but I'm wondering whether a 9.6v RC-battery pack type battery would work. Ideas on current draw, or on how large your battery is and how long it lasts would be great to know too.
How would you characterize the sound? Something more transparent like a V3 or more colored?
Then again -- I probably don't want to know. :P I've been thinking about a mico for awhile now, I probably don't need any aiding my gear sluttiness.
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...not to derail a 680 thread, but...
I'm not sure if Dirk is still affiliated with Audient, but there's some a discussion about it in his retail thread:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=128455
and here:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=112363
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I know this is a stupid question, but i am trying to run digi in (channels 7&8 i believe) and analog in 1&2. What are my settings supposed to be...to i select analog or digital etc....
thanks
a
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A menu setting allocates channels 7 & 8 either as extra individual mono tracks, or for the stereo mix of tracks 1 thru 6, as I recall.
(edit) oops - I was looking at the manual just now and it seems I was wrong. 7 & 8 are a stereo pair (only?), and can be set for either a/ a stereo mix of channels 1 thru 6, or b/ as two additional tracks (digital input, stereo pair).
Interestingly, channels 5 & 6 can be set to use either their 1/4" jacks or the digital inputs, instead of 7 & 8 using the digital ins (DR-680 manual, pp 27-28). So you can have 4 analog in, 2 digital in, and the stereo mix on 7 & 8.
Must read more manual... ;D
Dave
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I have been interested in this pre also! I like that is has an optical so I could use this with my D50. Does anyone know if the Audient has the same issue the UA-5 and V3's has sending a 24bit signal to the sony D50? The price is right also.
If people are looking for new preamps with A/D for the digi-in channels, I've heard good things about the Audient Mico ($660 street):
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/372095.html
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I have been interested in this pre also! I like that is has an optical so I could use this with my D50. Does anyone know if the Audient has the same issue the UA-5 and V3's has sending a 24bit signal to the sony D50? The price is right also.
If people are looking for new preamps with A/D for the digi-in channels, I've heard good things about the Audient Mico ($660 street):
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/372095.html
You can get an even better deal from: dirk@bigpurpledog.com
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Get my DR 680 in switzerland jesterday ans scrachting my head...
How could someone build a Stereo machine with only Volumecontrol for Mono Channels?
Am I stupid ? They are Stereolinked together but no Stereovolume possible - huh?
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Get my DR 680 in switzerland jesterday ans scrachting my head...
How could someone build a Stereo machine with only Volumecontrol for Mono Channels?
Am I stupid ? They are Stereolinked together but no Stereovolume possible - huh?
At first I thought the gain controls were going to be a problem, but I have gotten used to them.
Another option is to run a pre-amp with controls you like in front of the DR-680.
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Get my DR 680 in switzerland jesterday ans scrachting my head...
How could someone build a Stereo machine with only Volumecontrol for Mono Channels?
Am I stupid ? They are Stereolinked together but no Stereovolume possible - huh?
At first I thought the gain controls were going to be a problem, but I have gotten used to them.
Another option is to run a pre-amp with controls you like in front of the DR-680.
But i want to get rid if more stuff in frontoff... So the marketing guys killed this option - shame on Tascam
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Get my DR 680 in switzerland jesterday ans scrachting my head...
How could someone build a Stereo machine with only Volumecontrol for Mono Channels?
Am I stupid ? They are Stereolinked together but no Stereovolume possible - huh?
At first I thought the gain controls were going to be a problem, but I have gotten used to them.
Another option is to run a pre-amp with controls you like in front of the DR-680.
Yeah--it only takes a half second longer than on the R-44. I'm used to it.
But if anyone has Tascam's ear, the ability to link two channels' gain control would be nice in the next firmware update.
What other recorders do this? The only one I've seen it on is a rockboxed iriver.
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.. was used to work with the Apogee Mini MP wich had a Gain for this....
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Get my DR 680 in switzerland jesterday ans scrachting my head...
How could someone build a Stereo machine with only Volumecontrol for Mono Channels?
Am I stupid ? They are Stereolinked together but no Stereovolume possible - huh?
At first I thought the gain controls were going to be a problem, but I have gotten used to them.
Another option is to run a pre-amp with controls you like in front of the DR-680.
Yeah--it only takes a half second longer than on the R-44. I'm used to it.
But if anyone has Tascam's ear, the ability to link two channels' gain control would be nice in the next firmware update.
What other recorders do this? The only one I've seen it on is a rockboxed iriver.
I mentioned this issue to Mr. Chang when I got my DR-680. It didn't sound like he was behind the idea of changing that in the firmware. My biggest gripe is still the "clip" indicator that tells you you are 3 dB from clipping.
The mono gain controls are not bad at all once you start using them.
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I mentioned this issue to Mr. Chang when I got my DR-680. It didn't sound like he was behind the idea of changing that in the firmware. My biggest gripe is still the "clip" indicator that tells you you are 3 dB from clipping.
The mono gain controls are not bad at all once you start using them.
[/quote]
.. but this a good thing -3 db before clipping we win some safe headroom
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.. but this a good thing -3 db before clipping we win some safe headroom
You say potatoe and I say potato...
I had a V3 for a bunch of years and liked the real "clip" indicators on it. A firmware update in the future could possibly allow the DR-680 to be user selectable either way?
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You say potatoe and I say potato...
[/quote]
potatoe. ;D
The main thing is to get something in front of the mics that's worth saving from clipping(!)
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You say potatoe and I say potato...
potatoe. ;D
The main thing is to get something in front of the mics that's worth saving from clipping(!)
[/quote]
acustic condoms heheheh
(-10 db Pad on the mic)
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I can see why they set it up with mono control, mono control is way more useful. There are a lot more uses for mono control rather than linked stereo control. In fact basically only "tapers" are the ones who want/use stereo. For ACTUAL multi track use stereo control would be bad since you are not running the same two signals into a set of channels. And the second of extra time it takes to make two adjustments is not a big deal IMO. But I guess having an option in the menu would be the way to go if you really wanted that.
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Thanks for the confirmation on my Ch 2 problem. The unit is waiting to be replaced.
I've also contacted Tascam's development guys here in the UK about the possibility of ganging input gain controls. For my work, which is mostly in A and B-Format surround, every channel has to be gain-matched, so a single control to affect all input gains (selectable, of course) would be an invaluable addition. From the reply I got, it seems that it's an increasingly common request as these things get out into the wild, so who know, we may yet see a firmware upgrade that reflects this.
Regards,
John
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Thanks for the confirmation on my Ch 2 problem. The unit is waiting to be replaced.
I've also contacted Tascam's development guys here in the UK about the possibility of ganging input gain controls. For my work, which is mostly in A and B-Format surround, every channel has to be gain-matched, so a single control to affect all input gains (selectable, of course) would be an invaluable addition. From the reply I got, it seems that it's an increasingly common request as these things get out into the wild, so who know, we may yet see a firmware upgrade that reflects this.
Regards,
John
Please let us know if you hear anything back from TASCAM on that.
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Anyone use one of these Lexar cards with a 680?
http://www.adorama.com/ILXSD16GBP2.html?sid=1281307924755184&utm_source=rflaid63046&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Other&utm_term=Other
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Hi, I just found this great forum... wondering if you guys could help out with a question on the Tascam 680?
I bought one of these units to do sound for a low budget indie film. We're shooting on September 1st and the Tascam came with the volume knob sheared clean off. By the time I get a replacement, I'm afraid I won't have enough time to figure out how many memory cards I'll need. I'd really like to order them now.
I'd like to record 6 channels of audio at 24 bit/96 hz.
I'm also thinking about going with the 32gb cards...
Can anybody tell me how many minutes they get off their cards (per gigabyte) with 6 channels at 24/96?
I haven't been able to find this info anywhere...
Thank you.
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From the manual, page 35:
WAV/BWF files, 24-bit/96kHz, 6 tracks: 2GB gives 19 mins, 16GB gives 2 hrs 34 mins. 32GB gives 5 hrs 8 mins.
Hope you have better luck with the 2nd deck!
Dave
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8 track @ 24/48 yields ~two hours and fills a 16GB card
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Hey Groovon and kirkd,
Thanks for your help... you guys rock!
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No problem, glad to help.
Hey, is anybody recording in through the S/PDIF onto channels 7 & 8? Can you run through the menu setup on that for me, I'm not sure if I'm reading the manual right. What I'm wondering is, do you have to switch 7/8 from recording the stereo mix to recording the S/PDIF input, and if so, how?
UPDATE - I tried this: In Menu under REC > ST REC, I selected 'DIN'. Under I/O > INPUT SEL, I selected ANALOG (this refers to channels 5/6, even though it doesn't say so on the display) . Plugged in the S/PDIF out from an outputting DA-P1 , both set to 44.1, and the 680 indicates 'DIN LOCK'. So this looks good so far. But I'm not seeing any indication of input level on the 680 or hearing anything from the headphone monitor.
UPDATE II - OK, I figured it out: Under HOME/FUNC you have to select DIN MONITOR (i.e. un-select MIX MONITOR) to hear the S/PDIF input. Yahoo! 7/8 have mic inputs!
This is pretty cool. If you've got a DA-P1 laying around (they go for around $150 on fleabay these days, if you don't), you can have an eight mic input 680 for a song. The DA-P1's mic preamps are pretty decent, too.
PS - Hell of a deal on a nice DA-P1 here. (I almost wish I needed another one!): http://cgi.ebay.com/TASCAM-DA-P1-DIGITAL-AUDIO-TAPE-RECORDER-/230509819825?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0#ht_2760wt_1029
thanks
Dave
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No problem, glad to help.
Hey, is anybody recording in through the S/PDIF onto channels 7 & 8? Can you run through the menu setup on that for me, I'm not sure if I'm reading the manual right. What I'm wondering is, do you have to switch 7/8 from recording the stereo mix to recording the S/PDIF input, and if so, how?
UPDATE - I tried this: In Menu under REC > ST REC, I selected 'DIN'. Under I/O > INPUT SEL, I selected ANALOG (this refers to channels 5/6, even though it doesn't say so on the display) . Plugged in the S/PDIF out from an outputting DA-P1 , both set to 44.1, and the 680 indicates 'DIN LOCK'. So this looks good so far. But I'm not seeing any indication of input level on the 680 or hearing anything from the headphone monitor.
UPDATE II - OK, I figured it out: Under HOME/FUNC you have to select DIN MONITOR (i.e. un-select MIX MONITOR) to hear the S/PDIF input. Yahoo! 7/8 have mic inputs!
This is pretty cool. If you've got a DA-P1 laying around (they go for around $150 on fleabay these days, if you don't), you can have an eight mic input 680 for a song. The DA-P1's mic preamps are pretty decent, too.
PS - Hell of a deal on a nice DA-P1 here. (I almost wish I needed another one!): http://cgi.ebay.com/TASCAM-DA-P1-DIGITAL-AUDIO-TAPE-RECORDER-/230509819825?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0#ht_2760wt_1029
thanks
Dave
I set mine up the same way you describe except, I have input set to digital...i run digital signal in SPDIF and then line in from external pre channels 1,2...it seems to be working fine...am i doing this correct?
a
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I guess if you already owned a P1 then using it for the digi input would be ok. But the P1 preamps are ok at best and it is only 16 bit signal and the A/D unit is also only OK at best. It would be better if you were to feed in a 24bit signal from a dedicated preamp. You'll get a better quality preamp and a better A/D conversion by using something designed specifically for this purpose. There are some links to pre's with digi output recently. Or there are some modded UA-5's that work well for this type of application. I have on for sale that is pending payment right now, but the UA-5 would be a better choice than a P1
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Is your digital input going to channels 5/6, or to 7/8?
If I read it correctly, go to HOME/FUNC > I/O > INPUT SEL, the 'ANALOG/DIGITAL' option there is for channels 5 and 6. Channels 7/8 of course don't have an analog option and can only be either the 'DIN' stereo track or the stereo 'MIX' track (selectable in 'MENU' under REC > ST REC > DIN/MIX).
If you select 'ANALOG' there, you merely retain the 1/4" analog inputs to channels 5 and 6, but if you select DIGITAL, the digital input then goes to 5/6 instead of 7/8, and (I presume) channels 7/8 default to 'MIX'.
I think I have this right, but it'd be good if someone would go over it and check. I'm afraid I find the 680 menu operation extremely unintuitive.
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I guess if you already owned a P1 then using it for the digi input would be ok. But the P1 preamps are ok at best and it is only 16 bit signal and the A/D unit is also only OK at best. It would be better if you were to feed in a 24bit signal from a dedicated preamp. You'll get a better quality preamp and a better A/D conversion by using something designed specifically for this purpose. There are some links to pre's with digi output recently. Or there are some modded UA-5's that work well for this type of application. I have on for sale that is pending payment right now, but the UA-5 would be a better choice than a P1
Of course you're right Kirk, I just happened to have a couple of DA-P1s laying around, and I'll admit I have a bit of a soft spot for them. But yeah, I'd only recommend it if you're strapped for cash and need the extra mic inputs.
Dave
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And it's been so long since I used a P1 but will it pass signal without being in record mode? Or does it have to be in Rec/Pause? And if it does have to be in Rec/pause how long will it hold that, or do you actually have to run a tape? I know some decks will only hold rec/pause for a set amount of time without tape rolling. If you have to run tape than you have to worry about the tape running out too. PLus the P1 is not easily hooked up to the Li-Ion batteries that a lot of folks are using. IE: I can run my 680, UA-5, MP-2 all off the same battery since the 680 will operate on 9V. The P1 is 12V right? and you gotta lug the SLA around. I know the P1 was a good deck in the day, but I'd sell it and get something else. I have to admit I am looking at other options, or even selling my V2 and getting another 680. It's like coke the more tracks I have the more I want. Of course if the Little box/big box pre comes out with spdif I'd jump on that. Next I'll be needing more mics too >:D
As for settings, if you get the DIN lock then you will get ch 7&8 via spdif in. I have never changed the I/O setting and leave it at digital all the time. This has always given me 8 inputs with spdif in. If I don't want to use any of the tracks I disarm them with the buttons on the front. Using it this way does give you DIN unlock msg if you don't have active spdif input and you need to clear the msg (lock or unlock) by pushing the enter button in the center of the scroll wheel
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Yeah, you have to have it in record/pause (and it'll stay that way indefinitely as far as I know), unless you were using it as a tape backup(!) But not even I'm that backward! If I was just using one for the mic pre/DA out I'd probably figure out how to disable the transport and just use the electronics. They draw around 400mA at idle and around 600mA in rec/pause (800 in record and peaks of over 1A in FF/Rev!), so yes, they're hungry buggers and need a sizeable battery (the OEM battery was a joke). This one of mine runs off an internal 4600mAh NiMH, so it lasts awhile.
No use trying to get me to sell mine - keep yer mitts off! (Seriously, I'd rather keep them for doorstops than sell them for the measly amount they'd fetch).
Dave
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Sorta off-topic but not really. I'm angling to pick up one of the 680s soon, and would love to use the 7/8 channels. I have an old sbm1 which I can use with a spdif out. Is there anything out there now for a/d converters thats 24bit, outputs with spdif, and is as small as possible. Size is the key for me right now, and looking at stealthy options! (Esp considering the 680 is big enough already!)
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Aren't the super bit mappers 16 bit? So if I read this right you want to take a 24 bit signal and pass it through a sbm to the 680? So you'd be taking a 24 bit signal down to 16 bit and then into the 680, that doesn't seem to make sense.
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No I basically want something similar to the sbm1 and replace it. Something that will take a 1/4", 1/8", or RCA input (anything small really) and convert it so I can plug it into the spdif on the 680.
Sorry if I was a bit unclear in the last post.
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I've been using a Busman UA-5 which has XLR & RCA inputs(the 1/4" are disabled by the mod) and I think having something that allows mics to be input is a huge advantage. I have my UA-5 up for sale and it is on hold pending payment, but if it falls through we could talk ;D I am going to switch from the UA-5 to an Apogee but I am still looking at other options too. If you look back through this thread there are some links to other options for Preamps W/digi out, of course there is always a V3 to be considered.
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That could work.
What's weird is most of these external a/d are designed for mic pre-amp, which I don't need at all. I basically want something that will add an extra pair of line inputs to the 680, so something small that will take an RCA input and output at spdif would be absolutely perfect.
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I've been using a Busman UA-5 which has XLR & RCA inputs(the 1/4" are disabled by the mod) and I think having something that allows mics to be input is a huge advantage. I have my UA-5 up for sale and it is on hold pending payment, but if it falls through we could talk ;D I am going to switch from the UA-5 to an Apogee but I am still looking at other options too. If you look back through this thread there are some links to other options for Preamps W/digi out, of course there is always a V3 to be considered.
I'm using a Busman UA-5 for inputs 7&8 and I'm pleased with it.
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^^^ agreed the UA-5 has been just fine, I'm, only looking to change things up but otherwise the UA-5 has been rock solid
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I pulled out the camera tonight and snapped a few shots.
For those that may not have seen a DR-680, these shots show some size comparison vs Tascam DA-P1 (dat deck) and Sound Devices 722. The DR-680 is in the middle.
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2153.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2154.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2155.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2158.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2159.jpg)
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Received the protective case made by Tascam the other day - CSDR-680:
http://www.tascam.com/products/cs-dr680.html (http://www.tascam.com/products/cs-dr680.html)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=CS-DR680&N=0&InitialSearch=yes (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=CS-DR680&N=0&InitialSearch=yes)
I'm really digging this thing. Nice snug fit, access to all controls and plugs, protection from the elements. I think it will really help eliminate dings while in my bag.
Here are some photos:
Sealed up inside the case:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2160.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2170.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2165.jpg)
Front of case open to show protective cover. There are holes cut for the value nob, headphones plug and headphones volume knob.
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2161.jpg)
Top open to reveal controls:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2162.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2163.jpg)
Bottom open to reveal battery compartment:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2169.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2168.jpg)
Right side open:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2171.jpg)
Right side open with GAKables right angle stubby power cord inserted:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2175.jpg)
Right side closed with GAKables right angle stubby power cord inserted:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2176.jpg)
Left side open:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2172.jpg)
Left side open with GAKables (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=133186.0 (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=133186.0)) right angle stubby breakout cables inserted:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2177.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2178.jpg)
Left side closed with GAKables right angle stubby breakout cables inserted:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2179.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2182.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2180.jpg)
Front with breakout cables:
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2183.jpg)
With one show under my belt with this thing I would recommend it.
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Here is a link to some info and photos of the DR-680 breakout cables I had GAKcables build for me. I'm not sure how to link directly to it so you will have to scroll down the page a couple of posts:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=133186.45 (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=133186.45)
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That case looks pretty sweet, but $99 seems kinda steep. These guys have it for $67, but I never heard of em:
http://www.securitymania.com/index.php/tascam-csdr680-carrying-case-for-dr-680.html
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I pulled out the camera tonight and snapped a few shots.
For those that may not have seen a DR-680, these shots show some size comparison vs Tascam DA-P1 (dat deck) and Sound Devices 722. The DR-680 is in the middle.
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2153.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2154.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2155.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2158.jpg)
(http://i736.photobucket.com/albums/xx2/fobstl/Tascam%20DR-680/DSCF2159.jpg)
awesome thanx for the comp pics
that's really helpful
--Ian
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Any idea what would happen if you used a Deneke AD-20 to feed channels 7 & 8? It's 20 bit, so I wonder if the Dr-680 would add 4 blank bits to the signal, or if everything syncs to the AD-20 and everything ends up 20 bit?
-jay
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Any idea what would happen if you used a Deneke AD-20 to feed channels 7 & 8? It's 20 bit, so I wonder if the Dr-680 would add 4 blank bits to the signal, or if everything syncs to the AD-20 and everything ends up 20 bit?
-jay
That is a good question since the unit only allows you to select 16 or 24 bit wav in the menu. On the sample rate side, I can tell you that if you have the unit set for 24/96 and try to feed it a 24/48 digital signal it will not lock on - so will not record the digital input. I'll give it a try with a 20 bit Apogee AD1000 and report back.
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awesome! Can't wait for results. If it works, I would be thrilled and my load would be lightened.
-j
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I have an AD1K, It will lock and just add zero's. You need to have the sample rates set right to get it to lock but the bit rate does not matter. I don't know about the AD-20. Is it 44.1, 48 or 96?
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D'oh! 44.1. There goes that idea.
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D'oh! 44.1. There goes that idea.
looks like you will be lugging the R-4 too
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I discovered something pretty cool about the DR-680 the other night. I was recording a mono SBD feed, AUD mics, and an onstage pair. I wanted to do a mix of the SBD and onstage mics, but figured the mono board feed would mess it up, until I remembered the mix pan feature. I centered the one SBD channel, cut the other one, mixed on the onstage mics, and voila! Thank you DR-680!
This probably would have been more obvious to most folks, but I had never thought of doing that before, and felt like I made some big discovery.
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I discovered something pretty cool about the DR-680 the other night. I was recording a mono SBD feed, AUD mics, and an onstage pair. I wanted to do a mix of the SBD and onstage mics, but figured the mono board feed would mess it up, until I remembered the mix pan feature. I centered the one SBD channel, cut the other one, mixed on the onstage mics, and voila! Thank you DR-680!
This probably would have been more obvious to most folks, but I had never thought of doing that before, and felt like I made some big discovery.
I can see doing it to try it out but for mixing purposes it seems a bad idea. But, if you are looking to peel off a down and dirty mix for someone before you do the real mix in post then it's a nice advantage.
Has anyone tried to send a mix out on a pair of rca's? am I missing something because it seems as if you cannot do that. IE: do a mix like chris did but send the stereo mix out on a pair of rca's.
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^ Yeah, I was just doing it as an experiment, I didn't need the channels, and had the space, so....
But it turned out pretty nice, and was way easier then mixing in post.
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Thanks for the confirmation on my Ch 2 problem. The unit is waiting to be replaced.
I've also contacted Tascam's development guys here in the UK about the possibility of ganging input gain controls. For my work, which is mostly in A and B-Format surround, every channel has to be gain-matched, so a single control to affect all input gains (selectable, of course) would be an invaluable addition. From the reply I got, it seems that it's an increasingly common request as these things get out into the wild, so who know, we may yet see a firmware upgrade that reflects this.
Regards,
John
This is what I'm looking for as well and will stick with my R-44 until something else comparable offers a ganged gain option (preferably with individual channel trims as well)
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I've read here somewhere a reference to using an Edirol UA-5 for going mic in on the 680's dig. ins, which is strange as I see on the Core Audio site they state the UA-5 does not perform A/D in stand-alone mode. Is this wrong?: http://www.core-sound.com/ua5-duo-usbpre-comparison.html#STANDALONE
BTW, has anyone tried the (also discontinued) M-Audio Duo as a stand-alone pre-D/A for the 680's S/PDIF inputs?
Any other ideas, short of selling the car to buy a V3?
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I've read here somewhere a reference to using an Edirol UA-5 for going mic in on the 680's dig. ins, which is strange as I see on the Core Audio site they state the UA-5 does not perform A/D in stand-alone mode. Is this wrong?: http://www.core-sound.com/ua5-duo-usbpre-comparison.html#STANDALONE
BTW, has anyone tried the (also discontinued) M-Audio Duo as a stand-alone pre-D/A for the 680's S/PDIF inputs?
Any other ideas, short of selling the car to buy a V3?
I have a Busman modified UA-5 that I use to go S/PDIF in on the DR-680.
The "digi-mod" is what makes that possible.
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If anyone is interested when some new gear shows up I am going to unload my Dmod UA-5. I will sell the box for $80 and for another $10 I will throw in a Gak DVD power cable.
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That's a heck of a deal!
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I've read here somewhere a reference to using an Edirol UA-5 for going mic in on the 680's dig. ins, which is strange as I see on the Core Audio site they state the UA-5 does not perform A/D in stand-alone mode. Is this wrong?: http://www.core-sound.com/ua5-duo-usbpre-comparison.html#STANDALONE
BTW, has anyone tried the (also discontinued) M-Audio Duo as a stand-alone pre-D/A for the 680's S/PDIF inputs?
Any other ideas, short of selling the car to buy a V3?
I have a Busman modified UA-5 that I use to go S/PDIF in on the DR-680.
The "digi-mod" is what makes that possible.
Ah thanks, Chuck. I guess that answers that puzzle.
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Any idea what would happen if you used a Deneke AD-20 to feed channels 7 & 8? It's 20 bit, so I wonder if the Dr-680 would add 4 blank bits to the signal, or if everything syncs to the AD-20 and everything ends up 20 bit?
-jay
Curious bystander (read non 680 owner) wondering what would happen if someone with a 48k version of a GP DMIC-20 used it instead of the AD-20 to feed channels 7&8? Or am I missing something obvious?
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If anyone is interested when some new gear shows up I am going to unload my Dmod UA-5. I will sell the box for $80 and for another $10 I will throw in a Gak DVD power cable.
Please PM me when you're ready to sell it. Thanks. I was looking at an M-Audio Duo, but I've got a feeling the UA-5 is a better option.
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Will do! Hopefully sooner than later.
If anyone is interested when some new gear shows up I am going to unload my Dmod UA-5. I will sell the box for $80 and for another $10 I will throw in a Gak DVD power cable.
Please PM me when you're ready to sell it. Thanks. I was looking at an M-Audio Duo, but I've got a feeling the UA-5 is a better option.
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But that is just a digi mod UA-5 which allows it to run as standalone, it does not have any input mods like the Oade/Busman boxes have. For twice that you can get a completely modded box with digi cable and DVD battery & cord combo. Yes a shameless promotion for the Busman UA-5 I have for sale.
I don't know the Graham Patten unit but the 680 will lock on the 48Hz signal if it is spdif or AES via RCA jack. 680 does not have optical input
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Any idea what would happen if you used a Deneke AD-20 to feed channels 7 & 8? It's 20 bit, so I wonder if the Dr-680 would add 4 blank bits to the signal, or if everything syncs to the AD-20 and everything ends up 20 bit?
-jay
Curious bystander (read non 680 owner) wondering what would happen if someone with a 48k version of a GP DMIC-20 used it instead of the AD-20 to feed channels 7&8? Or am I missing something obvious?
I don't like recording at 48kHz, so I had to swap the 48kHz crystal for a 44.1kHz crystal in my DMIC-20 to make it work that way for me.
Then a found a UA-5 and haven't used the DMIC-20 since.
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But that is just a digi mod UA-5 which allows it to run as standalone, it does not have any input mods like the Oade/Busman boxes have. For twice that you can get a completely modded box with digi cable and DVD battery & cord combo. Yes a shameless promotion for the Busman UA-5 I have for sale.
As long as it works as stand-alone D/A, I can probably (and might rather) mod the analog inputs OK myself, but thanks(!) Have you heard how well the M-Audio Duo might work in this regard, BTW?
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Regarding the M-audio products in general, I have not really heard anyone rave about them or have anything great to say. Other than that I dunno. I'd suggest s simple LMA search and see if anyone is even using them for field recording, that would give you an idea of what the general feeling is on them.
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:gun: LOL
But that is just a digi mod UA-5 which allows it to run as standalone, it does not have any input mods like the Oade/Busman boxes have. For twice that you can get a completely modded box with digi cable and DVD battery & cord combo. Yes a shameless promotion for the Busman UA-5 I have for sale.
I don't know the Graham Patten unit but the 680 will lock on the 48Hz signal if it is spdif or AES via RCA jack. 680 does not have optical input
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Regarding the M-audio products in general, I have not really heard anyone rave about them or have anything great to say. Other than that I dunno. I'd suggest s simple LMA search and see if anyone is even using them for field recording, that would give you an idea of what the general feeling is on them.
One thing I just realised is that like other M-Audio products the Duo uses 9V AC. The AC input powers a transformer-to-DC/multiplier internal supply to provide phantom and +/- 18VDC to the op-amps, and it's not that easy to mod for battery operation.
Otherwise it looks like it might have made a pretty good alternative.
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First I'm apologize my poor English, I'm from Brazil.
I'm bouth my DR-680 in BH, and after two months arrived.
I'm opened the box with a great expectation. Then i put my SD card( San DisK Ultra 16Gb Class 4), and turn on the Tascam. For my surprise a figure of a wheel was turning for many time, then a take of the card, and the unit advanced to menu. The result of this is that my unit dont recognize any type of card, i tried other cards, including a card that works in dr-680 of my friend. When i put the card, a wheel starts to spinning for 3 min and then show the massage: " Ivalid Card Change the Card". Has anyone had this problem? If I have to activate the warranty, it will take more than two months to return to Brazil I apreciate any help. Thanks
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Hi there, and welcome. Your English seems good enough to me, BTW!
In the menu, can you get to where you format the card (MENU > CARD > FORMAT), or won't it allow that? What about the 'Initialize' function (MENU > SYSTEM > INITIALIZE)? Try those if you can.
It's good that your friend also has a unit, so you can at least compare what works and what doesn't. In the manual on page 48 it describes all the various error messages, so check that out (actually, I do see the one you describe listed there).
I'm not an expert on this by any means, but I had some early difficulties with my 680 and cleared them up OK in the end. I'm sure you'll get more help here soon, too, likely better than my attempt. Also you could try emailing Tascam technical services.
Good luck
Dave
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One more thing to consider is that the original SD card might be bad. Did you buy the card brand new from a trusted retail outlet, or did you buy a used card or a card on eBay from China or Hong Kong? My experience has been that if you put in a viable card the DR-680 will either accept it and bring up the record screen or it will bring up a box that asks if you want to format the card.
But, it sounds like your recorder may be faulty.
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Also try putting your card in while the deck is off. Then power it up with the card already in after that format your card and you should be good to go.
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I had a formatted Transcend 32 gb card that I had been using for months not work last night
Sys Rom Error
my Verbatim 32 gb card still worked after switching them out ???
I put the Transcend in my card reader this morning and the computer read it
then I deleted the audio folder and put it back in the 680 and it read it
I formatted the card again and plan on running some tests today before using it tonite
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Had a similiar type hiccup and powering up with card in deck solved the problem and had no issues running it. Not sure why it happened or why this method works.
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Thanks for the heads up everybody. I have always carried a second SD card "just in case..."
Apparently, that's a very good thing to do.
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Tascam post a list of tested/recommended cards for the DR-680 on their web-site: mostly class 6, but some class 4.
http://www.tascam.de/en/dr-680_cards.html
I'd love to report on my DR-680, but the first unit was faulty and so is the second - intermittent headphone jack. Piss-poor quality control...
Regards,
John
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Hi folks.
I'm apreciate your help. But nothig that you said before helps me. I already tried fectory reset and nothig. My problem is that the unit not advanced with the SD card inside. The unit starts to read the card wiht a spinnig wheel that never stop, util the message: "Invalid Card change the Card". And the unit was never come to the format step. So i cant formated the card and i cant update the firmware. About the card, is a "SANDISK Ultra 16gb class 4 bougth in BH", and as I said before, the unit has already been tested with a card that already worked in another dr-680. What can I do. any help?
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John - Very sorry to hear about your replacement deck being bad too. I guess this kind of 'price vs features' gamble is bound not to pay off a certain percentage of the time. I'd say 'try again', but I don't know how you luck will go(!)
So far mine's OK, and does the job. I've always likened them, build-quality wise, to a 'bedside radio/alarm clock with XLRs'. I just wonder what it says for in-the-field reliability down the line, I mean, trouble when you least need it. My fingers are crossed (mine doesn't even have a warranty!)
cheers
Dave
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Hi folks.
I'm apreciate your help. But nothig that you said before helps me. I already tried fectory reset and nothig. My problem is that the unit not advanced with the SD card inside. The unit starts to read the card wiht a spinnig wheel that never stop, util the message: "Invalid Card change the Card". And the unit was never come to the format step. So i cant formated the card and i cant updat the firmware. What i can do. any halp?
That error message is listed in the table on page 48 of the manual. All it says is to 'try another card'. If it keeps doing it, and the machine fails to get beyond that point... I don't know what to suggest except keep trying as many different cards as you can find. Then email Tascam Tech Service and get them on the case. They were very helpful to me. Sorry I can't think of anything else!
Dave
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hey marcosine, any luck yet? Just a shot in the dark, but is it running on batteries, or the AC adaptor? I seem to recall that the deck will not initiate some procedures (firmware updates, for one) while running on batteries or external DC, it has to be on AC mains or will not do it. You're probably plugged in, but if not, it might be worth a try.
cheers
Dave
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hey marcosine, any luck yet? Just a shot in the dark, but is it running on batteries, or the AC adaptor? I seem to recall that the deck will not initiate some procedures (firmware updates, for one) while running on batteries or external DC, it has to be on AC mains or will not do it. You're probably plugged in, but if not, it might be worth a try.
cheers
Dave
Hi Groovon. All the tests with the AC adapter and with my 12v-9v-5v Lion Battery. And nothing happens, all the cards are invalid, and the system dont go foward.
Thanks for help, but i'm almost be sure that is a defective unit.
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OK, sorry to hear that. Better luck with the next unit...
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I had a formatted Transcend 32 gb card that I had been using for months not work last night
Sys Rom Error
my Verbatim 32 gb card still worked after switching them out ???
I put the Transcend in my card reader this morning and the computer read it
then I deleted the audio folder and put it back in the 680 and it read it
I formatted the card again and plan on running some tests today before using it tonite
now the 680 will either give me the Sys Rom Error message or it says DIN Unlock even without a digital input
looks like it's going back for service, and once I get it back it's hitting the YS at a fair price
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I had a formatted Transcend 32 gb card that I had been using for months not work last night
Sys Rom Error
my Verbatim 32 gb card still worked after switching them out ???
I put the Transcend in my card reader this morning and the computer read it
then I deleted the audio folder and put it back in the 680 and it read it
I formatted the card again and plan on running some tests today before using it tonite
now the 680 will either give me the Sys Rom Error message or it says DIN Unlock even without a digital input
looks like it's going back for service, and once I get it back it's hitting the YS at a fair price
That's bad.
Did you make sure the digital option isn't active on both 5 & 6 and 7 & 8?
I got that DIN Unlock message once and notice I had the 5 & 6 channels set for digital input.
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darby, the din unlock is a menu setting. The deck is looking for a digital inout that is not there(no lock on signal or digital in unlock message)
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darby, the din unlock is a menu setting. The deck is looking for a digital inout that is not there(no lock on signal or digital in unlock message)
I went thru the entire menu and even tried to do analog in without running digital
plus I tried 2 SPDIF cables that worked fine with my V3 > P2 after wards
I would still get that error message even running NO digital in on the menu
sometimes it will read the cards, but give me the DIN unlock message
other times it would give me the Sys Rom Error message
when powering down and back up with the card still in the unit
cards... fine most likely, since my computer reads them and the unit was reading them
SPDIF cables... fine
digital out on V3... fine
basically the unit just started acting up with nothing changed on the menu and...
I went thru the settings when setting up at the show and things were set properly 2 nights in a row
I ASSUMED that things were alright yesterday morning by switching cards and the unit fired up
but I did not actually run any tests and got hosed last night when trying to fire up the unit at the show
and all that I'm getting now are the 2 error messages
I'm going to give TEAC a call tomorrow and send it in
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But that is just a digi mod UA-5 which allows it to run as standalone, it does not have any input mods like the Oade/Busman boxes have. For twice that you can get a completely modded box with digi cable and DVD battery & cord combo. Yes a shameless promotion for the Busman UA-5 I have for sale.
As long as it works as stand-alone D/A, I can probably (and might rather) mod the analog inputs OK myself, but thanks(!) Have you heard how well the M-Audio Duo might work in this regard, BTW?
darby, good luck with your problem.
Just to go back a bit... and thanks to the advice and offers of a UA-5 to get into channels 7/8... but I just got a deal on a Core Sound Mic2496, apparently NOS.
Now, I realize that company gets some flak. (I'm not completely sure why, but I'm very curious and would be grateful if someone would fill me in by PM). Anyway, from what I can gather, the device should work handily going into the 680's S/PDIF ins, and has pretty good specs.
Can anybody offer any feedback on how well this setup should work, and whether or not I've overlooked anything? (This is the first version, not the later V2).
thanks
Dave
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...... I've always likened them, build-quality wise, to a 'bedside radio/alarm clock with XLRs'. I just wonder what it says for in-the-field reliability down the line, I mean, trouble when you least need it. My fingers are crossed (mine doesn't even have a warranty!)
cheers
Dave
Damn man- you are right- I read this, and then mine came in a few days ago, and I open and the immediate thought regarding it's build quality feel was "man- I just bought an alarm clock radio with XLR's" :-\ :)
That said, it seems like a cool device and a a lot for the $ as long as it holds up and proves to be reliable in the field....
We will see...
Does anyone know if the phantom power can handle the draw of earthworks mics? The specs in the manual didn't seem to mention it, and Adam at Full Compass didn't know....
Guess I'll just have to hook them up and go for it....
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"Damn man- you are right - I read this, and then mine came in a few days ago, and I open and the immediate thought regarding it's build quality feel was "man - I just bought an alarm clock radio with XLR's" :-\ :)
That said, it seems like a cool device and a a lot for the $ as long as it holds up and proves to be reliable in the field....
We will see...
Does anyone know if the phantom power can handle the draw of earthworks mics? The specs in the manual didn't seem to mention it, and Adam at Full Compass didn't know....
Guess I'll just have to hook them up and go for it.... "
LOL! Despite some irritatiing design shortfalls and the cheap construction, I've come to like this deck a lot. At least the front panel looks and functions like a pro recorder, and that's all you see most of the time. I guess we're willing to live with 'plasticky' to a certain extent, as long as it works. Seems there's been a rash of owners reporting problems here lately, so I've got my fingers firmly crossed.
Re your phantom-power current draw question... I have a pair of CAD m179s that seem to work fine with my 680. They're a relatively heavy phantom user at ~8mA each, though not as bad as the Earthworks (I think 10mA?) Anyway, I was curious myself about this, so I'm going to measure total current draw (with individual voltages and voltage drops) with 6 condenser mics plugged in (2x CADs, 2x MXL 603s, 2x AKG C461s). That is all the mics I have with me right now, and sorry I don't have any Earthworks mics. Might give some idea though. Will post results later.
Dave
Anybody tried using a Mic2496 on the S/PDIF ins?
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Just a quick update on my DR-680: I've been in correspondence with Tascam UK support about my second faulty machine and they will replace it with a machine that will be tested by their support department before dispatch, which should make sure I get a good one this time. The first response was that they haven't had any bad ones, swiftly followed with an email saying that they'd just got my first one back from the retailers and could confirm the faults.
I'm impressed with the speed of response so far and looking forward to getting a working machine soon. I've also ordered a PortaBrace case (from Gotham Sound in NYC - US$149, which is much cheaper that the UK price, even including international postage and import duty) so should be able to get down to some serious work soon. Another user has had a hard shell designed by a local fabricator, which should come in at a reasonable price and I'll post details here once the design and price is firmed up for those interested.
Regards,
John
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I WANT A EDIROL UA-5!!!
Please anyone selling one PM me. Of course I'd perfer one with all the mods, but I'll consider anything.
Can someone tell me what were the available mods and who did them (or maybe still does them)?
Thanks,
Tom
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Just a quick update on my DR-680: I've been in correspondence with Tascam UK support about my second faulty machine and they will replace it with a machine that will be tested by their support department before dispatch, which should make sure I get a good one this time. The first response was that they haven't had any bad ones, swiftly followed with an email saying that they'd just got my first one back from the retailers and could confirm the faults.
I'm impressed with the speed of response so far and looking forward to getting a working machine soon. I've also ordered a PortaBrace case (from Gotham Sound in NYC - US$149, which is much cheaper that the UK price, even including international postage and import duty) so should be able to get down to some serious work soon. Another user has had a hard shell designed by a local fabricator, which should come in at a reasonable price and I'll post details here once the design and price is firmed up for those interested.
Regards,
John
John - Glad to hear you're getting good support from Tascam over there. Let's know how the Porta Brace goes (hope you like Velcro!)
cheers
Dave
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Some notes in response to several earlier posts:
The M-Audio Duo can be used as a preamp/A-D converter for the DR-680 digital input. Just choose standalone mode on the Duo. But battery-packing the Duo is not worth the trouble. It relies on its AC supply.
The setting in the DR-680's I/O menu for choosing digital or analog input on 5/6 is bypassed if you select digital for 7/8 by setting ST REC in the REC menu to DIN. If you've got DIN in 7/8, 5/6 will automatically default to analog input.
And while you can route digital to 5/6 and see/hear incoming audio on those channels without having to change the Functions/Monitor setting to DIN, you DO have to change that Functions/Monitor setting in order to see digital audio on 7/8. Squirrelly!
If you think you've got an intermittent headphone gain pot, you may be turning it too fast! Mine tracks fine if I adjust it slowly, but jumps if I change radically quickly. Must be a digital controller.
Now a question or two of my own:
If I want to record JUST the signal from the digital input, I presumed I would just set stereo 7/8 to digital and record enable just that. But apparently at least one track in the range 1-6 has to stay enabled! I've tried every combination I can, and always something in the 1-6 range stays enabled. The workaround is to route digital to 5/6 and record enable just that pair. But it seems odd to require that unneeded tracks be armed. Anybody had different results?
Also-- I upgraded the firmware to version 1.11, which is available through Tascam UK and Germany sites but not yet from Tascam USA. The notes on 1.11 merely say it's correcting a problem with the limiter. Something that got broken in 1.10? There is no accompanying PDF showing new functions, problems fixed, manual update etc, for 1.11 as there was with the jump from 1.0 to 1.10. Anybody have any data on positive changes or panic attacks from any of these three particular firmware versions?
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I should be receiving my DR-680 sometime this week. I've been reading this thread pretty carefully, so I think I know what to expect. That being said, are there any thoughts or recomendations you might give to someone using the DR680 for the first time?
Thanks,
Tom
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Anyone know what is the current draw of the DR-680 with 6 mics using phantom power (you can get phantom on the 1/4" inputs right?), and then also what it is with NO phantom power used at all?
Thanks,
Tom
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I haven't measured the current drain, but Tom yes it is possible to apply phantom to all six inputs, including 5 and 6 which are on TRS 1/4" jacks. You should exercise caution to make sure phantom is switched OFF before inserting or removing a 1/4" plug on 5 or 6; you could damage the 680 or a mike by the momentary connects and disconnects that happen as the connector goes in or comes out. This is not just a quirk of the 680, it applies to any other device that applies phantom power via a 1/4" TRS jack.
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Flawn,
Thanks so much for your reply. I'm pretty much aware of the concern of phantom on 1/4" connectors, but frankly the reminder is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Tom
I haven't measured the current drain, but Tom yes it is possible to apply phantom to all six inputs, including 5 and 6 which are on TRS 1/4" jacks. You should exercise caution to make sure phantom is switched OFF before inserting or removing a 1/4" plug on 5 or 6; you could damage the 680 or a mike by the momentary connects and disconnects that happen as the connector goes in or comes out. This is not just a quirk of the 680, it applies to any other device that applies phantom power via a 1/4" TRS jack.
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If people are looking for new preamps with A/D for the digi-in channels, I've heard good things about the Audient Mico ($660 street):
http://www.fullcompass.com/product/372095.html
Yeah but the thing is huge...10" X 16" X 2". Just too damn big for me. I've looked at it hard and tried to justify it but it's almost the size of rack mount gear. So even though I'm sure it kicks ass, I just can't pull the trigger on it.
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Has anyone seen any "good buys" on SD cards recently?
I'd love to get a 64GB, but seeing the prices it is probably wiser to buy the 32. Which leads to another question, what is the maximum size card the DR680 will support?
Thanks,
Tom
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The DR-680 supports SDHC cards but not SDXC cards, AFAIK. That limits them to 32GB. 64GB and up require SDXC, and this new SDXC format will gradually grow to top out at 2TB. But it requires different hardware, not just a firmware update, to get SDXC compatibility.
From the manual's specifications:
Recording media
SD card (2 GB) Class 4 or faster SDHC card (4 GB – 32 GB) Class 4 or faster
File system
FAT16 (2 GB Cards) FAT32 (Cards larger than 4 GB)
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The DR-680 supports SDHC cards but not SDXC cards, AFAIK. That limits them to 32GB. 64GB and up require SDXC, and this new SDXC format will gradually grow to top out at 2TB. But it requires different hardware, not just a firmware update, to get SDXC compatibility.
From the manual's specifications:
Recording media
SD card (2 GB) Class 4 or faster SDHC card (4 GB – 32 GB) Class 4 or faster
File system
FAT16 (2 GB Cards) FAT32 (Cards larger than 4 GB)
Thanks Flawn,
I was completely unaware of the differences between SDHC and SDXC. In fact I did not even know of the SDXC spec. Thanks so much. That’s very helpful and very good to know.
Tom
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Hi there,
I'm completely new to audio recording and just bought a new DR-680 as my first recorder. I'd appreciate if someone could share a bit of their experience. With no mic connected, all settings reset to factory default (except recording mode changed to mono), and with the headphone volume max'ed, I tried to check the self noise of the recorder using a pair of headphones from Sennheiser (25-1 II). Here's what I found:
1) turning on/off phantom power generates 2 loud sounds in the recording each time I move the switch.
2) as long as I don't switch input to mic and set mic gain to high at the same time, I only need to set headphone volume to 9 or lower to eliminate most of the hissing from my headphones. But once setting input = mic & gain = high, the hissing jumps up. I need to set volume to 8 or lower to make my headphones quiet again. And for channel 1 (and only this channel), I will also hear a persistent radio interference sound (like the sound one can hear from a florescent light tube). For this channel, I have to set volume to 7 or lower to make my headphones quiet.
Are these normal? Is channel 1's extra noise something to be concerned about? On my computer I can see even if I ignore the operation noises, the recording file is not a flat line and by the spectral display, noise exists all the time.
Thanks,
Henry
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You need to test with a 150 ohm resistor instead of a mic. You can't test with no load. (Applies to any device).
The real-world test is to connect a high quality low noise mic in a quiet room late at night and see how it sounds compared to what your ears hear. Hopefully you have such a mic - ideally several! - to go with the recorder!
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Went to go see Grace Potter last night and ran 6 channels with phantom power on all channels and everything went smooth. I ran AKG 481's, Beyerdynamic MC930's and Milab VM-44 links all straight into the DR-680. They all came out good, different but good. I never thought i'd see the day that I would run 3 sets of mics into 1 recorder at a show. Very impressed !!
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So to check back in regarding digi output preamps....in case you have not seen, Sound Devices now has the USBPre 2. Similar to their MP-2 but more of a USBPre that will operate in standalone mode. I think I'm gonna have to jump on one. I've been looking and this sure seems like the magic solution to the digi input for channels 7 & 8.
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Went to go see Grace Potter last night and ran 6 channels with phantom power on all channels and everything went smooth. I ran AKG 481's, Beyerdynamic MC930's and Milab VM-44 links all straight into the DR-680. They all came out good, different but good. I never thought i'd see the day that I would run 3 sets of mics into 1 recorder at a show. Very impressed !!
^
Nice! ;D
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Can someone explain to me why this doesn't work?
I purchased this cheap AD converter, a StarTeck.com / ConvergeAV model AA2SPDIF (see link below). The manual says it has a 48K sample rate, but the DR680 only recognises it when I set the the Tascam's menu for 44.1K. Why would that be?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Tom
http://us.startech.com/product/AA2SPDIF-Stereo-RCA-Left-Right-Analog-to-Digital-SPDIF-Toslink-Audio-Converter
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Can someone explain to me why this doesn't work?
I purchased this cheap AD converter, a StarTeck.com / ConvergeAV model AA2SPDIF (see link below). The manual says it has a 48K sample rate, but the DR680 only recognises it when I set the the Tascam's menu for 44.1K. Why would that be?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Tom
http://us.startech.com/product/AA2SPDIF-Stereo-RCA-Left-Right-Analog-to-Digital-SPDIF-Toslink-Audio-Converter
not much info on their site links or pdfs
my guess would be that it really only samples at 16 bit 44.1k and you can not get 24 bits out of converter devise such as this
the manual does state: Supports output sampling rate at 48 KHz.
however I am not sure this could be true, as there is no way you set 44.1 or 48k...
I'd return it...
good luck
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I think you are correect. That MUST be a misprint. The ConvergeAV AA2SPDIF seems to only outputs 44.1. I really need a device that outputs 48k.
So, are there any "cheap" AD converters out there that are small, battery operated, and output 48k? I don't care if it has mic pres or not. I will likely be sending timecode to channel 8 anyway so I'm not too concerned about the audio quality.
Thanks,
Tom
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I think you are correect. That MUST be a misprint. The ConvergeAV AA2SPDIF seems to only outputs 44.1. I really need a device that outputs 48k.
So, are there any "cheap" AD converters out there that are small, battery operated, and output 48k? I don't care if it has mic pres or not. I will likely be sending timecode to channel 8 anyway so I'm not too concerned about the audio quality.
Thanks,
Tom
A Graham Patten ADC-24 would work.
http://www.gpsys.com/products/adc24.htm
They go for cheap sometimes in the Yard Sale.
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I think you are correect. That MUST be a misprint. The ConvergeAV AA2SPDIF seems to only outputs 44.1. I really need a device that outputs 48k.
So, are there any "cheap" AD converters out there that are small, battery operated, and output 48k? I don't care if it has mic pres or not. I will likely be sending timecode to channel 8 anyway so I'm not too concerned about the audio quality.
Thanks,
Tom
I don't know how you would send both a timecode and an audio signal via the single rca spdif input. How would you split your signal digitally? And as far as I know the 680 will only accept AES or Spdif signal but not a wordclock signal and aren't they both a two channel signal? From the way the manual reads once you use the input for clocking purposes you lose the ability to use it for recording. And I had looked around but from what I saw the options for "cheap" digi converters left a LOT to be desired. They are out there but they looked like crap. Anything decent puts you in the 500 range and at that point you can get mic pres too. Unless you pick up something older. I grabbed an apogee AD-1000 which is 48Hz but only 20 bit. A good solid 20 bit though. I might be selling it once I get a new USBPre-2 if your interested.
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I think you are correect. That MUST be a misprint. The ConvergeAV AA2SPDIF seems to only outputs 44.1. I really need a device that outputs 48k.
So, are there any "cheap" AD converters out there that are small, battery operated, and output 48k? I don't care if it has mic pres or not. I will likely be sending timecode to channel 8 anyway so I'm not too concerned about the audio quality.
Thanks,
Tom
Well.... maybe not! I just hooked the AA2SPDIF to my Whirlwind AESQbox and it registers as 48k. If I send a 48K signal from my AESQbox to the DR-680 it locks just fine. Wonder why the AA2SPDIF does not??
Tom
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I don't know how you would send both a timecode and an audio signal via the single rca spdif input. How would you split your signal digitally? And as far as I know the 680 will only accept AES or Spdif signal but not a wordclock signal and aren't they both a two channel signal? From the way the manual reads once you use the input for clocking purposes you lose the ability to use it for recording. And I had looked around but from what I saw the options for "cheap" digi converters left a LOT to be desired. They are out there but they looked like crap. Anything decent puts you in the 500 range and at that point you can get mic pres too. Unless you pick up something older. I grabbed an apogee AD-1000 which is 48Hz but only 20 bit. A good solid 20 bit though. I might be selling it once I get a new USBPre-2 if your interested.
I might only use 7 & 8 for timecode. You are correct. It may be difficult otherwise to separate the audio from timecode "bleed".
Tom
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I went thru the entire menu and even tried to do analog in without running digital
plus I tried 2 SPDIF cables that worked fine with my V3 > P2 after wards
I would still get that error message even running NO digital in on the menu
sometimes it will read the cards, but give me the DIN unlock message
other times it would give me the Sys Rom Error message
when powering down and back up with the card still in the unit
cards... fine most likely, since my computer reads them and the unit was reading them
SPDIF cables... fine
digital out on V3... fine
basically the unit just started acting up with nothing changed on the menu and...
I went thru the settings when setting up at the show and things were set properly 2 nights in a row
I ASSUMED that things were alright yesterday morning by switching cards and the unit fired up
but I did not actually run any tests and got hosed last night when trying to fire up the unit at the show
and all that I'm getting now are the 2 error messages
I'm going to give TEAC a call tomorrow and send it in
I was busy last week and forgot to update this...
I received a call from Dennis @ Full Compass indicating the main board was FRIED
and it will cost me $140 to repair since LABOR is only 90 days from purchase, plus they are waiting for the part
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Damn that sucks. How old is it? I'd be asking/bugging/begging Tascam to fix it under warranty.
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I went thru the entire menu and even tried to do analog in without running digital
plus I tried 2 SPDIF cables that worked fine with my V3 > P2 after wards
I would still get that error message even running NO digital in on the menu
sometimes it will read the cards, but give me the DIN unlock message
other times it would give me the Sys Rom Error message
when powering down and back up with the card still in the unit
cards... fine most likely, since my computer reads them and the unit was reading them
SPDIF cables... fine
digital out on V3... fine
basically the unit just started acting up with nothing changed on the menu and...
I went thru the settings when setting up at the show and things were set properly 2 nights in a row
I ASSUMED that things were alright yesterday morning by switching cards and the unit fired up
but I did not actually run any tests and got hosed last night when trying to fire up the unit at the show
and all that I'm getting now are the 2 error messages
I'm going to give TEAC a call tomorrow and send it in
I was busy last week and forgot to update this...
I received a call from Dennis @ Full Compass indicating the main board was FRIED
and it will cost me $140 to repair since LABOR is only 90 days from purchase, plus they are waiting for the part
Crap. That sucks.
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I went thru the entire menu and even tried to do analog in without running digital
plus I tried 2 SPDIF cables that worked fine with my V3 > P2 after wards
I would still get that error message even running NO digital in on the menu
sometimes it will read the cards, but give me the DIN unlock message
other times it would give me the Sys Rom Error message
when powering down and back up with the card still in the unit
cards... fine most likely, since my computer reads them and the unit was reading them
SPDIF cables... fine
digital out on V3... fine
basically the unit just started acting up with nothing changed on the menu and...
I went thru the settings when setting up at the show and things were set properly 2 nights in a row
I ASSUMED that things were alright yesterday morning by switching cards and the unit fired up
but I did not actually run any tests and got hosed last night when trying to fire up the unit at the show
and all that I'm getting now are the 2 error messages
I'm going to give TEAC a call tomorrow and send it in
I was busy last week and forgot to update this...
I received a call from Dennis @ Full Compass indicating the main board was FRIED
and it will cost me $140 to repair since LABOR is only 90 days from purchase, plus they are waiting for the part
Crap. That sucks.
wow I sure would see if teac would cover it all
I mean theses things are brand new...
sorry to hear that
I hope it's not a trend
Full Compass has always been upstanding and does great service
good luck!
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Does anyone know if it's possible to plug my 1/8"-terminated CA11 mics (using a single female 1/8" to dual male TRS 1/4" cable) into inputs 5 & 6 on the DR-680 (without having phantom power engaged - for obvious reasons) in order to make use of the recorder's gain? I know that I could go line-in (would mic in-work too?) and put my 9100 pre between the mics and recorder and use the 9100's gain, but I'd like to simplify my set-up even more and just use the dr-680 for gain. I figured it would be better to ask than turn my mics into sparklers.
Thanks.
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i have the Oade CM R-44 but as always, tempted to slut it up.
how's the DR-680 compare to the R-44? i normally run the ACM V3 in front but often have another pair/board going in 2 other channels. would be nice to have everything on the same clock.
what's the pros / cons? any issues running 8 channels on a 16gb class 6 card? run on a standard dvd battery?
i've tried to keep up to date on this thread but it's a lot of reading! ;D
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Does anyone know if it's possible to plug my 1/8"-terminated CA11 mics (using a single female 1/8" to dual male TRS 1/4" cable) into inputs 5 & 6 on the DR-680 (without having phantom power engaged - for obvious reasons) in order to make use of the recorder's gain? I know that I could go line-in (would mic in-work too?) and put my 9100 pre between the mics and recorder and use the 9100's gain, but I'd like to simplify my set-up even more and just use the dr-680 for gain. I figured it would be better to ask than turn my mics into sparklers.
Thanks.
It's better to think of the 680 mic/line as a high/low sensitivity setting. And the Phantom power is switched on or off on pairs of channels. Now would the the Church mics work? I'd ask Church Audio. But I run separate preamps in front of mics all the time with my 680. Is the 9100 pre better than the stock Tascam pre's? I dunno, the stock 680 pre's are pretty darn good.
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I've been tempted to sell off the 744 and pick up a 680 plus a 3rd v2 plus a V3. mmmmm. 8 channels of Grace pres. >:D Plus I'd have about $500 in my pocket leftover. Not to mention we could link them Kirk. Damn.... The Pickathon stuff you did sure sounds swell.
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I've been tempted to sell off the 744 and pick up a 680 plus a 3rd v2 plus a V3. mmmmm. 8 channels of Grace pres. >:D Plus I'd have about $500 in my pocket leftover. Not to mention we could link them Kirk. Damn.... The Pickathon stuff you did sure sounds swell.
Thinking about that setup makes my back hurt. :P
I'm pretty sure my ears would be pretty happy with it.
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On the Oade CM R44 vs the 680:
I owned an Oade R44 for awhile and sold it to get the 680. Both are great pieces of gear, but I do find they sound noticeably different. Before I got the 680 when I still had my R44, I did a comp with Chuck and his new 680.
We ran mics (Milabs? Gefell m210s? not remembering now) into my EAA PSP2 preamp. Then PSP2 XLR outs to my Oade R44 and PSP2 1/8" mini out to Chuck's 680 (using an 1/8" > RCA cable, some RCA>XLR adapters, and XLR cables). I doubt the difference in cabling had too much of an effect, and supposedly the XLR and 1/8" outs on the PSP2 share the same signal path.
The Oade R44 recording was definitely tilted towards the warm/smooth/musical side. It sounded very nice, but did not have a huge amount of detail and attack. The 680 recording was much more detailed with more attack, and less warm. On the bright-to-dark scale, the Oade R44 leaned towards the dark side and the 680 leaned towards the bright side (not said in a positive or negative way, meaning I'm not saying too bright in a bad way or too dark in a bad way, just trying to give perspective on one sound vs the other). To my ears the 680 sounds more like a Lunatec V3, and the Oade R44 perhaps more like the apogee sound.
About the same time, Chuck did a comp of AKGs>V3(digi)>680 and AKGs>680 straight in (can't remember the details on his comp -- I think it was two different sets of AKG 460's). The V3 sounds nicer to my ears than the 680 straight, but they have a similar sound. I also listened quite a bit to the 680 vs Oade R44 comp. The Oade sounded great, but I like the type of sound the 680 has better. I also listened quite a bit to the 680 worried that the detail/brightness might be too much and fatiguing over long listening spans. To my ears, it is closer to that edge, but doesn't go too far to be too bright or fatiguing.
I do think that people who like that more classic warm Oade sound may not want the 680. Likewise, people who find a brighter, more detailed sound objectionable may not like the 680. But people who like the V3-type sound will probably favor the 680.
My friend Scott picked up a 680 and got it modded by Busman. One of these days we'll put together a good comp of the Busman 680 vs the stock 680.
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On the Oade CM R44 vs the 680:
I owned an Oade R44 for awhile and sold it to get the 680. Both are great pieces of gear, but I do find they sound noticeably different. Before I got the 680 when I still had my R44, I did a comp with Chuck and his new 680.
We ran mics (Milabs? Gefell m210s? not remembering now) into my EAA PSP2 preamp. Then PSP2 XLR outs to my Oade R44 and PSP2 1/8" mini out to Chuck's 680 (using an 1/8" > RCA cable, some RCA>XLR adapters, and XLR cables). I doubt the difference in cabling had too much of an effect, and supposedly the XLR and 1/8" outs on the PSP2 share the same signal path.
The Oade R44 recording was definitely tilted towards the warm/smooth/musical side. It sounded very nice, but did not have a huge amount of detail and attack. The 680 recording was much more detailed with more attack, and less warm. On the bright-to-dark scale, the Oade R44 leaned towards the dark side and the 680 leaned towards the bright side (not said in a positive or negative way, meaning I'm not saying too bright in a bad way or too dark in a bad way, just trying to give perspective on one sound vs the other). To my ears the 680 sounds more like a Lunatec V3, and the Oade R44 perhaps more like the apogee sound.
About the same time, Chuck did a comp of AKGs>V3(digi)>680 and AKGs>680 straight in (can't remember the details on his comp -- I think it was two different sets of AKG 460's). The V3 sounds nicer to my ears than the 680 straight, but they have a similar sound. I also listened quite a bit to the 680 vs Oade R44 comp. The Oade sounded great, but I like the type of sound the 680 has better. I also listened quite a bit to the 680 worried that the detail/brightness might be too much and fatiguing over long listening spans. To my ears, it is closer to that edge, but doesn't go too far to be too bright or fatiguing.
I do think that people who like that more classic warm Oade sound may not want the 680. Likewise, people who find a brighter, more detailed sound objectionable may not like the 680. But people who like the V3-type sound will probably favor the 680.
My friend Scott picked up a 680 and got it modded by Busman. One of these days we'll put together a good comp of the Busman 680 vs the stock 680.
good review. can you elaborate on the busman mod? i wasn't aware that anyone had put together a mod for the 680 yet.
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Mark...Thanks for the Kudo's on the pickathon stuff. Glad to hear you liked it. There is some stuff that is stellar. I'm home for a bit now and will get the rest to ya soon. It was an interesting experience to say the least. In reality I ended up being the stage manager in there, and an eight track setup that changed every 45 minutes sure makes ya work for the recordings. the Artists themselves deserve a ton of credit for trying to make it work too. And HELL YEAH get a 680 and then we'll talk Josh into a 680 and with Chris running one...almost all of PDX will be running them, we could link them all together and pull 28 tracks if we wanted >:D
As for the Busman mod...at Pickathon Chris and I talked about our respective 680's. And Chris said that stock the 680 is a good sounding unit. A point we both agreed on. I'm sure the mod addresses specific things...IE: warm or transparent, Loud or soft input signals. But we both thought it is a great deck for a great price right out of the box. For me, I'm like mark and pack outboard preamps. I like being able to change and not be locked into a "certian" sound. I sold my V2 & UA-5 to fund the new Sound Devices USBPre-2. So I'll have the Apogee, and an MP-2 plus the USBPre-2 whenit comes in. Figuring that two tracks would most likely be SBD feeds I don't see a need for 4 preamps, and if I need to I can use the stock pre's.
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Kirk - Speaking of multi-680 setups. . . I'll have mine with me for the JMOS NYE run!
-jay
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Yeah, wonder what the stance will be on that since they will most likely record it for sale.
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Can someone explain to me why this doesn't work?
I purchased this cheap AD converter, a StarTeck.com / ConvergeAV model AA2SPDIF (see link below). The manual says it has a 48K sample rate, but the DR680 only recognises it when I set the the Tascam's menu for 44.1K. Why would that be?
Any help would be much appreciated.
Tom
http://us.startech.com/product/AA2SPDIF-Stereo-RCA-Left-Right-Analog-to-Digital-SPDIF-Toslink-Audio-Converter
This is really weird! I just tried ANOTHER “cheap” consumer A to D adapter much like the other one I mentioned above. It’s a line level RCA in to SPDIF out. It didn’t work either! Well… sort of.
Like the first one, this unit supposedly outputs 48k, however the DR-680 comes up with a “DIN UNLOCK” error. It’s only when I set the 680 to 44.1 that the interface seems to work. Again, when I check it with my Whirlwind AESQbox, it says the interface IS outputting 48k, but the 680 says no.
What is the name of that guy at Tascam who’s an expert on the DR680, and how do I contact him? I’m getting tired of spending money for interfaces that don’t work. Maybe he has some insights… or maybe someone here?
Any ideas? Anyone else tried the SPDIF with 48K?
Tom
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I run my deck at 24/48 all the time. I use the rca input. I have run both SPDIF and AES input. There have been zero problems. I have used a variety of devices (Edirol, Apogee, Tascam) and they all gave me a lock at the correct rates. One thing you could try is either having the converter powered up BEFORE you power the 680 OR the opposite have the 680 powered up BEFORE you power up the converter. I think your main problem is covered by your own description of the units you are trying....."I purchased this cheap AD converter"...... Maybe by the term "supports 48z" they mean it will convert a toslink signal to spdif even if it's at 48Hz? I dunno, but the 680 is not seeing a 48 signal, regardless of what the manual says those units are putting out. You'd do better with one of the UA-5's in the YS, but if I were you I'd stay away from the cheaper low end converters. Do you really want an $80 unit doing the digital conversions of signal for your $800 deck?
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I run my deck at 24/48 all the time. I use the rca input. I have run both SPDIF and AES input. There have been zero problems. I have used a variety of devices (Edirol, Apogee, Tascam) and they all gave me a lock at the correct rates. One thing you could try is either having the converter powered up BEFORE you power the 680 OR the opposite have the 680 powered up BEFORE you power up the converter. I think your main problem is covered by your own description of the units you are trying....."I purchased this cheap AD converter"...... Maybe by the term "supports 48z" they mean it will convert a toslink signal to spdif even if it's at 48Hz? I dunno, but the 680 is not seeing a 48 signal, regardless of what the manual says those units are putting out. You'd do better with one of the UA-5's in the YS, but if I were you I'd stay away from the cheaper low end converters. Do you really want an $80 unit doing the digital conversions of signal for your $800 deck?
Kirkd,
I appreciate your response and I see your point. However, my purpose for using a “cheap” AD converter was so I could put a timecode signal on channel 8, therefore I really don’t care about the audio quality, just so long as it plays back and is still readable.
What doesn’t make sense to me is that my Whirlwind AESQbox tester clearly identifies the converter as putting out 48k. Further testing on my Yamaha LS9 digital console seems to also indicate that the converter is in fact putting out 48k. So, yes, this is a “low quality” device, but it seems that there might also be some peculiarity with the DR680 causing this incompatibility.
Tom
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"However, my purpose for using a “cheap” AD converter was so I could put a timecode signal on channel 8, therefore I really don’t care about the audio quality, just so long as it plays back and is still readable."
Not really sure I understand what you are doing? Are you putting an audio signal on channels 7&8 or are you trying to input a some type of timecode? If it is the latter then maybe that is the problem? And I assume it is just a typo but by using the spdif input you are sending signal on both 7 & 8, not just 8. Sending a clocking type signal into that converter might not work? If in fact you are trying to get it accept another time code have you set it to be a slave deck? I'm not sure of the menu setting without looking but I know it has to be changed IE: if you are using two 680's and want one to accept the other's signal. And at that point you lose the ability to use channels 7 & 8 for audio. If you are trying to sync it with other decks why not just use the 680 as the master clock and send that spdif/AES signal downstream and sync the deck to it? Which leads us back to I'm not really sure I understand what you are doing?
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"However, my purpose for using a “cheap” AD converter was so I could put a timecode signal on channel 8, therefore I really don’t care about the audio quality, just so long as it plays back and is still readable."
Not really sure I understand what you are doing?
he is doing that to avoid bleed of TC to other tracks if he was going analog input - now you understand :-)?
check with another recorder to see if it happens
it might be the converter doesn't give you stable 48
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Tom,
I think the main problem you are having.....if this is actually a timecode input attempt....is that your logic says "Timecode can be input on an analog track to be later pulled out and used, hence I'll use tracks 7&8 for my time code input and all I have to do is convert it to a spdif input" Or, at least that is what I think you are trying to do. I believe that part of the problem is that the spdif signal which is designed to carry audio with the related timing signal embeded into that signal. So the way I read it is that the TOS link/Spdif converter is only able to handle an audio signal and then it embeds(or adds) the associated timing signal (Spdif) . I think you are asking the unit to do a digital encoding of a signal that is not audio in nature so at that point it fails, and then there is no digital lock into the 680. Another, maybe even better use of channels, might be to send the timecode signal in to say channels 6, which from what I understand can be done. Then use some other preamp/converter to use channels 7&8 for mic and/or line level inputs. This would allow you to get 7 channels of audio and still have one channel of time code. The one other thing I didn't ask was are you sure you deck is not set for a digital input on channels 5&6 instead of 7&8, even though I don't think it would solve your problem. Or use the 680 as your master clock source, you can set the deck to output AES which should be stable enough for video which is what I am also assuming that you main use is. The Deck automatically senses SPDIF or AES input without any menu changes on your part.
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"However, my purpose for using a “cheap” AD converter was so I could put a timecode signal on channel 8, therefore I really don’t care about the audio quality, just so long as it plays back and is still readable."
Not really sure I understand what you are doing?
he is doing that to avoid bleed of TC to other tracks if he was going analog input - now you understand :-)?
check with another recorder to see if it happens
it might be the converter doesn't give you stable 48
Ah yes! Oleg, YOU understand.
I am trying to record timecode (such as is used in film and video production) on one of the digital audio channels.
Kirkd,
I should mention that all my initial tests have been done with either NO analog input connected to the AD converter, or using a analog output from a CD player. So, no, the timecode signal is not interfering with the SPDIF signal. I haven’t gone that far yet.
Any other thoughts? And who is that guy at Tascam?
Tom
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kirk d - ltc tc is exactly as any other audio analog signals you use , has nothing to do with ability of the 680 to get 48 digitized signal .
no any analog input connected or not connected have something to do with that issue .
check if the recorder could axsept any 48khz at all if it does from other source , if it does check the stability or check for differnce between the a to d worth to any other source .
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ugg is you know who involved? ::) Still not sure on my NYE plans. Langhorne Slim is playing in town as well.
Yeah, wonder what the stance will be on that since they will most likely record it for sale.
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ugg is you know who involved? ::) Still not sure on my NYE plans. Langhorne Slim is playing in town as well.
Yeah, wonder what the stance will be on that since they will most likely record it for sale.
As of now, I'm not quite sure what is going to happen. Jerry and I breifly talk last week and are goint to have a sit down after he moves back to PDX
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Tom,
I'd have to dig and see who I talked to at Tascam, but don't bother e-mailing them. I tried that once and the reply was a joke. Call tech support, and I'll see if I can't find a name. Fwiw there is a UA-5in the YS @ $70. I never had a problem when I ran my ua-5, always got a lock. I guess there could be a problem with the 680. Have you tried outputting a 48hz signal from your Yamaha to the deck?
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I just wanted to report that while on top of a mountain in a forest of redwoods, doing location audio for a PBS documentary, I had some down time and with barely one bar of signal I was able to email Chris Johnson of Busman Audio, and get a more detailed description of the mod he now does to DR-680. He sold me on the mod, and said he had one in stock that he just modded, so I grabbed it as quickly as I could type the message and hold the phone in the air to get the one bar needed to send the email. I'll share with you what he wrote me about what he does to the DR-680.
First Message with a general description:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chad,
I am offering mods for the DR-680, I just haven’t listed it yet. I have done about 5 units so far including the one I have been using since May.
I really like this unit a lot more than the R-44 partly because of the track count but more for the converters and sound quality.
The price for all 6 channels is $300 if you want 4 channels its $225 and 2 channels is $150.
I am currently only offering the transparency style mod which is clean, quiet, and has a large soundstage.
The mod does quiet the preamps some but they are already decent for most uses as stock. With the mods the unit will work great for dialogue and nature recordings as well as live music. The unit has a mic setting with high and low gain as well as the line in when using outboard gear.
I do not compare my gear to Oade so I don’t know what differences there are besides the fact that I have always like my own mods better along with my offering of a 2 year warranty with my mods and I know we use different parts.
My take on Oades different mods is he is just trying to appeal to every person out there, I don’t know how big of a difference there is between each mod.
I have owned Oade modded gear in the past and have always liked it alright but once I found my own parts I have always enjoyed the sound of my gear more.
I have not thought about painting one Busman yellow but that is something I might do to my own to see how it will turn out then offer it if I like it.
The R44 is a nice unit but limited for mods IMO. There is not much space for good parts in there but it sounds warm with most mods compared to past edirol pres. The mods have a very nice natural soundstage and they help to bring the noise floor down some. I have never liked the R44 as much as the modded original R4. The original had more room for great parts and ended up sounding better.
Let me know if you have more questions.
I asked some followup questions and here's what he wrote back:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chad,
I was just about to call but if you are out of town I will just answer here for you.
Some bigger components that fit are mainly the capacitors I like to use along with bypass caps.
I have one modded unit here right now that I just finished that is ready to go. It has the 6 channel mod and I can sell it for $1100.
I do give a warranty for my modded gear of 2 years parts and labor and if anything comes up that is not something to do with the mod it can be fixed as well.
As for cards. I use the transcend 16GB class6 cards that Tascam recommends. For 32GB cards I would only go with what Tascam says works otherwise it’s a crapshoot.
Soundstage is the ability for the recorder to place the sound in correctly in space so you hear it as 3 dimensional just like being in the room you record in. When you have a closed soundstage everything tends to get muddy and less detailed as well as the feeling of everything coming from one place. With a natural large soundstage you get the sound just as it was in the location that it was recorded. It makes it more “real” and true to life. There are multiple factors in a recorder that determine soundstage quality so I will just leave it there. I change out all of the input op amps and capacitors along with some in the power supply section I also run bypass caps in the input path.
The preamps are noisy when driven in the high gain mode but with the mod the high gain mode is more usable with less “hiss” in the recording.
I felt that the difference was significant enough for my ears to be satisfied with the results and not try to go deeper into the mod for diminishing returns. I was recording at an outdoor bluegrass show and was amazed at how much gain I could get without any hiss. I can hear planes in the distance during song breaks as well as birds and I can pick out a location as to where they are in the sound field. Once I transferred the files into my computer I raised the gain a good deal and was not able to detect noise in the quiet sections. I am very happy with the results.
Let me know if you have any other questions, I am always happy to answer.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
There you go, from the horses mouth. At 1,100.00 you are very close to a modded R-44 in price, and I am fairly confident that we'll have a better sounding unit than an R-44, whether modded by Busman or Oade. Chris is a very nice guy, and I'm glad he took the time to explain what he does to the unit. I was surprised that he sold them too, I expected to have to buy one from B&H then send it in to Busman. Needless to say, I am very excited to receive my new Tascam DR-680 with a sweet Busman Audio mod!
Cheers.
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Tom,
I'd have to dig and see who I talked to at Tascam, but don't bother e-mailing them. I tried that once and the reply was a joke. Call tech support, and I'll see if I can't find a name. Fwiw there is a UA-5in the YS @ $70. I never had a problem when I ran my ua-5, always got a lock. I guess there could be a problem with the 680. Have you tried outputting a 48hz signal from your Yamaha to the deck?
kirkd,
Thanks so much for the suggestion. I just bought a UA-5. Seems like it should be handy for many applications, however I still would love to find a simple, tiny, AD interface that would let me connect a line level timecode signal to the DR680. The two devices I tried were no more than 2"x"2"x1" and had a very low current draw. Such a device woul be ideal for using the DR680 in an "over shoulder" bag for video production. Does any one know of any other devices like this?
Here are the two devices I've tried so far:
http://us.startech.com/product/AA2SPDIF-Stereo-RCA-Left-Right-Analog-to-Digital-SPDIF-Toslink-Audio-Converter
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330472209013&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT
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Tom,
Enjoy the UA-5. The one I ran was modded by Chris Busman. That Mod he did allowed for standalone use and upgraded the signal. Remember a completely stock UA-5 will not work as a standalone. The Digi mod you will see mentioned allows the unit to be standalone and if I remember correctly there are folks here who will do it for postage or instruct you how to do it too.
As for AD converters. I really have no idea. when I looked at units for inputs to channel 7&8 spdif, I was looking at preamp/digital converter setups. Right now I am waiting on the new Sound Devices USBPre-2 to come out. That is the smallest unit I have found but again it is a preamp also. I currently am using an Apogee AD-1000 for the spdif input and it also accepts a Wordclock/spdif/toslink input and can sync to a variety of video sources at a multitude of rates & formats. Actually much more than I will ever need. I will most likely be selling it once the new SD units arrive....if you were interested, but it is about ten times as large as the little cube you tried to use.
Do you ever determine where the breakdown in sampling rate happens? Have you tried the UA-5 with the 680? I also remember something about the UA-5 always outputting a 24 bit signal no matter what the setting? there is a really great UA-5 section:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?board=52.0
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T Right now I am waiting on the new Sound Devices USBPre-2 to come out. That is the smallest unit I have found but again it is a preamp also.
Hey kirkd.
Do you need to have a laptop to power this USBPre-2? I don't see any other power options outside of plug & play through the USB. It looks like a nice little unit.
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Actually that is the BIG difference between the USBPre and The USBPre-2. It will accept power via the usb jack but it does not require it to be connected to a computer. There are a few options but supplying 5v on the USB jack and a flip of a switch allows it to operate in standalone mode.
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Tom,
Enjoy the UA-5. The one I ran was modded by Chris Busman. That Mod he did allowed for standalone use and upgraded the signal. Remember a completely stock UA-5 will not work as a standalone. The Digi mod you will see mentioned allows the unit to be standalone and if I remember correctly there are folks here who will do it for postage or instruct you how to do it too.
As for AD converters. I really have no idea. when I looked at units for inputs to channel 7&8 spdif, I was looking at preamp/digital converter setups. Right now I am waiting on the new Sound Devices USBPre-2 to come out. That is the smallest unit I have found but again it is a preamp also. I currently am using an Apogee AD-1000 for the spdif input and it also accepts a Wordclock/spdif/toslink input and can sync to a variety of video sources at a multitude of rates & formats. Actually much more than I will ever need. I will most likely be selling it once the new SD units arrive....if you were interested, but it is about ten times as large as the little cube you tried to use.
Do you ever determine where the breakdown in sampling rate happens? Have you tried the UA-5 with the 680? I also remember something about the UA-5 always outputting a 24 bit signal no matter what the setting? there is a really great UA-5 section:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?board=52.0
Kirkd,
Thanks again for all the good advice. Fortunately I did my research before buying the UA-5. The unit I purchased is NOT modified… yet, but it looks like new. I found details on how to do the “stand alone” mod. It looks pretty simple, and I’m pretty good with a soldering iron, so it should not be a problem. I’m seriously considering installing a switch so it can be used either as a stand alone device or a computer interface. Apparently others have done this with success. I just need to figure out how I can protect the switch from being accidently bumped.
Tom
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I'm trying to decide if should get myself a littlebox to run into the DR680 or if I'm better off getting busman to mod it. I really like the all-in-one aspect of the DR-680 and would prefer to keep it that way, but on the other hand, IF the littlebox is going to give me better results in terms of noisefloor and quieter gain for lower sound levels (not sure if it actually would) then I'd be more inclined to go that route.
Anyone got thoughts on this? It's likely too early in the dr680 and littlebox lifespans to hope for a comp, but if anybody has anything illuminating to add to my deliberation, I'd certainly welcome it.
Thanks.
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Do you have a link to one of these "littleBox" things? If it's a mixer, I'd say go for both. Try the mixer first, and if you don't like the results, get the mod. I just bought my 680 direct from Busman Audio, pre-modded for 1,100.00, but haven't tested it out yet because I'm waiting for my SDHC cards to arrive. But if a mixer is sending out a line level signal, then you can operate the recorder at line level and get great s/n ratio. If you're just recording concerts than noise isn't much of an issue. If you wand to record quiet stuff, then a mod is really helpful.
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http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=128321.0
littlebox is a naiant product that's a pre-amp. a member on the board makes and sells them primarily to people interested in recording live music, but the pre-amps do offer a substantial amount of gain for quiet things. another thing that many members like are the number of customizations like powering, mini xlr, various toggle switches.
website of all products offered: http://www.naiant.com/
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Those look cool! I've got an SD MixPre that covers my needs. But I still record mixerless most times. I have recorded live music & plays for video projects, both mixerless and modless on an Edirol R4-Pro and had no noise complaints. Some things you record just don't dip down below the noise threshold, and sound stellar with nothing special needed to help the recorder. Still I got the modded 680 because sometimes I will be doing dialogue for a film, or nature recording. Best to be prepared, but not to worry if you can't afford all the specialties at one time.
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I've used mine without outboard gear and no mod for interviews which were paying gigs with no complaints. There was plenty of gain using sennheiser,audio technica and nevaton lavaliers. Of course I expect external pres to sound better, for my purposes the stock 680 was sufficient
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Little box and or big box are nice pres but lack a digital spdif out put that you need to utilize channels 7 & 8. I am waiting on the new SD usbpre-2 but have also used a BM2p+ UA-5 and an Apogee AD-1000. For me personally I like to be able to change the preamp and a mod is not something you can change.
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Yeah that SD usbpre-2 looks sweet! I wonder if there is some way to power it with a BDS? I want to get everything hooked up to a BDS then just forget about powering everything.
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"For me personally I like to be able to change the preamp and a mod is not something you can change."
This is a good point, Kirkd. I also like the idea of being able to potentially use the littlebox with my DR-1 and the Busman actives (whenever they come available) for a more low-pro setup.
"I've used mine without outboard gear and no mod for interviews which were paying gigs with no complaints. There was plenty of gain using sennheiser,audio technica and nevaton lavaliers. Of course I expect external pres to sound better, for my purposes the stock 680 was sufficient"
Thanks for the opinion tcf. I haven't had the opportunity to do quiet acoustic recordings yet, but if you had success with interview levels, then it's another good grade for the 680's internal preamps.
Hope you enjoy the busman mod, chadfish. The samples I heard of Chris Johnson's at pickathon (lma), sounded very good.
Thanks for all the input.
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Got a question:
I don't know much about digital inputs, and the s/pdif switchable to AES/EBU input on the 680. But I would like to know if an optical output from say, a Sony D50, could be simply converted to go into the digital input on the 680. Anyone?
I ask because I'm trying to justify getting a D50 to mostly record simple stuff around the house, song ideas, possibly simple live recordings (rather than a Zoom H1) and possibly use it as a stereo mic going into ch 7-8 in the DR-680.
Thanks.
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Yeah that SD usbpre-2 looks sweet! I wonder if there is some way to power it with a BDS? I want to get everything hooked up to a BDS then just forget about powering everything.
I don't really know anything about distro systems and I am guessing that it is geared towards filming more than audio only applications. The USBPre-2 will require 5 Volts on the USB jack similar to what a Microtrack I setup needs. (could be same for MT II I don't know). SInce I am looking for a 12V and a 5V source in addition to the 9violt setup I already have, I was looking at stuff like this:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=136412.0
But I was also thinking of building my own setup to step down the voltage from my DVD batteries to 5V. But since I need a 12V source for the AD1K and a 5v source for the USBPre2 the linked battery sure is a perfect fit.
I have run my 680 without pres, and with a V2, AD1K, MP-2, BM2p+. Most of the applications where I used the stock pres were sbd feeds. A few multitrack setups when it was a dynamic vocal mic too. I can't say that I noticed any problems or issues. I had read somewhere that the specs between the 680 and the 7xx series preamps were very close. Out of the box this is a good sounding deck. The thing that is driving my search for a preamp is the ability to use channels 7 & 8 via a spdif input. The Ua-5 I sued (granted it was modded) worked just fine. And I actually had a hard time letting go if it due to it's flexibility. I'm lucky that a buddy owns one that I can use pretty much anytime I want. I've picked up the Apogee and even though it is only 20 bit I feel like the higher quality overcomes the slightly different bit rate to give me a better sound. I also sold off the V2 in order to buy the new SD preamp. since it was actually a little cheaper than a used V2 AND has digi output to me it was a no brainier. SO no I have the ability to run the unit stock, or with any combination of two SD preamps and an Apogee. And if I really bugged my friends I could borrow a V2 or V3 at times. So that flexibility is not something I want to forgo by have a deck modded. I guess you could still run outboard preamps into a modded deck but I'm not sure what kind of sound it would give you. The other draw back IMO is that when/if you go to sell you never get a good return on the money invested in the mods. The up side to the mods is you can carry less gear. That does not matter to me, I carry way too much crap anyhow ;D And there is the preamp-mic combo. some mics sound better with certain preamps. The other thing that makes me gun shy of the mod is...what if I don't like it? Am I wiling to ask how ever modded it(well Chris at this point) to undo the mod? I would never ask that so I'd rather just not get it done. But if you like the mod then it is more than worth the money you spent. I think it really comes down to personal choices. Especially if you are looking at keeping the deck for a long long time, and want to carry less gear it could be a perfect choice. IF you are always wanting to try different things and different preamps then maybe a mod is not in the cards.
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Got a question:
I don't know much about digital inputs, and the s/pdif switchable to AES/EBU input on the 680. But I would like to know if an optical output from say, a Sony D50, could be simply converted to go into the digital input on the 680. Anyone?
I ask because I'm trying to justify getting a D50 to mostly record simple stuff around the house, song ideas, possibly simple live recordings (rather than a Zoom H1) and possibly use it as a stereo mic going into ch 7-8 in the DR-680.
Thanks.
There is stuff out there. I dunno about the quality or compatibility. But do you really want to input a set of cheap stereo mic in the 680? wouldn't that be a sort of step backwards? You can just record the mics onto the deck, why go through the trouble of sending that signal to the 680, I don't think you'd be gaining anything.
The USBPre2 has toslink & Spdif outputs fwiw
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There is stuff out there. I dunno about the quality or compatibility. But do you really want to input a set of cheap stereo mic in the 680? wouldn't that be a sort of step backwards? You can just record the mics onto the deck, why go through the trouble of sending that signal to the 680, I don't think you'd be gaining anything.
The USBPre2 has toslink & Spdif outputs fwiw
yeah, I agree with Kirk. if you want the d50, I would just use it as is or with a pre-amp but not connected to ANOTHER recorder. If you're looking for a small hand-held recorder, check out sony d50, sony, m10, edirol r-09hr, tascam dr2d, olympus ls10.
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Kirkd
The mod Busman offers is only a "Transparent" mod. I posted his description of what he does earlier in this thread I believe. All he's doing is adding better quality parts that result in less noise and better soundstage. It's not like a warm mod where it colors your signal to sound more analogue. I would absolutely still use a Sound Devices mixer in front of a modded 680 because the SD outputs a Line level signal, so you get even less noise on top of the benefits of the mod, and you get the super sweet optical limiters of the SD in both the input and the output. Once you calibrate your recorder to the tone signal the SD sends out you are virtually UNCLIPPABLE, and you don't need to even think about the 680 limiters. Yes I work in video, but audio is also my occupation. It is always better to use a mixer (preamp in the audio world) at line level over going straight in at mic level. I'm positive you will still have all the options and choices of preamp usage with a modded recorder. The only difference is less noise, and a more accurate reproduction of what's getting recorded.
As for the BDS, I need to look into that more to know just what it does. Been too busy to do my homework. I know it will do the mixers, but not sure on the 680: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/646088-REG/Remote_Audio_BDS1_6V3_BDS_v3_Battery_Distribution.html#reviews
With a battery like this, you're good to go all day: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/208321-REG/Bescor_BPNP1_BP_NP1_NP_1_Style_NiCd.html#specifications
••• I hear ya on the d50. I thought it had pretty nice mics, but not as nice as my other "real" mics I guess. That SD USPBpre2 is the answer, but an expensive one for only an occasional need for 8 tracks.
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Wops! Accidentally posted without writing.
I like the M10, except fhr the mics. I can't stand the new direction of putting omni mics on these little recorders. For simple song idea capture, I think the Zoom H1 looks nice. With omni anything beyond a couple of feet gets blended with too much background nose due to the polar pattern. Omni likes a close source. I would love the D50 though. Just can't justify 500.00 for what I need, though if I come in to some extra money I may do it. That little zoom is pretty cool for just playing around though.
yeah, I agree with Kirk. if you want the d50, I would just use it as is or with a pre-amp but not connected to ANOTHER recorder. If you're looking for a small hand-held recorder, check out sony d50, sony, m10, edirol r-09hr, tascam dr2d, olympus ls10.
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ebay has some D50 demos for $350 http://cgi.ebay.com/Demo-Sony-PCM-D50-/150507175134?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item230aed3cde
There is also one in the YS for $350, which is a nice price for a D50.
Wops! Accidentally posted without writing.
I like the M10, except fhr the mics. I can't stand the new direction of putting omni mics on these little recorders. For simple song idea capture, I think the Zoom H1 looks nice. With omni anything beyond a couple of feet gets blended with too much background nose due to the polar pattern. Omni likes a close source. I would love the D50 though. Just can't justify 500.00 for what I need, though if I come in to some extra money I may do it. That little zoom is pretty cool for just playing around though.
yeah, I agree with Kirk. if you want the d50, I would just use it as is or with a pre-amp but not connected to ANOTHER recorder. If you're looking for a small hand-held recorder, check out sony d50, sony, m10, edirol r-09hr, tascam dr2d, olympus ls10.
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Noooooo! Damn, now you got me thinking... Can I drop another 350.00 when I just dropped 1,100.00 on a DR-680, and 200.00 on some Sennheiser HD 25-1 II cans? Thanks for the tip.
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Chadfish Remember the 680 will run fine on 9 volts even though it does not reflect that in the manual.
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Edited for clarification. IF I have to pick pro or con on the mod issue I guess for the deck I am con. This in no way reflects on Chris, since he is the only person doing mods right now. In fact I have owned a UA-5 modded by Chris and a pair of LDC mics that he worked on too. With that said......
Kirkd
The mod Busman offers is only a "Transparent" mod. I posted his description of what he does earlier in this thread I believe. All he's doing is adding better quality parts that result in less noise and better soundstage.
I was working as part of the crew with Chris at the Bluegrass gig he cited. We had time to talk about the stock VS mod unit.
Better quality that results in less noise. For nature or maybe dialog Sure why not. But for me, I record live amplified music 99.97% of the time. There will be more noise from the crowd just talking than there will ever be from the recorder. And I think for most applications this holds true...that the "noise" of the "room" or location will be above the units stock noise floor and or the mics noise floor. It becomes a moot point. A better soundstage.....I guess if you are recording as a stereo pair. I almost exclusively use the deck as a multitrack unit with mono channels and "placement" of the sound is accomplished in post when I mix. For me, the $300 is better spent else where. Like I said it comes down to personal choice. To each their own. IF it works for you then it is right for you. Having the $300 works for me so it's right for me :-* I'd also look at it this way....If the Preamps are nearly identical to the specs of the Sound Devices 7xx series recorders, which many consider to be the "industry standard" why change things? Granted the two units are not built the same, the &xx are built like tanks. If you had a 744 or a 788 would you want to mod it? And like I said before WHAT IF you did not like the way it changed the sound, then what? IE: what if you thought it made the mids to bright, or you perceived more of a harshness after the mod or pick anything but WHAT IF you didn't like how it changed things? I would NEVER go back to someone like Chris and ask him to undo his work, I think it would come off as an insult, so then what would my options be, send it to Tascam and pay full charge for factory work since there is no warranty now? I could go on, but I think you get my drift. It really comes down to that dreaded personal taste...it depends on what you want for your unit. For me I'll stick with stock and spend the money on more toys ;D
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I hear ya kirkd.
It sounded like you were worried you wouldn't like the sound the mod may cause, more so than the noise being reduced. If you just don't need a very-very quiet recorder that makes sense to me. I've recorded shows with the R-4 pro and been happy as far as noise goes. I just wasn't concerned that the mods would change the character of the pres. Maybe that does happen too. All I expected was a quieter unit. And with R-44's going for 1,000.00 I was happy to pay the extra 300.00, as it only feels like an extra 100.00 in my mind for a 1,100.00 total on a unit with 4 more tracks. Either way I think we all are stoked to be able to have great gear like this to go make nice recordings with.
Tape on brothers... Maybe this site should be called Capturesection.com?
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The ebay auction has a make an offer so you may be able to get it for less than $350! I'm real happy with my D50.
Noooooo! Damn, now you got me thinking... Can I drop another 350.00 when I just dropped 1,100.00 on a DR-680, and 200.00 on some Sennheiser HD 25-1 II cans? Thanks for the tip.
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I couldn't resist. I put in an offer.
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You won't be dissappointed if you get one. It has a solid construction and optical in/out, nice adc and great battery life. I think people don't dig the size, but it is smaller than I expected when I bought mine. I am thinking that I might grab the new SD USBpre2 to run with mine. Sorry for the thread jack.
I couldn't resist. I put in an offer.
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I went thru the entire menu and even tried to do analog in without running digital
plus I tried 2 SPDIF cables that worked fine with my V3 > P2 after wards
I would still get that error message even running NO digital in on the menu
sometimes it will read the cards, but give me the DIN unlock message
other times it would give me the Sys Rom Error message
when powering down and back up with the card still in the unit
cards... fine most likely, since my computer reads them and the unit was reading them
SPDIF cables... fine
digital out on V3... fine
basically the unit just started acting up with nothing changed on the menu and...
I went thru the settings when setting up at the show and things were set properly 2 nights in a row
I ASSUMED that things were alright yesterday morning by switching cards and the unit fired up
but I did not actually run any tests and got hosed last night when trying to fire up the unit at the show
and all that I'm getting now are the 2 error messages
I'm going to give TEAC a call tomorrow and send it in
I was busy last week and forgot to update this...
I received a call from Dennis @ Full Compass indicating the main board was FRIED
and it will cost me $140 to repair since LABOR is only 90 days from purchase, plus they are waiting for the part
latest update:
just received a call from Rich, head of service with Full Compass
apparently this problem is the ONLY time this has ever happened anywhere in the world with a 680
and TEAC did not even have a part number to assign the main board since they have never had to replace one
TEAC wanted to see if they could come up with another unit that they could just swap the board with
but at this point since I have waited TOO long IMO on this matter Full Compass is suggesting to TEAC to give me a NEW unit
especially after I mentioned to Rich that the AC transformer was DOA when I received the unit initially
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That's great news darby.
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Darby,
damn how many months without the unit has it been?
I think I would pressure both Full Compass and Teac Direct to send you out a new unit period
could the one off fired board be related to the the fact that AC transformer was DOA when I received the unit initially?
good luck -- Hope you get it (or another) back soon
--Ian
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Darby,
damn how many months without the unit has it been?
I think I would pressure both Full Compass and Teac Direct to send you out a new unit period
could the one off fired board be related to the the fact that AC transformer was DOA when I received the unit initially?
good luck -- Hope you get it (or another) back soon
--Ian
I waited over 2 months on the transformer and it has been 2 months now on the unit
Full Compass is behind me on this... thanks
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I did a little testing with my Busman modded DR-680 last night. I plugged in my Rode NT4 directly, set to high gain, then played some guitar & sang. Then I tried going through my Sound Devices MixPre into the 680 at line level and played/sang some more. I have to say that I liked the sound better WITHOUT the MixPre! The MixPre took out some bass response that really made the direct-in recording sound great. Direct was full and warm. MixPre was more thin and sterile. Not terrible, but lacking fullness.
It's got me confused. I triple checked to make sure that I didn't have any hi-pass filters engaged on the MixPre. I thought the mixer rout was the way to go, but now I'm not so sure. I'll have to try on different mics. I have an AT4053b that sounds a little dark. Maybe that will be a better fit with the MixPre.
What are your thoughts on using a Mixer/preamp? Is it that the NT4 is a bright mic and the clarity of the MixPre enhanced that?
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I sold a pair of Rode NT-5's for that exact reason of them being too bright and thin sounding to my ears. You'll see that a lot of people choose a certain mic/preamp combo because it works well together. The flip side of that coin is that there are probably mic/preamp combos that don't work well together. This example of yours.....running a preamp in front of a modded deck.....is exactly what we talked about previously in this thread. IMHO it does not always work the way that it was envisioned. IE: the thought process of well if it sounds good stock then it will sound great modded and if it sounds great modded then it will sound even more extra great with a good preamp in front of a modded box. Although I suspect that the bright sound is the mic in this particular application. It could also be that the choice of mic was not the best one for the particular application. Any thing that is not liked about the mic will only be emphasized by putting a high end preamp with lots of gain into the signal chain. I would try out some other mics not every mic is a good match for transformer based preamps.
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Well the brightness, or more accurately, the lack of bass, is coming from the mixer since the bass is there when I plug straight in. I imagine mixer/mic parings can vary a lot. I'll report back what I find after I test more of my mics.
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I can't find whether this is possible in the manual, but can you have it so each take goes into a separate folder? Right now no matter how many takes I do, or whether I turn the unit off or not, all the files go into one folder. It would make it easier to trash unwanted takes.
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For some reason I thought you had to either direct it to a new folder or create one other wise it will default to the same folder. But I am not looking at manual and working from memory. The reason it seems to stick is that I thought I choose to have save to same folder all the time. There is no option for folder setup/saves? Maybe on initial set-up type thing. I'll review when I can and see what I can figure out but it would be odd to me that it won't let you do that.
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I think you can make a folder, and direct files to it. I guess I'm just used to working with the Edirol R4-Pro, what makes a new folder by default for every take. Not too big of a deal I guess.
On another note I did an A-B test with 5 different mics yesterday. I played guitar through a mic plugged straight in to the DR-680, then again going through the MixPre and into the 680. I recorded and filmed the tests, and will be making a shootout video of sorts to illustrate the effects of the MixPre on the mics. I chose video because I can get pretty good audio using Vimeo, and to be able to put up text to show what mic/mixer is being played through is much easier to get a seamless A-B comparison. In most cases I think I liked the DR-680 pres better than the MixPres. The MixPre seemed to suck out the fullness of the signal. I say "seemed" because I need to dig into it and level match all the takes before I decide for myself. But my preliminary results show a lack of low end with the MixPre. It was most pronounced with the Rode NT4 though.
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I can't find whether this is possible in the manual, but can you have it so each take goes into a separate folder? Right now no matter how many takes I do, or whether I turn the unit off or not, all the files go into one folder. It would make it easier to trash unwanted takes.
I Don't see how to get new folders automatically, you have to use the menu each time. But, you can have do new takes after each pause (pg. 25). Here is my shorthand take of it: Menu, scroll data wheel to "REC", press enter, scroll data wheel to "PAUSE", press enter, scroll for "SAME TAKE" or"NEW TAKE". At least the files are easier to pick out then and I believe you can delete from menu, since you can play takes separately from menu?. There are also markers set automatically each time you hit pause but I can't see anyway to access them thru the menu.
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I went thru the entire menu and even tried to do analog in without running digital
plus I tried 2 SPDIF cables that worked fine with my V3 > P2 after wards
I would still get that error message even running NO digital in on the menu
sometimes it will read the cards, but give me the DIN unlock message
other times it would give me the Sys Rom Error message
when powering down and back up with the card still in the unit
cards... fine most likely, since my computer reads them and the unit was reading them
SPDIF cables... fine
digital out on V3... fine
basically the unit just started acting up with nothing changed on the menu and...
I went thru the settings when setting up at the show and things were set properly 2 nights in a row
I ASSUMED that things were alright yesterday morning by switching cards and the unit fired up
but I did not actually run any tests and got hosed last night when trying to fire up the unit at the show
and all that I'm getting now are the 2 error messages
I'm going to give TEAC a call tomorrow and send it in
I was busy last week and forgot to update this...
I received a call from Dennis @ Full Compass indicating the main board was FRIED
and it will cost me $140 to repair since LABOR is only 90 days from purchase, plus they are waiting for the part
latest update:
just received a call from Rich, head of service with Full Compass
apparently this problem is the ONLY time this has ever happened anywhere in the world with a 680
and TEAC did not even have a part number to assign the main board since they have never had to replace one
TEAC wanted to see if they could come up with another unit that they could just swap the board with
but at this point since I have waited TOO long IMO on this matter Full Compass is suggesting to TEAC to give me a NEW unit
especially after I mentioned to Rich that the AC transformer was DOA when I received the unit initially
just got off the phone with Rich,
they are shipping me a new 680 TODAY
it's been long overdue... I nearly forgot how to run the thing
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long time comin'. still planning on selling it?
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long time comin'. still planning on selling it?
:hmmm:
I'm going to run it for a couple shows and then see what the market is
it will be new in box when I receive it
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Jumping on since I am now a Dr-680 owner. Hopefully gonna run it tomorrow....
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Jumping on since I am now a Dr-680 owner. Hopefully gonna run it tomorrow....
Congrats. I still love mine.
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Jumping on since I am now a Dr-680 owner. Hopefully gonna run it tomorrow....
Congrats. I still love mine.
Thanks Chuck, and thanks for the one on one about the unit!
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OK, I finally got a chance to sit down and play around with the unit this evening. Just wanted to familiarize myself with the operations and try out all 8 channels with my 16g PNY class 4 SDHC cards. I am really impressed with the unit so far and I am very much looking forward to using it in the field. I hooked up my 460s, 480s, 451's and my ck1x > tiny box rig. It looked so damn pretty I had to take a couple photos.
(http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm442/tgakidis/cables_and_interconnects/IMG_5381.jpg)
(http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm442/tgakidis/cables_and_interconnects/IMG_5386.jpg)
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Are you sure you need another recorder??? ;D
OK, I finally got a chance to sit down and play around with the unit this evening. Just wanted to familiarize myself with the operations and try out all 8 channels with my 16g PNY class 4 SDHC cards. I am really impressed with the unit so far and I am very much looking forward to using it in the field. I hooked up my 460s, 480s, 451's and my ck1x > tiny box rig. It looked so damn pretty I had to take a couple photos.
(http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm442/tgakidis/cables_and_interconnects/IMG_5381.jpg)
(http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm442/tgakidis/cables_and_interconnects/IMG_5386.jpg)
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That's a real purty setup you got there friend. Real purty....
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Welcome aboard Ted
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good to see all my cable makin' money is being well spent! ;)
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Nice rig. Looking forward to hearing some samples sometime, Ted!
So, you've got the lttlebox feeding into the coaxial input on the dr-680? What cable are you using for that?
Thanks.
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Nice rig. Looking forward to hearing some samples sometime, Ted!
So, you've got the lttlebox feeding into the coaxial input on the dr-680? What cable are you using for that?
Thanks.
no that's running the actives (ck1x's)... the cable is just running that direction
BTW Ted :flipa:
just kidding... it's nice to see all that AKG love in those shots
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Nice rig. Looking forward to hearing some samples sometime, Ted!
So, you've got the lttlebox feeding into the coaxial input on the dr-680? What cable are you using for that?
Thanks.
ck1x > tiny box > V3 > dr680 digi input. This set up was purely a test as I doubt 4 stereo mic pairs will be the norm for me. My plan is to have the V3 digi in be the "center piece" or work horse with the dr680 and use channels 1-6 for ambience omnis and sbd feeds. I have found that taping into the bass guitar channel on the sbd really makes a recording pop.
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Wow, lovely rig ! :)
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OK, I finally got a chance to sit down and play around with the unit this evening. Just wanted to familiarize myself with the operations and try out all 8 channels with my 16g PNY class 4 SDHC cards. I am really impressed with the unit so far and I am very much looking forward to using it in the field. I hooked up my 460s, 480s, 451's and my ck1x > tiny box rig. It looked so damn pretty I had to take a couple photos.
(http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm442/tgakidis/cables_and_interconnects/IMG_5381.jpg)
(http://i319.photobucket.com/albums/mm442/tgakidis/cables_and_interconnects/IMG_5386.jpg)
sweet pics
thanx Ted!
wow! ;D
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Anyone know if the AA batteries can be hot-swapped on the DR-680?
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Yup, you can hot swap an external battery or the internals as long as you have power to at least one of them uninterrupted.
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Oh, ok. So I need both an external and internal power source running in order to hotswap one of them.
Thanks guys.
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Looks like Tascam are adding mid-side decoding functionality in the upcoming firmware update. Wonder what else they might be including in version 1.20.
http://tascam.com/news/display/568/
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That's pretty cool.
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I was wondering what y'all are using for your digital interface in order to input channels 7 & 8. I am currently using my BM2p+ and it works just fine but now I am beginning to consider changing. I know I could use a V3 but any thing else out there that might be considered?
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The Sound Devices USB PreII looks promising: http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpre2.htm
I haven't used it, or any mixer going into the S/PDIF yet. I only just got my 680.
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The Sound Devices USB PreII looks promising: http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpre2.htm
I haven't used it, or any mixer going into the S/PDIF yet. I only just got my 680.
No there is something fishy going on with the 680 and USBPre2 interfacing.
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=139081.150
Waiting on Sound Devices Engineers and Tech to get back to me.
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Looks like Tascam are adding mid-side decoding functionality in the upcoming firmware update. Wonder what else they might be including in version 1.20.
http://tascam.com/news/display/568/
sounds fun
I was wondering what y'all are using for your digital interface in order to input channels 7 & 8. I am currently using my BM2p+ and it works just fine but now I am beginning to consider changing.
I know I could use a V3 but any thing else out there that might be considered?
love using my V3
The Sound Devices USB PreII looks promising: http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpre2.htm
I haven't used it, or any mixer going into the S/PDIF yet. I only just got my 680.
No there is something fishy going on with the 680 and USBPre2 interfacing.
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=139081.150
Waiting on Sound Devices Engineers and Tech to get back to me.
probably is the SD unit, but have you spoken with anyone at Teac yet?
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Bummer on the USB Pre II not working. Keep us posted.
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That MS news finally puts the DR-680 up against the R-44 (for those who use MS, of course - me and at least three others I can think of!)
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I have to agree.... Better pres, more tracks, 'nuff said.
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That MS news finally puts the DR-680 up against the R-44 (for those who use MS, of course - me and at least three others I can think of!)
just for the record, r44 has m/s and I guess the dr680 will too.
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This is a test to see the different characteristics of the sound of mics going straight into a Busman modified Tascam DR-680 at mic level, low gain, vs going through the Sound Devices MixPre, then into the DR-680 at line level.
Which way do you like better?
http://www.vimeo.com/16681934 (http://www.vimeo.com/16681934)
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Curious, are you M/S'rs recording the decoded L/R feed at the event or using the M/D decoder for monitoring/playback from the recorder?
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probably is the SD unit, but have you spoken with anyone at Teac yet?
Yep They think it is the SD unit. But I'll let you know more as I find out more....waiting on some replies from them
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Question for you DR-680 users: is there a function (probably via an effect setting) that allows the user to set an adjustable millisecond delay for each channel on playback? That something I'd find quite useful and is unavailable on the R-44.
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^^^ Nope no "delay" settings. But if you record tracks as mono you could put as much of a lead in space as you wanted in post. I'm wondering how you would determine the amounts of "delay" you would want in the field. I put the word delay in quotations because I think one needs to be careful, if you say delay to a FOH person they would assume you meant a delay effects unit Which is something entirely different than what you mean. Basically....if I understand you right....you want a "lag" time inserted at the beginning of a track. I guess you are trying to make adjustments for the distances between mics?
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Yes, time delay for mic placement alignment, or mics and soundboard primarily.. also used for slight but exacting delays needed for some of Michael Williams's surround configurations (the Stereo Zoom guy) as part of his multi-microphone configuration variables along with angle and spacing, in order to properly 'link' the indivual recording angle regions between mic pairs. That could all be reason to use it when recording.
In my case, I'd also use it at the playback to dial in a quick & dirty 'close-enough' sync for many of my multichannel recordings made with seperate un-synced decks with 'pretty close' but not exact start times.
Yes all that can be done in the DAW, but it's nice to bypass the computer hassle sometimes and get straight to listening.
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As for the unsynced decks, I have found that the drift is more of an issue to overcome than the start times. But back on topic the 680 will not do the type of thing you want.
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Except you need to sync start points before you can determine if drift is even an issue, and then, even if it is a problem at least I can get an idea over a song or two of where to go with it before the drift becomes aparent. Again, it's mostly for a quick-dirty playback check in that case without the computer. For the real deal, I align and stretch/shrink to match with Samplitude's Elastic Audio feature.
I use the R-44 this way sometimes as a 4 channel surround playback machine and a channel delay would be welcome. I'd do the same with the DR-680 for 5 or 6 channels.
BTW, a typical delay effect unit can do the 'lag-time' job, as long as it is set for a single delay and 100% wet output with no through dry signal. That way only the delayed signal is output, instead of dry + delayed echo.
Anyway, thanks for letting me know and apologies for the side track..
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probably is the SD unit, but have you spoken with anyone at Teac yet?
Yep They think it is the SD unit. But I'll let you know more as I find out more....waiting on some replies from them
thanks Kirk,
I noticed in the USB Pre2 thread some folks said they were having issues with their 680 locking onto digital inputs
so far neither of my units... (just received a NEW unit to replace the original) have had an issue with my V3
so I wanted to pass along that may be an isolated issue like my FRIED main board
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This is a test to see the different characteristics of the sound of mics going straight into a Busman modified Tascam DR-680 at mic level, low gain, vs going through the Sound Devices MixPre, then into the DR-680 at line level.
Which way do you like better?
http://www.vimeo.com/16681934 (http://www.vimeo.com/16681934)
Chad..to me the busman mod seems to emphasize the mids and does not have the spaciousness the SD box does. I also do not think the Rode mic is a good combo with the mixpre for whatever reason. But I don't like the Rode sound in general so I could be biased
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If you want a very close guess to the delay to add it would be 1 millisecond per foot. When I get home, I will explain more.
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Kirkd
Yes the Rode mics are a bit bright, and that gets further emphasized with the MixPre, which in the test showed to uniformly add brightness to whatever goes through it.
Chris Johnson of Busman Audio says of his DR-680 mod, "If anything on the tone, the mod makes the response more flat therefore more transparent.". He also said, " I agree that the Mixpre has a lot of color and they are known for that, at least in tapers circles. It has a mid bump and like you said loses some of the lows. I don’t think the (DR-680)mod affects the color of the pres at all, it just opens them up for better soundstage and detail while bringing the noise floor down. I am going to do some tests in the next few days on some new units coming in for mods then do some after mod tests and run analysis on them to give some data."
and
"I had a guy email me earlier then email me back after listening to the comps you posted and said he would only buy it if I could make it more detailed and transparent/ brighter. If you want transparent then you must accept what that means for better or worse. Brighter is not more transparent its just brighter.
I can make a brighter sound out of the pres but that was not what I wanted to get out of the mod. I wanted flat uncolored response and I feel I have accomplished that."
Chris will be giving me some test results on pre/post mod machines to maybe "see" what changes happen.
Cheers
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If you want a very close guess to the delay to add it would be 1 millisecond per foot. When I get home, I will explain more.
The speed of sound is 1130 feet per second. 1000 milliseconds in a second. Sound travels 1.13 feet per millisecond.
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If you want a very close guess to the delay to add it would be 1 millisecond per foot. When I get home, I will explain more.
The speed of sound is 1130 feet per second. 1000 milliseconds in a second. Sound travels 1.13 feet per millisecond.
^^
More or less. It varies depending on temperature (colder = slower) and also somewhat by humidity. At 32F sound travels around 1085 ft/s. Usually the 1 millisecond / foot of thumb is close enough for most of us.
Healy used to have weather monitoring gear up above the stage to monitor and adjust for temp and other atmosphereic conditions (humidity, pressure, wind speed, etc).. the data was digitally linked to the soundboard and recorded to a computer along with lots of other information for tweakage and post-tour analysis back in the 80's.
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If you want a very close guess to the delay to add it would be 1 millisecond per foot. When I get home, I will explain more.
The speed of sound is 1130 feet per second. 1000 milliseconds in a second. Sound travels 1.13 feet per millisecond.
1130 ft/s is at sea level and 70F. For every 1F change, the speed of sound changes by 1.1ft/s.
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Hey you guys could always just adjust for mic distance in post by lining up the wave forms.
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If you want a very close guess to the delay to add it would be 1 millisecond per foot. When I get home, I will explain more.
The speed of sound is 1130 feet per second. 1000 milliseconds in a second. Sound travels 1.13 feet per millisecond.
^^
More or less. It varies depending on temperature (colder = slower) and also somewhat by humidity. At 32F sound travels around 1085 ft/s. Usually the 1 millisecond / foot of thumb is close enough for most of us.
Healy used to have weather monitoring gear up above the stage to monitor and adjust for temp and other atmosphereic conditions (humidity, pressure, wind speed, etc).. the data was digitally linked to the soundboard and recorded to a computer along with lots of other information for tweakage and post-tour analysis back in the 80's.
Damn... I knew Dan Healy was doing some magick voodoo but that's pretty cool and weird to dial in the delay!
sweet!
--Ian
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probably is the SD unit, but have you spoken with anyone at Teac yet?
Yep They think it is the SD unit. But I'll let you know more as I find out more....waiting on some replies from them
thanks Kirk,
I noticed in the USB Pre2 thread some folks said they were having issues with their 680 locking onto digital inputs
so far neither of my units... (just received a NEW unit to replace the original) have had an issue with my V3
so I wanted to pass along that may be an isolated issue like my FRIED main board
I have this issue of locking onto digital input with my MME at 96khz> DR-680
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The Sound Devices USB PreII looks promising: http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpre2.htm
I haven't used it, or any mixer going into the S/PDIF yet. I only just got my 680.
No there is something fishy going on with the 680 and USBPre2 interfacing.
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=139081.150
Waiting on Sound Devices Engineers and Tech to get back to me.
SD should be announcing a fix soon for this problem.
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Healy used to have weather monitoring gear up above the stage to monitor and adjust for temp and other atmosphereic conditions (humidity, pressure, wind speed, etc).. the data was digitally linked to the soundboard and recorded to a computer along with lots of other information for tweakage and post-tour analysis back in the 80's.
Damn... I knew Dan Healy was doing some magick voodoo but that's pretty cool and weird to dial in the delay!
sweet!
--Ian
Ian, you may enjoy giving this a listen (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=140468.msg1816127#msg1816127). I did. He talkes about it at some point in there. I grabbed the sendspace link for it, active last week. enjoy!
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New Firmware End november
TASCAM UPDATES DR-680 WITH MID-SIDE RECORDING FEATURES
DR-680 Version 1.20 Includes Mid-Side Monitoring and Decoding
Any rumours about more implemented? Display Meter -2db to 0 db or multi channel trimmable?
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New Firmware End november
TASCAM UPDATES DR-680 WITH MID-SIDE RECORDING FEATURES
DR-680 Version 1.20 Includes Mid-Side Monitoring and Decoding
Any rumours about more implemented? Display Meter -2db to 0 db or multi channel trimmable?
Anybody that updates... can you check to see if it is still possible to run digital in on tracks 7&8 after the firmware update?
There is some talk over on GearSlutz that v 1.12 removes that option. I'm running 1.11 and I can still record from a UA-5 dig out to the DR-680. I do not want to lose that feature!
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Upps thanks fo this hint, was close to try if i can record 7&8 SPDIF and analog with Firmware installed 1.12
Think I would go nuts not knowing this issue...
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Anybody that updates... can you check to see if it is still possible to run digital in on tracks 7&8 after the firmware update?
There is some talk over on GearSlutz that v 1.12 removes that option. I'm running 1.11 and I can still record from a UA-5 dig out to the DR-680. I do not want to lose that feature!
The person reporting that has already recanted. 1.12 does not remove spdif > track 7/8 recording capability. You have to change the monitor settings to see the levels from digi-in because they are reset every time you power it off.
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/6014339-post171.html
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Ah, good.
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It works with 1.12 but Mix has to be in MON not DIN, otherwhise I dont hear the Analog source 1-2 Happy now it seems to work with my Min ME 48/24 & 88.2/24 but in 96/24 not. Maybe my fault should put the 680 system also to 96/24...
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It works with 1.12 but Mix has to be in MON not DIN, otherwhise I dont hear the Analog source 1-2 Happy now it seems to work with my Min ME 48/24 & 88.2/24 but in 96/24 not. Maybe my fault should put the 680 system also to 96/24...
Do the meters on 7&8 (with firmware 1.12) still work for the DIN source if MON is selected?
That would be cool. Because I wouldn't have to go in and reset that parameter every time I turn the recorder on and off.
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It works with 1.12 but Mix has to be in MON not DIN, otherwhise I dont hear the Analog source 1-2 Happy now it seems to work with my Min ME 48/24 & 88.2/24 but in 96/24 not. Maybe my fault should put the 680 system also to 96/24...
Do the meters on 7&8 (with firmware 1.12) still work for the DIN source if MON is selected?
That would be cool. Because I wouldn't have to go in and reset that parameter every time I turn the recorder on and off.
¨
Yes thera are on SPDIF in ok for so far...
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Great. Thanks!
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Has anyone found the release notes for 1.12?
I've had a 2 weird shutdown issues- and am hoping they may have improved some stability issues in 1.12?
Honestly though, I wonder if maybe heat can be an issue?
At the 10-30-2010 Umphrey's show, mine shut down about 3/4 of the way through the night- at 1st I thought it was battery failure, but then I noticed I still had some juice left-
I'm guessing either heat, or possibly the battery at the end of the night was not putting out enough juice to keep the DR-680 happy?
Anyone else experienced shut downs after it running for several hours? (this was about 3.5 hour into the evening?)
thanks,
Manley
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At the 10-30-2010 Umphrey's show, mine shut down about 3/4 of the way through the night- at 1st I thought it was battery failure, but then I noticed I still had some juice left-
I'm guessing either heat, or possibly the battery at the end of the night was not putting out enough juice to keep the DR-680 happy?
According to the release notes for 1.10:
• The battery monitoring method has been changed. Now, if the level momentarily goes below that which could cause misoperation (for example, when the level could cause power to analog circuits to fail), the unit now immediately executes shutdown procedures.
-
Healy used to have weather monitoring gear up above the stage to monitor and adjust for temp and other atmosphereic conditions (humidity, pressure, wind speed, etc).. the data was digitally linked to the soundboard and recorded to a computer along with lots of other information for tweakage and post-tour analysis back in the 80's.
Damn... I knew Dan Healy was doing some magick voodoo but that's pretty cool and weird to dial in the delay!
sweet!
--Ian
Ian, you may enjoy giving this a listen (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=140468.msg1816127#msg1816127). I did. He talkes about it at some point in there. I grabbed the sendspace link for it, active last week. enjoy!
hey thanx
I almost grabbed this at Lossless Legs when it was first upped - but didn't- now I am
thanx
I'll check it out
--Ian
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I noticed that the speaker is powered up whenever the unit is on and there are no headphones inserted. The manual says the output is half a Watt. Who knows how much actual power is consumed when it is sitting there spitting out hiss. An empty 1/8" adapter in the headphone socket will turn it off and hopefully reduce the power consumption.
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• The battery monitoring method has been changed. Now, if the level momentarily goes below that which could cause misoperation (for example, when the level could cause power to analog circuits to fail), the unit now immediately executes shutdown procedures.
So what happened before the firmware update?
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12 Volt LION 6.8 Ah the Tascam drinks between 340 mA and 400mA with all Phantom On relative cool running device= good sound 4.8 Watt SONY is King PCM D50 0.5 Watt. Dont make the wires Battery/Device to long 8 inch is much to long. An if you can put some Bypass Low ESR parallel to the external Supply.
Dont use the bare LIPO or better LIPOFE4. Put several 470uF/16V Rubicon black Gate Low ESR in parallel. Recomended 20 Pieces or more 470uF/16V and cut of the plastic housing from the caps. Sound depends on the capacity of the batteries size deeper internal impedance = more control, less influence the wires and the connectors, LiFePO A123 are best and safest. LION is not as good has some protection circiuts wich gives a higher internal impedance.
The secret of good sound with LiFePO4 is give easy and fast a big amount of current many amperes...
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Just-upgraded-Hiface-EVO?page=3#comment-59989
Headroom knows his stuff. Listen to him.
Any battery technology must be appended with low ESR capacitors so that the transient currents dont sag the voltage. This is what sucks the life out of your music. Also, the wiring that you run from the battery pack or the capacitor bank to the circuit is critical. Not just loose wires, and the gauge and geometry matters.
His charging guidelines are also good, although this must be evaluated for every circuit. Regulators need some headroom. If you get too close to this headroom, they will fail to regulate well, resulting in varying voltage and poor sound quality.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio
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^ What does that mean for folks using DVD batteries?
I've never had a shutdown, but don't think I've ever run mine for more than 2 hours straight.
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That's all Greek to me! Can someone break that down into layman's terms?
I work in video And I'm looking at something that can power both my DR-680, and my MixPre. Possibly a light & the camera too.
Using this Battery Distribution unit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/646088-REG/Remote_Audio_BDS1_6V3_BDS_v3_Battery_Distribution.html
And this: NP1 battery http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/389035-REG/IDX_NP_L7S_NP_L7S_NP_1_Style_Lithium_Ion.html
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12 Volt LION 6.8 Ah the Tascam drinks between 340 mA and 400mA with all Phantom On relative cool running device= good sound 4.8 Watt SONY is King PCM D50 0.5 Watt. Dont make the wires Battery/Device to long 8 inch is much to long. An if you can put some Bypass Low ESR parallel to the external Supply.
Dont use the bare LIPO or better LIPOFE4. Put several 470uF/16V Rubicon black Gate Low ESR in parallel. Recomended 20 Pieces or more 470uF/16V and cut of the plastic housing from the caps. Sound depends on the capacity of the batteries size deeper internal impedance = more control, less influence the wires and the connectors, LiFePO A123 are best and safest. LION is not as good has some protection circiuts wich gives a higher internal impedance.
The secret of good sound with LiFePO4 is give easy and fast a big amount of current many amperes...
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Just-upgraded-Hiface-EVO?page=3#comment-59989
Headroom knows his stuff. Listen to him.
Any battery technology must be appended with low ESR capacitors so that the transient currents dont sag the voltage. This is what sucks the life out of your music. Also, the wiring that you run from the battery pack or the capacitor bank to the circuit is critical. Not just loose wires, and the gauge and geometry matters.
His charging guidelines are also good, although this must be evaluated for every circuit. Regulators need some headroom. If you get too close to this headroom, they will fail to regulate well, resulting in varying voltage and poor sound quality.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Well after reading the thread, I am confused. you quoted the article that says to use caps(capacitors) but a few post down there is this post by "headroom":
LIFEPO is a good idea, I did not know that Bypassing with caps will hurt.I am a looking right now to change it in my system too.
SO it would seem that add any capacitor type setup in line to a dvd(Li-ion) is harmful.
I think that copying and pasting quotes from a thread out of context like this makes the technical information even more confusing that it is normally. And correct me if I am wrong isn't this thread that the quotes are taken from in regards to better performance out of an ac wallwart powered Digital audio converter home unit? Not for a unit that is designed to be run on batteries. We all ready know from real life experiences that the 680 will operate on voltages well below the specified 12 volts in the manual. So maybe this type of solution is of some help to an appliance that is looking for an exact voltage, what about one that operates on a range of voltages? And there is no explanation of the statement "8 inches is much too long" Too long for what, the capacitor circuits? The internal wiring that is being discussed in regards to by passing an electrical circuit originally designed for AC power? Too long for...what gauge of wire. Too long for what voltage? Too long for what amperage? I'm not sure that without more explanations and how this relates to powering up, in this case a Tascam DR-680, that this information is any help at all.
I understand the theory of capacitors smoothing a voltage ripple. But in the thread there is even a statement that seems like this particular solution is based on SLA batteries. And in fact is not helpful for Li-ion batteries. And even if I look at the link "headroom" supplied about installing caps, the ripple voltages are in the neighborhood of .08 volts. Can a ripple effect of less than a tenth of a volt really have an effect on a deck that can operate at 3 volts less than what is recommended? So I'd be interested in an in depth analysis of exactly how this relates to the Dr-680.
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That's all Greek to me! Can someone break that down into layman's terms?
I work in video And I'm looking at something that can power both my DR-680, and my MixPre. Possibly a light & the camera too.
Using this Battery Distribution unit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/646088-REG/Remote_Audio_BDS1_6V3_BDS_v3_Battery_Distribution.html
And this: NP1 battery http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/389035-REG/IDX_NP_L7S_NP_L7S_NP_1_Style_Lithium_Ion.html
what camera do you use ?
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I have a pair of Sony PMW-EX1 cameras. Power Requirements are 12VDC. Power consumption is 12.5W. Really really sweet cameras... I have a large battery that covers most things. But if I were planted in one place for a long all day situation it'd be col to hook up to a big NP1 and forget about it.
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forget about np-1
that one is bigger , good for camera and for bag for sound
http://www.globalmediapro.com/dp/A28XN3/Globalmediapro-DCU95-Battery-95WH-with-D-Tap/
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12 Volt LION 6.8 Ah the Tascam drinks between 340 mA and 400mA with all Phantom On relative cool running device= good sound 4.8 Watt SONY is King PCM D50 0.5 Watt. Dont make the wires Battery/Device to long 8 inch is much to long. An if you can put some Bypass Low ESR parallel to the external Supply.
Dont use the bare LIPO or better LIPOFE4. Put several 470uF/16V Rubicon black Gate Low ESR in parallel. Recomended 20 Pieces or more 470uF/16V and cut of the plastic housing from the caps. Sound depends on the capacity of the batteries size deeper internal impedance = more control, less influence the wires and the connectors, LiFePO A123 are best and safest. LION is not as good has some protection circiuts wich gives a higher internal impedance.
The secret of good sound with LiFePO4 is give easy and fast a big amount of current many amperes...
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Just-upgraded-Hiface-EVO?page=3#comment-59989
Headroom knows his stuff. Listen to him.
Any battery technology must be appended with low ESR capacitors so that the transient currents dont sag the voltage. This is what sucks the life out of your music. Also, the wiring that you run from the battery pack or the capacitor bank to the circuit is critical. Not just loose wires, and the gauge and geometry matters.
His charging guidelines are also good, although this must be evaluated for every circuit. Regulators need some headroom. If you get too close to this headroom, they will fail to regulate well, resulting in varying voltage and poor sound quality.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio
You got the current draw of the DR-680 right, and also the fact that voltage regulators need sufficient headroom to operate correctly.
The rest of your post is pure bullshit.
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Not entirely B.S., the advice to never use a bare lithium battery without a protection circuit is sound. Also, the new LiFePO4 batteriers are an order of magnitude less likely to experience "thermal runaway," have a much greater cycle life, and have greater energy density than regular Li-ion/poly after 1 year due to greater calendar life, so using them would definitely be "better."
-
You got the current draw of the DR-680 right, and also the fact that voltage regulators need sufficient headroom to operate correctly.
The rest of your post is pure bullshit.
[/quote]
Googel that stuff and make yourself a bit more intelligent....
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Not entirely B.S., the advice to never use a bare lithium battery without a protection circuit is sound. Also, the new LiFePO4 batteriers are an order of magnitude less likely to experience "thermal runaway," have a much greater cycle life, and have greater energy density than regular Li-ion/poly after 1 year due to greater calendar life, so using them would definitely be "better."
"Not entirely bullshit". Right, the 'purity' of the BS was contaminated by a small amount of truth!
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You got the current draw of the DR-680 right, and also the fact that voltage regulators need sufficient headroom to operate correctly.
The rest of your post is pure bullshit.
Googel that stuff and make yourself a bit more intelligent....
[/quote]
Do you mean the bit about "any battery technology" needing to have reservoir capacitors added??
Or the part where you say "8 inch is much too long" (sic) in a battery cable??
I clicked on the link you provided earlier ('Computer Audiophile') and my bullshit detector overloaded.
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Not entirely B.S., the advice to never use a bare lithium battery without a protection circuit is sound. Also, the new LiFePO4 batteriers are an order of magnitude less likely to experience "thermal runaway," have a much greater cycle life, and have greater energy density than regular Li-ion/poly after 1 year due to greater calendar life, so using them would definitely be "better."
"Not entirely bullshit". Right, the 'purity' of the BS was contaminated by a small amount of truth!
I have to say I thought the same thing. Lol :yack:
But I opted out of starting a flame war.
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Chuck, you were being sensible to hang back. kirkd and Jon were very well-mannered and rational, as they always are.
Not me I'm afraid. If I was rude to anyone, sorry, but audiophool logic makes smoke come out of my ears. >:D
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All this information stuff is coming from HighEnd Audio. Part of 30 years expirience with deep research. One of my sources is this guy:
http://www.audio-consulting.ch/?Philosophy
A new research study about new ideas/concepts:
They apear as a treat to poeple and they kling irrational to the old belive system...
And from now on I stopp sharing information.
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Looks like I'm about to pull the trigger on the DR-680 (I've been threatening to do this since it came out).
I just want to confirm I've got everything I need to get rolling and that everything I've picked out will work (minus cables and mics obviously)
1) DR-680 (another obvious item)
2) Kingston 32GB Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) Flash Card Model SD4/32GB
3) Porta Brace AR-DR680 Audio Recorder Case
4) ??? External Battery (need suggestions)
Couple of things to clear up:
Will the external pocket on the Porta-Brace bag hold a Pelican Micro Case 1010. The dimensions on this are: 5.4 x 4.1 x 2.1 inches (a little extra room would be nice).
If I can get an external battery that will also fit in the Porta-Brace bag that would be awesome. I'd like to keep everything self contained in/on the Porta-Brace. I'm running a FR2LE now with the Porta-Brace bag and I can keep everything either in or hanging from it. Very nice to have such a small setup.
The whole Porta-Brace may go out the window though, as I'm sure I will want to have more cables since I'll have the option to run up to 8 channels. Might just go with the LowePro camera bag route.
Thanks!
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It should hold your Pelican case - It easily fits my PSP-2 with alot of room to spare for the cables (similar size)
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Mike, this may be a viable option for a very small battery that will power the DR-680 for a while:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=140788.msg1821225#new
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120649414373#ht_500wt_1156
I have not used one, but the specs look good. It might be best to wait until some of the more technically minded guys chime in on it though to be sure it'll work.
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Hi all.
My first post here... :)
A small presentation...
I photograph mostly nature with a Canon 7D and I have always liked to record sounds. Now when it's possible to make HD film with the new cameras, sound has become more important. That's why I want better equipment for sound recording.
I'm about to order the dr-680, but I have a question first.
To Mike B I can say that I ordered this external battery. http://cgi.ebay.com/Portable-5V-9V-12V-DC-Rechargeable-CCTV-Li-ion-battery-/250556215504?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a565070d0 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Portable-5V-9V-12V-DC-Rechargeable-CCTV-Li-ion-battery-/250556215504?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a565070d0)
But I haven't got it yet so I don't know if it's any good.
I liked that I had 3 different voltages to choose from. 5v, 9v and 12v. It might be useful with other devices.
So my question about 680 is:
Is the 60db preamps in 680 enough for recording sounds in nature? Mostly they are very low so I wan't to know if I need a preamp as well?
Any advice is welcome.
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Sockan, for nature you may want the Bussman Audio mod that I got. it's 300.00. You can buy a new unit from Bussman Audio that is already modded. It removes any noise the (already good) preamps have, which is essential for nature recordings. In nature recordings, many times the thing you are recording is far away, and the recording level is faint, so the added bonus of reduced noise will come in very handy when you need to turn up your clip in post.
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Ok ,thanks Chadfish.
That could be something to consider.
I think I looked at their site but I couldn't see any mod option or any new modded 680?
Is this the place? http://www.busmanaudio.com/mods.html
Yes the levels is really low... mostly there is only a line in the audio editor when I open the recorded soundfile... :o using cheap gear of course.
What do you think of preamp gain? Do I need more than 60db?
This might be a stupid question... ::) If I connect a preamp with 60db of gain to the line in, will it be the same as using the built in preamps in 680? Or does it somehow add more gain?
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Sockan
Yes that's the right place. I suggest you call Chris Johnsin, owner of bussman audio, or email him about availability. He is doing the mod and he does sell new units, but hasn't updated his site yet. Tell him Chad Johnson (no relation) sent you! chris@busmanaudio.com
I don't know if you NEED 6 analogue preamps and 2 digital. You could get a modified stereo unit like a Mirantz 661 too. I am stoked with my DR680 though. And yes a preamp like a MixPre would give you some nice clean gain. You would be going into the 680 at line level from the MixPre. However the 680 has a low gain and High Gain setting. In high gain you may be good to go recording at 24bit 96k, which would give you some nice headroom to allow for adding more gain in post with less noise than in 16bit. I don't know how much more gain you would have using a MixPre over using the mic straight into the DR680 though. Someone else here will I'm sure. All I can say is that for nature recordings using gear this inexpensive, modified pres will make a noticeable difference.
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Sockan
Yes that's the right place. I suggest you call Chris Johnsin, owner of bussman audio, or email him about availability. He is doing the mod and he does sell new units, but hasn't updated his site yet. Tell him Chad Johnson (no relation) sent you! chris@busmanaudio.com
I don't know if you NEED 6 analogue preamps and 2 digital. You could get a modified stereo unit like a Mirantz 661 too. I am stoked with my DR680 though. And yes a preamp like a MixPre would give you some nice clean gain. You would be going into the 680 at line level from the MixPre. However the 680 has a low gain and High Gain setting. In high gain you may be good to go recording at 24bit 96k, which would give you some nice headroom to allow for adding more gain in post with less noise than in 16bit. I don't know how much more gain you would have using a MixPre over using the mic straight into the DR680 though. Someone else here will I'm sure. All I can say is that for nature recordings using gear this inexpensive, modified pres will make a noticeable difference.
I sent busman a mail with a few questions.
I will probably do fine with 4 tracks, but it's nice to have the possibility to plug in a few more mics.
If adding a mixpre or usbpre2 is gonna make a big difference I might have to buy one of those too...
Is it worth it? Do I get that much more gain with a sd pre?
A UsbPre2 would be nice to connect to my laptop, so it have some additional value. Does 680 work with UsbPre2 now? I noticed that SD had a new firmware update for it.
I'm not rich so I have to be careful spending the money on the things I need the most.
I have pretty much decided that I'm gonna buy the dr-680 (with or without mod), but I'm not sure about adding an external preamp yet.
If someone have tried 680 with a MixPre or UsbPre2, it would be nice to hear their opinion about it.
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I have the MixPre, and personally I like the sound better without it. I have a link to a video showing tests with different mics with & without the MixPre a few pages back. http://www.vimeo.com/16681934 But it would give you more gain if you find you need more. It's also great if you are doing audio for video, as it has great optical limiters on the input and output. It also has 2 levels of bass roll-off.
If nature is your thing, you should get the mod. I suggest you get the modded recorder first. Then after you've lived with it for a while decide if you need a preamp. The USBPre looks cool, but a guy on this thread had trouble with it, and I can't remember if he resolved his issue. reat back to see. The USBPre would also open up tracks 7/8 as a stereo track giving you the ability to use 8 mics(the 680 has 4 xlr inputs, 2 TRS, and 1 stereo S/Pdif). I don't believe you can record dual mono on 7/8. I am pretty stoked on the recorder, and it's better (soundwise & functionwise), yet cheaper than the Edirol R-44, and with the mod, only a little more than the R-44. You really can't go wrong with that thing.
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Thanks for the video link Chad.
I haven't got a reply from busman yet, but you in US have had a holiday haven't you? Thanks giving?
I really want to order one now... :p Haven't decided if I'm gonna get the mod...
Does he have any numbers on how much lower the noise will be with or without the mod? How expensive mics do you need to hear the difference? If I use a AT BP4025 stereo mic that has 14dB self noise, will the noise from the mic be much higher than the preamps in 680 original and mod so I wont hear a difference?
Have anyone tested 680 with UsbPre2 with the new firmware yet?
I noticed that Coffey sound is selling UsbPre2 for $549? I thought that everybody had to sell SD stuff with the same price ($649)?
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Sokan, those are questions best answered by Chris Johnson. But I would imagine that combining a mics self noise with noise from a preamp would result in more noise than if you used a quiet (modified) pre. And who knows if you will get a quieter mic in the future? But you can always get the mod later, though there will be the added shipping cost.
And yes it was thanksgiving on Thursday, and many people take Friday off as well.
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Ugh--had my first (mis)adventure with digi-in on my DR-680 this afternoon. I'm very confused.
I was trying to record the digital signal to channels 5/6, by switching to DIN on the I/O setting of the menu. That never seemed to work (all of my 5/6 tracks are blank). I did manage to get the digital signal to record on the 7/8 or ST channel, for a few tracks (of course, not for the headliner, grr...). The hardest part was how there were never levels showing for the digital signal--I was not expecting that, so thought something was wrong. Of course, this was the one time I did not have cans for monitoring...
Anyone out there with experience on this stuff able to walk me thru the steps for recording spdif in on these things? Can you monitor to make sure it's on? What did I do wrong for setting 5/6 for DIN? Is there any way to get it to show a level, even if you can't adjust it?
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After I ran the latest firmware update on the 680 I had to go back into the menu and reset it to display levels for the digi input on 7 & 8. That had me very confused. I'll look at the thing later on today and get back in touch with you.
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Have anyone tested 680 with UsbPre2 with the new firmware yet?
I noticed that Coffey sound is selling UsbPre2 for $549? I thought that everybody had to sell SD stuff with the same price ($649)?
I beta tested the firmware update and it worked flawlessly so I'd expect the same from the official release. As for the pricing of the USBPre2, there was another company who had posted the same price as that......Now they are selling it for more than 650. I would be wary of deals like that. Sometimes when you try to order one at the lower price, all of sudden they can't supply you with the unit and want to charge you more. You are correct that SD dealers are supposed to sell it for the same price.
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Edit: .
Have anyone tested 680 with UsbPre2 with the new firmware yet?
I noticed that Coffey sound is selling UsbPre2 for $549? I thought that everybody had to sell SD stuff with the same price ($649)?
I beta tested the firmware update and it worked flawlessly so I'd expect the same from the official release. As for the pricing of the USBPre2, there was another company who had posted the same price as that......Now they are selling it for more than 650. I would be wary of deals like that. Sometimes when you try to order one at the lower price, all of sudden they can't supply you with the unit and want to charge you more. You are correct that SD dealers are supposed to sell it for the same price.
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Hi,
Just a quick note about the DR-680 firmware upgrade V1.20 (note, this is the very new release, not the earlier V1.12). So far, the only information I've been able to find is in Japanese, but I've downloaded and installed the firmware form the Tascam Japan site and in addition to the M/S functions, the DR-680 now has ganging functions available for gain, pan and trim, including the possibility of separate ganging for groups of inputs. For example, I record in A & B-Format and M/S at the same time and I can gang inputs 1-4 for the ambisonic inputs and 5-6 separately for the M/S inputs. You just push all the channel select buttons that you want to gang at the same time and once again to de-select. Very simple.
Regards,
John
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So you are saying that instead of raise the gain on individual channels, I can hit 1&2 and raise the gain of both at the same time?
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the DR-680 now has ganging functions available for gain, pan and trim, including the possibility of separate ganging for groups of inputs
Very, very cool news!
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:clapping:
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1&2 3&4 and 5&6 can be linked together and even Mix Level is linked, in Menu Mode is MS for all 3 Stereochannels possible Input or Monitor Option....
http://tascam.jp/product/dr-680
http://translate.google.de/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=ja&tl=de&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftascam.jp%2Fproduct%2Fdr-680
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the DR-680 now has ganging functions available for gain, pan and trim, including the possibility of separate ganging for groups of inputs
Very, very cool news!
Great news! This was my main complaint about this unit. Hopefully some of our e-mails to Tascam about this feature helped to push them along to get this implemented.
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Cool! Got a link to V1/20?
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Cool! Got a link to V1/20?
3 posts above...
http://tascam.jp/product/dr-680
http://translate.google.de/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=de&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=ja&tl=de&u=http%3A%2F%2Ftascam.jp%2Fproduct%2Fdr-680
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Here's a direct link to the Japanese download area. Scroll down to the firmware section and the 1.20 upgrade is top of the list.
http://tascam.jp/product/dr-680/downloads/
Regards,
John
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The new firmware v1.20 is officially out:
http://tascam.com/product/dr-680/downloads/
on the English page.
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So I noticed that there is now a paragraph with the new firmware that states the clocks on two unites ARE NOT locked together via the cascade function ONLY the transport controls are synced. This is a big disappointment as I was under the impression when I got this that two units could be linked AND the clocks would be locked together. So now my question is. If I use the USBPre2 which will lock to an external clock, and input it into a second DR-680 will the clocks be synced then?
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EDIT: DONT BUY THE BATTERY BELOW
Maybe a good option for the Tascam 680. It is designed to power LCD screens in the wild. For the price it looks like a decent deal.
http://www.adorama.com/MHMLCDB26.html?utm_source=gbase&utm_medium=Shopping%20Site&utm_campaign=Other&utm_term=Other
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It says that it runs for 2.5 hrs.
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It says that it runs for 2.5 hrs.
It run a LCD tv for 2.5 hours. A TV pulls way way more power than the 680.
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It is 7200mAh :o
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What does that mean?
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7200 milliampere-hour divided by 400 milliampere-hour (dr-680 current draw) = 18 hours of run time in theory. In reality you'd want to multiply that number by .85 since you don't want to run the battery down to empty so you're still looking at at least 15 hours from it.
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7200 milliampere-hour divided by 400 milliampere-hour (dr-680 current draw) = 18 hours of run time in theory. In reality you'd want to multiply that number by .85 since you don't want to run the battery down to empty so you're still looking at at least 15 hours from it.
I'd be a little wary of these numbers. You're math is right (I'm willing to concede anyway, but isn't the 680 more like a 750ma draw?), but I'm afraid there might be some marketing hype in their reported specs. One part says 26 watt-hours and 12volts, the other just says 7200mah.
26watt-hrs = 26000 mW-hrs, divided by 7200mah = 3.6v, which is suspiciously close to what a single li-ion cell provides. Alternatively, 26000 mW-hr divided by 12v = 2167 mah, not 7200mah.
I'm wondering if the 2167mah at 12v is really what the battery has, and the 7200mah spec is just marketing BS, meaning the battery internally uses 7200mah of 3.6v/3.7v li-ion cells, that then need to be stepped up to 12v using a step up circuit. If this is the case, the battery may only provide 2167mah at 12v, or about 5 hours of use.
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7200 milliampere-hour divided by 400 milliampere-hour (dr-680 current draw) = 18 hours of run time in theory. In reality you'd want to multiply that number by .85 since you don't want to run the battery down to empty so you're still looking at at least 15 hours from it.
I'd be a little wary of these numbers. You're math is right (I'm willing to concede anyway, but isn't the 680 more like a 750ma draw?), but I'm afraid there might be some marketing hype in their reported specs. One part says 26 watt-hours and 12volts, the other just says 7200mah.
400ma seemed low to me, actually, but that's what was previously mentioned so I went with it. 750ma seems more realistic. Thx for the correction. ;)
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There is also the phantom power consideration, right? 6 Channels of mics with phantom uses up more power then 6 channels of line in.
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There is also the phantom power consideration, right? 6 Channels of mics with phantom uses up more power then 6 channels of line in.
that should be a good question to email Tascam. how much power does each pair of channels consume when sending 48V phantom power.
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It's all greek to me. I'm a simple man. I just need to be pointed to a simple battery and cable to use for the 680. Something tested and proved worthy by the tapers, and reasonably priced.
As for the backlight staying on... I've read a lot of threads and can't remember the specifics, but I thought I read that you can turn it off, but the menu item for that was named in a way that was somewhat misleading.
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It's all greek to me. I'm a simple man. I just need to be pointed to a simple battery and cable to use for the 680. Something tested and proved worthy by the tapers, and reasonably priced.
I think that is what people are trying to figure out
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There is also the phantom power consideration, right? 6 Channels of mics with phantom uses up more power then 6 channels of line in.
that should be a good question to email Tascam. how much power does each pair of channels consume when sending 48V phantom power.
Agreed, tascam's input would be good. But as a guess:
My 680 operates off of a 9v battery, so that voltage needs to be stepped up to 48v. Phantom spec is up to 10ma per mic, though many are in the 2-6ma range (usu lower). Assume 6ma/mic to be somewhat conservative, and assume the 9v>48v step up is 80% efficient, that leads to ~80ma phantom draw per mic pair, or ~250ma phantom draw for 6 mic inputs. Half that if you're mics are only drawing 3ma per mic.
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http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/503090-REG/Tekkeon_MP3450_MP3450_myPower_ALL_Universal.html/
I've been using this Tekkeon MP3450 with great results. I recorded for 2 1/2 hours with 6 mics all with phantom power on and it only went down 2 notches. I recorded another 2 hours with 4 mics with phantom on and it went down another 2 notches. At that point, I recharged it. It went down in price to $99 at B&H.
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It's all greek to me. I'm a simple man. I just need to be pointed to a simple battery and cable to use for the 680. Something tested and proved worthy by the tapers, and reasonably priced.
I think that is what people are trying to figure out
And I'm so grateful for that! I know a lot of stuff, but electricity and the numbers and math etc. just triggers my dyslexia and I go "Duhhhh..."
I wonder about connection cables too. I was researching the R-44 for a long time before I saw the light, and there was a reversed polarity issue you had to watch for when battery powering that machine. With these DVD batteries and the 680, does the battery just come with a power cable to run from the battery to the 680? Do I need to buy a specific cable?
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It seems most portable devices have reverse polarity. Doesn't the dr680?
The instruction manual for the tekkeon 3450 states NOT to use the battery with reverse polarity devices (like the r44) but to email support. When you do, they just advise to rotate the plug 180 degrees which will reverse the polarity.
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It seems most portable devices have reverse polarity. Doesn't the dr680?
The instruction manual for the tekkeon 3450 states NOT to use the battery with reverse polarity devices (like the r44) but to email support. When you do, they just advise to rotate the plug 180 degrees which will reverse the polarity.
So rastasean, you do have to reverse the way you plug in any adapter to use with external batteries?
I have read of people frying their R-44s, but never the DR-680. But I think people were having to cut their power wires and rewire them so as not to fry the recorder. I'm looking for something that just works, and is not easy to confuse by plugging in something wrong like a tip to a power cable, and potentially fry my recorder.
Johnmuge: The Tekkeon MP3450 looks pretty cool, though the reviews have some quality control issues mentioned. If I could get a solid 6 hours with (6 mics phantom) out of the battery I would be happy, even more happy with 10hrs. Do you have to plug in the tip attachment a special way (reversed) for it to work?
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I didn't want to deal with all of those tips so I had Ted (tgakidis) make me up a custom power cable with the correct ends.
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Good to know!
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Good to know!
Like others said, get Ted's cable or understand what reverse polarity sign looks like.
Since the DR680 does not need reverse polarity, the tekkeon would work fine.
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Oh I understand what reverse polarity looks like. I just don't want to fiddle in the dark with a tip that, if plugged in wrong, will fry my machine like on the R-44.
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FWIW, I have plugged the wrong tip into my R-44. UA-5 & my DR-680 and other than the fact it would not power up there were no problems. Not sure where you got the information that it would "fry" it. Most decent decks can handle an inverted tip with no ill effects.
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I read here on an R-44 forum that at least one person's r-44 stopped working when they plugged in the wrong power cable tip.
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I read here on an R-44 forum that at least one person's r-44 stopped working when they plugged in the wrong power cable tip.
I believe that the fried R44 was the wrong voltage, not tip. I've plugged mine in backwards with no ill effects.
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Here is sort of an answer that I got from tascam:
2010-12-17 19:57:45
Hello louie,
Thank you for contacting TASCAM.
Our customer support representative, NFaison, has written
the following response to your message:
Louie,
We don't have that exact information.
However, the specification for power consumption with phantom power being used is 9 watts.
Thank you for your interest in TASCAM products.
Below is a copy of the message that you submitted:
Support Reference Code: EL4JUEFX
Support Request Type: Pre-Sales Information
Product: DR-680
Your Question:
when in record mode, how much power do each pair of channels consume when phantom 48V is on and how much when they are off. Also, if you are only using channels 1-4 do channels 5-8 consume power? thanks for your help in advance.
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The amount of current consumed is going to depend on what microphones are plugged in. If you really need to know, plug in your mics and use an ammeter between the deck and battery to get an exact number.
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I usually carry an ammeter around with me everywhere I go. Couldn't you check the mic specs for the draw of the mic?
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I usually carry an ammeter around with me everywhere I go.
Me too. I have a little Radio Shack DMM that I always have in my bag.
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I was joking sorry.
<<<<Has never used and ammeter
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I was joking sorry.
<<<<Has never used and ammeter
lol
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Mid-side setting?
Just tried the new decoder last night, pretty cool! Loved being able to adjust the pan mix. I'm wondering if there is a standard setting for the mid vs side mix. 50? And does 50 on the 680 necessarily mean 50% of each? I was running matched 414's with the mid set at cardiod.
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Hey I'm thinking about getting this battery for my Sony EX1 camera. Could this also be used to power the DR-680? I know I can get a cheaper battery just for the 680, but it would be nice if I could get away with just buying one battery for both.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/655645-REG/Switronix_EX_L96_EX_L96_14_4v_96W_Lithium_Ion.html
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I am not sure but the 14.4 seems to be on the high end of voltages. If you consider that they will work on 9 volts which is 3 volts less than specified you might be able to guesstimate that it would work on 3 volts more than 12 which puts you at 15 volts. Then again there is the worry about an over voltage situation which is much worse than an under voltage situation if you go to trial and error.
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Hey I'm thinking about getting this battery for my Sony EX1 camera. Could this also be used to power the DR-680? I know I can get a cheaper battery just for the 680, but it would be nice if I could get away with just buying one battery for both.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/655645-REG/Switronix_EX_L96_EX_L96_14_4v_96W_Lithium_Ion.html
You're much better off with one of these, plus they're $50 cheaper. They have a bag full of tips to fit just about any piece of equipment also. I own two of them and they're great.
http://www.batterygeek.net/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=10-14-100_Batterygeek
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My desire is to have a battery for my EX1 that I can also use on my recorder. I just want to know if the battery posted for my camera will work on the 680. I don't know about the voltage stuff. I am aware I can buy a battery just for the 680.
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for 35% of the cost of the battery geek, you can get this 7200mAh:
Maybe a good option for the Tascam 680. It is designed to power LCD screens in the wild. For the price it looks like a decent deal.
http://www.adorama.com/MHMLCDB26.html?utm_source=gbase&utm_medium=Shopping%20Site&utm_campaign=Other&utm_term=Other
115 Watt-hours for $200 comes out to about $1.75/Watt-hour
26 Watt-hours for $70 comes out to about $2.70/Watt-hour
So one battery costs less simply because it has about 1/4 the total energy of the other but it is actually more expensive per unit of energy. You can't just compare the capacity because a unit like the DR-680 has a switching regulator at the input and excess voltage is not wasted. Also, both of those batteries have a regulated output which isn't necessary with the '680 because of said regulator. So you're wasting around 8-20% of the energy contained in the cells dropping from 14.8V to 12V.
Also, I think the 7.4 amp hour figure came from adding up the capacity of all the cells instead of only adding up the cells/batteries wired in parallel. 7.4Ah x 12V == 86Wh but they only claim 26 watt/hours.
Capacity when new is only part of the story. Batteries don't last forever and can't be recharged an infinite number of times. How long and how many times depends on the chemistry. A LFP battery like the ones on the page below have 5-10 times greater cycle and calendar life, so over the lifetime of the battery it is much, much less expensive than any regular Li-Ion or Li-Poly battery like the two above. Even if you consider that it doesn't come with a charger. Also LFP is much safer because if damaged or shorted it won't burst into crazy unstoppable fire that will destroy your gear, fill the air with noxious smoke, and get tapers banned from the venue.
http://www.batteryspace.com/12-8v-lifepo4-battery-packs-from-3.3ah-to-6ah.aspx
The above batteries are even cheaper per Watt-hour than the batteries you guys are talking about, one is only $1.04/Wh. Even when you don't consider calendar life, cycle life, or safety it is a better deal and remains so when you factor in a connectors and a charger. It is definitely time to switch to LiFePO4 batteries!
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I thought quite a bit about those LiFePO4 batteries on batteryspace, and am just about to pull the trigger on some kind of new battery solution. The LiFePO4 batteries have had me worried since they do not come with a pc board integrated to control charge/discharge and prevent over charging and over dis-charging.
Are those not worries for the LiFeO4 chemistry? Do I need to be concerned that the batteryspace LiFePO4 batteries do not have the integrated PCB? I'd love more input on this, I'm just not as familiar with the chemistry.
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No, all of the batteries on that page except for one have a PCB installed that protects against short circuit, over charge, and over discharge. They say "with PCB" or "w/o PCB." I can confirm that the ones that say they have a protection circuit do in fact have some sort of PCB installed under the shrink wrap.
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I loke the looks / price of the Manhattan House Brand 12V linked above. If the thing lasts more than 6 hours I'd be happy. How long should it last with a 680 at full bore (6 phantom mics recording)? Those little batteries that look like Duracell wrapped in plastic look kind of sketchy but I'm ignorant about batteries. I just want some bang for my buck and long record times...
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Cells come in (at least) two types of packages, metal cans and plastic pouches. The ones with plastic pouches require some external hard case and that is what the Manhattan House Brand battery is using (as do laptop batteries.) The shrink wrapped batteries from BatterySpace are made from cells in metal cans and don't need another hard case. The shrink wrap does seem a little thin though. They sell shrink wrap, including really tough rubberized shrink, and I think you can have your batteries custom made that way or add more shrink yourself, it's not very difficult.
I recently replaced all of my batteries with LFP from BatterySpace/Powerizer but I have nothing to do with them. If you find LFP batteries that are more to your taste somewhere else then you should go for it. For all the reasons I mentioned above, however, you should only consider LFP chemistry batteries no matter where you get them from.
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When you guys get it figured out, I'd love to have a low cost powering solution.
I figure to get about another year out of my DVD "Wally" batteries. They are getting harder to find and are more expensive than they used to be.
I've made some battery packs to hold AA NiMH re-chargeable batteries. I'm happy to use those until a better power back-up comes along.
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Not all the BatterySpace batteries are shrink wrapped, this one comes in a metal box that is the same size as the 12V/7Ah lead-acid gel-cell bricks that we used to use in the 90's and is meant to be a drop-in replacement. Due to the greater calendar and cycle life, this battery is actually cheaper than a $20 lead-acid battery over its lifetime!
http://www.batteryspace.com/lifepo426650battery128v66ah84wh25arateinaluminum-boxwithpcbandprewire.aspx
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DONT BUY the Manhattan LCD battery
The battery was designed for the Manhattan LCD screens which draw 20Watts. However in this case according to Tascam confirmed that the draw is 9Watts with phantom engaged.
this is what I have come up with:
I determined what the Amps are using this calculator: http://www.jobsite-generators.com/power_calculators.html
Battery life calculator here: http://jamesrbass.com/batterylife.htm
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The Tekkeon MP3450 is rated as follows: Capacities Details: 10000 mAh @ 5VDC 8300 mAh @ 6VDC 6600 mAh @ 7.5VDC 5500 mAh @ 9VDC 4100 mAh @ 12VDC 3500 mAh @ 14VDC 3100 mAh @ 16VDC 2600 mAh @ 19VDC .
data taken from here: http://www.nextag.com/Tekkeon-MP3450-Mypower-ALL-550919311/specs-html
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TRIPLE POST MELT!
Another battery in question is the Batterygeek BG-9-12-130 which is rated at 14400mAh so taking into effect 70% efficiency the estimated battery life is: 13.44 hours. That is assuming that mAh rating is based on 12V (which it probably is not).
Tekkeon 4100mAh = $100
edit:
Manhattan 7200mAh = $68<<don't buy this one
BG 14400mAh = $250
if you buy two Manhattan for $136 you are saving $114 and have the same amount of runtime.
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Who's the batterygeek now? ;)
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well. the 26wh rating was from the manufacturer which means the manhattan battery sucks and will only make it a couple of hours.
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After look around here is another battery I found from Batteryspace
http://www.batteryspace.com/polymerli-ionboxbattery12v-132v74wh4aratewregulatorandlowbatteryalertsmartchargertrail-techplug.aspx
74Wh rating and comes with smart charger for $130
74watt hours / 9watts = 8.22 hours x 70% = 5.75 hours
(http://www.batteryspace.com/productimages/batteries/4159.jpg)
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I am not sure but the 14.4 seems to be on the high end of voltages. If you consider that they will work on 9 volts which is 3 volts less than specified you might be able to guesstimate that it would work on 3 volts more than 12 which puts you at 15 volts. Then again there is the worry about an over voltage situation which is much worse than an under voltage situation if you go to trial and error.
http://www.globalmediapro.com/dp/A296Q4/Globalmediapro-SC1-1-channel-Mini-Charger-2-x-Globalmediapro-DCU95-Battery-95WH-with-D-Tap/
much better option , 2 + charger , 190 watt total
good for ex and tascam
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Have you actually run 14.8 volts into your DR-680? I thought one of the questions was if the DR-680 can truly handle almost 3 volts over the rated power supply of 12.0 volts @ 2.5 amps/30 watts maximum, which is what the Tascam PS1225L power supply puts out. Anybody run more than 12 volts into their 680 yet?
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Well, now I want to buy a DR-680, but I don't even tape shows or concerts! ! This summer I would like to record some thunder storms. Already I have purchased a Rode NT4, , a AT822, Sony MDR7506 cans, and a M10, Now I want this. Have I lost it?
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The Dr680 may be good but don't get carried away just yet. Perhaps you can get a used sound devices mp2 / mixpre / MM-1 (although that's only one channel) or naiant littlebox to capture the thunderstorms.
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Link to new thread TASCAM DR-680 portable 8-track #3:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=141730.0
would be nice to lock this one down