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Gear / Technical Help => Recording Gear => Topic started by: carlbeck on June 10, 2015, 08:16:27 AM
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I'm thinking of picking up a small deck for an easy compact rig I'm putting together. I like the four channel ability of the DR2D if I want a board feed in addition to my main pair of Mics or two sets of Mics but it almost seems like I should buy the 70D even though I don't really need XLR inputs since I can use the 1/8" tape out on my FP24. Does it still make sense to buy the older Tascam that may be getting long in the tooth vs the newest latest & greatest? I could use some input either way, thanks.
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I have a dr2d you can buy, I only used it once to test it out. The dr70 has a better form factor for running in a bag, IMHO, and pretty straight forward for running 4 channels.
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It's a personal call, but I'd recommend the 70D for open taping, and the DR2d if you need four channels to fit in a pocket.
Outside of a pocket, the 70D isn't that much bigger than the DR2d and offers far more features and adjustability. I'm a huge fan of the Dr2d, and really hope Tascam or some other manufacturer makes a pocket-able replacement with 4 to 8 channel PIP/line-input for it somewhere down the road. I'm not holding my breath though.
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If you need 4 channels to fit in your pocket, 2d is still the only unit that does that. Otherwise, the other units are easier to use and offer XLR.
Both the 60d and the 70d have 1/8 stereo inputs, and they both use 4580 op amps on those inputs. The 60d 1/8 inputs are ganged. The 70d aren't at the present and won't be unless Tascam releases firmware to make it happen. I did a comparison earlier this week and on a preliminary basis, found the 60d better on 1/8 input, but the testing led me to a question about the 70d gain levels.
The question I haven't resolved arose because I tested the 60d on HIGH (it's highest setting on 1/8) and tested the 70d on HIGH Plus (it's highest setting on 1/8). I found the 70d just a bit shrill and it made think I probably need to retest with the latest firmware at the HIGH setting. I'm not sure if there was a fault in my testing or if there is something about the relative combination of gain level and gain pot on the 70d. I haven't resolved it in my own mind.
60d has that block of butter shape, but has manual controls over phantom power/line in/mic and manual control over the camera out line. The camera out line can be adjusted during recording on the 60d, but apparently not on the 70d except via adjusting the gain of the mics going into the 70d.
Neither the 60d nor the 70d has the scroll wheel thing on the 2d which I never liked on it or the 680.
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The main advantage of the 2d (imo) that I'll add to what has been stated above is that it has internal mics.
The DR-2d was my first deck, and I own a bunch of them now. If you are concerned about size, this deck is a great 4-channel recorder.
The 60d and 70d supply 48v phantom power, which the 2d doesn't.
I always carry this unit with me - it has given me options in many tricky circumstances.
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Well, all the recorders mentioned in this thread have internal mics [edit, not true, 60D apparently doesn't, see following posts]
The DR2d rocks, but I don't consider it a great 4-channel recorder at all, rather, to my way of thinking it is a 2-channel recorder with the welcome but very limited capability of recording 4-channels as two stereo pairs, is capable of fitting into a pocket, capable of running 5 hrs on internal batteries, satisfies my sound quality requirements, and is inexpensive. Since no other recorder has that same feature set, it automatically wins the "4-channels in a pocket" category by default. Other than that it's actually pretty terrible as a 4 channel recorder. But it works and there are no other contenders for it to compete with.
IMO the R-44 is a great 4 channel recorder. And although I've only handled them a few times and do not own either, both the DR60 and DR70 seem far more capable, adjustable and easier to use as four-channel recorders than the DR2d.
[edit]- Here's an analogy: I use a DR-680 and am very happy with it. In my opinion, the DR-680 is not a very good 8-channel recorder. It is a very good 6 channel recorder which has the capability of recording a total of 8-channels of input, awkwardly. Similarly the DR2d is a good 2-channel recorder which can be pressed into service to record 4-channels, awkwardly. They can do those things, but they can't do them "great".
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[edit]- Here's an analogy: I use a DR-680 and am very happy with it. In my opinion, the DR-680 is not a very good 8-channel recorder. It is a very good 6 channel recorder which has the capability of recording a total of 8-channels of input, awkwardly. Similarly the DR2d is a good 2-channel recorder which can be pressed into service to record 4-channels, awkwardly. They can do those things, but they can't do them "great".
I think this sums it up best, I also have a DR-680 as my main deck but having something small that is powered off of two batteries that I can do four channel if necessary is really all I want it for. For the normal recording I do the 680 is perfect but having something small for certain occasions that I can take a board feed with makes the DR2D the perfect choice for me. Thanks for all the help guys.
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I have a DR-60(mkI), which does not have any internal mics. Sorry, I made the false conclusion about the DR-70, which does. Perhaps 'handy' would have been a better descriptor than ‘great.’ :)
I have recorded with the DR-2d internals mics many times in certain small environments/emergency situations with happy results (I guess as the only taper there that can be hard to qualify.)
I also use a DR-680 as my main deck. The DR-2d is ‘cool’ for grabbing a board feed when it isn’t possible to reach from where my audience mics are. Many of the bands I tape have their soundboard on the stage; with the 2d I can run stage lip and sbd.
I have also placed the 2d at stage lip using internal mics, and plugged sbd line in. My thrill with the deck is its versatility and ease of use.
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My bad, I just assumed the DR60 had internal mics since almost every other Tascam does, at least all of them mentioned here. Thanks for the heads up.