Topic: Edirol R44/4 VS. Tascam DR680

[cashandkerouac]

just wait.... you can always use the channels if you try... 

i'm sure i could.  that's what i'm afraid of.   

[capnhook]

Nobody here on TS apparently has one as far as I can tell but a couple people on Gearslutz have them and seem to be saying positive things.

Good to hear, thanks.

[Ultfris101]

it almost feels  like I've developed an emotional attachment to my R-44. I find myself staring at my bag during a show sometimes and thinking how happy it makes me to have such a solid machine in there. this after only a beer or two as well 

Been thinking about a 4+ channel second recorder lately. 680 prices are very tempting and seems like many people find the pres cleaner than the r-44 but the r-44 is just so reliable.

And R-88... I've seen and fiddled a bit with Page's hs-p82 and it's very nice. I especially like the double cf cards and the results can't be argued with, but I feel loyal to Roland now! Not in the budget now in any case tho so  decision I can put off.

[page]

it almost feels  like I've developed an emotional attachment to my R-44.

I can understand that, I had a similar reaction with my 722. It was sort of a bittersweet day when I decided to buy the hs-p82.

To be fair, I don't have brand loyalty, I have brand affinity (hence why I own a tascam now and not a 788). I have a set of values, a budget, and a goal. Once I reconcile the order of priority there, I pick the best tool for the job with only minor consideration for brand specifics.

[acidjack]

I'm the resident hater of the DR-680 here, based on the now-three bricked decks I have owned or been involved with, including one that was used only indoors on AC power and bricked after less than a month.

In my experience:

R-44: Simpler, more reliable controls, simpler menus, rock solid
680:  More complex controls (just read the what, six + pages of threads of people trying to figure out basic things), significant powering issues, finicky digital input, generally unreliable.

The 680 has four more channels for half the price, assuming you can get it to work reliably. That's the argument for it, plain and simple. In my experience, you get what you pay for.

If you just want a bunch of channels and don't really care about losing recordings here or there or having things mysteriously not work or having the deck just die, then at half the price for twice the channels the 680 is an awesome deal. Some of the folks here use them are professionals, IIRC, and I wouldn't discount their opinions by any means. I can only speak to my experience, and unless someone here works for Tascam corporate, everyone else here can only speak to theirs.

The accepted norm here, whether right or wrong, is that once there is enough of that anecdotal information about a product, you have something to go on. That presumption has led to things over time like none of the folks here using Zoom recorders, even though Zoom makes reasonably priced decks with lots of features (which lots of other tapers that don't read this site seem perfectly happy to use, BTW). To me, the DR-680 (not necessarily everything made by Tascam, though arguably, a lot of things made by Tascam) is in the same category as their products.

[lukpac]

Re: 680:

generally unreliable

I don't think that's a fair assessment. Yes, some people have had issues, but they seem to be relatively isolated. I'll keep my fingers crossed, but I've been using mine for several months without any issues.

And even the controls are pretty straightforward for most tasks. Arming channels, setting levels, setting up a mix, etc is all a piece of cake.

[Gutbucket]

I own and use both and consider the 680 to be reliable, as long as it's not a problematic one out of the gate.  The R44 is undoubtedly simpler and easier to use, but that's not why it's the one I take for more demanding environments when 4 channels is enough.

[yltfan]

Perhaps we need to have a R44 vs DR680 demolition derby to settle this extremely tedious debate once and for all.

[capnhook]

I own and use both and consider the 680 to be reliable, as long as it's not a problematic one out of the gate.  The R44 is undoubtedly simpler and easier to use, but that's not why it's the one I take for more demanding environments when 4 channels is enough.

Lee, you didn't actually say why...

[Gutbucket]

OK- Smaller, simpler, less to go wrong, faster to record, no reported hot weather problems, simplier file structure that does not require writing any system files or folders to use any properly formatted SC card, proven reliable for me in year-in/year-out for years, including 5 years at Bear Creek way FOB or stage-lip in the the very thick of it for 4+ days of dusty, cold, hot, bag/stand quickly lifted out of the way as horn players jump off the stage and over it or if something else happens and I need to bolt, vibrating impact zone conditions with the lightweight portable surround rig.

When I take the 680 it outside, it stays put in the big bag under the staked down stand.

[cashandkerouac]

I'm the resident hater of the DR-680 here, based on the now-three bricked decks I have owned or been involved with, including one that was used only indoors on AC power and bricked after less than a month.

i'm not quite a DR-680 "hater", but my experience was also bad.  i had two of them and when using external power (and not just with a Tekkeon) both units would overheat and shutdown after about an hour of use.  if i let the 680 sit for about 10 minutes it would come back to life, but it was consistently unreliable.  as someone else stated, if you get a DR-680 that works right out of the gate you're probably ok.  i wasn't willing to gamble with a third DR-680 so i switched to a R-44.  the R-44 has been a totally reliable workhorse.  for me, the extra money that i paid for the R-44 is more than worth the peace of mind.   

[capnhook]

OK- Smaller, simpler, less to go wrong, faster to record, no reported hot weather problems, simplier file structure that does not require writing any system files or folders to use any properly formatted SC card, proven reliable for me in year-in/year-out for years, including 5 years at Bear Creek way FOB or stage-lip in the the very thick of it for 4+ days of dusty, cold, hot, bag/stand quickly lifted out of the way as horn players jump off the stage and over it or if something else happens and I need to bolt, vibrating impact zone conditions with the lightweight portable surround rig.

When I take the 680 it outside, it stays put in the big bag under the staked down stand.

See, now don't you feel better to get that all out..? 

[Gutbucket]

I treat the DR-680 more gingerly since I'm aware of the problems others have had with it, thanks to this site.  Ironically, my DR-680 is behaving fine and the R44 has been having problems recently, but my R-44 has many more miles on it.  The first R44 issue I had was an intermittant card recognition problem and cleaning the card reader contacts with deoxit took care of that, the current issue is a power up problem.  It takes lots of power button pressing to and "warming up of the blue power button light" get it to boot.  I suspect a dirty switch contact or bad power supply capacitor but haven't looked into it yet.

All the the reliability data points we have on these machines are based around the anecdotal reports of individual users.  No singular experinece or opinion is determines truth here, but one can determine trends in the collective experinces of everyone who reports in these threads, and I think that's what is most useful.

It's ultimately the reader's responsibility to make that differentiation.  Some posters will extrapolate their singular experience to apply broadly, instead of being one datapoint among others here.  Of course when a few members have multiple units fail on them, that makes their experience more influential to my opinion of, and comfort level with, the equipment in question.

[yltfan]

I'm pretty rough with my DR680. A month ago, I taped in a downpour. Two weeks ago, it was a moshpit. I frequently run it with dvd batteries, and usually forget to load up the aa's. I'm bad with my media--rarely formatting cards. I'm reluctant to say this, since it will most likely jinx me, but the only problem I have EVER had was with an SD card, NEVER with the deck. For me, switching from the R44 to the DR680 has definitely been the right call.

[dallman]

I treat all my decks with equal good care, but just being surrounded by lots of alcohol fueled people always means there is danger afoot.  My DR680 has never had an issue. I own quite a few Tascam decks and quite a few in general. I do not find the deck flimsy or fragile at all. I know from user reports that this might not be the best deck in a bag covered up on a 100 plus degree day, and I also know not to use a Tekkeon variable voltage battery, both valuable insights. That said, I do keep AA's in the unit and I expect it to perform and it always has. I find the Sony M10 far more fragile, having to worry about the card being seated correctly, being careful with the battery door, recording levels and switches needing to be taped in place, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt.