Topic: any new (last 2 years) good bit buckets out there?

[jerryfreak]

been out of the loop. both my pdaudio and MTII have their ups and downs and i need something that is compact and at least as reliable as say a VX pocket....

dont need flashy features, just needs to work day in and day out.

so far ive been poking around on the forums and the tascam dr100 mkII seems like the only real option but it has the following shortcomings:

-battery life sucks
-SPDIF input compatibility issues

the latter concerns me because my AD2K is not exactly a newer unit.

[F.O.Bean]

been out of the loop. both my pdaudio and MTII have their ups and downs and i need something that is compact and at least as reliable as say a VX pocket....

dont need flashy features, just needs to work day in and day out.

so far ive been poking around on the forums and the tascam dr100 mkII seems like the only real option but it has the following shortcomings:

-battery life sucks
-SPDIF input compatibility issues

the latter concerns me because my AD2K is not exactly a newer unit.

If you EVER get SBD patches or run more than 1 pair of mics, I would just save up a little more than the Tascam DRmkII and get a Tascam DR-680. Thats what my taping partner and great friend, Steve Toney aka Tonedeaf did was bought a 680 for the digi signal coming out of his AD2K He had ALL KINDS of syncing problems when running AD2K>Tascam DR100MKII and consistently had dropouts and I often had to let him use my source to patch his dropouts. And the Tascam 680s are REALLY CHEAP right now. I believe theyre around $400-$450ish BRAND NEW I am waiting until this fall and then buying a Tascam DR-680 so I can do mk4/mk41 comps. I would own one now but I NEED [2] M10s for festie season so I can run at 2 different stages

This fall I'll be running:

mk41>kcy>littlebox[OT]>680 and
mk4>kcy>littlebox[OT]>680 and
SBD>680

at least at shows where I'm allowed to get a patch from the SBD But I'll mostly run both the mk41 AND mk4 setups indoors for comps. I dont matrix my [2] DAUD sources. I just like to enjoy them each on their own

[yug du nord]

Marantz PMD661
Not huge..  but not tiny. 
Very solid IMO.

[H₂O]

The only new sub $750 recorders I know of with SPDIF in are the
 
Tascam DR-100mkii
Marantz PMD-661mkii (which is Idemtical to the original except some firmware changes)


I think the microtrack II is the only other "bit bucket" that is around the same size


If your looking for just a bit bucket and size is not important you can get a Tascam hd-p2 used cheap ~ $300-400 or a dr-680 for ~ $400-500 used or new (on sale they have sold new for about $429)

You can also get a Sony PCM-D50 (optical in/out) used for under $400 and sometimes under $300


For $429 to get upto 8 channels + SPDIF in it's hard to pass up




IMO the marantz is a bit overpriced at this point

[jerryfreak]

HOLY SCHNIEKIES!

$500 for that unit seems just absurd. looks like a great buddy to the ad2k.....

where are you guys seeing them for $429, i cant find anything thats not a refurb under $500

[stevetoney]

HOLY SCHNIEKIES!

$500 for that unit seems just absurd. looks like a great buddy to the ad2k.....

Yeah, I'd go with the 680 at around $500 or so to match with the AD2K.  I was lucky as sh** when I found mine on ebay for $375 BIN shipped, which I bought from a professional movie guy who used it for a couple of projects, and it doesn't have a scratch on it.

I do want to comment though about the DR100mkii.  The battery life doesn't suck.  It's only in a comparison against the Sony M10 that the battery life loses, but then all handheld units lose in in a battery life comp against the M10.  In fact, the DR100MKii has a really unique powering scheme (it switches automatically from internal Li-ion to AA or vice versa) that I think is better than almost anything that's out there.  I get roughly 7 or 8 hours from a pair of AAs and the internal Li-ion. I think that's pretty good.  Most handhelds get around 4 or 5 hours from a pair of AAs.  The M10 is awesome and gets something like 20 to 24.

That said, if you want to power mics with phantom without using only the internal batteries, the low voltage cutout is set too high and the unit prematurely cuts out.  The cut out seems to be caused by the higher current draw which drags the voltage down, especially on older rechargeable batteries that have a high internal resistance.  That is an ongoing problem with that unit...which unfortunately Tascam hasn't fixed by a firmware update even though they did so on the predecessor DR100.  Some people are not informed of this problem so they say the battery life sucks, but we've figured out how to get around this premature voltage cutoff if you REALLY want to use this unit to power mics (you need to use higher voltage zinc rechargeable AAs...ni-mh's are lower voltage and they get to the cutout voltage too soon...or of course just use high capacity externals.)

Also I'm not sure where it's been reported that it has compatibility problems with SPDIF, but that's false information.  It takes SPDIF fine.  It does NOT take AES/EBU. 

That said, I had problems with the mini-TRRS 2.5mm connector.  As far as I know, I'm so far the only person that I know that had an issue with the connector, but because of my experience, I wouldn't trust it.  Others have had fine luck with it so YMMV...though I'm sure most will agree that an RCA connect (such as provided on almost every other smallish dekc) is a more robust connetor thath hasn't shown any issues with looseness. 

[jerryfreak]

interesting. so the dropouts with the ad2k were due to cabling issues, not format issues

oddly enough, thats the EXACT reason im moving away from the pdaudio, it works but 3.5mm trrs minijack for digi in is not robust enough for the field imo.

[stevetoney]

Yes, absolutely cabling.  I've closely compared notes though with dallman (cliff) and he hasn't had any problems using his DR100MKii as a bitbucket.  My issue was that after I got set up and rolling, the connection wasn't robust enough and the deck was sensitive to movement.  So if my bag got jostled or if I wanted to pick the deck up and say press the hold button, I might lose synch.  There are no 2.5mm right angle connectors out there, so I made a right angle mini-TRRS cable thinking that would do the trick.  The thoughts were that I could tie the cable to the deck by sinching it down with a rubber band, but that didn't work for me either.  It was just too sensitive...or I geuss probably the issue was the socket was too loose.  I think that was the bottom line issue for me...soemwhere along the way, I must have put a little too much side pressure on the socket connector and I think the metallic clips or whatever are on the inside of the socket must have loosened a little bit.  At least that's what it seems. 

Since I got a 680 for less than what I bought my first handheld for, I never fully diagnosed what the issue was on the other unit.  I still have it though because I think it's a pretty solid unit for what it costs. 

[stevetoney]

One more comment.  I used a straight cable for over a year with the unit and it worked fine as a bitbucket.  But I do recall that there would be times after a show where I'd pull my DR100mkii out of my bag and my digi cable was stressed sideways quite a bit because that straight connector juts straight out the side.  My thoughts are that if you were to use a right angle connector like I made for myself from the start, then you might never have a situation like I had where you stress the socket.

I don't know...I mean the 680 is solid that way, and with the RCA you don't have to think aobut that issue.  But at 230 or so for the DR100MKii, you might want to give that a try and see what you think.  I think I have an extra RA cable that I made just to have an extra...you're welcome to have it if you go that route.   

[jerryfreak]

One more comment.  I used a straight cable for over a year with the unit and it worked fine as a bitbucket.  But I do recall that there would be times after a show where I'd pull my DR100mkii out of my bag and my digi cable was stressed sideways quite a bit because that straight connector juts straight out the side.  My thoughts are that if you were to use a right angle connector like I made for myself from the start, then you might never have a situation like I had where you stress the socket.

I don't know...I mean the 680 is solid that way, and with the RCA you don't have to think aobut that issue.  But at 230 or so for the DR100MKii, you might want to give that a try and see what you think.  I think I have an extra RA cable that I made just to have an extra...you're welcome to have it if you go that route.   

why thanks! i think im gonna pick one of these up ($200... how can i lose) and see how i like it as a bit bucket and also compared to my r09HR (which i use as low pro rig, CMR> battery box>mic in).

did you ever happen to do a thorough review of the dr-680 like you did for the dr100-mkii? that one was great

[stevetoney]

did you ever happen to do a thorough review of the dr-680 like you did for the dr100-mkii? that one was great

Thanks.  No I haven't done that for any other gear.  I was one of the first owners of the DR100MKii.  I was excited to buy the DR100MKii when it first came out because it filled the gap between the MT2496/MTII (which are SOOO frustrating to use, but were cheap and came in around $125 or $150) and the Marantz PMD-661 (at $600).  Also, the community had been crying out for the same bitbucket alternative...and since I was an intial owner, I felt a thorough review would be useful to people.  So it was fun doing it and I've received alot of compliments on it since.

I guess since I was both an initial owner and since I did that review, I've taken more of an interest in the unit than I would typically in a piece of gear, so that's why I feel some vested interest in correcting some of what I consider are misconceptions or misinformation about it...especially when people complain about run-time.  It's a valid complaint that there is an unresolved issue (and I've personally notified Tascam several times...TERRIBLE customer support by them for not issuing a firmware update by now), but again it helps to know what the root problem is so that you can assess if that would be an issue for your needs.

[Colin Liston]

The DR-100 mkii was $230 with free shipping from B&H Photo but that sale ended on June 16.  I think now they are $330. 

If you can wait I would wait because these seem to go on sale every month or so.  Although $230 was the cheapest I have seem them.  Usually they are any where from $230-$280 when on sale.

[rodeen]

My DR-100mkii just arrived Friday.  $230 from Amazon with free shipping although it is back up to over $320 today. 

Is the current firmware still v1.00 0025?  I am pleasantly surprised by how small it is.  I am planning on using it as a bitbucket for my V3.  Initial run will be this week for TTB!

[flipp]

If you haven't seen it yet TODAY ONLY DR680 $429