Topic: Korg MR-2 - just announced at Musikmesse

[guysonic]

so MR-2 vs. M10 vs. 09HR vs 05 and I bet you the MR-2 smokes the others sound wise

With preliminary publishied specs like shown below, not likely this new deck will smoke much more than Zoom and a few other very poorly designed shirt-pocket models.  But until shipped and bench tested for performance, hard to tell anything for sure.  In other words 90 dB S/N A-weighted spec is most disappointing if low noise is to be expected important.

[Nick's Picks]

I love you too, Mr.Picks......nice cables.

that's all you got eh?
I shouldn't expect much from you when it comes to wit.

[Nick's Picks]

- no balanced inputs ?  big deal.  they were a PITA and completely unnecessary.  will not affect quality by not having them.

you will lose about 15db of signal to noise ratio going unbalanced in vs. balanced in.

that seems kind of important to me.

really ?


I said what I said due to what I've seen in the playback world of high end gear when it comes to balanced vs. unbalanced.
and since every other non-phantom supplying hand held doesn't have balanced inputs, again, I dont see the loss.
the argument of bal vs unbal is alive and well.  there are points to both side, as I understand it..but again, that was all concerning playback gear.  Amplifiers and stuff.

I understand that most preamps are balanced.  but Im' talking about hand held decks, not microphone preamps (which 9 out of 10 will be balanced output only).

[capnhook]

I love you too, Mr.Picks......nice cables.

that's all you got eh?
I shouldn't expect much from you when it comes to wit.

I cannot understand your tone of familiarity.  I do not know you, nor have never met you, Mr.Picks.  Let us keep it that way.

I have never had a troll, nor do I want one.

Thank you in advance, kind sir.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I would also prefer balanced inputs.   I don't see how they are a negative in any way...   Of course the hotter signal of a balanced input needs pro signal handling capability, and that is lacking on the handhelds.   The Marantz 661 seems unique in that respect.

Without exception, I have found any restaurant that claims "best burgers"..  They don't have the best burgers.  "Best sandwiches" - NO.  "Best Chinese" - run now, or run later!  And so... "Futureproof" - Hmm... probably the opposite.

From another thread, Korg apparently has not updated their audiogate software to work on windows7?  Though I don't run win7, I see that as a problem and concern.  So much for "futureproof" if you can't run the software to convert the dsd.   And the requirement that you plug your recorder into the PC in order to run the software is totally bunk.  Even if I have the software still running in 5 or 10 years, having the recorder is an obstacle.  Sure, you can convert to pcm today but that defeats the purpose and is hardly "futureproof".

[Nick's Picks]

I love you too, Mr.Picks......nice cables.

that's all you got eh?
I shouldn't expect much from you when it comes to wit.

I cannot understand your tone of familiarity.  I do not know you, nor have never met you, Mr.Picks.  Let us keep it that way.

I have never had a troll, nor do I want one.

Thank you in advance, kind sir.

Surely you haven't forgotten all  those wonderfully colerful PMs you sent me a month ago.
I havent'.  For someone who doesn't know me, you had a pretty easy time being a douchebag to me.
figured i'd give you the respect of being an ass-hat ..back to you.

I'm finished now though.
Nice try at coming across as a mature and reasonable adult.  Keep it up.  It becomes you much more than the sophomoric, insulting 20-something year old mentality, poor humour that you were slinging around previously.

Sorry for the venom injection to the rest of the innocent bystanders.
I"m out of this thread from here on out until something useful comes up in discussion on this deck (like when one is in hand).  All this speculation is garbage until then.
I've got a hornet in my undies w/this Cap-n-hook character.

Back on topic
the whole "future proof" is just marketing bla bla, imo.
I believe the thought being that DSD is the highest resolution you can use on any recorder out there today.  so you can "dumb it down" to anything that might become the "future standard PCM resolution for mass markets"...,

thats how I read into it any way.  Sort of like they are making it sound like its the digital equiv. of mastering on Reel2Reel or other types of tape..., and the flexibility that leaves when brought into the digital domain.

The balanced input of the MR1 was cool and all, but I hardly got any benefit from it in concert taping w/our standard compliment of premaps, mics..etc running in front of it.  It just required custom cables...(which was the PITA part to me).

[capnhook]

Sorry to have hit a nerve, Mr.Picks.  My salty email responses to you were in response to your shoddy business practices.  Do not take it personally.  I was not the person you had forgotten to send cables to, and I had to return four pm's to convince you of that.  I am not your personal secretary, sir.  Please do not bother me with your problems.

Worry about your own on-screen persona, sir.  I am confident in mine.

My apologies to everyone else here.

Kevin

[Shadow_7]

So of these small things, which is cheapest, smallest and/or lightest while still allowing 24 bit or better recording?  And of the pocket sized models, how do they hold up to moisture?  For those of us who live in warmer climates and tend to have genetics that favor colder climates.  I've rediscovered a few of my small and cheap mics, but realize that I don't exactly have a field recorder type device to use them with.  Or should I just get a Kodak Zi8 and call it a day?

[sunjan]

So of these small things, which is cheapest, smallest and/or lightest while still allowing 24 bit or better recording?

Sorry for threadjacking.
Considering 24bit units available in the US:
Cheapest (but probably junk): Medeli  DR2 (aka Alesis Palmtrack) ($99 on google shopping)
Cheapest with reasonable quality: Zoom H2/Tascam DR-07 ($130-$140)
Smallest/lightest: Yamaha C24 ($199)

Re. your question of being weatherproof - I don't think any of the recorders on the market is. You'd better buy one of those diving enclosures...

[H₂O]

Re. your question of being weatherproof - I don't think any of the recorders on the market is. You'd better buy one of those diving enclosures...

The Aaton Canton is:
http://www.aaton.com/products/sound/cantar/index.php
 
But it'll set you back about $15K-20K

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Moisture on the electronics is going to be a comparative non-issue compared to what it will do to your mics.  It's easy to put a recorder in a bag or a jar.

[Shadow_7]

The mics have clips, so they'll likely go on the bill of a ballcap, or bell of a horn, or frame of the glasses.  But the recorder will likely be under the cap, or in a pocket on a person running around a football field sweating a lot.  Ziplock bag is an option, but a hassle, that shouldn't be an issure for these "pocket" devices IMO.  I guess I could go uber geeky and use a pocket protector.  I was just looking for something in that $100-$200 range with 24 bit capabilities.  The MR2 might fit the bill.  But I guess it depends on the pocket.  And the street price.  I'm not really looking for DSD abilities, the mics aren't that good.  But it'd be nice to have a respectible backup and an option for alternative location recording.

[MattH]

I would also prefer balanced inputs.   I don't see how they are a negative in any way...   Of course the hotter signal of a balanced input needs pro signal handling capability, and that is lacking on the handhelds.   The Marantz 661 seems unique in that respect.

Without exception, I have found any restaurant that claims "best burgers"..  They don't have the best burgers.  "Best sandwiches" - NO.  "Best Chinese" - run now, or run later!  And so... "Futureproof" - Hmm... probably the opposite.

From another thread, Korg apparently has not updated their audiogate software to work on windows7?  Though I don't run win7, I see that as a problem and concern.  So much for "futureproof" if you can't run the software to convert the dsd.   And the requirement that you plug your recorder into the PC in order to run the software is totally bunk.  Even if I have the software still running in 5 or 10 years, having the recorder is an obstacle.  Sure, you can convert to pcm today but that defeats the purpose and is hardly "futureproof".

FWIW, I never have my Korg recorder connected to the computer when I run audiogate. That was only necessary the first time to initialize the software. Also,  seems it would be difficult to have audiogate work with future operating systems without there being some reasonable lag between the time new operating systems debut and when future audiogate updates become available.

As far as xlr to mini trs cables go, I have purchased mogami cables in this configuration stock from guitar center.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

FWIW, I never have my Korg recorder connected to the computer when I run audiogate. That was only necessary the first time to initialize the software. Also,  seems it would be difficult to have audiogate work with future operating systems without there being some reasonable lag between the time new operating systems debut and when future audiogate updates become available.

The problem still stands that it will be necessary to have a working recorder to run the software anytime the software thinks it isn't properly initialized.   One great way of running old apps and operating systems is via virtualization, but the recorder requirement makes that more difficult (both from needing the recorder, and due to driver complexity).   Adding the USB i/o copy protection to Audiogate makes it much less likely to "just work" on future OS versions.  Maybe that's what they mean by "futureproof"

There really is no excuse for the lag in supporting win7.  As a developer, Korg could have had pre-release access.  History has demonstrated that when a vendor fails to support a current OS in their current product, it does not bode well for future support.

[RTD]

for me it has a lot of interesting features compared to the MR1: no noisy harddrive, USB power, build in mics, sd cards, exchangeble batteries.
Looks really great for me though. If the quality will be ok, I´ll go for it. What will be the price in the US?