Topic: looking to purchase best stealthing.. r-9,,or micrtorack or i river

[willndmb]

I own a MTII.  As a bit bucket, which is all I want, it works great.

i have a mt1 and as a bit bucket and 1/4 in i have had no probs at all
the only downside for some is the 2gb split and poss poor battery life
i have never recorded a show i couldn't find 7 sec to start a new track and i have a aa battery pack and/or a 9v battery depending on the situation for backup power

[jeromejello]

I love the iHP-120 but it's often safer not to use the remote for recording. See the following copied form the iRiver FAQ:

[170] Does using the remote introduce interference?
If recording analog-in, yes.  It seems on most units that having the remote plugged in during recording does introduce a ticking noise, which is only really noticeable when amplified.  For example, with no gain the extra noise is about 3dB. So if you're using an external pre the issue is moot.  However if using the iriver's pre at quiet gigs for a lot of gain (eg about 30dB), you may notice the extra noise.

I find the remote isn't necessary for stealth anyway due to the safety clip feature. No need to monitor the levels when safety clip is turned on because it will back off the levels automatically whenever clipping is about to occur. For a loud show, many people just set the iRiver gain to around +15, turn on the hold, put the machine in their pocket, and let the safety clip do its thing finding the proper level. Of course with experience you may want to pick a different starting gain setting depending on the sensitivity of your mic and how loud you anticipate the show will be.

I've just started using an iHP-120 for some of my recordings and in the couple I've done where safety clip automatically reduced the gain, I did not hear any clipping nor any obvious drop in volume when it kicked in.

i personally would rather use the remote then the safety clip feature.  i havent had any adverse effects running with the remote.  i think part of the reason is that i use an external pre and try not to have more than +2dB or +3dB of gain added by the iriver (which i can adjust easily and descretely with the remote). 

with increased gain or using the safety clip feature (which inflicts a compression of sorts) on the iriver is where you will see more artifacts than the remote, ime.

[fmaderjr]

I can't argue with you there. I use an external preamp as well (ST-9100) and try not to get more than 10 DB gain from the iRiver. The first 10-15 DB of gain from the iRiver sounds fine to me, but I'm new at using the iRiver. I probably will soon try it without the safety clip, setting the iRiver to 0 Db and getting the first 20Db gain from the ST-9100. Probably will still pass on using the remote, but if I find I really need it for convenience, I will remember what you said about it not adding audible noise if not much gain is being applied. Thanks for the info.

[tfs8271]

Sell your mics..................Buy this http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,97117.0/topicseen.html

And upgrade your mics............That easy.

[sunjan]

I find the remote isn't necessary for stealth anyway due to the safety clip feature. No need to monitor the levels when safety clip is turned on because it will back off the levels automatically whenever clipping is about to occur. For a loud show, many people just set the iRiver gain to around +15, turn on the hold, put the machine in their pocket, and let the safety clip do its thing finding the proper level. Of course with experience you may want to pick a different starting gain setting depending on the sensitivity of your mic and how loud you anticipate the show will be.

I've just started using an iHP-120 for some of my recordings and in the couple I've done where safety clip automatically reduced the gain, I did not hear any clipping nor any obvious drop in volume when it kicked in.

i personally would rather use the remote then the safety clip feature.  i havent had any adverse effects running with the remote.  i think part of the reason is that i use an external pre and try not to have more than +2dB or +3dB of gain added by the iriver (which i can adjust easily and descretely with the remote). 

with increased gain or using the safety clip feature (which inflicts a compression of sorts) on the iriver is where you will see more artifacts than the remote, ime.

I'm sorry, but this is nonsense! Safety clip has nothing to do with compression, it's simply a gain that gets decreased as long as the meters peak.
What you get ist still pure 16/44 uncompressed PCM, as long as you stay under +24dB. The iriver gain gets noisy at high levels, but that's another story.
This has been discussed thoroughly, and I'm sure Petur will jump on this thread if he saw it:
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,91962.0.html
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,87558.0.html

/Jan

[bugg100]

I don't think that compressed audio (aka. lossy compression) is what was being discussed.  The statement was about safety clip function acting as a reduction of dynamic range via level control, nothing to do with lossy vs. lossless aspects.

FWIW, I use my remote and love it.  No extra noise here with or without it.  Very handy with safety clip.

[jeromejello]

yep, not talking about compressed audio (a la lossy), but compressed as dynamic range similar to what the v3 or sd mp-2 soft limiter does to prevent clipping.... it has that whole 5ms attack time and yadda yadda yadda...

[paulbaptiste]

FWIW, I use my remote and love it.  No extra noise here with or without it.  Very handy with safety clip.

is that without an external pre?  I've yet to even try to record with the remote because of said noise issues.