Tascam DR-1 vs Sony PCM M1 DAT

[emalvido]

I have taped with my loyal PCM-M1 since May 2000, using various mics, my current rig SP-CMC-8>ST-9100>M1
......and then the Edirol and other SD devices appeared, I "refused" the jump to those,
Now! 2008 The Tascam DR-1 appears, is it the time for an inminent new taping device  and leave for good the M1 rest for a while
the DR-1  looks nice! 
Anyone in my same situation?
Should I jump to that?
Ed 

[schoepsnbox]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but it seems that the input level control on the DR-1 only applies to the mic inputs and the line input is fixed....so basically you have to have variable gain on your preamp to run line in to this recorder

[spyder9]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here, but it seems that the input level control on the DR-1 only applies to the mic inputs and the line input is fixed....so basically you have to have variable gain on your preamp to run line in to this recorder

you are correct.

[schoepsnbox]

That's bogus, why would they do that?  Basically useless for anyone that wants to run line in..looks nice but I assume that alone will shy folks away from that unit.

[spyder9]

Murphy's Law:

The DR-1 will end up the best sounding of all the little recorders.  Useless or not   

[schoepsnbox]

Probably so, sorry if I was harsh..just don't get why the did it that way...guess you could run atten cables on mic in..gotta be able to set levels, no?

[emalvido]

What?
LINE IN no level control!! yikes!!!
So, if I use the Church ST-9100 I can control my levels via that?
Ed 

[Belexes]

I run the AT mics > ST-9100 > M1 or R-09.  Switching to the flash recorder makes a lot of sense because you are saving on the cost of the blank DAT's and have easy of USB transfer. 

I like the M1 for the digi-in whereas a lot of the flash recorders have only analog-in.

[Roving Sign]

That's bogus, why would they do that?  Basically useless for anyone that wants to run line in..looks nice but I assume that alone will shy folks away from that unit.

Not totally unheard of - look at the M-Audio Flying Calf A/D converter...fixed gain..unity I would guess.

Not terrible...the idea of your preamp is to mic level > line level. Basically you drive the downstream device with the preamp...

But yeah - one wonders...

[Carlos E. Martinez]

As I have been away for some time from what new devices were coming in, I decided to have a look at this Tascam DR-1 and see what people were thinking about it. As Tascam makes serious gear, I wonder what niche they were aiming for. The H2? The R9

1) Why did they stick to those horrendous 1/8" for line input?

2) Why didn't they use balanced interface for mics in, where at least they used a more decent 1/4" input?

3) Why not a simplified/pocket sized HDP2?

[exileded]

What?
LINE IN no level control!! yikes!!!
So, if I use the Church ST-9100 I can control my levels via that?
Ed 

Thats what im doing now, just recieved my CA-9100 this week and have been doing a bunch of testing prior to taping the Eels on Sunday night. I have done some taping with battery box and mics through the mic 1 socket and was very happy with the results, cant wait to step it up this weekend.

There is another very good thread on the DR-1 that you can link to from the DR-1 thread in this section, goes quite in depth which is nice. So far mine has performed flawlessly but I would comment that it sounds a bit light in the Bass fequencies. Im not sure if thats because my previous mics had bass roll off built in or not, but I did read something similar in the other thread. 

I hope if you do end up getting one you'll have as much satisfaction as i've had with mine, a top piece of kit