Topic: Is there a good & small portable recorder with phantom power and XLR-inputs?

[su6oxone]

I've been reading a lot of old threads on the various portable recorders, trying to see if there is an all-in-one portable and stealthable recorder with phantom power and XLR inputs.  These are what seem to be the different options:

1. Fostex FR2LE - everyone loves it, especially with the Busman mod, but it is really pretty large and not realistically stealthable.  Tad expensive.

2. Marantz PMD660 - smaller than the FR2LE but not sounding great without additional mods (Oade?).  Still kind of bulky to stealth.  Battery life issues without an external power supply.  Also only 16 bit.

3. Zoom H4 - sounds like no one uses it anymore, but attractive (not aesthetically) for its size, XLR inputs, and phantom power, but sounds like your recording will suffer sonically using this one.  Cheap but also cheaply constructed?

4. M-audio Microtrack II - evidently this one really blows.  Sonic problems, like "sprinkler sounds" and a lame, non-removable rechargeable battery.  No XLR inputs either. 

So it seems the best options when stealthing, would be the Marantz PMD660.  Or would it be better to just stick with the R-09 with PS-2 for phantom power until an ideal device comes out someday?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be great, thanks!

[edtyre]

I ran a PS-2 with my R-09 for a while with excellant results.
Most of my shows were loud and i didn't need any extra gain.

An Oade modded 660 would be my next choice. 24 bit is way
overrated 

[illconditioned]

I've been reading a lot of old threads on the various portable recorders, trying to see if there is an all-in-one portable and stealthable recorder with phantom power and XLR inputs.  These are what seem to be the different options:

1. Fostex FR2LE - everyone loves it, especially with the Busman mod, but it is really pretty large and not realistically stealthable.  Tad expensive.

2. Marantz PMD660 - smaller than the FR2LE but not sounding great without additional mods (Oade?).  Still kind of bulky to stealth.  Battery life issues without an external power supply.  Also only 16 bit.

3. Zoom H4 - sounds like no one uses it anymore, but attractive (not aesthetically) for its size, XLR inputs, and phantom power, but sounds like your recording will suffer sonically using this one.  Cheap but also cheaply constructed?

4. M-audio Microtrack II - evidently this one really blows.  Sonic problems, like "sprinkler sounds" and a lame, non-removable rechargeable battery.  No XLR inputs either. 

So it seems the best options when stealthing, would be the Marantz PMD660.  Or would it be better to just stick with the R-09 with PS-2 for phantom power until an ideal device comes out someday?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be great, thanks!

What mics are you trying to run?  It seems that if you're running regular size mics (eg., Beyerdynamic ), you're running open, and the Fostex and mics are a perfect fit.

If you're running stealth, go for electrets (or actives) into an R09 or something.

I guess the only problem is small mics (like Nevaton MKE400) with phantom adapters.  Is that what you're trying to run?  If so, making a battery box seems to be the solution.

  Richard

[Carlos E. Martinez]

1. Fostex FR2LE - everyone loves it, especially with the Busman mod, but it is really pretty large and not realistically stealthable.  Tad expensive.

Even without any mods seems to have one of the best inputs.  IMHO: the best bet.

2. Marantz PMD660 - smaller than the FR2LE but not sounding great without additional mods (Oade?).  Still kind of bulky to stealth.  Battery life issues without an external power supply.  Also only 16 bit.

Only 16 bit and 48KHz. All others improve on that.

3. Zoom H4 - sounds like no one uses it anymore, but attractive (not aesthetically) for its size, XLR inputs, and phantom power, but sounds like your recording will suffer sonically using this one.  Cheap but also cheaply constructed?

Some months ago I bought one that got caught in Customs and never got to me. No feedback on any pros that bought it, to see how it compares to the others. The XLRs are not locking.

4. M-audio Microtrack II - evidently this one really blows.  Sonic problems, like "sprinkler sounds" and a lame, non-removable rechargeable battery.  No XLR inputs either. 

The sprinkler noise seems to be on the unabalanced input. Just don't go unbalanced. The 1/4" jacks are quite sturdy, even if not better than XLRs. My second choice.

[flintstone]

The Microtrack II gets a bad rap because the 1/4-inch input adds noise when you use an unbalanced mic cable.  Since you're talking about using phantom power, the mic cable would be balanced.  So no problem.

Second, the Microtrack II is disappointing because its preamp has more self-noise than the original Microtrack 2496 did.  Depending on the mics you're using, and how loud the concerts you record are, the extra noise may be completely masked.

If you need phantom power, give the Microtrack II a close look.

Flintstone

[John Willett]

For my "baby" recorder I went for the Olympus LS-10 - if I need phantom mics I would plug in the line-in with a Neutrik rt-angled jack plug.

For my other stuff I have been using a Fostex FR-2, but am about to upgrade this to a Nagra VI.

The Sony PCM-D50 is also worth looking at - with the optional matching XLR mic. pre.

[su6oxone]

Thanks for the replies everyone, +Ts.  I'm using phantom powered mics stealth primarily, so it sounds like PS-2 to R-09 may be my best bet, although I guess I'll look into the MTII a bit closer. 

[BayTaynt3d]

Don't discount an Oade PMD660, despite what's said above, it has a badass sound and it's still pretty small (but obviously not R9 small).