Last year, I got back into taping with an Edirol R-09. I had a pair of Sound Professional CMC-8's that I bought back in late 2002 with their SP-SB-3 battery box with mini-9v's.
Did a bunch of shows last summer with the battery box via line-in; no issues. However, I'd really like to lose the battery box.
...
I was recently told, by a mic manufacturer, that the R-09 will have no issues providing power to my CMC-8's and his mics as well providing plug-in power is turned on.
The show I'm going to tomorrow is at a 3000 seat theater and is not a rock show; it's a piano player/singer with a 2-piece band. I'm not expecting it to be loud so I'm sure I could get away with this setup and just record directly.
On your description, I guess you'll be taping Tori Amos at Massey Hall, Toronto
:
http://www.atforumz.com/showthread.php?t=310557T+ in that case. I'm thrilled seeing her too later this tour.
Re. your bbox. Sure, it's possible to rely on plug-in-power, go mic-in and skip the bbox. It has been done before. But your main concern with the R-09 will be higher level of self-noise, due to the lower quality built-in preamp!
If you've read previous threads by guysonic and others, you'd seen the frequency plots of the R-09 compared to R-09HR and other recorders. The mic-in doesn't look fantastic.
In the long run, you should definitely jump the gun and get a CA-9100, topped up with some fine Church mics...
For the gig tomorrow, just bring the bbox and run the setup you're used to. No point experimenting with new gear and risk your Tori tape! ;-)