Topic: Recorder to have always with you

[dream]

I have a few recorders for different purposes (H2, R44, D-50, FR2, MicroTrak) but not one I would like to have always with me. Can anybody recommend a recorder which is so versatile but also compact and good sounding? The Sony D-50 is the closest but the microphones are too sensitive against wind, even with the dead kitty. For far ambient noises I don't like the quality.
The machine is otherwise nearly perfect and with external microphones from Sony or Schoeps excellent sounding, but I would like to have something less fiddly. Is the Tascam DR-100 a solution with it's switchable mic capsules? If an anlogy to photography helps: I need a compact DSLR like a Nikon D90 with a small lens with excellent picture quality when you don't want to schlepp a D3 with big lenses.

[rastasean]

well i imagine the smaller the better for your pockets. Maybe the zoom H1?

[dream]

well i imagine the smaller the better for your pockets. Maybe the zoom H1?

Small is good but I'm looking for a compromise I described.

[MikeMannZ]

the three that come to mind

Sony PCM-M10
Tascam DR-2D
Edirol R-09HR

I've used all three and own the sony and tascam and would take any of the three anywhere.

Mike

[dream]

the three that come to mind

Sony PCM-M10
Tascam DR-2D

Thank you for the suggestions. Are these as sensitive to wind as the D-50 is? The Edirol I ruled out, because I didn't like the build quality and it gave handling noises easily
into the recording. As I mentioned the D-50 is close to being perfect when it comes to handling and quality for to go but the built in mics are fare to oversensitive against wind.

[jlykos]

the three that come to mind

Sony PCM-M10
Tascam DR-2D

Thank you for the suggestions. Are these as sensitive to wind as the D-50 is? The Edirol I ruled out, because I didn't like the build quality and it gave handling noises easily
into the recording. As I mentioned the D-50 is close to being perfect when it comes to handling and quality for to go but the built in mics are fare to oversensitive against wind.

The D50 is more sensitive to the wind because it uses cardioid pattern microphones.  For something less wind sensitive, you will want a portable device with omnidirectional microphones.  According to the Sony website, the PCM-M10 has internal omnidirectional microphones so this may fit your bill.

[illconditioned]

Sony PCM-M10, hands down.

Small, nice meters (and LEDs on the top).

Battery life is amazing.  And it always stays on, in power save mode.

The best us of this is set the level, lock the main unit, and use the (included!) remote to turn recording on/off.

You can either use built in or body worn mics.

  Richard

[Ozpeter]

Aren't the Yamaha recorders significantly smaller than most?  (I'm ready to stand corrected!)

[tekdroid]

Nice to take another look at the Pocketrak models.

http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/recorders/pocketrak_w24/
*Their top-of-the-line model, the Pocketrak W24, is basically the same price as PCM-M10 but has wireless remote control, which must be incredibly convenient versus wired. The remote does playback in addition to recording functions.
http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/recorders/pocketrak_w24/#feature-anchor
* It also has a facility to memorise various recording settings, much like a camera's "Scene" presets. Great stuff.
* Power-on to being ready to record is also far faster than any Sony at 4.5 seconds.
* In-built tuner and metronome, too. Nice.
* 5-band EQ.
* Recycle bin folder makes it possible to retrieve deleted files. Nice little insurance blanket in case of mistakes.
* Battery life seems great
* Cubase AI bundled
* voice-activated recording
* very configurable Peak Hold settings
* once/daily/weekly timer recording and/or playback. Excellent feature.
* headphone outputs seem to be a bit underpowered for some difficult headphones, though (10mW + 10mW at 16ohm).

Gutsy innovation and small size, regardless. Excellent manuals, too.
Their superceded model, the Pocketrak CX, can be had very cheaply now.
The Pocketrak C24 looks interesting too (claimed to be the world's smallest 24/96 recorder with very similar features).

[jlykos]

Nice to take another look at the Pocketrak models.

http://www.yamahasynth.com/products/recorders/pocketrak_w24/

It looks like that has directional microphones.  I think that it would have many of the same issues as the D50 with them being sensitive to wind noise.

[MikeMannZ]

Thank you for the suggestions. Are these as sensitive to wind as the D-50 is? The Edirol I ruled out, because I didn't like the build quality and it gave handling noises easily
into the recording. As I mentioned the D-50 is close to being perfect when it comes to handling and quality for to go but the built in mics are fare to oversensitive against wind.

The Sony is going to be the least sensitive in regard to noise, but it's my opinion the Edirol feels the most rugged of the three.  If you don't like the build quality of the edirol then you may not like the M10 either.  I would suggest seeing it in person before you purchase it.

[earmonger]

The Sony is going to be the least sensitive in regard to noise, but it's my opinion the Edirol feels the most rugged of the three.  If you don't like the build quality of the edirol then you may not like the M10 either. 

I've used the Edirol R09 (not HR) and PCM-M10, and to me the PCM-M10 feels much more solid. Beyond dispute it also has better battery life, like more than double, and quieter mic inputs. And the built-in Sony mics are comparable to or better than the Edirol. Maybe Edirol has improved that in its latest Roland version of that machine.

[Shadow_7]

Have you tried layering mutiple dead kittys?  Wind can be handled in various ways.  Everything is pretty much a compromise.

It really depends on how you travel.  I almost always have a giant squid mini mono and a headphone extension cable in with my laptop.  You never know.  But I prefer to travel tech lite (when I'm not needing tech for said travel).  Especially if you're using public transport.  It's an edirol R-09, run for cover....  Freaking TSA...