24/96 best bang for the buck recorder?

[weroflu]

i don't need built in mics, just something small, good a/d conversion, a line input that won't !@# up the signal too much, that will record onto flash cards.

is there anything out there aside from the usual suspects, sony m10, tascam dr series , zoom, etc...

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Sony M10 seems to be the best bet. It fits everything you're looking for plus will run FOREVER on one set of batteries.

With my Tascam DR-07 I could get a little more than a full nights of music off a set of batteries (not enough to run 2 full nights though). With the M10 I've recorded 2 bands a night every day this week since last Saturday. Going to replace the batteries before tonight's show just to be on the safe side.

[Belexes]

M10. You can do no wrong.

[rastasean]

You say flash cards. There's the microtrack 2 that takes compact flash cards.

Were you wanting compact flash cards for a particular reason?

The recorder the two folks above mentioned take microsdhc cards which could mean "flash" to you.

[fmaderjr]

Get the M10, not the MT2. With the MT2, among other issues, you need to get a special cable made for line in (Sound Pro's sells them) or you will add the dreaded "sprinkler noise" to your recordings when using unbalanced mics and adding gain with the MT. Also the internal battery will need a boost from an external battery if you need long running times.

No reason to get a MT if you don't need the digital in or phantom power.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

The m10 is a good recorder, but the sound quality has not been proven to be superior in comps here. A lot of assumptions have been made.

There is more to a recorder than battery life.

[Neilyboy]

Another vote for the M10 I have been doing my research around here and elsewhere and I myself am saving up for a new stealth rig which will include an M10.

Neil

[rastasean]

Get the M10, not the MT2. With the MT2, among other issues, you need to get a special cable made for line in (Sound Pro's sells them) or you will add the dreaded "sprinkler noise" to your recordings when using unbalanced mics and adding gain with the MT. Also the internal battery will need a boost from an external battery if you need long running times.

No reason to get a MT if you don't need the digital in or phantom power.

I wouldn't get the mt2 if it was $50. I was just playing a semantics game. He said flash card as in compact flash and the m10 doesn't take compact flash cards. :-D

my vote is for the m10 since internal mics are not necessary.

[rastasean]

The m10 is a good recorder, but the sound quality has not been proven to be superior in comps here. A lot of assumptions have been made.

There is more to a recorder than battery life.

Let us know which one you would recommend.

[fmaderjr]

The m10 is a good recorder, but the sound quality has not been proven to be superior in comps here. A lot of assumptions have been made.

There is more to a recorder than battery life.

That's true, but I don't think most people who are recommending the M10 are saying it sounds better than all the others. At least I'm not claiming it sounds better and I don't think anyone posting in this thread has said that. Most of the good flash recorders sound pretty much the same to my ears, at least when you go line in with a pre.  I can make flawless recordings with my MT1, but it's much more inconvenient and less intuitive to use than the M10, so I would not recommend either of the MT's (unless you need the digital in and don't mind the risk of it locking up).

The M10 has great battery life, a great display, the line in will take a very high level signal without distorting, the mic in is good, the plug in power will adequately run some commonly used mics without a battery box (though not many of the Church ones), and the internal mics (for those who may care) are pretty good.

I also don't think you can go wrong with R-09HR and a few of the other pocket recorders.

Still I think the M10 is gives you the most bang for the buck of all the small pocket flash recorders. That is of course just my opinion, which seems to be shared by quite a few others.

[JasonSobel]

I was just playing a semantics game. He said flash card as in compact flash and the m10 doesn't take compact flash cards. :-D

if you want to get technical, "flash memory" or "flash card" does not imply a "Compact Flash Card" or "CF card".
"Flash Memory" is a general term for the type of solid state storage upon which many cards are based, but could be SD, CF, SDHC, SDXC, Memory Stick, USB thumb drives, etc, etc..  it's all "flash memory".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory

[rastasean]

I was just playing a semantics game. He said flash card as in compact flash and the m10 doesn't take compact flash cards. :-D

if you want to get technical, "flash memory" or "flash card" does not imply a "Compact Flash Card" or "CF card".
"Flash Memory" is a general term for the type of solid state storage upon which many cards are based, but could be SD, CF, SDHC, SDXC, Memory Stick, USB thumb drives, etc, etc..  it's all "flash memory".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory

yes, this is all true.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Let us know which one you would recommend.

I think it is between the m10 and the r09hr.   They're both excellent.  guysonic says the r09hr sounds slightly better for recording music.  I'm willing to suffer some inconvenience for better sound quality (though in this case, they're both excellent, so that isn't a trade-off).  I'd still like to hear some comps.

For value, the r09 used is very good, as long as the jacks are solid (knock on wood, mine has been okay).

[willndmb]

I think it is between the m10 and the r09hr.   They're both excellent.  guysonic says the r09hr sounds slightly better for recording music.  I'm willing to suffer some inconvenience for better sound quality (though in this case, they're both excellent, so that isn't a trade-off).  I'd still like to hear some comps.

guy also says the m10 is the best to run mic with plug in power
so what i am saying is that it all depends on your needs and what you plan on doing

[fmaderjr]

I think it is between the m10 and the r09hr.   They're both excellent.  guysonic says the r09hr sounds slightly better for recording music.  I'm willing to suffer some inconvenience for better sound quality (though in this case, they're both excellent, so that isn't a trade-off).  I'd still like to hear some comps.

guy also says the m10 is the best to run mic with plug in power
so what i am saying is that it all depends on your needs and what you plan on doing

Plus whether you could even hear the slight improvement guy found in the HR for recording music. I have both and both sound equally good to me. I like the M10's feature set a bit better and don't care that it has 96 HZ sampling but not 88.2 Hz.

Either one is a great choice and as freelunch says the old R-09 can be good as well. But if you are recording stuff that isn't too loud with the R-09 you definitely benefit from a preamp. It gets noisy at the higher gain settings.