Kenwood MGR-E8-B, small 3-mic recorder

[sunjan]

Just out...
Interesting that the dimensions are smaller than Sony M10, and less than half the weight.
Question is whether the li-ion battery is user replaceable?


Battery Type   Built-in Lithium-ion rechargeable battery
Recharging time   Approx. 2.5 hours
Battery operation time during Recording   
WAV (96kHz, 24bit) Approx. 16 hours
WAV (44.1kHz, 16bit) Approx. 28 hours

Dimensions (WxHxD)   52.8 x 100.2 x 20.8 mm
Weight (Net)   0.087kg

Compared to Sony M10:
6.35(w) x 11.43(h) x 2.22(d)cm
weight 187g with 2AA (137g with out bats)


Key Features

Three built-in microphones with 96kHz/24bit encoder for superb recording quality.
Long life battery for recording and playback.
microSD Card slot (microSDHC Compatible) capability up to 16GB
Solid State & Shock proof mech. for decreasing noise during Recording.

taken from:
http://www.kenwood.eu/products/home/portable/MGR-E8-B/

[Ozpeter]

The mic layout appears to be deeply suspect - three close omnis??  On some Sony recorders (the shirt pocket type) the centre mic is used only for mono recordings.  Maybe that's what this Kenwood does.  But closely mounted omnis for stereo gives a very poor stereo image (eg the M10).

[fmaderjr]

Question is whether the li-ion battery is user replaceable?

No-manual says to contact a Kenwood dealer in the troubleshooting section.

I would never want to be an early adopter of one of these small recorders made by a company not known for making quality recorders. Too much chance of problems-brickwalled recordings, etc. I don't care how small they are-the M10 is plenty small enough for me.

Plus the preamp is likely to be of insufficient quality to really take advantage of 24/96 anyway unless you add a preamp.

[sunjan]

The mic layout appears to be deeply suspect - three close omnis?? 

Nope, the center mic is a card, while L/R are omnis.
Still, the non-user replaceable battery is a definite dealbreaker. 
WARNING
• For the replacement of the built-in battery, contact your dealer.
Bye bye Kenwood... Next?