Topic: Tascam DR-680 vs SD 702/722

[su6oxone]

So I just suddenly (this morning) was considering switching from my 702 to a 680 so that I can run two sets of mics and a SBD patch using just one all-in-one device (at least until the mythic 766T of my dreams materializes).  Anyone use both of these devices who could comment on ease of use, battery life using phantom, quality of the preamps, noise floor, etc.?  Can you charge rechargeable AAs inside the device (is there a charging circuit)?  The primary features that I love about the 7xx is the use of NPF lithium batteries and the very low noise preamps.  Thanks for any info!

[Todd R]

I own the 680 now, previously owned the Oade R44 and both the 702 and the 722.

The 702/72 is a masterpiece of engineering, very solid and well built, very well thought out, very well executed with an unbelievable feature set.  The 680 isn't to that level, it is more of a consumer unit.  Not built to be run over by a car, not such a hugely comprehensive feature set.

That said, if you are ok with that, the 680 is built well enough to withstand field taping if you are careful, and it has a good feature set.  The battery life is very good, even with 6 channels of phantom power.  It says it wants a 12v external battery, but a 9v battery works fine.  I use the typical 9v 5400mah DVD battery, and it easily runs for a one-set opener band and a two-set main act, and I often am leaving it running between sets.  Plus it will seemlessly move from external power to internal batteries if the external battery dies.  Can't charge batteries inside the 680 though.

On the sound, I think it is good to very good, but not great used as an all-in-one. To me, the internal preamps of the 702/722 were better, on the very good to excellent side.  But still though I used the 702/722 in standalone mode, I preferred it with a V3 in front.  Similarly, the 680 sounds excellent with a good preamp in front.  If you want something for standalone operations, you might look into the Busman 680 mods. A friend on the CO Crew got a Busman 680, and we did a good controlled comp of the 680 vs the Busman 680, both fed simultaneously by a PSP2 preamp.  We haven't gotten back with each other to share our files yet, so unfortunately, no comps of the 680 to the busman 680 just yet.

Also for the money, you could sell the 702 and get a 680 and a Naiant littlebox to have at least one external preamp for 2ch.  I like the sound of the littlebox and particularly the LB>680 very well.

As to noise, the specs say the 680 is very low noise, bu I only record in very noisy concert environments, so I have no idea of the 680 preamp noise in practice.  The 680 is very easy to use, really very intuitive even if you don't read the manual.  Metering isn't as good as the 702, but good enough and actually I find it to work well.  One thing to consider is you can't change levels to 2 channels at once -- there is only one level knob, and you have to choose which channel to route to the level knob to change levels.  I don't find this a problem at all, and I've always been changing one level at a time (in case something goes wrong and I want to make an emergency patch of good left channel to screwed up right channel during level changes or whatever).  Others don't like the fact that you can't change the levels of 2 channels at the same time.

[su6oxone]

Thank you for the detailed reply!  It's a huge help.  I finished reading through both of the 680 threads and based on that, as well as what you mentioned in your post, probably the 680 is not what I'm looking for.  Primarily due to the battery life not being quite good enough with internals, and not feeling confident about running mics directly into the 680 as an all-in-one (from what you mentioned about the pres). Looks like a great device though.