Topic: Smallest 4 Channel Portable Digital Recorder

[Scooter123]

4 Channels
Phantom Power Not Needed, Will Use External Pre's
Portable
Smallest Size

Ideas? 

Thanks in advance.

[hi and lo]

Tascam DR-2d. It's not great, but it can capture 4 channels.

[Gutbucket]

No real complaints here now that the DR2d's inital short battery life problems have been resolved with firmware updates.

4 Channels
Phantom Power Not Needed, Will Use External Pre's
Portable
Smallest Size

Does all this reliably in an R-09/M-10 sized package for under 2 bills, plus lets you start/stop recording via IR remote with the hold switch locked-down.  I consider mine great.

[F.O.Bean]

Tascam DR-2d. It's not great, but it can capture 4 channels.

[JasonSobel]

The Sonosax mini R82 is very small and portable.
http://www.sonosax.ch/recorders/minir82/minir82_index.html

[Fried Chicken Boy]

The Sonosax mini R82 is very small and portable.
http://www.sonosax.ch/recorders/minir82/minir82_index.html

Sweet little machine and definitely fits the OP's criteria, but it will set you back about $5k.

[Gutbucket]

The only 3 current contenders I'm aware of for 4 channels in a pocketable size are Sonosax, Tascam and Zoom.

The R82 is undoubtably tops, and it better be at 25x the cost of the others.
It also has other features such as digital inputs via a binder clip for a total of 8 channels if I recall.

[H₂O]

The Sonosax mini R82 is very small and portable.
http://www.sonosax.ch/recorders/minir82/minir82_index.html

This is about as small as you can get - I had one for a week (long story) - It's about the same size as a Sony PCM-M1 - has 4 analog inputs and 8 digital, can record 10 tracks and has timecode

2 tracks are unbalanced on mini-jack no pre amp, the other 2 channels can be fed balanced or unbalanced, and can provide 48V phantom, 48V/5V parallel, etc and are on 2 7 pin binders (although you can wire everything through one of the binders).

I was going to make pig tail with some circuitry that would allow a direct connect to a KCY (you get 48V high out of the gate, just needed to figure out how to go from 5V to 6.1V or 48V down to 6.1V for the fet voltage) but I had to give the unit back before it could be realized.

It's a pretty sick little recorder - but at $5K what would you expect.


Here's a pic of the miniR82 beside a PSP-2 and MR-1

 

[John Willett]

The Sonosax mini R82 is very small and portable.
http://www.sonosax.ch/recorders/minir82/minir82_index.html

Yup - definitely the one. 

[Scooter123]

Thanks for the ideas. 

[George2]

With this recorder, If I'm understanding correctly, you can record 4 tracks on 2 different files.. one stereo file from the 1/8 TRS input and the other from the 1/8 TRS mic inputs? 

[Gutbucket]

With this recorder, If I'm understanding correctly, you can record 4 tracks on 2 different files.. one stereo file from the 1/8 TRS input and the other from the 1/8 TRS mic inputs? 

Which one are you refering to?

[George2]

Tascam DR-2d

[Gutbucket]

That's correct.