Topic: B&H Recorder Roundup

[digifish_music]

B&H just published a great roundup of the market...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/audio/hands-reviews/portable-digital-recorder-roundup

digifish

[rastasean]

digifish!!! Welcome back!!

[digifish_music]

digifish!!! Welcome back!!

Yes I am (still) alive

digifish

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

Cool article...  THere is a comp of the bag-sized recorders in there as well...  Look for the Link...

Terry

[justink]

Cool article...  THere is a comp of the bag-sized recorders in there as well...  Look for the Link...

Terry

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/audio/tips-solutions/portable-digital-recorders-designed-bag-use

[F.O.Bean]

Neat review

[morst]

Such a sales pitch! I read the bag recorders one first, and it doesn't have a bad thing or negative feature mention in the whole article. It is dated July 2011, so it's not as "christmas-y" as the December 1st edition.

They "try" to make it look like they're writing a critical review... and then they lead with this:
"Sadly, you cannot incubate a portable digital recorder and hatch a baby chicken." 

The detailed comparison has such BS as this bit about the Sony recorders:

Unlike most recorders, it features separate circuit boards for analog audio, digital audio, recording and power. The result is an ultra-low noise floor for pristine recordings.

Oh yeah, pristine, that's the way I like 'em. With all due respect, which is not any based on this sales blurb!? (I love my M10's for their size, voltage-loving line inputs, and battery life. Also the cool stickers I put on them.)

If you like the way the Sony PCM D50 offers improved circuitry and microphones for superior portable recording quality, but you want to strive for even better sound capture in the field, the Sony PCM D1 is the only way to go.

Ahem. I guess I'll stop reading forever.

I like the idea of a comparison, but what I've read so far is more of a salesman's-helper!

[rastasean]

Good observation, morst. Most tech sites are very light on the criticism and that's not good because its hard to accurately pick a recorder worth a damn, but that's what makes TS great! 

[zowie]

They're not even a tech site.  They're a retailer.  Why would you ever expect them to criticize anything they sell?

[bryonsos]

I was there yesterday hoping to score an open box return (no luck) and was looking at the recorder display. A woman walked up with a salesperson and said "I want a recorder with decent built-in mics, but will also work well with external mics." He led her straight to the H4n, and was kinda giving her the hard sell on it. She mentioned that they have PMD-660s at her school, and he said the newer version is the 661 but he wouldn't recommend it over the Zoom since they're noisy. I had to pipe in and said I strongly disagree. I told her about this site and how she could get a lot of objective input here before I walked away. I'm thinking they get some sort of incentives from manufacturers.

[morst]

I'm thinking they get some sort of incentives from manufacturers.

they're called COMMISSION! ($$$)

[bryonsos]

I'm thinking they get some sort of incentives from manufacturers.

they're called COMMISSION! ($$$)

Yes, but she asked about a more expensive deck, and he was still pushing the Zoom. If it was a straight commision situation he could've tried to push her up to a D1 to see if she blinked. Something else above commision going on in IMHO.

[rastasean]

I had to pipe in and said I strongly disagree. I told her about this site and how she could get a lot of objective input here before I walked away. I'm thinking they get some sort of incentives from manufacturers.

Nice job! I am thankful I found this site because it beats the hell out of amazon reviews and other silly websites that probably are retail affiliate websites. I'm sure some of the people at b&h are very aware of what recorders are better than others, but simply don't care about the customer need but that's the reason independent consumer research is important.

[digifish_music]

The reason I posted this is because it gives an overview of the current crop of hand-held recorders, not because it was a critical comparative review.

As others have pointed out, B&H are a retailer, so they will only (generally) point out the strengths of each unit.

It's a 'round up' and a good one IMO

Regards Scott

[jlykos]

The detailed comparison has such BS as this bit about the Sony recorders:

Unlike most recorders, it features separate circuit boards for analog audio, digital audio, recording and power. The result is an ultra-low noise floor for pristine recordings.

Oh yeah, pristine, that's the way I like 'em. With all due respect, which is not any based on this sales blurb!? (I love my M10's for their size, voltage-loving line inputs, and battery life. Also the cool stickers I put on them.)

If you like the way the Sony PCM D50 offers improved circuitry and microphones for superior portable recording quality, but you want to strive for even better sound capture in the field, the Sony PCM D1 is the only way to go.

Ahem. I guess I'll stop reading forever.

I like the idea of a comparison, but what I've read so far is more of a salesman's-helper!

How is any of that information about the Sony recorders false?  The D50 does indeed have four separate circuit boards.  What's wrong with wanting pristine recordings?  The noise floor of the D50 is lower than many other portable recorders; check out the comparisons that Sonic Studios did as a reference.

Yes, it's sales oriented, but to a neophyte, it is a very useful piece.  I wish that there was something like this around when I was researching portable digital recorders a few years back.