Topic: Deity PR-2 Pocket Recorder

[grawk]

I’d sell mine. I just have to find it

[Sebastian]

I got my hands on a PR-2 today. Here are my observations:

• Overall the unit looks and feels better than expected. Even the battery cover is not that bad on my unit.
• My Ni-MH rechargeables are a real tight fit, but I can still manage that.
• I can't get the Micro-SD card in and out of the slot without a pair of tweezers. I don't like that.
• Battery run time is fantastic!
• The Bluetooth connectivity feels solid. I can re-start the iOS app after some time and it is still connected. This means I can start recording right away. This is as good as the Sony app. And this is where Olympus dropped the ball with their app.
• The app feels solid. The only thing that's exremely stupid is that gain for the left and right channels can't be linked. Also, the level meters only go down to -40 dBFS. I would have preferred -60 dBFS.
• I love the locking 3.5mm inputs. However, non-locking Neutrik right-angle plugs do tend to slip out of the jack easily.
• The PR-2 feels very small, but I do prefer the Sony A10 form factor.
• I don't like the fact that the unit is 48 kHz only. I would have preferred to be able to set it to 44.1 kHz as that is all I've used for years.

I also did a few quick measurements:

• The gain settings are accurate. At the 0 dB gain setting, a 0 dBU (775 mVrms) input signal results in a recording with a 0 dBFS peak. A -12 dBU input signal results in a recording with a -12 dBFS peak and so on.
• Equivalent input noise (EIN) is -98 dBU (unweighted; 150Ω source resistance; +36 dB gain; line in) and -106 dBU (A-weighted; 150Ω source resistance; + 36 dB gain; line in). Deity's spec'd -130 dBU EIN looked suspicious from the get-go. The numbers I measured look more like what I'd expect from a recorder of this class. For our purposes, this is probably not a problem in any real-world scenario. It's just a bit odd that they would list a EIN value that even way more professional and way more expensive gear can't achieve.

[blakenan]

I thought maybe, just maybe, the "pass through" of power might enable support for mics that require/prefer higher than 5V PIP.  It does NOT.  Here's a snippet of my conversation with Deity via YouTube comments. 


My Question:

Question... Your site makes the following statement "The PR-2 features a toggle switch on the top that allow you to pass the microphone PiP from the output thru to the input. This means you can daisy chain the PR-2 with a transmitter so you can add recording functionality to any transmitter you might own. This also means even if the PR-2 is turned off, the transmitters PiP is still passing thru to power your lavalier."

Can I use this feature to pass slightly higher voltages through to my mic (like 9V)?  I record loud sounds which and some mics prefer slighter higher voltages (more than 5v) to avoid distortion.  Wondering if passing through 7-9v from the output port might allow me to use the PR-2 and these hungrier mics.  Thoughts? Thanks.

Diety Response:

On US units, the pass-through is disabled during recording. 5v is the max it can handle and will NOT support 9v mics.

[grawk]

what would be the use case for pass through pip in a concert recording situation where you aren't using a wireless transmitter? 

[Gutbucket]

I can envision two scenarios-

Maybe as a cool alternate way to connect a 9V battery box which would eliminate any additional connections in the signal path between mics and recorder.  The battery box wouldn't need anything like a transmitter or second recorder attached down stream of it.

OR

Potentially passing through the higher PIP voltage through from a secondary recorder?.. but I'm am unaware of any recorders that produce more than 5V PIP natively, so that higher voltage would need to be supplied from an XLR adapter / PFA in the second recorder.   

However, even with a non-US version of the PR-2 those scenarios are not assured to work, as the pass-thru path might be capacitor coupled, just like it is through a battery box, in which case it will pass signal but not DC voltage.  Deity's answer didn't indicate if it's actually possible with a non-US version or not, only that it isn't with the US version.



Blakenan, even though you can't plug the battery box into the PR-2's headphone output and have its voltage passed through to the mics, you can still use your 9V battery box in the typical way between the mics and the PR-2.

[war throat]

I recorded W.A.S.P. and Armored Saint last night using the PR-2. For mics, I used the Sound Pros CMC-8 with the low sensitivity mod and their key fob battery box. The settings on the PR-2 were line in, 75 hz low cut, and +12dB gain on each channel.  I was positioned about 20 feet in front of the right speaker stack. When the recordings were put through Audacity, it indicated a volume increase of about +6dB was possible before clipping, so I think I could've set the recorder at +15dB gain without any trouble. I liked being able to monitor the recording through the app rather than taking the recorder out my pocket and actually looking at it, and it was easily concealable and did not set off the metal detectors. I have a doom metal show coming up next week and I might try recording at least one the bands using the PR-2's pip to see how how that turns out.

The W.A.S.P. recording is posted in Kickdown Central if anyone wants to check it out.

[grawk]

I just posted a benefit concert I recorded with my pr2 and 4015s

[cleantone]

Do we have much insight yet as to the PR-2 and security screening? I have Gilmour in a week at MSG. I might end up taking the train in and realizing this might get complicated. Any insight?

[grawk]

It’s the easiest recorder I’ve ever tried to get past security. Do what you normally do with gear to get it in.

[cleantone]

Okay, I'll see what I can do. I've made countless hundreds of recordings but 99.99% with permission and whatnot. Very little in this manor, just put together a new rig. I guess I'll just see what happens

[war throat]

I had a PR-2 and my mics concealed on my person at a show I went to last week, and it didn't set off the metal detectors.

Do we have much insight yet as to the PR-2 and security screening? I have Gilmour in a week at MSG. I might end up taking the train in and realizing this might get complicated. Any insight?

[Powerage5]

I’ve had what I assume were the batteries set off one metal detector last weekend, but I had it concealed well enough I was able to come up with a good cover, and no further questions asked. When I used it this weekend I took the batteries out and had them in my camera case, and it did not set off a metal detector without the batteries inserted.

[cleantone]

I had a PR-2 and my mics concealed on my person at a show I went to last week, and it didn't set off the metal detectors.

Do we have much insight yet as to the PR-2 and security screening? I have Gilmour in a week at MSG. I might end up taking the train in and realizing this might get complicated. Any insight?

Thanks for chiming in. This is reassuring.

[daspyknows]

Do we have much insight yet as to the PR-2 and security screening? I have Gilmour in a week at MSG. I might end up taking the train in and realizing this might get complicated. Any insight?

 

Just walked a Tascam DR-2D babynbox mk4s and actives in.  No issues.  Plug a pair of ear buds in it and it's an mp3 player.

[Gutbucket]

^ Yes.

Anyone have any insight into whether disposable lithium batteries will pass metal detection more easily than alkaline or NiMH or not?