Topic: Tascam FR-AV2 new compact 32bit float recorder.

[Ozpeter]

The clicking issue perhaps relating to stuff leaking from one board to another (sorry to be so technical) reminds me of the issue with the first production run of the Zoom M2 Mictrak device, which suffered serious RF breakthrough issues due to a production fault (according to Zoom).  Zoom refunded customers and relaunched it some months later with the problem fixed.  But the dire reviews on YouTube are still up, and I got mine for about half price (from the relaunch batch and it's fine).  I really hope the slight problem with the AV2 isn't of that ilk.  My thanks go to the brave early adopters, and thanks for the detailed testing and reporting!

[morst]

Fortunately these kind of weird ‘features’ seem like things that could be fixed by firmware updates. Not sure how Tascam responds to user feedback…

DR70D had lots of firmware updates as issues came to light.
I did a Better Business Bureau claim against TEAC America (Tascam parent company) because they advertised that the DR70D would run on 128GB cards, but then they said it can ONLY use cards from their list, which did not include any 128s like they had advertised.
They did not respond directly to my claim but did release a list with a working 128 card on it.
I can't find direct evidence of my claim online but I did make a thread about it.
https://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=175641.0


Teac America's recent claim history:
https://www.bbb.org/us/ca/santa-fe-springs/profile/audio-visual-equipment/teac-america-inc-1216-40854/complaints

[goodcooker]

Not sure how Tascam responds to user feedback…

Many years ago Tascam had a representative who engaged with us on the forum for a while. During the discussion Morst mentioned about the weird behavior and inconsistent info from the company he kinda threw up his hands and bailed. Several users got miffed that we "ran off" a company rep but he was just giving corporate standard non-answers to real users who were frustrated about failed recordings and lost opportunities. At one point he said that mountains of cards had been tested and approved but that info hadn't been updated on their website - I had to call them out for that as at the time I was running a small business single handedly and updating my website daily. If a global company like Tascam can't get their website updated with info that frustrated customers are clamoring for then there's a problem.

I have often used Tascam gear (DR2D, DR60D, DR701D, DR680) and will continue to. They make good, affordable prosumer level gear that appeals to me and I've had great success with their gear but their customer service is terrible.

[Kyle K]

This ground has probably been covered extensively in other threads but just gotta say, damn, this being my first exposure to 32 bit float dual ADC recording, this shit is badass. It's awesome being able to just run DPA 4060s without a care in the world wrt levels. Would say the same for SBD patch but still gotta monitor at least a tiny bit to ensure I'm actually receiving the proper feed - fellow taper Roffels suggested I still run my A10 w/ the audio out from the AV2 so I don't have to sacrifice any Bluetooth range in that regard lol. So it'll just be glancing down, seeing levels, and then I'm set. Pretty amazing. Not like it was all that much overhead setting levels anymore, but just being totally free of it sure is some quality of life. The feed is just so CLEAN.

[adrianb]

fellow taper Roffels suggested I still run my A10 w/ the audio out from the AV2 so I don't have to sacrifice any Bluetooth range in that regard lol. So it'll just be glancing down, seeing levels, and then I'm set. Pretty amazing. Not like it was all that much overhead setting levels anymore, but just being totally free of it sure is some quality of life. The feed is just so CLEAN.

Good idea. If I owned an A10 I wouldn’t be buying the Bluetooth dongle. In fact it’s even making me consider buying a secondhand A10 instead of the AK-BT2 adapter.

[photomadnz]

Curtis like its!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w433J-C97Ec

[adrianb]

Curtis like its!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w433J-C97Ec

Just watched this. It looks good I must admit and I think I will be purchasing when the price comes down a bit, and any initial bugs have been resolved.

He said 4 hours with one XLR mic using phantom power. This is much more in line with my expectations. 

[adrianf74]

Curtis like its!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w433J-C97Ec

Curtis sums it up in the end; if you already have the F3 and it's working for you, keep using it.  If you're looking at buying one of the two, he recommends the Tascam.  Right now, I'd hold off until everything gets sorted out.

I'm using an F3 and F6 so I'll likely keep using those two as they work perfectly fine for my needs.  I will admit, the iOS app for the Tascam (and its own display) both look better than the Zoom one but considering all I'm doing is locking the buttons on the F3 and controlling everything from the app, I really don't care all that much.  Bluetooth didn't drain my Energizer Lithium Batteries all that much, either, so I'm glad to continue that as my workflow when I have zero issues walking into a venue.

[WiFiJeff]

The FR-AV2 does not seem to have the high frequency hum lines (admittedly way out of hearing range) that the Portacapture X8 had, at least testing it with DPA4081 mics on 5V plug-in power.

[Ozpeter]

I commented on the 'Curtis' video that potential purchasers should read this thread to check on daily updates of real world end user experiences.

[vwmule]

I used the deck for Warren Haynes Band in Washington, D.C., last week.

https://archive.org/details/warrenhaynes2024-10-03gefell.vwmule.gefell

[TheJez]

Something that's still not clear to me about this recorder is the record level in 32bit float mode. I know there has been a lot of discussion and confusion about this (or should I say about the 'magnification') on the F3, and I think I understand what the F3 is doing.
I would expect that just like with the F3, a fixed gain is applied in the analog stage and then an amplification is applied in the digital domain depending on your record level setting. This would also mean that if the meters go over 0dB while recording, you can still fix that in post without problems.
However, if the record level does affect the analog gain, it would be possible to set the record level 'too high' or 'too low', introducing clipping or poor S/N.
Hopefully some of the proud new owners of the FR-AV2 can shed some light on this? I really hope it's a set-and-forget recorder where the record level doesn't really matter, apart from seeing the bars going nicely up and down on that beautiful display.

On a sidenote: If the record level doesn't really matter, than I think it's a bit odd that it's possible to change the record levels while recording. Doing so would only complicate things in post, I think...

[Kyle K]

Something that's still not clear to me about this recorder is the record level in 32bit float mode. I know there has been a lot of discussion and confusion about this (or should I say about the 'magnification') on the F3, and I think I understand what the F3 is doing.
I would expect that just like with the F3, a fixed gain is applied in the analog stage and then an amplification is applied in the digital domain depending on your record level setting. This would also mean that if the meters go over 0dB while recording, you can still fix that in post without problems.
However, if the record level does affect the analog gain, it would be possible to set the record level 'too high' or 'too low', introducing clipping or poor S/N.
Hopefully some of the proud new owners of the FR-AV2 can shed some light on this? I really hope it's a set-and-forget recorder where the record level doesn't really matter, apart from seeing the bars going nicely up and down on that beautiful display.

On a sidenote: If the record level doesn't really matter, than I think it's a bit odd that it's possible to change the record levels while recording. Doing so would only complicate things in post, I think...

The technical aspect of audio is not my strong suit -- if you can give me a set of steps to test this properly I will do so.

With my limited understanding, I performed the following test:

Equipment:
DPA 4060 legacy > core sound BB > FR-AV2 EXT input

1) Identify a loud audio source that I know is not clipping at the mic level
2) record at +0 DB (showing -10 DB or so during recording)
3) record at +60 DB (showing endless clipping during recording)
4) normalize both files


No clipping in either once normalized. They both sound identical.

This means that the gain is not being applied at the analog level, right?

[grawk]

I'd say yes, there's no analog gain.

Also, why would you use the core sound battery box with a recorder that provides 5v pip?

[Kyle K]

I'd say yes, there's no analog gain.

Also, why would you use the core sound battery box with a recorder that provides 5v pip?

I thought 9v would provide maximal protection against distortion? Is there no difference between a 9v BB and 5v pip in that regard?

Edit: Hm. Did some further reading, I guess for 4060s it would seem not to matter? The answer would be "an abundance of caution", I always thought max allowable power was best. Thanks for pointing that out, I am still trying to discern just how certain it is.
https://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=190152.0#msg2299751
https://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=190550.msg2300230#msg2300230

Seeing conflicting info that makes me want to still run it to err on safe side..
https://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=187465.0

Don't wanna derail. But wanted to answer.

Ultimately I'm getting XLR adapters to get 9-10v out of the AV2 and cut the battery box out of the gear chain for my 406x's.