Topic: Korg MR-1 and MR-1000 - News DSD Recorders announced at AES

[Nick's Picks]

keep me in mind, I will be making them.

[Stagger]

keep me in mind, I will be making them.

Remember, I'm not only the priesident, I'm also a client!
(Actually I am a client Nick built me some damn fine cables!)

[Nick's Picks]

[qpwoei]

To me, the PCM quality is not going to be any different than most other PCM recorders. I am most interested in the mic preamp quality in the MR-1000 (ultra high quality for an all in one box) and line in dsd recording on both. I am not expecting the mic pre to be very good on the MR-1.

Well, maybe... but a guy from Japan that is using it wrote this to me when I asked him:

"Be careful. MR-1 is a kind of a shock. Its mic-preamp section generates almost NO noise. Even the R-09, famous for having silent line-input, makes slight white noise background. At first, I took it wrong for malfunction. Second shock is that the headphone amp is a little noisy. Korg put most of the cost into recording operations. They cut budget for playing. Completely different philosophy from SONY MD. The biggest shock comes from the sound it takes. It records EVERYTHING. At 1-bit mode, signal loss isn't likely to occer so easily, hence, it records almost every signal that the microphone produces. When you listen to it by just playbacking, you may not be so surprised because the output circuit is rather poor, but once you transfer it to your pc, and listen with headphones, you....

At least I was very surprised. Even now I can't believe people can get such a recorder for less than 1000 usdollar."

Some actual sounds from the MR-1:
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=30226
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=21830

[SClassical]

Interesting....have to try my one out this weekend. I need to get a balance Y cable to record line-in. Anyone recommend one?

[it-goes-to-eleven]

To me, the PCM quality is not going to be any different than most other PCM recorders.

And yet I find the A/D's of various recorders to be very different when run line-in from the same mics and pre-amps. Oh how I wish my r09 had the detail of my 722.  So I wouldn't assume for a second that the a/d or pre quality will be excellent but I hope it is..

[manamana]

To me, the PCM quality is not going to be any different than most other PCM recorders. I am most interested in the mic preamp quality in the MR-1000 (ultra high quality for an all in one box) and line in dsd recording on both. I am not expecting the mic pre to be very good on the MR-1.

Well, maybe... but a guy from Japan that is using it wrote this to me when I asked him:

"Be careful. MR-1 is a kind of a shock. Its mic-preamp section generates almost NO noise. Even the R-09, famous for having silent line-input, makes slight white noise background. At first, I took it wrong for malfunction. Second shock is that the headphone amp is a little noisy. Korg put most of the cost into recording operations. They cut budget for playing. Completely different philosophy from SONY MD. The biggest shock comes from the sound it takes. It records EVERYTHING. At 1-bit mode, signal loss isn't likely to occer so easily, hence, it records almost every signal that the microphone produces. When you listen to it by just playbacking, you may not be so surprised because the output circuit is rather poor, but once you transfer it to your pc, and listen with headphones, you....

At least I was very surprised. Even now I can't believe people can get such a recorder for less than 1000 usdollar."

Some actual sounds from the MR-1:
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=30226
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=21830

Does this seem odd to anyone else? "once you convert it to PCM to play on your pc...it sounds better than the native DSD on played from the recorder"

[eric.B]

Does this seem odd to anyone else? "once you convert it to PCM to play on your pc...it sounds better than the native DSD on played from the recorder"

To me, the PCM quality is not going to be any different than most other PCM recorders. I am most interested in the mic preamp quality in the MR-1000 (ultra high quality for an all in one box) and line in dsd recording on both. I am not expecting the mic pre to be very good on the MR-1.

Well, maybe... but a guy from Japan that is using it wrote this to me when I asked him:

"Be careful. MR-1 is a kind of a shock. Its mic-preamp section generates almost NO noise. Even the R-09, famous for having silent line-input, makes slight white noise background. At first, I took it wrong for malfunction. Second shock is that the headphone amp is a little noisy. Korg put most of the cost into recording operations. They cut budget for playing. Completely different philosophy from SONY MD. The biggest shock comes from the sound it takes. It records EVERYTHING. At 1-bit mode, signal loss isn't likely to occer so easily, hence, it records almost every signal that the microphone produces. When you listen to it by just playbacking, you may not be so surprised because the output circuit is rather poor, but once you transfer it to your pc, and listen with headphones, you....

At least I was very surprised. Even now I can't believe people can get such a recorder for less than 1000 usdollar."

Some actual sounds from the MR-1:
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=30226
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=21830

[Nick's Picks]

I can see myself hacking one of those Tascam jobies so that I can have a DSD jukebox.

[esteyes]

i wrote to the guys in japan and including shipping, here is what i got back:

Dear Neil,

Thank you for your inquiry.
This is Rachel from Ishibashi WEB SHOP.

I am afraid that the price your friend was quoted is not correct for the MR-1000 -- perhaps he was quoted for a different product?  The price of the MR-1000 alone is nearly double what you were told, and then shipping is added on top of that.

Please see the following quote for the price of the item plus shipping and handling fees in Japanese yen (JPY).

Korg
MR-1000               ---112,381

Shipping and Handling to USA      ---6,000
__________________________________________________
Total               ---118,381

Please note that the shipping and handling fees include the cost of insurance, which will cover any damage, defects, or loss that may occur.

We use EMS for international shipping.  It takes approximately one week for the item to arrive once we have shipped it.
We accept payments by credit card (Visa, American Express, or Mastercard) or by wire transfers via bank.  However, if you choose to pay by wire transfer, there is an additional 3,000 yen fee required for processing, and wire transfers must be made in Japanese yen (JPY).

If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask! Thank you for contacting Ishibashi WEB SHOP!

Regards,
Rachel Maurer / International Sales Agent Ishibashi WEB SHOP Ishibashi Music Corporation http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/ U-BOX - http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/ Telephone number: 81-3-3291-7090
Fax: 81-3-3291-7099

that makes it about 1001.00 dollars US.

[MattH]

To me, the PCM quality is not going to be any different than most other PCM recorders.

And yet I find the A/D's of various recorders to be very different when run line-in from the same mics and pre-amps. Oh how I wish my r09 had the detail of my 722.  So I wouldn't assume for a second that the a/d or pre quality will be excellent but I hope it is..

Burr-Brown PCM4202 should sound damn fine for PCM recordings, certainly as good as the 722. And I expect the preamp in the MR-1000 to sound simlar or better than the 722 preamp.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

To me, the PCM quality is not going to be any different than most other PCM recorders.

And yet I find the A/D's of various recorders to be very different when run line-in from the same mics and pre-amps. Oh how I wish my r09 had the detail of my 722.  So I wouldn't assume for a second that the a/d or pre quality will be excellent but I hope it is..

Burr-Brown PCM4202 should sound damn fine for PCM recordings, certainly as good as the 722. And I expect the preamp in the MR-1000 to sound simlar or better than the 722 preamp.

Those are absurd assumptions considering this is still vaporware.

[newblue]

Vaporware that should ship by the end of next week 

[MattH]

Vaporware that should ship by the end of next week 

Can't wait to get my vaporware and confirm these absurd assumptions.

[SClassical]

Vaporware that should ship by the end of next week 

I think the US release has been delayed to end of Feb...

http://www.americanmusical.com/item.aspx?i=KOR%20MR1&src=D0407FG0HAMS0000&cm_mmc=Froogle-_-SearchEngine-_-Feed-_-KOR%20MR1