Not too much has changed in the flash memory recording arena since the
beginning of the year. The three recorders people are talking about are
1. Marantz PMD-670 ~$600
http://www.d-mpro.com/users/folder.asp?FolderID=1582
measures 264 x 185 x 55 mm, 1.3 kg w/ battery
records 16/44.1 and 16/48 WAV, also MP2 and MP3
mic preamp has so-so specs
good substitute for DAT or cassette tape machine
my colleague in South America is very happy with his PMD-670
2. Fostex FR-2 ~$1350
http://www.fostexdvd.net/fxdvd_route/docs/product/fr2/fr2_overview.htm
250 x 220 x 77 mm, 1.7 kg w/ battery
records 16/44.1, 16/48, 24/48, 24/96 and 24/192 in WAV format
mic preamp better, but still not as good as HHB Portadisc
"entry level" field recorder for higher sampling rates
for comparison
HHB Portadisc 225 x 180mm x 57 mm, 2.0 kg w/battery
Sony TCM 5000EV cassett tape recorder 254 x 150 x 50mm, 1.4kg
w/battery?
FR-2 has attracted the attention of electrical engineer and concert
taper guru Doug Oade. Oade is planning to sell FR-2s upgraded with
better electronics to improve signal quality for nature recording, and
a second model optimized for concert taping. Price unknown, but
planned to be a few hundred dollars more than unmodified model.
3. Sound Devices 722 (2 channel) and 744T (4 channel w/ time code)
http://www.sounddevices.com/products/7.htm
722 street price expected to be about $2350 when released in Aug.
records up to 24/192 in WAV, also MP3
expectations are high for this device
should offer very high quality preamp, ~like Grace Lunatec V3
should be physically the smallest and lightest field recorder (~1kg)
but it's still tantalizingly just out of reach
All three machines have XLR inputs and phantom power for pro mic support
All three of these machines can record to Compactflash memory, or to a
hard disc. The Marantz and Fostex are limited to 4GB "microdrive".
The Sound Devices recorders have a built-in HD of 20GB or higher
capacity, although there have been stories of one variant of the 722
being offered without a hard disc.
There are rumors of Sony offering a pro-level flash memory recorder,
but the company is so conflicted about digital rights management that
any such machine will likely be crippled in some critical way.
Compactflash cards continue to come down in price, but only gradually.
The large capacity cards continue to be very expensive. For example,
fast 2GB cards cost about $375. 18 months ago, a 512MB card cost
almost this much, so some progress has been made. Use
pricegrabber.com or dealram.com to check the latest prices. Some
observers predict falling Compactfalsh prices by the end of the year
because additional manufacturers are starting to produce the basic
components used to build a Compactflash card. We'll see.
--oryoki
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
|