Thanks for the search and recap Derek. I think
the R-4 exhibits both low gain and low head room
as we see with the stock Marantz's and I believe
also with the R-1. Soberly, it doesn't seem one
could expect to use the R-4's internal mic pres
for high gain applications with mics
having >10dB(A) self noise to record ambience in
quiet locations. For isolated call recording and
other robust sources, hot mics would produce
plenty of signal to overcome the gain limitations
and probably would not overload the pre like a
music concert, which I assume is Dan's point.
Personally, I'm hoping we'll be able to test the
R-4's line input quality/performance for using it
with external pres as you say. Normally, I would
not question Edirol's ability to make four
quality, balanced line inputs were it no for the
recent finding that the MT's line input is much
noisier than one would expect. Rob D.
At 3:49 PM +0100 12/4/05, Derek Holzer wrote:
>Hi Oryoki,
>
>oryoki wrote:
>
>> The Edirol R-1 two channel recorder has decent mic
>> pre's. Where did you hear that the R-4's mic pre's
>> are problematic?
>
>Check the [Nature Recordists] thread:
>"I have an Edirol R4 and now I'm looking for a portable pre"
>
>There, robleshugodaniel reported:
>
>> really, I think the R4=B4s preamplifiers needs an
>> external preamplifier. The hiss is clearly noticeable. I have a very
>> good studio preamplifier (AC powered) , and I made comparisons with the
>> R4 preamplifiers. The R4=B4s noise with the external pre is clearly
>> reduced. In this case, I think, the R4 is usable in quiets ambients.
>
>> When I mention the hiss present in the preamplifiers, it was recording
>> in a quiet ambient (nature) Of course, if you record music it is no
>> noticeable.
>
>And Dan Dugan wrote:
>
>> I don't thing the R4 necessarily needs external preamps if you have
>> hot mics.
>
>There was a long discussion on which portable preamps could be used,
>such as RME's QuadMic. This leads me to beleive it is not the best thing
>for quiet nature recording.
>
>I've also seen it written up in music taper and sports recording
>websites. Funny enough, the recordist who posted the first online review
>of the R4 was selling his on EBay several months later. I wrote to ask
>why, and he said it was because he found the preamps too hot!
>
>nickspicks wrote:
>
>> selling because I'm not satisfied w/the mic
>>preamps and dont want to run a seperate box
>>ahead of it.
>
>I asked if it was a problem of too much noise, or too much gain? I read
>in his review (one of the few out there, actually) that it doesn't work
>out well in 100db+ environments:
>
>http://www.nickspicks.com/gear-r4.htm
>
>nickspicks replied:
>
>> it will excell in a quiet environment, that is what it is designed for.
>> Me, I use it for music recording, and dont
>>find the analog section to be audiophile
>>quality (my standards are very high)
>
>So there you have two different stories!
>
>More feedback from folks here might straighten it out a bit.
>
>Best,
>derek
--
Rob Danielson
Film Department
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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