>From the May 2006 issue of DV Magazine (a free magazine,
http://www.dv.com/). The review will go online next month.
"2.5 out of 5
"Pros: Low-cost four-track recorder. Internal HD and CF slot. Powerful
editor. LANC input for camera control. Big prerecord buffer.
"Cons: Severely underpowered for field use. Controls on top could be
problematic. No SMPTE timecode. Questionable fault tolerance. No routing."
>From the testing sidebar:
"Things got noisier at mic levels, however. With a -50 dBu signal (matching=
most of the mics used in DV or film), dynamic range was 67 dB. That puts th=
e
noise floor only 55 dB below -12 dBFS nominal, and could result in audible=
hiss in theatrical or compressed broadcast dialog. If you use a hot mike
like the Sennheiser ME66 (-35 dBu) dynamic range gets 11 dB better, but
still not up to today's expectations for 16-bit digital.
"Most of the R-4's noise seems to be in its analog input stages, and isn't=
helped by switching to 24-bit recording. Dynamic range in that mode was onl=
y
93 dB for line-level signals (compared to 112 dB for some recorders, like
the Sound Devices 722). Using the R-4 for 24-bit recording just means you'r=
e
using 50 percent more media for the same audio quality. There's an advantag=
e
to using 24 bits in post, if your software can handle it, but with the R-4,=
you might as well record 16 bits and then convert the files later.
"Bottom line: Edirol R-4 does a good job with 16-bit voice or music
recordings, from virtually any line-level source, and re can recommend it
for that purpose. But things are worse with mic-level signals. And at 24
bits, it just wastes media."
Ouch.
Other points they make in the text: the plastic case is not immune to RFI,=
the power draw heats up alkaline batteries, power loss leaves the hard disk=
in limbo, maybe damaged. The reviewer thought the unit would work better
with an external mixer via line inputs, and maybe with an external A/D. "If=
you can't afford a Really Expensive recorder and can live with or work
around the considerable limitations, give the R-4 a look."
Bruce Wilson KF7K
http://science.uvsc.edu/wilson
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