Hi Phil,
Unfortunately, I have no experience with the current Sony Hi-MD
machines. I only tried an older Sharp MD machine a few years ago.
If you intend to use phantom-powered microphones and also require a
reasonable level of ruggedness, reliability and usability in the
field, then I would try to avoid a combination of a such a compact
(and fragile?) consumer-grade MD recorder and an external phantom
power unit.
Here are some thoughts:
* Operating two separate units (with two separate sets of batteries to
care for) in the field probably involves more hassle than one single
integrated unit.
* The tiny 3.5 mm microphone input connectors can potentially cause
more trouble than the more rugged XLR input connectors.
* The large record / pause buttons on the more professional recorders
are much easier to operate than the tiny buttons on a consumer-grade
unit.
There are also a few things on the FR2-LE that are not optimal:
* The headphone monitor level control knob might be a bit too small.
* The two additional and independent mic input control knobs can not
be linked. However, this is not a major issue, because it is probaly
not necessary to adjust them very often.
* The LED peak level display on my unit is a bit too dark. This is
perhaps a fault of my individual unit and actually no problem because
there is still the additional recording level display on the LCD panel
that can be read reliably even when the sun is shining directly on it.
* There is no mono recording mode (I hope for a future firmware update
that adds this feature).
There have been reports that the menue system was difficult to use.
However, I feel that it is actually very easy to use once one has
understood its general principle.
I certainly love the option to use large capacity 7.2V/3000mAh NiMH
batteries. Until now (after using it for about 3 hours), it was not
neccessary to charge the batteries.
Regards,
Raimund
Philip Tyler wrote:
>
> Hi Raimund
> The Fostex FR2-LE has some great figures, and judging
> by your last recording the phantom power would seem to
> be fine as well on the machine. But then one would
> hope that they learn from past experience.
> So if you were to add the cost of say an Art Phantom
> II to the price of a Sony Hi-MD machine you are
> starting to get very close to the cost of the FR2-LE.
> So this may be the way to go as the recording machine
> at a reasonable cost?
> Thanks for producing the figures.
> All the best.
> Phil
> --- Raimund Specht <> wrote:
>
> > I just measured the Equivalent Input Noise (EIN) of
> > the new Fostex
> > FR-2LE and KORG MR-1000 recorders:
> >
> > http://www.avisoft.com/recordertests.htm
> >
> > While there is absolutely no reason to worry about
> > the performance of
> > the FR-2LE preamplifiers, the KORG MR-1000
> > preamplifiers are only as
> > good (or bad) as those of the M-Audio MicroTrack
> > 24/96. This is still
> > good enough for many applications, but it is quite
> > disappointing for a
> > unit that is advertized by slogans such as
> > 'pristine' and
> > 'uncompromising, future-proof fidelity' that can be
> > found on their
> > website.
> >
> > Raimund
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>=20=09=09
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