"clay" wrote:
> I guess I'm surprised that no one are using
> preamps of the quality of the minidisk in
> a similar size package.
Sony might have ruled the small recorder universe if they left the
Hi-MD electronics intact, and substituted a flash card for the
minidisc as a storage medium. I suppose they chose to try to prolong
the life of the Hi-MD instead. It's still popular in Japan.
Sony's $1800 PCM-D1 recorder has excellent preamps and very good
built-in mics. However, you'll have considerable difficulty fitting
it into a pocket! The D1 measures 193 x 72 x 33 mm (that's a volume
of 459 cc) and weighs 617 g.
Sony's $450 PCM-D50 approaches the Hi-MD recorder in preamp quality.
And it's closer to pocket size (volume 368 cc, weight 365 g).
Recorders like the Olympus LS-10, Edirol R-09HR and Zoom H2 are an
easier fit in a pocket (volume less than 200 cc, weight 175 g).
All theses recorders are considerably smaller and lighter than the
Fostex FR-2LE, which has a volume of 1550 cc, and weighs 907 g.
The size advantage of the smaller recorders is diminished if you need
to provide phantom power to external microphones. The Rolls PB224
battery box, for example, adds a volume of 435 cc and weighs 450 g,
not to mention the complexity of extra connecting cables to fiddle
with and more batteries to monitor.
--oryoki
|