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Re: Small field recorder - clean line input

Subject: Re: Small field recorder - clean line input
From: "Rob Danielson" danielson_audio
Date: Wed Sep 17, 2008 9:28 am ((PDT))
At 10:35 AM -0500 9/17/08, Curt Olson wrote:
>Just to be on the safe side, I consulted the list description a few
>minutes ago at:
>
><http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/>http://tech.groups.y=
ahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/
>
>To my relief, it still says in part, "Topics include, but aren't
>limited to recording techniques and equipment..." So hopefully Martyn
>won't consider it irrelevant if I ask a question about small field
>recorders for my nature recording pursuits. ; )

The time people spend stimulating and assisting thoughtful
discussions is what matters most to me. Other, on-going discussions
don't pose any real danger.  Its probably much more important that
people feel free to talk. :-)


>Now that several folks here have had a chance to evaluate some of the
>new units, I'm considering which one might best serve the following
>priorities:
>
>- AA battery power
>- removable CF or SD media
>- 44.1/24 or 48/24 WAV recording
>- clean line input (1/8" unbalanced is okay)
>- fully Macintosh compatible
>
>I'm looking for a clean, simple "bit bucket" to capture the line output
>of a Sound Devices MixPre. The recorder's mics or mic pre is not a
>major concern. Is it reasonable to hope that the Zoom H2 can handle my
>needs successfully? Other better recommendations?

Is the ability to make long (> 2GB) recordings a priority? If so,
Oryoki produced a list of recorders with this option for me: Edirol
R-09 HR, M-Audio Microtrack II, Sony PCM-D50 and Marantz PMD620.

One would think the -10 dB line input noise of any well-designed
audio device would be lower than that of your MixPre,.. but I'm not
sure anyone has thoroughly tested this on all the newest units. You
could assume a unit will and buy it from a known dealer who would
allow you to return it if it turned out to fail this test. Of the
current small recorders, I have come across a few comments about
unexpected line-level noise with the H2 and the MicroTracker.  I did
find the balanced line inputs on the MicroTracker to be unexpectedly
noisy.
http://www.uwm.edu/~type/audio-art-tech-gallery/pages/MicroTrack_NH900_722_=
IMA-QT-present.html
Rob D.


>Thanks much,
>
>Curt Olson


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