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8. Re: R-44 issue

Subject: 8. Re: R-44 issue
From: "Jez" tempjez
Date: Sat Jun 23, 2012 12:45 pm ((PDT))
& here's a particularly nice one from yorkshire:
http://engravedglass.bandcamp.com/track/wensleydale-fence-wire-1?permali\
nk




--- In  "Jez" <> wrote:
>
> Hi Peter,
> whack your headphones on (computer speakers won't handle the sounds) &
> take a listen to tracks 2, 4 & 6 on this:
>
http://engravedglass.bandcamp.com/album/jez-riley-french-instamatic-snow\
\
> donia?permalink
>
>
<http://engravedglass.bandcamp.com/album/jez-riley-french-instamatic-sno\
\
> wdonia?permalink>
> i've been recording fence & other found wires for years - always
> interesting. The recordings on this release are, as ever, unprocessed.
> ta.
>
>   --- In  Peter Shute pshute@
> wrote:
> >
> > Jez, what do you mean by "recording fence wires"?
> >
> > Peter Shute
> >
> >
> > --------------------------
> > Sent using BlackBerry
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: 
> > To: 
> > Sent: Sun Jun 24 03:15:31 2012
> > Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] R-44 issue
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi Robin,
> >
> > the FR2LE really isn't neat the Sound Devices - its a long way off
in
> terms of not only specs (specs on paper only say so much as we all
know)
> & in terms of in the field. The pre-amps on the Fostex don't have as
> much headroom & are considerably noisier. More importantly they don't
> sound as good, but they are good for the price.
> >
> > As for the specs on tests this is a big subject that's been
discussed
> on here a few times - the thing is that these tests only tell half the
> story. There are a few sites that, for example, specs the self noise
of
> the DR-680 at lower than the R-44 but others that find the opposite.
The
> R-44 pre-amps burn-in slower than the DR & I guess that might be
> something to do with it.
> >
> > Much of my recording is concerned with very, very quiet sounds, most
> of which a recorder such as the Fostex is incapable of capturing
simply
> because the self noise is louder than the sound being recorded. Thats
> the reason I bought a Sound Devices recorder.
> >
> > Also, the pre-amps & paths on the FR2LE don't handle
non-conventional
> mics well - I don't know the science of why, just the effect - but for
> example when recording fence wires with the FR2LE there's a ton of
> frequencies that just aren't there. I once had a long discussion about
> this & was told that Fostex route power to their inputs differently
for
> one thing & also that their pre-amp design is limited because of the
way
> they route power. One effect of this is that, for example, some
FR2LE's
> need phantom power on with contact mics & some don't - its had us
> scratching our heads on more than one workshop.
> >
> > forgetting spec-talk for now, put simply the difference in available
> gain between the FR & the SD is that the FR is about 60% of what the
SD
> has & in terms of self noise the FR is about 40% more than the SD has.
> >
> > The FR2LE is a good recorder, the PMD661 is a good recorder, the
R-44
> is a good recorder - all for their cost. The Sound Devices is, without
> any doubt whatsoever a very different thing (& I speak as someone who
> still sometimes uses a minidisc too & has no beef with lower cost
units
> per say).
> >
> > --- In
>
<naturerecordists%40yahoogroups.c\
\
> om>, "robin_parmar_sound" robin@ wrote:
> > >
> > > Jez wrote:
> > >
> > > > thanks Robin, I knew of this test (which by the way has
different
> results from quite a few others). I've used all the other recorders &
> actually the R-44 has a lower self noise than the FR2LE & the PMD661
for
> example - but there is a knack to getting the gain & sensitivity knob
in
> the right positions for optimum performance.
> > >
> > > I would like to know more about this, since I have not read much
> disagreement with the tests I referenced. Would love to be better
> informed!
> > >
> > > I confess to being surprised that the noise would be lower than
the
> FR-2LE, which is already at Sound Devices quality. Some of my
recordings
> are already right at the limits of what is audible / possible, IMO.
> > >
> > > -- Robin Parmar
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>










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