For what it's worth, I am pretty happy with my combination of a set of matched
Rode NT5's and my Marantz PMD661. Very low noise overall (at least for this
price category) and userfriendly. The only thing is that I have had two
occasions where the PMD has either 'hung' (i.e. stopped recording and did not
react to any keys, even power) or stopped recording for no apparent reason. In
both cases I was using the power supply with back up batteries in place. I have
never had this issue when I was just running it on batteries. So it could be
something with the logic for the external power or simply coincidence that in
both cases the SD card was corrupt. My solution for the time being is to use it
on batteries only. Not that good for the environment but not much I can do.
The NT5's have a problem too - they are extremely sensitive so even the
lightest breeze will result in terrible distortions. To prevent this I use a
Rycote Baby Ball Gag and Windshield Fur and that works in 80% of my recording
situations, however, as soon as there is a 'stiff breeze' even the blimp and
fur can't stop the wind from distorting the sound.
I you can live with the above disadvantages (or assuming that you won't get the
problems I have with the PMD) this combination is a fairly robust set at a
reasonable price.
Cheers,
Eric
On 21/02/2013, at 5:37 AM, John Crockett <> wrote:
> Hi Ryan,
>
> Preamp noise and microphone noise is a somewhat complicated subject
> that has been discussed extensively here. In theory, you want at
> least 7 dB difference between the microphone output noise and the
> preamp equivalent input noise, which means the preamp should be -121
> dBu or less for use with the NT4 (output noise = -114 dBu). I have
> never used the DR100-mkII. What you will find from the link that
> Robin and Marco gave you is that the DR100-MkII is on the margin of
> acceptability for the Rode NT4. In theory, its preamp noise (-119
> dBu) is going to add noise to the NT4, while the minidisc (-124 dBu
> if you are using one of the sonys) does not. But, again in theory,
> you may not hear any difference between the minidisc and the Tascam,
> because it works out to only a 0.8 dB difference in noise between
> those two recorders, which may or may not be audible to you. And this
> is all theoretical. Your results may vary in practice. But I have
> found Raimund's list to correspond very closely to my experience.
>
> On Raimund's list, the least-cost recorder with XLR inputs and
> preamps that are quiet enough for the NT4 is the Olympus LS-100
> ($400). Oddly, the 3.5 mm input on the LS-100 is much noisier than
> the XLR input, and much noisier than the 3.5mm inputs on the
> LS-5/10/11 series recorders. If you were to get the LS-100, it would
> only make sense to use the NT4 via XLR cables. If cost is a factor,
> and you really need to use XLR cables (maybe because you anticipate
> long cable runs), and you don't mind slightly noisier preamps, the
> Tascam may serve you well. Maybe someone here has used the DR-100MkII
> with the NT4 and can report their experience.
>
> There is another variable to consider, which is that the 3.5mm cable
> that came with SOME Rode NT4s has a -12 dB pad in it that needs to be
> removed to get the best results with it, or else you need to use the
> XLR cables, either into a recorder with XLR inputs or with a stereo Y
> adapter to change the XLR to 3.5mm. I can tell you from experience,
> this makes a real difference. Before I removed the pad resistors, I
> was getting 5-6 dB more noise from the NT4 than I do now. I thought
> it was a very mediocre microphone! I removed the pad from my 3.5mm
> cable, and the result is now indistinguishable from using the XLR
> cables. Basically, the pad lowers both the signal and the noise, so
> the noise voltage drops well below the preamp noise of nearly any
> recorder, and you start hearing the recorder noise on top of the
> microphone noise.
>
> Here's a a link to the -12 dB pad issue and how to fix it:
>
> https://pantherfile.uwm.edu/type/www/audio-reports/
> Rode_NT-4_Cable_Mod/NT-4_CableMod-index.htm
>
> Or just get an XLR->3.5mm stereo Y adapter and use the XLR cables.
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> John
>
> John Crockett
>
>
> Let us live in harmony with Earth
> And all creatures
> That our lives may be a blessing
>
> On Feb 20, 2013, at 10:14 AM, wrote:
>
> > 1b. Re: Is my equipment outdated?
> > Posted by: "tankramjet" tankramjet
> > Date: Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:17 pm ((PST))
> >
> > Hi John,
> >
> > This is the first I have heard of pre-amp noise. How did you find
> > out about the level of pre-amp noise of a minidisc recorder
> > compared to for example the olympus ls-11?
> >
> > I was pretty convinced that going with a recorder with xlr inputs
> > was the way to go and was prepared to get the Tascam DR-100 mkII,
> > however I have no idea what the pre-amp noise is of this machine.
> > Is there a website or a place to find out about the pre-amp noise
> > of various recording devices?
> >
> > Thanks
> > Ryan
>
>
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
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