(click thumbnail) | | Sony PCM-D1 Memory Stick/Flash Memory drive stereo recorder |
|
The 2005 AES show in New York was a great pro audio trade show, with record numbers of exhibitors and attendance. Audio engineers and technicians from all pro audio niche had plenty of products to check out. Pro Audio Review's PAR Excellence Awards, our ninth consecutive year, reflected the diversity of new products -- from improvements to standards such as Digidesign's new Pro Tools 7 to Fairlight's incredibly versatile Anthem console, to Meyer Sound's MICA and dbx's new 24/96 DriveRack.
My personal favorite class of products, however, was the rise of the high-resolution portable recorder. With recorders already on the market from high-end Nagra and budget units from M-Audio and Edirol, it was significant that Sony has jumped into the market with its PCM-D1. The made-in-Japan, Memory Stick/Flash Memory drive stereo recorder, is priced at $2,000 and built-like-a tank. The futuristic-looking unit looks like something from 'Star Trek, The Next Generation' with built-in high-end mics.
(click thumbnail) | | TASCAM's HD-P2 high-resolution stereo portable |
|
The significance of Sony's product release is that the former champion of DSD/SACD hardware and software has introduced its first-ever high-resolution PCM machine. Sony's previous PCM hardware products have never been more than 48 kHz capable. The PCM-D1 most likely signals a shift that Sony, somewhere down the road, will get behind one of the newer delivery mediums for distribution of high-res PCM audio.
Another product that received a PAR Excellence Award was TASCAM's high-resolution stereo portable. This recorder offers up to 192 kHz audio and timecode, but retails for an incredible $1,200 retail. Built in the same Chinese factory as its studio sibling, the highly regarded DV-RA1000 high-res master recorder, the HD-P2 is shockingly inexpensive and should be delivered to dealers by December, as will the Sony.
Congratulations to these and other companies who have the foresight to come up with products that will lead us, hopefully, to a popular, high-quality, high-resolution audio delivery system. We can then say goodbye to the aging and limited 44.1 kHz CD.