John Gatski is the Publisher & Executive Editor of Pro Audio Review.
Audio recordists who need a small, high-quality digital stereo recorder have never had so many good choices available. Pro Audio Review has an entire round up dedicated to these recording tools, as well as a Buyers Guide and a focus on the bang-for-the-buck M-Audio MicroTrack and Zoom H4.
I have used a number of these recorders and have come away impressed by all. Their operating ergonomics and design approaches differ quite a bit, but all of them basically do a good job recording and playing back the audio. In fact, since 99.9-percent of their audio is dumped to computer, their playback features are really just for general monitoring.
For those of you considering a portable flash/hard drive recorder in the near future, here is my take on several of them:
M-Audio MicroTrack — For $350 street price, the 24/96 capable MicroTrack has to be the price/performance leader, with very good measured specs, a surprisingly good sounding plug-in mini stereo mic, and you can dock into an external A/D at 24/96 kHz. Yeah, the internal battery has to be recharged like an iPod in the field, the controls are not quite as intuitive as I’d like, and its line level inputs are too hot to record without attenuation. But the new MicroTrack II addresses those issues, which should make it even a better bargain.
Zoom H4 — Despite its cheap feel and almost useless display window, the SD card-based H4’s 24/96 performance is pretty good, though not as good as the measured specs of the MicroTrack. Its built-in mics are okay, but have little presence or sense of stereo separation. It does have balanced inputs for external mixer use. The AA battery operation makes it handy for AC-less use, but they run down fast while recording at 96 kHz. If you have to spend less money than the price of a MicroTrack, the H4 is a good choice. Zoom also has the new H2, which is even less money and has a multi-mic setup. I have yet to use it.
Korg MR-1 — It is the world’s first DSD portable recorder. Built in Japan and priced at $899, the MR-1 has the best ergonomics, all menu and button operations are intuitive, and it has an excellent display. It, too, runs on an internal battery, which means it will need some AC or a battery pack out in the field. You can input balanced signals via mini-jack stereo cables. Sound-wise, the MR-1 is best in DSD mode. Its PCM mode lacked the inner detail of the better PCM-only portable recorders. You can convert its DSD to PCM on your computer via provided software. I like the Korg, but I would like it better at $599 retail.
Sony PCM-D1 — It has the best built-in mics of any of the small recorders. It is expensive ($2,000 retail), but is easy to use, has a built-in 4 GB flash drive, and runs on double AAs. Anew “power” dock connector allowing it to be used with XLRs is now shipping, but it adds $500 to the price tag.
If you want more features, you can move up to the bigger “two-handed” portables:
The $600 Fostex FR-2LE is a downpriced FR2 with just enough features and excellent sound from its PCM converters. I am also a big fan of the TASCAM HDP-2 and several models of Sound Devices’ bigger high-res portables. They cost more, but offer more standard-like studio connectivity and digital connection options.
I have not yet used the Marantz or Edirol flash-based high recorders, but I would expect them to be quite competitive. At the ultra high-end, Zaxcom and Nagra also make quality recorders, but, again, you have to spend more.
Bottom line: There are lots of choices and they are all pretty good — buy based on your budget and feature needs.
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