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ryantrauman
0
Sep 20, 2016
I ordered one of these this summer. The recording quality (with a Shure VP88, Sennheiser K6/ME64, etc.) has been fantastic. Much better than my Zoom H6 or my Rolad R-26. Not as versatile, granted. But for what it is, it has no peer. Nothing even close (except maybe for a Nagra unit, but I'm not really familiar with those). If you can record without needing two inputs, and can go without the XLR inputs, this unit is absolutely beautiful.
dzigavertov
0
Sep 23, 2016
ryantraumanSo why doesn't this thing have XLr inputs? I am curious about the application. $700 for an audio recorder with no professional mic inputs? Help me understand.
ryantrauman
0
Sep 24, 2016
dzigavertovTo tell you the truth, I don't know why they didn't include XLR inputs. I would have preferred that, too. Even so, I'm incredibly happy with sound quality.
dzigavertov
0
Sep 24, 2016
ryantraumanYeah, I don't get it. High end preamps, but not easily compatible with high end microphones? For this price I could get a high quality recorder, plus a high quality microphone that I can use in so many other applications.
alvester
10
Sep 25, 2016
dzigavertovSomething like this definitely appeals to professional musicians that might want to record their rehearsals and concerts on the go at a high resolution. I have both a Sony PCM-D50 (the predecessor to this unit) and a Korg MR-1000. As amazing as the Korg sounds with its DSD capability & XLR inputs it just isn't as convenient for quickly recording a gig or rehearsal as the Sony. It's already hard enough lugging your instrument to the gig (and a lot of mine involving flying) so adding two microphones and a mic stands is a BIG stretch for someone like me that's a drummer. (I've always got my cymbals with me either onboard or checked) I usually keep my Sony unit in my cymbal bag so it's ready for when I need it.
Also I think Sony did a great job of fine tuning the all-in-one package with the PCM-D50 as I never found anything at its price point, portability and feature set that sounded as good as it. It's built like a little metal Tonka truck too cause it's gone through some serious drops here and there. I've watched folks with plastic Zoom machines not survive as well the abuse my Sony has inadvertently taken.
Years ago someone created a web page dedicated to examples of recordings made with the PCM-D50 and other popular and similarly priced units (even some with XLR inputs) and as an all-in-one unit the Sony sounded the cleanest and most natural to my ears on acoustic instruments. From what I've read and heard this latest iteration sounds even better than the PCM-D50 plus it has a remote that would be SUPER helpful to avoid having to get up from my instrument between takes/run throughs at a rehearsal to go to the front of the band to stop and start the recorder.
I'm actually glad Sony seems to have focused on improving the preamps and internal mics rather than adding in an XLR input while keeping the price similar to the earlier version.
fredralphfred
6
Sep 26, 2016
dzigavertovGuys,
I have a PCM-D50. Love it. Why no XLR's?
Size and the more complicated circuitry to deal with a balanced input.
If you're using outboard XLR mic's, you'd should get a battery-operated mic. preamp rather than an XLR converter. The PCM-D50 (and -D100) are really intended to be used with the built-in microphones; the external mic. input is more of an afterthought. Also, I seem to remember someone mentioning this device suffered from "gain holes" when using an external pre-amp, so you need to be careful of the gain setting & check your headroom carefully.
In terms of being a field recorder, this thing gets almost everything right. The only one I've had that I've liked better (solely for the size) was my Yamaha PockeTrak 2G, which Yamaha discontinued and never equalled. Admittedly, the Sony is much more capable, but also much larger.
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