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portable stereo recording?


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i want to get a portable, digital, stereo recorder, like a DAT or MD recorder. it needs to be portable as it will be used, literally, in the field (sometimes, also, the woods).

 

i was looking at the HHB portadisc, but not only is it not stereo, it's $1500! is this a reasonable price for something battery powered?

 

part of the reason i ask is that i was originally going to buy a battery-integrated power inverter (makes 120V wall power from two 12V batteries) to power my current recording setup, except outside. but i have a pair of AKG C1000S mics, and a pair of homebuilt 9V mics i read about in TapeOp (can i actually mention that magazine here? http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif), so i was hoping to go all battery power, and lighten my load considerably.

 

is DAT/MD the way forward? is there an analog solution that isn't a cassette, or at least of comparable sound to DAT/MD? what is a reasonable cost for this?

 

thanks, all.

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HHB generally makes high-quality stuff, so $1500 is probably right in line. I have a DAT DA-P1 which is reliable ($1000 used about a year or two ago), although the mic preamps suck. IF you want analog (but not cassettes), Nagra is probably one of the better answers. Look for one used. I don't know the models for decent used analog Nagras, so if anyone knows, just jump right in here!

 

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Originally posted by synaes:

i want to get a portable, digital, stereo recorder, like a DAT or MD recorder. it needs to be portable as it will be used, literally, in the field (sometimes, also, the woods).

 

Don't forget that with the MD recorder, your digital audio data is compressed (DAT is linear PCM digital audio data - no data compression). I don't know what you plan to do with these recordings, after capture, but if your going to manipulate this audio, in any fashion, I would highly recommend that you DO NOT go with a format that is data-compressed!

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The DA-P1 is probably the least expensive "PRO" way to go in the field. The preamps do suck, so you'd have to save up a bit and get some external preamps. You'll be glad you did.

 

I'm using an HHB PDR-1000 DAT recorder (which they discontinued - shame), with Grace Design Lunatec V2 preamps. My mics usually are Earthworks QTC-1s, but they will vary depending on what I'm recording. This setup is far more expensive than what you're talking about, but this gets me pro results. This setup is not light, but it's battery powered and quite mobile.

 

Michael Oster

F7 Sound and Vision

http://www.f7sound.com

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