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recording/interviewing

 

Portable Digital Recorder Comparison

Is there a definitive field recorder we think you should buy? No. Do we have opinions about all the choices that are out there? You bet. See a summary of our humble opinions in the chart below. Click on the name of each recorder for the full Transom Tools review.

Model
Pros Cons
Sony PCM D50
Sony PCM-D50 good sound quality with external mics, adjustable built-in mics, sturdy construction, large input gain knob, 4 gigs of internal memory, good battery life, hardware switches for many functions. Built-in mics are very wind sensitive, windscreen is expensive, cannot record mono files, 1/8" mic input, a little too large to be pocket-sized.

Marantz PMD 620

good sound quality with external mics, small, light, one-button record, config presets, mono recording, gapless track marking audio delay in headphones, poor placement of headphone jack, audible button clicks, no digital input, 1/8" mic input
XLR inputs, good meters, recording config presets, mono recording, gapless track marking hissy with some dynamic mics, input distorts with some condenser mics, comparatively large and heavy, no digital input.
4-channel surround recording, good built-in mics, very small, inexpensive, easy to use, quick start-up. loud hiss on external mic inputs, clipping on line-input, no digital in, no phantom power, mini jack only external mic input.
easy to use, good built-in mics, XLR mic inputs, phantom power fine input volume buried in a menu, built-in mics very wind-sensitive, case transmits handling noise, single channel recording complicated to set-up, unintuituve menu navigation, no digital input.
ease of use, small, hardware switches or buttons for major functions noticable hiss on all inputs, no digital in, no phantom power, mini jack only external mic input.
balanced mic inputs, digital input, clean sound, mono recording built-in rechargable battery not field-swappable, non-standard phantom power voltage, TRS mic inputs not as convenient as XLR.

Tascam HD-P2

XLR inputs, excellent sound quality, optional padded case, good meters, large display, gapless track division, configuration presets, time code for sync to video or film larger and heavier than other recorders, plastic case, expensive, menus can be hard to navigate, low gain for dynamic mics, speaker is on by default if no headphones connected.

Sound Devices 702/722

excellent sound quality, metal construction, flexible recording options, reliable meters, long recordng times possible to 722's hard drive, gapless track marking expensive, heavy, larger than the pocket recorders, batteries hard to recharge in the field.

 

  mic inputs built-in mics best external mics digital audio input memory card type battery type approx battery life dimensions (single track) mono recording headphone monitoring of single mic input Street Price (USD)
Sony PCM-D50 mini 2-very good quality any yes (optical) Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo AA (4) 12 hours

W:2.88"
H: 6.13"
D: 1.3"
Wt: 12.9 oz (w/batteries)

no both channels $450

Marantz PMD 620

mini 2-good quality any no SD AA(2) 4 hrs W: 2.5"
H: 4"
D: 1"
Wt 4oz
yes both channels $400
Marantz PMD 660 XLR 2-poor quality condenser no CF AA (4) 3 hrs W: 4.5"
D: 7.2"
H: 1.9 "
Wt: 1.1 lbs.
yes both channels $450
Zoom H2 mini 4-very good quality none no SD AA(2) 6 hrs W:2.5"
D:4.3"
H:1.25"
Wt:3.9 oz
no n/a $200
Zoom H4 XLR 2-very good quality condenser no SD AA(2) 6hrs W: 2.75"
D: 6"
H: 1.38"
Wt: 6.7 oz.
yes one channel (stereo mode) $300
Edirol R-09 mini 2-very good quality none no SD AA(2) 6 hrs W: 2.5"
D: 4.07"
H: 1.19"
Wt: 6 oz.
no both channels $300
M-Audio Microtrack 24/96 TRS and mini very good T-mic (included) condenser yes CF built in rechargeable 3 hrs W: 2.4"
D: 4.3"
H: 1.12"
Wt: 4.9 oz.
yes one channel $300
Tascam HD-P2 XLR 1-poor quality any yes CF AA (8) 6 hrs W: 9.7"
D: 7.7"
H: 1.9"
Wt: 4.3lbs
yes flexible $1,000
Sound Devices 702/722 XLR none any yes CF removable rechargeable 3 hrs W: 4.9"
D: 8.2"
H: 1.8"
Wt: 2.6lbs. (722)
2.1 lbs. (702)
w/o battery
yes flexible $1,800 (702) $2,400 (722)



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