[Mike Rivers]

On Mar 10, 4:29 am, Steve wrote:

You looked at a retail site where they probably make more money selling
Zoom than Edirol. Why don't you do some research where people don't
benefit from a sale, and tell their real world experiences, like a
recording forum?

You mean a recording forum where people do their research by reading
the forum? Forums tend to have their "favorite" products - for
instance you can't say "I want a compressor" around here without
someone saying "RNC," even people who have never used one. And you get
the opinions of individuals who may have compared two at a store,
chose one, found it was OK, and so that's the one they recommend.

Magazines, even ones with review that aren't subsidized by
advertisers, rarely do "shootouts" but you might be able to compare
objective articles if you wait long enough to see reviews of the
different units you want to compare. But by the time the review you've
been waiting for comes out, the first unit reviewed has been
discontinued or superseded.

So your best bet is to do your own evaluation. Don't worry about
what's best, look for what meets your needs, including your
performance standards. And be prepared to accept some compromises -
nothing has it all.

I happen to have my act together. I did a ton of research. I also
listened to each one, and held each one in my hand. I'll admit that
most of what I know about the H4's faults is from Taperssection.com
forums where people are really into recording, everything from blank
media to hardware, and I do own a R-09 and use it all the time.

What are the qualifications of the Tapers? If some (or one) said he
came home with a blank card instead of a recording, does he know if
the problem was really with the recorder? The card? How the card was
prepared? Cockpit trouble? One man's "all you have to do is push a
button to start recording" is another man's "You can start recording
with one button after you go through two menus to make sure you have
everything set right, but bring a flashlight because you can't see the
display in the dark." You can think you've done your homework
thoroughly and find that you were studying the wrong books or went to
the wrong school.

There are no guarantees with reviews no matter where you read them.

Since you seem to be commenting on my lack of knowledge of these
recorders, and sticking up for what you feel is the superior H4 - Do you
actually own one, or are you just mouthing off?

I'm just mouthing off. I'd like very much to try a Z4 myself, but it's
not convenient for me to buy one and I don't know anyone who owns one,
so I'm happy enough doing without. I'm actually more eager to try the
Z2 when it comes out. While I like the idea of being able to use real
mics with the Z4, its audio would have to be awfully good (something
for which I haven't seen any quantitative or even trustworthy
subjective evaluation yet) before I'd use it for anything but an
informal recording, for which the built-in mics would probably be just
fine. And for something that I'd want to pull out of my pocket or
guitar case, the Z2 fits better than the Z4.

The Edirol R09 would serve just as well but the Z2 is cheaper and the
difference in sound may not justify the difference in price for my
application. For yours, whatever that might be, it might indeed sound
$100 better.

So I don't have any reason to trust you any more or less than anyone
else I don't know, who's work I don't know, who hasn't taken it apart
and told me what's inside, who hasn't made bench measurements and
published them. And at this point I don't need one enough to put up my
own money and try it myself.