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#1
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Edirol R-4 long term review
The R-4 arrived late last year. I wrote comments on it then that
included: 1) Very portable 4 track recorder 2) Mic preamps with marginal gain--often record will levels at max. 3) 10s of hours recording uncompressed 44.1/16 using the internal drive. 3) Batteries do not engage when power drops--only when AC is disconnected. After several sessions I can give more insight. Mic preamps are "OK". While the mic preamps are skimpy on levels, the results are about average for what I consider pro gear, i.e. a little better than my Mackie SDR 24/96, but not as good as my Cranesong Spider. Noise levels are low. Fidelity is good. Even with (euphemistically) lots of headroom raising the levels to peak at -1 dBFS doesn't cause any noticeable problems. Note that there are no separate line inputs and no mic/line switch. The same preamps handle all levels up to +4. Remember the old piano key cassette recorders so popular in the 70's? This machine has that capability. With battery power and builtin mics and speakers, I set it on the floor at a rehearsal and recorded the whole thing. (I practice to the rehearsal recording). The R-4 is not noticably better than a $10 Radio Shack cassette when using its internal mics and speakers (except that it's stereo). The builtin omni mics don't suffer from machine noise, at the R-4 has no moving parts, but they aren't better than my mother's old cassette recorder. The speakers remind me most of a cell phone, tinny and zero fidelity. They are marginally better than the meters for verifying input. It had no trouble running for the 2.5 hour rehearsal on NiMH's. The meters. They read from -48 and have a clipping indicator. I find them useful. Now that I'm used to the display, I find I can read and change it easily. I'm now addicted to the "preroll". The recorder keeps the previous X seconds (default = 14 up to 60) in a buffer. When you hit record, your recording starts 14 seconds ago. I can wait for the concert to start and hit record after the fact. Saves many minutes of dead air when I'm set up offstage and out of view. Overall, I find it a good, middle of the line recorder. It's definitely a step up from the DA-P1 DAT recorder it replaces, and I find many sessions (I record mostly live, classical programs) need only the 4 channels, saving me from having to truck the big rig. The R-4, two stands, 2 stereo snakes, 4 mics, headphones, and a UPS are the whole show. |
#2
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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Edirol R-4 long term review
Carey Carlan wrote:
The R-4 arrived late last year. I wrote comments on it then that included: After several sessions I can give more insight. Overall, I find it a good, middle of the line recorder. It's definitely a step up from the DA-P1 DAT recorder it replaces Carey, Thankyou for taking the time to provide some real signal amongst the increased noise in RAP. I for one found your post quite useful. bobs Bob Smith BS Studios we organize chaos http://www.bsstudios.com |
#3
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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Edirol R-4 long term review
Carey Carlan wrote:
Mic preamps are "OK". While the mic preamps are skimpy on levels, the results are about average for what I consider pro gear, i.e. a little better than my Mackie SDR 24/96, but not as good as my Cranesong Spider. Noise levels are low. Fidelity is good. Even with (euphemistically) lots of headroom raising the levels to peak at -1 dBFS doesn't cause any noticeable problems. Thanks for the review. For a better on-board pre-amp, consider one of the mods from www.oade.com . Doug improved mightily on the pre-amp in my Marantz 670, lowering the noise and increasing the headroom. He offers similar upgrades for several current flash recorders, including the R-4. -- J www.urbanvoyeur.com |
#4
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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Edirol R-4 long term review
UrbanVoyeur wrote in
news:9VvDf.2810$%e3.1094@trndny04: Thanks for the review. For a better on-board pre-amp, consider one of the mods from www.oade.com . Doug improved mightily on the pre-amp in my Marantz 670, lowering the noise and increasing the headroom. He offers similar upgrades for several current flash recorders, including the R-4. Doug's reply was "March 2006" |
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