Portable hard disk recorder

[Pete Martin]

I'm looking for any recommendations on a portable hard disk recorder. I have a minidisk, but want an uncompressed 16 bit .wav format, with USB. My wife has an Iriver, but is having problams with it. Any suggestions??

[Pete Martin]

Sorry, should have mentioned for recording jams at festivals, band rehersals, etc. Don't want a multitrack, just stereo, with capabilities of pluging in an external mic.

Thanks in advance!

[Stillpicking]

I have an Arcos 20 GB hard drive recorder. Records in an Mp3 format but that should not be a problem as I understand it there is not much difference between wav. and mp3. The files are 16 bit. and can be put into i-tunes which is now available for PCs and Macs. The batteries are rechargable and I can record on it non-stop for over 4 hours. I am also using Peak LT. to clean up the tracks and balance out the sound but you really could just play back what you get live and it is really good. Has a USB connect a jack for a stero mic, an internal mic which is just so so. It also has a jack to plug it direct into a preamp and I have had REALLY nice results doing that !

[Jim M.]

Not out yet, supposed to be shipped in early December, but looks very promising:

http://www.edirol.com/products/info/r1.html

[Pete Martin]

I am looking for .wav files, not a compressed format like mp3. My ear fatigues on listening to a compressed file very quickly.

That Edirol looks good, but I am using Windows 98SE and this does not support it. Any other thoughts?

[John Flynn]

I am using Windows 98SE and this does not support it. Any other thoughts?
My thought: Upgrade your Windows! You are going to be increasingly handicapped looking for cutting edge apps with that OS.

[sharp]

Check out the iRiver# HP120 (http://www.iriveramerica.com/products/H120.aspx)


It supports a bunch of file formats (MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV and OGG ) and has both an internal mic and an external stereo mic. #I believe it supports Windows 98SE. #

I have the larger 40GB unit called the HP140 and have been very pleased.

[patsites]

Pete,

I use the creative labs Nomad Jukebox 3. It completely fits the bill and will give you all the functionality you need. One exception you must also use an external mic with it, but this is ok simply because any recording is only as good as the mic you use, and any built in mic would be awful. The problem is that this model is discontinued by creative labs, but if you call them direct they usually have cheaper, refurbished models. It records directly to .wav, mp3 and practically any format you would want.

Send me an email and we can talk more about it. I can even send you some recordings of my band that we've made.

P~

[Chadly]

Hi Pete:
I've been looking for the same device. Have you seen the new Marantz recorders? The two that I've been looking at are the PMD670 and the CDR300. One records onto CD the other on Compact Flash cards......like the ones used for digital cameras. Does anyone have any thoughts about these?

I'm off to the tophat.....

Chad

[Fuzzyway]

I have the Marantz CDR300, with the lead acid external battery. Works great. The thing I liked about it was the built in phantom power and ability to use good external condensers when I want to. The internal mics work fine if you just want to record a jam.

Course its not as light in weight or easy to carry around as some of these other units you are talking about.

Best, fuzzy

[luckylarue]

Can the iRiver make playlists? Does it have a "shuffle" feature? And lastly, can you use the Belkin tuner receiver for use with home or car stereo tuner?

[sharp]

Can the iRiver make playlists? # Yes using Winamp

Does it have a "shuffle" feature? Yes

Can you use the Belkin tuner receiver? #Yes but why would you choose to do this when it degrades the sound so much. #I have a Belkin and it is, IMHO, junk. #

You can find the answer to any other operating questions here in the HP120 Owners manual (http://www.iriveramerica.com/images/pdf/iHP-120EngManual.pdf)

[Spruce]

I'm no expert on these machines, but apparently the PDM670 is the one to get...

There was a great review in the recent Tape Op of the machine, and a more extensive version of which appears here (http://sldghamr.faithweb.com/PMD670.html)...

Love to have one myself...

[Red haired boy]

The Marantz PMD670 is a great machine and is quickly becoming the standard (just like their tape recorders were until a few years ago). When I borrowed a friends the main problem I noticed was the distortion when the sound was too loud (this a problem in most digital formats). This is the kind of thing that with a little experience with the machine, and experiments with the settings can be easily dealt with. The main draw back to this machine is price, at $700 for the recorder plus compact flash cards (this is also the reason I don't own one, yet). I recommend using only Lexar cards, both because of my good experiences with Lexar and because I have been told of other cards not working due to firmware conflicts (particularly Sandisk). The goodnews on compact flash cards is that they have come way down in price (Lexar 1gb 80x for around $100)

Unfortunately I don't know of any good less expensive options, the Edirol R-1 mentioned aboved looks interesting but with only a mini plug (1/8") input, I won't be buying it (mini plugs are evil and unreliable).

Another very interesting product is the Edirol R-4 . One of the most interesting things is the price, B+H has it for $1500. Yes, not cheap but for 4 track, 24b/96k (digital studio quality recording) I will be taking a closer look at it when I have some money (I should also note that i don't know anything about Edirol's reputation for quality).

I would avoid a CD based system such as the CDR300 because it has moving parts and if bumped at the wrong time (like when finalizing the CD) you could loose everything.

I mentioned this link before on the cafe' #[url]http://www.vermontfolklifecenter.org/res_audioequip.htm (http://www.edirol.com/products/info/r4.html) . I think its a pretty good primer (full disclosure I used to work there).

Good luck and if you try the Edirol let me know what you think.

Stuart

[batman]

I have a Marantz, not sure the md# but cost about a grand. I love it. you can slow down without changeing pitch, record at half speed , burn cds at 2x speed . it accepts 2 external mics, has voice reduction.and alot that i haven't even tried on it. i did figure out how to hook up my old turn table and put all my records on cd. I sprayed them with pledge to ease the static, but still had to advance the tracks manually. Don