Introduction
On the Avisoft site is an impressive list of recorders with some important features. If you go through this list carefully you will soon come to the conclusion that many of the aforementioned recorders are no longer available and that some current recorders are missing. In this way the purpose of the list is somewhat canceled out. Whether the criteria mentioned there are sufficient for the choice of a recorder for fieldwork is doubtful. There are more criteria that are important to make recording in the field a success. So I made my own list with criteria and that looks a little different.

Criteria that a recorder for field work must meet
  • input stages with sufficient gain
  • input stages with very low own noise
  • manual level controls that are directly accessible during recording
  • start recording with one button
  • must have clear level meters
  • level meters with background lighting for dark environments, but also readable in the bright sun
  • provided with XLR connections
  • a headphone connection with sufficient power
  • uncompressed recordings in the WAV format due to software compatibility
  • no special software required to transfer recordings to a computer
  • write data on standard (SD) memory cards
  • low weight
  • low power consumption
  • work on readily available batteries
  • can be worn over the shoulder for mobility


Copyright mededeling Tascam DR-701D Recorder
  Tascam DR-701D Recorder  


Table
The table below contains recorders that can be carried over the shoulder, whether or not in a bag. The connections are then usually on the side. Also there are only recorders with a meaningful number of channels. Someone has to explain to me what you will do with an 8 channel recorder in the open field if you have to stay mobile. There are more recorder types that meet the list and have a meaningful number of channels, but often cannot be carried over the shoulder or with difficulty. Many of those recorders have fixed microphones on one side and XLR inputs on the other.

Recorders that meet the above requirements, but that does not mean that all are equally suitable. The data comes from the manufacturer's specifications;

Brand/Type XLR Noise (EIN) Gain Level reg. Peak hold Headphones SD Weight Max. con- sumption Battery Number Operating time in minutes
Marantz PMD706 4 unknown 64 dB yes yes unknown 64Mb/ 128Gb 540gr. 4,0W AA 4 NI-MH? 330m
SoundDevices MixPre-3 (II) 3 -128 dBu 70 dB yes yes 2x 300mW max. 512Gb 480gr. max.6W(?) AA 4 Alkaline 40m, NiHM 140m, Lithium 225m
SoundDevices MixPre-6 (II) 4 -128 dBu 70 dB yes yes 2x 300mW max. 512Gb 560gr. max.6W(?) AA 4 Alkaline 40m, NiHM 140m, Lithium 225m
Tascam DR-60DMKII 2 -120 dBu 72 dB yes no 2x 50mW 64Mb/ 32Gb 510gr max.5,4W AA 4 Alkaline 270m, NiHM 300m, NiHM pro 360m
Tascam DR-70D 4 -120 dBu 72 dB yes yes 2x 20mW 64Mb/ 128Gb 530gr max.5W AA 4 Alkaline 360m, NiHM 375m, NiHM pro 465m
Tascam DR-701D 4 -124 dBu 76 dB yes yes, adj. 2x 50mW 64Mb/ 128Gb 561gr max.6,5W AA 4 Alkaline 225m, NiHM 240m, Lithium 450m
Zoom F4 4 -127 dBu 65 dB yes yes 2x 100mW 16Mb/ 512Gb 1030gr. 12W AA 8 Alkaline 120m, NiHM 210m, Lithium 360m


Copyright mededeling Tascam DR-60DMKII Recorder
  Tascam DR-60DMKII Recorder  


Explanation criteria
Explanation of the criteria that a fieldwork recorder must meet;
  • input stages with sufficient gain
    Many of the microphones used have a low voltage output. In addition, the sounds to be recorded often only just exceed the ambient noise. It is then necessary that the microphone amplifier has sufficient amplification to lift the sound above the noise floor.
  • input stages with very low noise
    It is of course not intended that the microphone amplifier adds noise to the recordings. Unfortunately it is not that easy to compare all recorders at this point. The simplest method is to compare the EIN specifications. The abbreviation EIN stands for Equivalent Input Noise. The value is expressed in dBu and the lower the value the better.
  • manual level controls that are directly accessible during recording
    There must be controls on the recorder that can directly control the level of the input signal. This prevents the signal from being recorded distorted if suddenly the sound to be recorded becomes much stronger. Immediate intervention is then necessary. Somewhere deep in a menu with many steps is not a good solution.
  • start recording with one button
    Before actually recording, you must be able to start the recorder with one button. With the digital memory card recorders, this is immediately. A pre-recording memory is therefore not necessary, this feature was useful if several buttons had to be pressed to record and some mechanical system had to be set in motion. All these delays have now been eliminated with the memory card recorders.
  • must have clear level meters
    There must be level meters that clearly show the level of the sound to be recorded. In addition, there must be indications that indicate how far that level is on the meter. The level meter must have a peak indication in order to follow the signal properly. A VU meter indication does not display the peaks but the average level, there must then be a peak indication on top of the VU indication. Sometimes there is a peak hold available and sometimes this is also adjustable.
  • level meters with background lighting for dark environments, but also readable in the bright sun
    Many recordings in the open field take place at a time when, for example, nature is just waking up. It is then just twilight and even then level meters must be easy to read. Adjustable lighting is then a requirement. If the sun shines, these meters must still be easy to read, also think of reflective meter window(s).
  • provided with XLR connections
    Almost all professional(?) microphones have an XLR connection. This is a robust connection that ensures that the forces exerted by the cable are transferred to the housing and not to the contacts as with the 6.3mm jack and 3.5mm mini jack.
  • a headphone connection with sufficient power
    Because sound is recorded with microphones, a headphone connection must be present to be able to check the sound to be recorded. Checking through a built-in speaker increases the chance of an effect known as acoustic feedback. Almost all current headphones have a 3.5mm mini jack plug. Other types of plugs occur, an adapter cable must then be used. The headphone connection must provide sufficient power. How much power is highly dependent on the headphones to be connected. Less sensitive types <95 dB/mW require more power.
  • uncompressed recordings in the WAV format due to software compatibility
    Almost all software programs can process the WAV format. Other formats are often subject to licenses and/or contain compression techniques.
  • no special software required to transfer recordings to a computer
    The recorder must be able to connect to the computer with a cable and the contents of the memory card must be able to transfer to the computer's hard disk without any problems. In most cases these days it is a USB connection. Note that many computers no longer have a USB 2.x port, while this is often standard on recorders. On some computers and some USB 3.x ports, the USB 3.x appears not to be backwards compatible, while this should be in accordance with the specifications.
  • write data on standard (SD) memory cards
    Any (SD) memory card that meets the specifications of the recorder must be usable. Recording all channels in the highest sampling frequencies requires a very fast (SD) memory card. There are already signals that the highest sampling frequency in multi-channel technology gives problems with even the fastest (SD) cards.
  • low weight
    You have to carry it along for a long time ...
  • low power consumption
    Low power consumption also means less consumption of batteries.
  • work on readily available batteries
    The above recorders can all work on the well-known penlight or AA battery. This battery can be purchased in various qualities. Lithium is preferred and lasts much longer than Alkaline due to the higher power consumption.
  • can be worn over the shoulder for mobility
    By wearing the recording set on your shoulder you have two hands free. The buttons and meters are on top and can be operated or read directly.

Okay, now what?
With the above list you have to decide whether that is also valid for your situation. So you are going to make your own list. Then you search the internet for manufacturers of recorders. If you see an interesting model, try downloading the technical data and the manual. The technical data for comparing models, the manual for finding out if the recorder can do what you want. Unfortunately it is not that more expensive is better in this case. Digital technology has made recorders a lot more complex than recorders from around 10 to 20 years ago. To be digital is often solved by a chipset, a number of integrated electronic circuits that work together. What makes digital recorders more complex is the ability to control the recorder with build-in software. This requires extra electronics. The software may contain errors and these can only be corrected by the manufacturer. The manufacturer must therefore be a reliable partner and, unfortunately, there are no guarantees in this turbulent market that the manufacturer will not go bankrupt or that the model will not be supported prematurely. Well-respected manufacturers are also launching new models of recorders that present problems in a variety of areas. It is therefore useful to consult various forums (eg http://taperssection.com/index.php) before you buy the recorder of your choice. You will quickly gain insight if your choice does have all sorts of unwanted problems.

If problems are mentioned you have to put them in a certain rank. A menu with many options before you can set anything is less serious than if there are continuous problems with the storage medium or freezing the entire recorder with the only way out switching off and on again. Only then you often lose everything because the storage medium was not properly closed. And there are more things that you need to think about very carefully.

Recording or playing time
Not much has changed compared to the analogue systems up to and including pre-digital systems such as DCC. With analogue systems, the tape had a limited recording time, the cassette or mini disc had a certain playing time. And so it is now, the storage media also has only a certain recording time, which depends on a number of settings and the number of channels. Yet it is different now. On an analog recorder it is no problem to make a recording of a few hours and listen to it in the same way. With storage media you have to deal with two limitations. The storage medium itself is only available in certain sizes and/or the recorder only supports up to a certain size. The latter often has to do with rights, so money. In addition, the files cannot become infinitely large. Long recordings are distributed, whether or not automatically, over several files. So you often need additional equipment, usually a computer, to put the files together and even then, due to the limitations of the OS or used programs, these are often not stored as one file.


revision July 31, 2020