Field Recorders: best for under $150?

[anirguista]

I've been looking around at Minidisc recorders trying to find a good
one for field recording. It seems that the new ones are a waste of
money (due to copy protection features), and the old ones are too old
now and hard to come by. Are there still decent minidisc recorders
available for under $150 US (new, or used)?

Would it be easier to go with a cassette or microcassette recorder?
Any for under $120 that will record well, without much distortion?




a.n.

--
***@canoemail.com

[John F Davis]

Post by anirguista
I've been looking around at Minidisc recorders trying to find a good
one for field recording. It seems that the new ones are a waste of
money (due to copy protection features), and the old ones are too old
now and hard to come by. Are there still decent minidisc recorders
available for under $150 US (new, or used)?

Copy protection has been an issue with every mini-disc ever made save
1/2 of one model, (I think the R-50 but I'm not sure)

SCMS says if you make an analog original, you may copy it, but you may
not copy a digital copy. It's been that way since the R-1 was on the
drawing board.

[MattB]

It's over budget ($200), but if I was shopping for a portable recorder, I'd
go for this one:
http://www.minidisco.com/md-mt200i.html

Otherwise, I'd probably look at some of these and get a MT-20 or SR-60:
http://tinyurl.com/u4ou

Microcassette will have lousy sound. They are designed for voice recording
and not music. They are also usually just mono.

Matt

Post by anirguista
I've been looking around at Minidisc recorders trying to find a good
one for field recording. It seems that the new ones are a waste of
money (due to copy protection features), and the old ones are too old
now and hard to come by. Are there still decent minidisc recorders
available for under $150 US (new, or used)?
Would it be easier to go with a cassette or microcassette recorder?
Any for under $120 that will record well, without much distortion?
a.n.
--

[Sugarite]

Post by anirguista
I've been looking around at Minidisc recorders trying to find a good
one for field recording. It seems that the new ones are a waste of
money (due to copy protection features), and the old ones are too old
now and hard to come by. Are there still decent minidisc recorders
available for under $150 US (new, or used)?
Would it be easier to go with a cassette or microcassette recorder?
Any for under $120 that will record well, without much distortion?

You should really buck up and get a Nomad Jukebox 3, about $200 used. Make
your own mics to save money, decent ones can be made for $20 (search for
sites with instructions for Panasonic WM-61 capsules), and you'll need a
preamp, start with a Boosteroo from Radio Shack, another $20. That gets you
rolling, and the ease of use of the NJB3 is unparalleled. Transfer over
Firewire at 32x (5MB/s), files are time-stamped, great Li-ion rechargeable
battery system built-in, never spend a penny on batteries or media again!
No sense spending a lot on mics and putting them at risk in a public
environment yet if you haven't learned how to use them. The NJB3 will hold
its resale value for a LONG time if you change your mind, or just use it for
it's main function, it's one of the best MP3/WMA players on the market.

[Emanuel Zorg]

Every day this group features many sensible requests for equipment
just as good as the norm, but at one tenth the cost. Sadly, these
reasonable requests are followed by boring drivel that you should
spend more. They always whine about how better costs more, and that's
why the pros use better, and on and on. Don't believe them!

All the supposedly low-noise, high-reliability, efficient-workflow
machines really offer no more than a thing called "bells and whistles"
that don't really matter. Just answer these arrogant "poseurs" by
saying that you don't have the $200 or whatever they insist you spend.
How can they prove you do, anyway? For all they know, your allowance
is just not that large, and you need to make high quality recordings
to sell to discerning customers without spending any money or time or
without any concern for professional practices!

Anyway, here's the secret they don't want me to tell you: you can
easily make terrific recordings with the Bag-O-Crap 5000, retailing
for under $120 at Bag-O-Crap dot com! Side by side tests show that
it's as good as any Nagra or Deva ever built---where it counts! Just
be sure they don't stick you with the older Bag-O-Crap 4000. It lacks
the current "twist-top" technology and can begin to stink after only a
few minutes! Good luck!

...

Post by anirguista
Any for under $120 that will record well, without much distortion?

...

[Arny Krueger]

Post by Sugarite
You should really buck up and get a Nomad Jukebox 3, about $200 used.

Been there done that, but I paid about 20% more and got a new one, factory
sealed. However, there's always the factory refurbs for $179 and if I had it
to do all over again...

Post by Sugarite
Make your own mics to save money, decent ones can be made for $20
(search for sites with instructions for Panasonic WM-61 capsules),

Been there done that. A little fine soldering is required and you'll need to
make a battery box or something like it. Thing is, when you're all done you
end up with a small omni. Boy, is it omni! BTW, if these things are so easy
to make and cheap, why am I buying all these Behringer ECM-8000's? More
about that later.

Post by Sugarite
and you'll need a preamp, start with a Boosteroo from Radio Shack,
another $20.

I have to admit that this mention of the "Boosteroo" got my attention. It's
sold as a headphone amp, and based on my technical tests and listening, a
fine little headphone amp it is.

I guess it's even pretty quiet, but a Boosteroo as a mic preamp? Well, its
got a gain of 2 or 6 dB. I guess it would pull the line inputs on a Nomad
out of the mud to and audible degree (6 dB to be exact), but...

Maybe you could get me interested in figuring out how to jack up the gain of
a Boosteroo if you could tell me how to crack the case without breaking
it...

Post by Sugarite
That gets you rolling, and the ease of use of the NJB3
is unparalleled. Transfer over Firewire at 32x (5MB/s), files are
time-stamped, great Li-ion rechargeable battery system built-in,
never spend a penny on batteries or media again!

Nothing's forever, not even Li-ion batteries.

Post by Sugarite
No sense spending a
lot on mics and putting them at risk in a public environment yet if
you haven't learned how to use them.

Small Omnis are about the last kind of mic I can think of recommending for
most field recording applications that come to mind.

Post by Sugarite
The NJB3 will hold its resale
value for a LONG time if you change your mind, or just use it for
it's main function, it's one of the best MP3/WMA players on the market.

Given that apparently much more sophisticated pieces like the iRiver iHP-120
are now around, the nicest things that come to mind about the NJB3 is that
it is a price/value leader, and I've got one and you've got one and we both
love 'em, small warts and all.

[Len Moskowitz]

Post by anirguista
I've been looking around at Minidisc recorders trying to find a good
one for field recording. It seems that the new ones are a waste of
money (due to copy protection features), and the old ones are too old
now and hard to come by. Are there still decent minidisc recorders
available for under $150 US (new, or used)?

Get any decent portable and then get a home deck with a digital output
(none of the portables have digital outputs).

Use the home deck's digital output to transfer the audio to a PC. Once
it's in WAV format there is not SCMS copy protection and you can do what
you want with the audio.

[t***@sbcglobal.net]

I bought a Sony MZ N10 only to discover that (as someone said already) copy
protection is a problem. You have to plug your minidisc player into the
computer through analog means. But yes, minidisco.com is a good place with
good prices. Minidisc recorders record great sound, and the MZ N10 allows
you to plug in a mic, be sure to get one with that feature. -scott

Post by anirguista
I've been looking around at Minidisc recorders trying to find a good
one for field recording. It seems that the new ones are a waste of
money (due to copy protection features), and the old ones are too old
now and hard to come by. Are there still decent minidisc recorders
available for under $150 US (new, or used)?
Would it be easier to go with a cassette or microcassette recorder?
Any for under $120 that will record well, without much distortion?
a.n.
--