A Package from England Arrived Today...
- Thread starter TheDingo
- Start date
I haven't had a chance to actually use this for a film project yet, but I did my usual noise-floor tests and it's a killer little beastie...
I bought the Sennhesier G3 UHF compatible model ( Tascam DR-10CS ) which accepts standard 3.5mm lockable connectors. ( and non-lockable connectors )
This appears to be the default set-up, and you can optionally buy user replaceable face-plates for Shure and Ramsa/Sony wireless systems.
This micro recorder can be used stand-alone by itself or it can be used as a "pass-through" recorder for your wireless system. ( providing a back-up recording for each wireless transmitter )
The unit does not come with a micro SD card, so this is the first thing you have to install. I bought a pair of Kingston 16 GB Ultimate micro SD cards for $14 each that have a read speed of 90 MB/sec and a write speed of 45 MB/sec. They seem to work perfectly with the DR-10CS units, providing 33 hours of 48 kHz 24-bit mono recording. ( or 16.5 hours of 48 kHz 24-bit DUAL recording, where a 2nd duplicate audio track is recorded at 6 dB lower than the first track )
The ON/OFF switch is a bit on the tiny side, but it's designed to be next to impossible to accidentally switch off or on. ( you have to slide and hold the switch for a couple seconds to activate it )
Each unit takes a single AAA battery, and is supposed to provide you with 10 hours of recording with an alkaline battery. I haven't tested this, but I'm going to trust Tascam for now. You can also use a lithium AAA battery to get 15 hours of recording out of it.
Here's what you see on the main display once you've turned your unit on and formatted the SD card.
You may notice the bunch of little black squares on the top left side of the display, this is your level meter, and it is ONLY visible while you are in standby mode.
When recording, this is what you will see...
So here I'm 20 seconds into my recording. Having no level meter might seem like a drawback, but this recorder is designed to be turned on and then just let run while it's recording.
While recording you cannot adjust anything, the interface controls are locked until you stop recording, which I think is a good idea, as this eliminates any chance of accidentally messing up your recording.
Also keep in mind that this recorder has only two modes: standby and recording
Here's the left side of the unit...
Which has the SD card slot with cover, a headphone jack ( so you can monitor your recording if you like ), a USB connection to transfer your recordings, and a hole for the wire belt-clip.
Here's the right side of the unit...
Which has the volume control for the headphone jack, the ON/OFF and RECORDING START/STOP switch, and another hole for the wire belt-clip.
Here's the top of the unit with the default Sennheiser compatible 3.5mm lockable IN connector ( for your lav mic ) and an OUT connector to pass on to your wire-less unit if you are using this with a wireless transmitter.
Here's what you see when you are playing back a recording from this recorder...
By default your recording is assigned a number, followed by the date of your recording.
And here are the results of my noise-floor tests, made using the 1 kHz test-tone from my Sound Devices MixPre-D mixer set to MIC level output.
The Tascam DR-10CS has three gain level settings: LOW, MED, HIGH
GAIN LOW : -24 db recording level for 1 kHz test tone, with a noise-floor of -82 dB RMS
GAIN MED : -18 db recording level for 1 kHz test tone, with a noise-floor of -78 dB RMS
GAIN HIGH : -12 db recording level for 1 kHz test tone, with a noise-floor of -75 dB RMS
This looks absolutely great to me, as it means you're going to have at least 75 dB of dynamic range to work with when recording.
Using the DUAL feature, which records a second audio track, you get exactly the SAME results except that the 2nd audio track is recorded at 6 dB lower.
Here are the basic menu controls for the Tascam DR-10CS unit...
MIC GAIN : LO / MED / HI
MIC BIAS : ON/OFF for 2 volts lav mic power
LOW CUT : 120 Hz cut-off filter
LIMITER : no details on exactly how this works
AUTO LEVEL : ON/OFF for auto gain control
DUAL REC MODE : records a 2nd track 6 dB lower
AUTO PWR SAVE : turns unit off after 10 minutes of standby
MODEL SELECT : select wireless unit you are conncting to ( Sennheiser, Shure, Ramsa, Sony )
FILE NAME : set custom file name for recordings
FORMAT SD : format the SD card
BATTERY TYPE : alkaline, lithium, NiMH
DATE/TIME : set the date and time
SYSTEM INIT : return to factory default settings
VERSION INFO : firmware version installed
So to sum things up, I am really happy with the initial results from this little recorder, and will have to see how it performs with actual projects over the next month.
I paid 199 £ ( British pounds ) for each unit and an additional 20 £ for shipping to Canada. ( it took 2 weeks to arrive via snail mail )
I bought the Sennhesier G3 UHF compatible model ( Tascam DR-10CS ) which accepts standard 3.5mm lockable connectors. ( and non-lockable connectors )
This appears to be the default set-up, and you can optionally buy user replaceable face-plates for Shure and Ramsa/Sony wireless systems.
This micro recorder can be used stand-alone by itself or it can be used as a "pass-through" recorder for your wireless system. ( providing a back-up recording for each wireless transmitter )
The unit does not come with a micro SD card, so this is the first thing you have to install. I bought a pair of Kingston 16 GB Ultimate micro SD cards for $14 each that have a read speed of 90 MB/sec and a write speed of 45 MB/sec. They seem to work perfectly with the DR-10CS units, providing 33 hours of 48 kHz 24-bit mono recording. ( or 16.5 hours of 48 kHz 24-bit DUAL recording, where a 2nd duplicate audio track is recorded at 6 dB lower than the first track )
The ON/OFF switch is a bit on the tiny side, but it's designed to be next to impossible to accidentally switch off or on. ( you have to slide and hold the switch for a couple seconds to activate it )
Each unit takes a single AAA battery, and is supposed to provide you with 10 hours of recording with an alkaline battery. I haven't tested this, but I'm going to trust Tascam for now. You can also use a lithium AAA battery to get 15 hours of recording out of it.
Here's what you see on the main display once you've turned your unit on and formatted the SD card.
You may notice the bunch of little black squares on the top left side of the display, this is your level meter, and it is ONLY visible while you are in standby mode.
When recording, this is what you will see...
So here I'm 20 seconds into my recording. Having no level meter might seem like a drawback, but this recorder is designed to be turned on and then just let run while it's recording.
While recording you cannot adjust anything, the interface controls are locked until you stop recording, which I think is a good idea, as this eliminates any chance of accidentally messing up your recording.
Also keep in mind that this recorder has only two modes: standby and recording
Here's the left side of the unit...
Which has the SD card slot with cover, a headphone jack ( so you can monitor your recording if you like ), a USB connection to transfer your recordings, and a hole for the wire belt-clip.
Here's the right side of the unit...
Which has the volume control for the headphone jack, the ON/OFF and RECORDING START/STOP switch, and another hole for the wire belt-clip.
Here's the top of the unit with the default Sennheiser compatible 3.5mm lockable IN connector ( for your lav mic ) and an OUT connector to pass on to your wire-less unit if you are using this with a wireless transmitter.
Here's what you see when you are playing back a recording from this recorder...
By default your recording is assigned a number, followed by the date of your recording.
And here are the results of my noise-floor tests, made using the 1 kHz test-tone from my Sound Devices MixPre-D mixer set to MIC level output.
The Tascam DR-10CS has three gain level settings: LOW, MED, HIGH
GAIN LOW : -24 db recording level for 1 kHz test tone, with a noise-floor of -82 dB RMS
GAIN MED : -18 db recording level for 1 kHz test tone, with a noise-floor of -78 dB RMS
GAIN HIGH : -12 db recording level for 1 kHz test tone, with a noise-floor of -75 dB RMS
This looks absolutely great to me, as it means you're going to have at least 75 dB of dynamic range to work with when recording.
Using the DUAL feature, which records a second audio track, you get exactly the SAME results except that the 2nd audio track is recorded at 6 dB lower.
Here are the basic menu controls for the Tascam DR-10CS unit...
MIC GAIN : LO / MED / HI
MIC BIAS : ON/OFF for 2 volts lav mic power
LOW CUT : 120 Hz cut-off filter
LIMITER : no details on exactly how this works
AUTO LEVEL : ON/OFF for auto gain control
DUAL REC MODE : records a 2nd track 6 dB lower
AUTO PWR SAVE : turns unit off after 10 minutes of standby
MODEL SELECT : select wireless unit you are conncting to ( Sennheiser, Shure, Ramsa, Sony )
FILE NAME : set custom file name for recordings
FORMAT SD : format the SD card
BATTERY TYPE : alkaline, lithium, NiMH
DATE/TIME : set the date and time
SYSTEM INIT : return to factory default settings
VERSION INFO : firmware version installed
So to sum things up, I am really happy with the initial results from this little recorder, and will have to see how it performs with actual projects over the next month.
I paid 199 £ ( British pounds ) for each unit and an additional 20 £ for shipping to Canada. ( it took 2 weeks to arrive via snail mail )
Last edited:
Richard Crowley
Veteran
That is pretty cool. I wish they were available in the US.
We know who is likely behind the US embargo.
And they seem very unlikely to offer a competing product.
We know who is likely behind the US embargo.
And they seem very unlikely to offer a competing product.
Doh! ...Thanks for catching that. ( I was a little too fast on the copy'n'paste and missed that )
Dingo, Any updated impressions on this device. I have a DR10x and love it and noticed on Tascams site they promote the ability for both the dr10X and dr 10C that they have the ability to wirelessly transmit user settings to multiple devices. I cannot find this in the manual. Do you have this ability? Or is this a feature locked out because of the Zaxcom thing?
Page 15 in the Tascam DR-10C manual : Using Infrared Transmission
I still haven't used these enough to really have a well informed opinion of them. So far they do work well, but I'm being careful with how I place my lav mics because I can't monitor the recording.
Thanks. I searched the manual for the DR 10X and no mention but a video of a trade show shows a Tascam employee saying you can infrared settings to other dr 10 X's. I can see there are little eyes on the front where there are infrared emitters as the video shows. Even the spec sheet on their site says it but my manual says nothing. I guess its not implemented yet on the dr 10X.
DPStewart
Veteran
Clever little device!
In situations where the extra bulk is acceptable I would love to use these to get better audio quality from their separate file all while maintaining the usual wireless workflow.
Very appealing.
I really need a good connect in the U.K. for all those "hard to acquire" items.
In situations where the extra bulk is acceptable I would love to use these to get better audio quality from their separate file all while maintaining the usual wireless workflow.
Very appealing.
I really need a good connect in the U.K. for all those "hard to acquire" items.