Is the Tascam Dr-100 Mkii really this noisy?

M

mattman1

Member
I recently purchased a Tascam Dr-100 Mkii to replace my Zoom H4 (original, not the H4N). The problem is, it seems I have to turn the mic gain on high for the XLR inputs otherwise I can't hear anything. The resulting recordings have a very audible hiss in the background. Is this normal? Am I doing this wrong? Do I have a defective unit?

At this point, it sounds to me like the Zoom H4 has noticeably better sound. That's because on the Zoom, I only have to set the mic gain on low to get sound levels.

I did a mic comparison test with a Seinheisser k6 ran via xlr straight into the recorders. I'm a sound novice so it's not the most controlled setup. I just recorded sample wav files at 48Khz 16-bit and tried to keep audio around -15 db:

http://snd.sc/YfeRok

Am I crazy or is there way more hiss in the Tascam file? I had the Zoom at Low Mic Gain but levels were cranked to the max (127). The Tascam was on high mic gain but the levels were only at 3.
 
Are you sure your are not recording acoustically borne noise?
The Tascam should not be any noisier the Zoom. And I can't currently listen to it in controlled conditions for better evaluation. Both look noisy, and SoundColud compresses the sh-t out of the on-line file as well.
Are you powering the mic on Phantom Pwr? .. batteries? Is the mic cable w/o issues
 
The mic is not phantom powered right now. I have AA battery in there. I'm not really sure about the acoustically borne noise. This was recorded in my apartment, not the most soundproof environment, but that's where I was planning to do most of my shooting. I didn't have the air conditioning running or anything.
 
I had the exact same problem, high gain will definitely produce a hiss especially with a weak output mic. I have an Oktava MK012 (phantom powered, so even likelier to give me noise) that I couldn't stand to listen to until I put an amp out front. The SD MM-1 totally took care of it for me, sounds crystal now. High gain on the DR100 has never really been all that useable imo. It's certainly decent, but not even close to what I would consider acceptable for film dialog.
 
I didn't expect that Tascam to sound amazing (it's only $300 after all). I just thought it would be better than the original H4 which I've always considered pretty bottom of the barrel. You're running the MM-1 into the Tascam?
 
mattman1 said:
I recently purchased a Tascam Dr-100 Mkii to replace my Zoom H4 (original, not the H4N). The problem is, it seems I have to turn the mic gain on high for the XLR inputs otherwise I can't hear anything. The resulting recordings have a very audible hiss in the background. Is this normal? Am I doing this wrong? Do I have a defective unit?

At this point, it sounds to me like the Zoom H4 has noticeably better sound. That's because on the Zoom, I only have to set the mic gain on low to get sound levels.

I did a mic comparison test with a Seinheisser k6 ran via xlr straight into the recorders. I'm a sound novice so it's not the most controlled setup. I just recorded sample wav files at 48Khz 16-bit and tried to keep audio around -15 db:

http://snd.sc/YfeRok

Am I crazy or is there way more hiss in the Tascam file? I had the Zoom at Low Mic Gain but levels were cranked to the max (127). The Tascam was on high mic gain but the levels were only at 3.
Click to expand...

You should get good results with the DR100II.

The K6 has a good output level (unless you bought the special version with the padded-down output) - though you are likely to get better results with 48V phantom power.

One nice thing about the DR100II is that it also has a digital input - this means that you can use it as a "bit bucket". EG: Use the AETA MIXY which has superb audio quality and ADC - use this at 24/96 and put the digital output from the MIXY into the DR100II's digital input. You by-pass all the analogue circuitry of the Tascam and record at the same sort of superb quality as the Aaton Cantar, 4MinX and Nagra VI. :thumbsup:
 
Why are you setting the Tascam up so differently from the Zoom? If you want to make comparisons you need to set the trims about the same and the levels about the same and see what that gets you. Any trim cranked is likely to give you some noise. So try the trims and levels the same and I bet you won't have the problem.
 
John Willett said:
EG: Use the AETA MIXY which has superb audio quality and ADC - use this at 24/96 and put the digital output from the MIXY into the DR100II's digital
Click to expand...

John, I looked at this the other day when you posted a link. It looks interesting but seems to not be easily available in the US. It can be ordered direct from the company but I didn't see and price. No retailers are caring it though, that they list or I could find.
 
Noiz2 said:
John, I looked at this the other day when you posted a link. It looks interesting but seems to not be easily available in the US. It can be ordered direct from the company but I didn't see and price. No retailers are caring it though, that they list or I could find.
Click to expand...

There is a distributor in Canada, but not the USA.

The MIXY is £1,567 +VAT in the UK plus various options as you want.
 
Noiz2 said:
Why are you setting the Tascam up so differently from the Zoom? If you want to make comparisons you need to set the trims about the same and the levels about the same and see what that gets you. Any trim cranked is likely to give you some noise. So try the trims and levels the same and I bet you won't have the problem.
Click to expand...

If I don't have the Tascam on high gain, it's barely audible. A prelimary search on google seems to suggest that everybody uses the Tacam on high gain. I set them up this way so both the zoom and the tascam were hitting around -15db. If I put the Tascam on low, like I have the Zoom, it would be hitting about -45db.

--John, thanks for the suggestion and I'm sure that would work but I can't afford anywhere near the price of the MIXY.
 
Hmmm, You said you had the zoom on low and the "level" cranked and the Tascam on high and the level at 2. Your cranked number on the zoom was 127, I imagine the tascam scale goes up to ? 10? higher?? So IF Tascam on low and level cranked is getting the -45 then your right, if Tascam on low and the level at max is close to the zoom then that is a better comparison. But if that is the case then Tascam needs to make a change because that forces you into bad gain staging.
 
Yes the Tascam has L,M and H mic gain and then the Levels go from 1 to 10. The Zoom has L,M and H mic gain and then the Levels go from 1 to 127. If I have the Tascam on L mic gain and the level at 10, normal speaking voices generally hit around -40/-45.
 
mattman1 said:
Yes the Tascam has L,M and H mic gain and then the Levels go from 1 to 10. The Zoom has L,M and H mic gain and then the Levels go from 1 to 127. If I have the Tascam on L mic gain and the level at 10, normal speaking voices generally hit around -40/-45.
Click to expand...

OK so what about M? As a general rule with pretty much all devices, having the trim maxed out causes noise.

And you may have a bad unit? If others with the same recorder are not having the same problem I would suspect that might be the case. It's not common but it does happen way too often with modern electronics.
 
I have one of these (dr100 mkii) that I use occasionally as a backup or to pickup some quick stereo tracks, I've also used it as a bit-bucket for digital iso tracks out of one of my soundevices units. I've used it with Sennheiser mkh 416, AT 835st, AT 898, countryman, sony and ost lavs, all with excellent results. I would place the quality of it's preamps higher than the zoom H4n, maybe not quite as good as some of the portable Sonys, but definitely useable. I keep thinking, from the OP's description that there is something funky going on with your mic powering, its been a long time since I used one of those senny K6 units and I don't remember if they take phantom or not?
 
"I used one of those senny K6 units and I don't remember if they take phantom or not?"
As I recall, there were two versions of the K6 base module, a Phantom Power only or Phantom Pwr./battery.
Regarding the noise issue; a defective recorder or mic, or a low-taker necessitating extreme gain make up ... whilst the DR-100 preamps certianly ain't the greatest, the audio should be at least be.. 'usable'.

( OT.. I survived Hurricane Sandy, but a tree fell on the house, luckily there was minimal structural damage, but loss of power, internet, ect. Still no power, ect. as of today. 11-06)
 
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