Looking for portable recorder with 2 lavalier mics inputs

J

Joshua_G

Well-known member
Is there a portable recorder with 2x1/8" inputs for 2 lavalier mics, with separate volume knob for each mic and a 1/8" headphone output?
It can be a consumer grade recorder, intended to record conversations between 2 people under unique circumstance, for consumer use, so, please, don't suggest boom, dynamic mics and other such options.
Thanks.

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Edit:
The recorder is needed for a very unique situation, not similar to conventional dialogue situations.
Therefore, the recorder MUST answer the following requirements:
2 x 1/8" inputs with phantom power suitable for lavalier mics.
Separate ROTATING volume control knobs – press switch volume control isn't suitable.
1/8" headphones output.
Ideally, the recorder will also have good input limiters.
 
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Thanks, however, I don't see how the lavalier mics will get the proper power voltage with the 1/8 to XLR adapters. The lavalier mics in this case aren't self-powered.
 
Thank you, however it doesn't meet my needs.
In the unique situation for which I'm looking a solution for, there MUST be 2 separate inputs for 2 LAVALIER MICS.
Whether the recorder has built in mics, or not, makes no difference.
XLR inputs with phantom power provide 48 or 24 Volt, while lavalier mics requires about 1.5 Volt. So, unless there is a solution I'm unaware of, XLR inputs with phantom power are useless in this case.
 
Joshua_G said:
Is there a portable recorder with 2x1/8" inputs for 2 lavalier mics, with separate volume knob for each mic and a 1/8" headphone output?
It can be a consumer grade recorder, intended to record conversations between 2 people under unique circumstance, for consumer use, so, please, don't suggest boom, dynamic mics and other such options.
Thanks.

---

Edit:
The recorder is needed for a very unique situation, not similar to conventional dialogue situations.
Therefore, the recorder MUST answer the following requirements:
2 x 1/8" inputs with phantom power suitable for lavalier mics.
Separate ROTATING volume control knobs – press switch volume control isn't suitable.
1/8" headphones output.
Ideally, the recorder will also have good input limiters.
Click to expand...

I can't imagine any recorder with 2x 1/8" inputs. Those are always stereo inputs. Anything else is going to be 1/4" or XLR inputs. I think you are going to be stuck adapting inputs for your use.
 
I'm not not aware of any recorder that has two separate 3.5mm (1/8" mini plug) input channels. As Throwback suggested, the best work-around would be to get XLR Phantom Power supply adapters and use a recorder with two or more separate XLR inputs. For instance, many of the Tascam DR series have an option to internally mix a feed a cam and/or a mix track. Unfortunately, the XLR Phantom Power supply adapters can be costly and range in price from around $35 to over $200.
A lower cost option is to use a recorder with one stereo 1/8" jack and use a L-R stereo plug adapter for the two mics, but would not have separate level control of the separate mic inputs. However the resulting interleaved stereo file can be split-out to two mono channels to post-mix. Many NLEs can do this, otherwise SD's free Wave Agent can convert poly to multiple mono files
 
I would bet you a large pile of cash such a device does not exist off the shelf.

As pointed out there are adapters that can be phantom powered and provide the right power for a lav. That is probably your best choice. Very few recorders under $500 or so have actual rotating volume knobs. And most that are not 4 track or more have separate knobs. Some like my old Marantz have concentric knobs so that kind of works as long as you don't need to ride levels. The Zoom F4 is probably the cheapest recorder with decent limiters, though the DR40 is OK (but no rotating knobs).
You do not need 1/8" headphone jack as the 1/4" to 1/8" are cheap, very low profile, and easy to find.

Now you have said "lav" mics which brings up an ambiguity issue. Everyone has been assuming that you are talking about hard wired lavs (since you mentioned power needs) but "lav" is also commonly used by folks to refer to wireless mics. So which is it?

Assuming I was given your specs from a client I would probably go with something like the MixPre3 with adapters for the lavs. It's not "consumer gear" but it is about as cheap as it gets to have everything you asked for. The cheap consumer route would involve some external power module for the lavs and bringing them in as a L/R pair and using balance as your "independent" volume control. That would work but it actually takes more skill and is much more trouble prone than the MixPre3. So kind of depends on the chops of the person setting up and running the thing.
 
The Tascam DR-701D will do what you want. It does not have two separate 1/8" inputs, but it does have a 3.5mm stereo input for channels 1&2. A 3.5mm cable that breaks out the stereo into two mono inputs will do the job. The 701 has separate knobs for volume control of each channel and it has plug-in power as an option for the stereo input.
 
The DR-701D sounds like a good choice. You could perhaps get two Tascam DR-10L recorders. I'm pretty sure they'll do what you want, but each would only record (and let you monitor) one channel/lav. Strap them together, stick them in a pocket, and go. That would be pretty discreet and easy to hide, if that's an issue.
https://tascam.com/us/product/dr-10l/top
 
Jim Feeley said:
The DR-701D sounds like a good choice. You could perhaps get two Tascam DR-10L recorders. I'm pretty sure they'll do what you want, but each would only record (and let you monitor) one channel/lav. Strap them together, stick them in a pocket, and go. That would be pretty discreet and easy to hide, if that's an issue.
https://tascam.com/us/product/dr-10l/top
Click to expand...

I have a DR-10L, it's surprisingly good for the money, the limiters are not terrible and it sips battery power and a 32 or 64GB card will let you record all day.
 
Many thanks to all people responding.
It looks like the best and most economic solution to those specific needs would be the Tascam DR-60DmkII plus 2 1/8"to XLR adaptors with phantom power conversion. For $80 more there is the Zoom H5. How are the limiters compared between those 2 recorders?
 
Joshua_G said:
Many thanks to all people responding.
It looks like the best and most economic solution to those specific needs would be the Tascam DR-60DmkII plus 2 1/8"to XLR adaptors with phantom power conversion. For $80 more there is the Zoom H5. How are the limiters compared between those 2 recorders?
Click to expand...

I doubt if you will find any significant difference between the digital limiters in these two recorders. Curtis Judd compares such digital limiters (including that of the DR-60mkII) to analogue limiters here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSRXba4CoQs . You might find the DR-60mkII's dual recording feature more useful, if simply setting conservative levels isn't sufficient: this will record a second copy of the file at up to -12dB. The Zoom H5 has a similar feature (called backup recording), but this appears restricted to -12dB only and to the L/R inputs (i.e. the interchangeable mics etc. at the top) - the latter makes it less useful for your purposes.

Cheers,

Roland
 
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