Oade Brothers DR-100 mods - are they worth it?

roxics

roxics

Veteran
I'm still trying to decide between the DR-100 and the H4n, like many people.

However I noticed that the Oade Brothers have three available mods for the DR-100. Priced at $125 for the basic or concert mod and $225 for the FET MOD. Whereas they have no mods available for the H4n. How much of an improvement would this mod be to the DR-100? As in, is it worth the upgrade price or is it barely noticeable except to the audiophile?

Sadly youtube has very little videos of people testing the DR-100 to begin with and there are no videos that I have found that directly compared the DR-100 and the H4N side by side. Let alone a DR-100 with an Oade Brothers mod on it.
 
Yes it is worth it. I have had a few Oade Brothers mod and they make such a huge difference. On the DR-100 the hiss from high gain is horrible. The mod for $125 get's rid of it.

But I am not a big fan of the DR-100 after owning it for 1 year. I had the mod done six months ago.

I sold the DR-100.. and bought a Fostex FR2 which I had modded by the Oade Brothers.

I would reccomend getting a Marantz PMD 670 or 671.. I have seen them on ebay for 250-375... It will be better then the dr-100 with the mod.

Just my opinion..

If you are just using the onboard mics and do not plan on using externals.. The DR-100 is actually pretty good. With external mics it sucks.. I hope that helps..
 
Syber,

What mics are you using with the DR100. If they are dynamic, and you don't have a mixer to boost the gain, yes I would agree, it sucks. For example, a RE/50ND is a pretty bad match. I have found when phantom mics are used, the performance is pretty good. If I use a mixer (SD302) in front, life is very good. Could you explain how you are getting hiss and with what mics?

Grant
 
Thanks for the info. I just decided to pull the trigger on the H4N instead. Seems a lot of people are happy with that recorder and it's loaded with features for it's price I might as well give it a shot. So I guess it no longer matters about these mods, at least to me until my gear needs grow up some more, at which point I will certainly take your advice. Thank you.
 
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