Tascam DR-100 questions

T

tikigod19

Well-known member
hi all, like many, I'm choosing between the Tascam DR-100 and Zoom h4n and wanted to clarify a couple of issues I can't clarify elsewhere.

The video on the tascam site says the DR-100 includes 4 built in mics, 2 cardioid and 2 omnidirectional. To my simple mind this means you can either have stereo ambient sound spanning out very wide with the omni's or stereo pointing in a more directional manor. Do you just choose within the unit? Do you have to change the mics or anything?

I know with the H4N you can record 4 channels so that means I could record using an XLR shotgun, XLR wireless and then stereo using the built in mics. If however on the tascam I was recording using the 2 XLR's would that be all the recording I could do or would it be possible to record ambient sound also (even in mono) as a backup sound should the wireless and shotgun fail?

Also the battery on the Tascam.. you have the lithium AND AA's.. does this theoretically double the power or do the AA's kick in if the lithium gets low?
 
i just bought the DR100, and it seems the better choice from what i read and saw.
it seems the internal omni mics are pretty useless.
you just choose which input (stereo, omni xlr, line)
i think that a 4 channel recording with the h4n is a bit limited, but personally i will rarely need 2 channels so i don't care.
and you can switch between the preferable battery the DR 'starts' with before moving to the 2nd option.
+ you have the volume input knobs, which are pretty essential. the h4n has only buttons.
 
I too am a new owner of a DR-100 an can heartily recommend it. As already stated, you can only record from the same type of input at one time, either the built-in omni's, directionals, xlr's or line-in. The built-in mics are weak but will give you acceptable levels, the omni's likely better suited to recording a meeting or some other activity than trying to record ambient for an event, etc which is much better suited to external mics anyway. There are 3 coarse levels of mic gain set by a switch on the back, plus the individual levels setting with the 2 concentric knobs on the side.

I really like that so many basic functions are via external switches rather than hunting through the menus. The dual battery sources are great, I set mine for the AA's to be the primary source, if they run out in mid-take then you automatically keep recording via the internal lithium and can switch out the AA's without stopping the recording. The XLR's are mic level only but you can easily get external pads or padded cables for line-in, make your own there are lots of resources on the web.
 
thanks for the replies guys. Interestingly I'd read that the Tascam's built in mics are better than the zooms but you say they're not great.

I like the idea of the dual battery but it seems that the zoom can record much longer life with the AA's. (4hrs on standard mode compared to 1.5hrs on the tascam - or have I got this wrong?) What I dont want to do is to drain the Lithium battery and then have to use 3 or 4 sets of batteries to get me through a day, where as I could have done the same amount of hours on 2 sets of batteries on the Zoom.

I didnt realise the XLR's aren't able to be used for line in but like you say I could always get a padded cable I guess. I take it there is no jack in the center of the XLR like there is on the Zoom?

You mention you can only record one source at a time, but obviously XLR is classified as one source, not XLR1 as one source and XLR2 as another... I can obviously record both XLR's simultaneously? You just mean it is then not possible to record using the built in mic as well.
 
you should check the battery consumption on both recorders with/without phantom activated.
if you say the h4n has PL jacks in the XLR's, then it's a big advantage i guess.
sure you can record two separate XLR channels simultaneously.
 
Can you guys that own one comment on the quality of the xlr pre-amps, when using a shotgun. I've read mixed reviews stating that the pre-amps are weak, but compared to what? Are they comparable to what would be expected of a camera input. I would hope it would be better than a cheap 3.5mm unbalanced connector on a consumer cam.

A juiced link with phantom is the same price, despite the slight hassle of double system sound, I think the recorder would be a better a value.
 
I don't think you will be disappointed with the inputs on the DR-100. Right now my only external mic is a lower quality shotgun and as long as it is positioned well relative to the talent then the levels to the recorder are great and not difficult to maintain -20db or higher average levels. I do find I have the gain switch on high most of the time but that is just likely my mic. Ideally something like a Mixpre in front would allow you to set the levels to the recorder at optimum regardless of the source. However, for the small investment for the DR-100 and the capability it is a great piece of gear. You might rate the preamps on the weak side but to my old ears they are much cleaner than my (DSLR) camera audio, I have bumped the gain quite a bit in post and have not been concerned about internal noise. I am personally running a line-out from the DR-100 to my camera anyway so that I have dual audio.
 
hmm I really can't decide between these two.

Good points of the H4N - stamina mode for battery life, jack inputs within the XLR sockets, 4 track recording, line input without buying a pad cable...

Good points of the DR-100.. External input volume controls (not in a menu), dual battery, 2 outputs for monitoring - 1 to cam, 1 for headphones (I think this is correct?) without buying a 3rd party cable...

H4N has more good points in my opinion but whether I'll actually use 4 track recording or stamina mode (as I believe it limits you to 44khz 16bit wav only) I'm not so sure...

Somebody needs to decide for me, I'm clearly not going to!

edit: Ive just seen I think I'd still need the line to mic cable with the DR-100 but it would plug directly into it and a y cable wouldnt be needed. Could someone confirm that?
 
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H4 jack inputs within the XLR sockets

The DR-100 has the combo XLR connector as well for instruments

without buying a pad cable...

The DR-100 accepts line in the an 1/8" stereo jack, doesn't need a pad

And yes, it has separate line output and headphone output.

I've used the DR-100 extensively with a sennheiser K3/ME-80 and works like a champ. I've heard that the H4's preamps sound brittle in comparison to the DR-100.

Also, there is quite a bit of metal in the DR-100's construction, and don't deminish the level controls on the DR-100, booming is not a set and forget operation, and as soon as you have your levels tweated the actor with change their volume.

Granted, neither one gets along great in a bag, and I had to configure a bag just for the DR-100 so I could see the meters and easily reach the level control(s).

About the only think I can see that the H4 has over the DR-100 is 4 channel operation. How well that works, well, others will have to chime in. But frankly, I'd be going crazy trying to adjust levels on 2 channels thru a menu system, let alone trying to tweak 4 channels.

[/QUOTE]
 
.... the dr-100 has the combo xlr connector as well for instruments

without buying a pad cable...

Can you explain this? Sounds like something I should be aware of but am not!!

The dr-100 accepts line in the an 1/8" stereo jack, doesn't need a pad

Wasn't meaning to suggest the DR-100 doesn't have line in, I was thinking more about feeding it from a balanced XLR source like the Mixpre which would still need a fancy cable to convert the Mixpre XLR's to unbalanced line to feed the unbalanced stereo TRS into the DR-100. I guess also have to weigh the cons of feeding the second set of pre's in the DR-100 vs going straight to the recorder.
 
The mixpre has a tape out 3.5mm with can be connected to the Tascam DR-100 line in with an inexpensive 3.5mm to 3.5mm TRS cable. That's how I connected my Alphamix to my DR-100. No pad, no 'nutin. When my DR-100 was my primary recorder (I now run a DR-680 taking direct outs from each channel of my Alphamix), it worked flawlessly configured in this way.

In addition, having the wired remote from DR-100 attached to my boom pole spoiled me, being able to hit a button on my boom to roll. It took some getting used to when I switched to the DR-680 and had to reach to the bag to hit record.

Hunter5117 said:
.... the dr-100 has the combo xlr connector as well for instruments

without buying a pad cable...

Can you explain this? Sounds like something I should be aware of but am not!!

The dr-100 accepts line in the an 1/8" stereo jack, doesn't need a pad

Wasn't meaning to suggest the DR-100 doesn't have line in, I was thinking more about feeding it from a balanced XLR source like the Mixpre which would still need a fancy cable to convert the Mixpre XLR's to unbalanced line to feed the unbalanced stereo TRS into the DR-100. I guess also have to weigh the cons of feeding the second set of pre's in the DR-100 vs going straight to the recorder.
Click to expand...
 
I've been recording university lectures with the Tascam DR-100 on the uni setting, 256kbps mp3. It records continuously for about 3.5 hours straight before the battery depletes and it automatically stops recording.
 
thelateshowwithsanjuro said:
I've been recording university lectures with the Tascam DR-100 on the uni setting, 256kbps mp3. It records continuously for about 3.5 hours straight before the battery depletes and it automatically stops recording.
Click to expand...

This is worrying, is that with both lithium and AA's inserted? Battery life is vital to me when choosing between the two, it's a shame they're not so easily comparable.

Ok so just to clarify on the dr-100 I can buy a simple cheap 3.5 to 3.5 (or 2.5 with the gh1) cable in order to output guide sound to the camera for easy sync in pluraleyes and be able to plug in headphones directly. However, with the h4n I'd need to use a padded splitter cable do achieve the same results?

Also does the dr-100 have the instrument cable (I don't know the name of the jack) input to connect say a guitar and/or a line in from a desk that doesn't happen to be on an xlr?

That's basically what I'd love one of you guys to answer for me! Many thanks
 
The DR-100 has the combo XLR connectors (with 1/4") built into the center of the connector. This is an instrument level input, not line input. Line input to the DR-100 is accomplished by using the 1/8" trs jack located on the left side of the unit next to the 1/8" line out and 1/8" headphone out.

Edit...After actually taking out my DR-100 I was mistaken. The DR-100 Does NOT have the center 1/4" connector, only an XLR.

tikigod19 said:
This is worrying, is that with both lithium and AA's inserted? Battery life is vital to me when choosing between the two, it's a shame they're not so easily comparable.

Ok so just to clarify on the dr-100 I can buy a simple cheap 3.5 to 3.5 (or 2.5 with the gh1) cable in order to output guide sound to the camera for easy sync in pluraleyes and be able to plug in headphones directly. However, with the h4n I'd need to use a padded splitter cable do achieve the same results?

Also does the dr-100 have the instrument cable (I don't know the name of the jack) input to connect say a guitar and/or a line in from a desk that doesn't happen to be on an xlr?

That's basically what I'd love one of you guys to answer for me! Many thanks
Click to expand...
 
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gpforet said:
The DR-100 has the combo XLR connectors (with 1/4") built into the center of the connector. This is an instrument level input, not line input. Line input to the DR-100 is accomplished by using the 1/8" trs jack located on the left side of the unit next to the 1/8" line out and 1/8" headphone out.
Click to expand...

This is what I was asking about last night. My DR-100 does not have the co-centric XLR/1/4" plugs, only 3-pin XLRs. I know this is a feature on the DR-680 and would be real nice on the DR-100 but not on mine.
 
tikigod19 said:
Ok so just to clarify on the dr-100 I can buy a simple cheap 3.5 to 3.5 (or 2.5 with the gh1) cable in order to output guide sound to the camera for easy sync in pluraleyes and be able to plug in headphones directly. However, with the h4n I'd need to use a padded splitter cable do achieve the same results?
Click to expand...

The line out on the DR-100 can not go directly into the mic input on your GH1 or you will have terribly over volume sound. This is where you do need a TRS 3.5mm to 2.5mm cable with a (30 to 40 db???) pad in it to drop the line level to mic level. This would be true for any source where you are tapping into line-out to feed a mic-in input.
 
I stand corrected, after looking at my DR-100 you are correct, it does NOT have the c0-centric 1/4" connector. Please forgive my error.

Hunter5117 said:
This is what I was asking about last night. My DR-100 does not have the co-centric XLR/1/4" plugs, only 3-pin XLRs. I know this is a feature on the DR-680 and would be real nice on the DR-100 but not on mine.
Click to expand...
 
gpforet said:
I stand corrected, after looking at my DR-100 you are correct, it does NOT have the c0-centric 1/4" connector. Please forgive my error.
Click to expand...

No apologies needed, you were just trying to help out like we all are. I was just concerned maybe Tascam had changed the spec and I should look around for an older model or something. Would be cool if they did have something like this on the DR-100.

Wondering if you have any comments on the sound quality of running padded line level into the XLR's with the DR-100 preamps set to their lowest setting vs running straight into the 1/8" line-in?. According to the manual the DR-100 can handle up to +2dBu at this setting. A 10db pad would put you pretty much in the working range for the low-gain setting.
 
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