Tascam DR-70D - what do you think?

I've been mulling over buying a headphone amp, not necessarily because I can't monitor through the DR-70D, but because I want to have the option of hooking up more than one headphone, in case someone in addition to the sound person wants to monitor through the headphones. I have a cheapo amp I've bought some time ago so I can hear audio out of a laptop on an airplane, but at the time audio fidelity of the amp was not my concern, so I don't think I can use it with the 70D for production purposes - it's the Topping NX1, for what it's worth - but like I said, I don't think this is good enough for production purposes, so I'll need to buy another one. I'd better make a new thread for recommendations.
 
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Just bought a fiio e11k. 200mw output. At least two persons can have headphones on now. A MM-1 would be a nice option for the boom operator to have, working both as a mic preamp and monitoring output. Out of my budget for now.

Anyway, would any headphone splitter cable work? I have seen and heard cables that separates the left and right channel to each pair of headphones. Is that a manufacturing issue or should I look for something specific when buying cables?
 
Can anyone explain this to me please?
Frequency response
20-20kHz +0.5/-2dB(LINE IN or MIC IN to LINE OUT, Fs44.1k/48k Hz, JEITA)
20-40kHz +0.5/-3dB(LINE IN or MIC IN to LINE OUT, Fs96kHz, JEITA)
 
Nytkim said:
Can anyone explain this to me please?
Frequency response
20-20kHz +0.5/-2dB(LINE IN or MIC IN to LINE OUT, Fs44.1k/48k Hz, JEITA)
20-40kHz +0.5/-3dB(LINE IN or MIC IN to LINE OUT, Fs96kHz, JEITA)
Click to expand...

Explain what exactly?
Are you asking why would would get 2x better high frequency response when you use 2x better sample rate?
Sorry, the answer to that seems obvious upon inspection. What was the question again?
 
Richard Crowley said:
Explain what exactly?
Are you asking why would would get 2x better high frequency response when you use 2x better sample rate?
Sorry, the answer to that seems obvious upon inspection. What was the question again?
Click to expand...

Just wanted to make sure. Looks like a mic like the 8050 would need the 96khz to achieve its full range. Thanks.
 
Nytkim said:
Just wanted to make sure. Looks like a mic like the 8050 would need the 96khz to achieve its full range.
Click to expand...

The Sennheiser 8050 with a frequency range of 30Hz - 50kHz would need a sampling rate of a 100 kHz to record it's full frequency range, but 96 kHz is probably close enough.

I have no idea where you would find audio frequencies higher than 24 kHz ( musical harmonics ? ), but if this upper range is important to you then a 96 kHz or 192 kHz would do it.
 
"I have no idea where you would find audio frequencies higher than 24 kHz"
- Dog whistles maybe.
Consider the average end-user's POS PB system.
Dialog for mega-buck features is normally recorded @ 48k. Music and S/FX is another story
 
SFX have tended to move to the higher sample rates for acquisition, mostly so there is more data to mangle when pitching things etc., but delivery to the mix is still 48k.

As to trying to get the "full range" of some mic spec... You have to think about a few things. First almost nothing you want to record makes any sound up there, and nobody is going to hear it if it does.

For practical purposes adults hearing drops of at around 10kHz to 15kHz depending on gender and exposure to loud sounds (ie earbuds, hammering, gunshots, jackhammers, etc). So unless you are planing on slowing things down a LOT nothing you record over 20kHz is going to be heard.

I will admit that when we did some very unscientific tests there did seem to be a slight perceived difference between things recorded at 48K and those recorded at 96K. BUT it was not a double blind test and I think it's more than likely we were hearing what we were wanting to hear to some extent. With out knowing to look for a difference we wouldn't have thought there was one.
 
So, we need to pick up another audio recorder for doing location interviews and such at work, and I'm trying to decide what to recommend. Personally, I have the 60D (MK1), and actually prefer it over the H6N. Basically, I'm looking for which one gives better audio, as I've not heard the 70D's output yet (but love the form factor). If the quality of the recordings is at least the same as the 60D, I'll probably recommend that we get that one, but want to know what you guys think?
 
I don't think you will hear a night and day difference on any of those low-budget recorders. Get a Sound Devices (or other pro quality) preamp or mixer and run it to the recorder you already have, providing it has +4dB balanced inputs.
 
I have a DR-40 in which I use with my GH4 in a dual set up. Is the DR-70 going to give me better audio quality? I really only need 2 XLR inputs.
 
Well, Tascam claims much improved preamps compared to the 60D (which in turn certainly was no worse than the DR-40). Whether you'll hear the difference under most circumstances, I don't know. I have the 60D and the 70D and what I like most about the 70D compared is the much better gain than the 60D, so I can use just about any mic out there, whereas the 60D was somewhat anemic in that respect; but I have never used the DR-40, so I can't compare that.
 
I just used the dr-70d in two projects and found it to be great. Have not even rented the Sound Devices 302 that my film school has avaiable, which I used in past projects. Didn't miss it. I'm not making movies for the Academy Awards, though.
 
if anyone here has a 70d and a sound devices mixer, it would be really helpful to hear an audio test comparing the preamps. i've searched online, but haven't been able to find one.
 
ugafan said:
if anyone here has a 70d and a sound devices mixer, it would be really helpful to hear an audio test comparing the preamps. i've searched online, but haven't been able to find one.
Click to expand...
My 70d comes tomorrow. I have a Mix pre d that I can compare. Would use the Sennheiser g3 or sanken cs3
 
I haven't seen a DR70 schematic or block diagram, so an external preamp may go through the Tascam's low-budget preamps just the same. Same issue with a wireless, even though the mic preamp is in the transmitter, teh receiver would probably be re-amped just like the external preamp.
 
Got a quick question regarding using microSDHC cards with the dr-70d. If the size of the card increases does the Tascam take longer to boot like the Zoom H4n used to? If so, which size card is best? 32gb cards aren't much more than even an 8gb card.
 
Hey i just bought the dr70d and was wondering if u used it similar to a juicedlink where you record audio directly into camera?

If so, whats your setup?
 
i'm still thinking, is it a good idea to move from fostex fr2le to dr70d...i mean preamps are probably better on fostex, but how much, the main reason i want to switch is more channels, also plugin power, and individual phantom power for all channels...maybe someone did the same switch?
 
I am constantly amused by the examination of the minutia of cheap recorders in these threads. Really? At this level of recording, using garage band recorders, I sincerely doubt that most folks could tell the difference in an apples to apples test; or the differences in audio quality for dialogue are so slight as to be non-relevant. I'm not saying that the various Tascams or others can't make good recordings, quite the opposite given a optimal conditions, they can do quite well. But I would venture a guess that most folks that are picking at the minutia of these cheaper units, using cheaper mics, and listening in less than a professional edit suite, are trying to get a tiny increase in performance that doesn't matter for dialogue. The skill of the recordist is 1000x more important IMHO.

Now what is really important with regard to the recorder is to make sure the preamp gain of whatever cheap recorder you use matches up to the microphone; is the mic signal hot enough for the recorder to avoid maxing out the preamps? I have an original DR100 and think it is a great little recorder, but I would never plug a dynamic into it for dialogue. Louder sources like music would be different. I'm sure the newer recorders have stronger preamps. How many times has a thread been started lamenting the noisy recording when a NTG2 is matched up to a cheap recorder = many.

Comparing the preamp quality between a cheap recorder and a SD or other high quality box is pretty silly as well. Even if the cheap recorder was as good, which it likely isn't, what you are buying is build quality (case, switches, display, plugs, etc), better overall design, superior function in the field, and a device that can be repaired if needed. Again, nothing wrong with cheap recorders, but there is a lot more to what you pay for when looking at pro level equipment.

The other most important thing is the ergonomics of the recorder. Does it fit your workflow, does it have a decent build quality, does it have switches for the functions you need for how you work. It is good to see the Zooms and Tascams building recorders more suited to video than garage band use.

Grant
 
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