Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder

Comments about Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder:

Very solid piece of gear. Very straight forward to use, and the pres sound surprisingly good for the cost. The only small qualm I have with it is that the AC power cord doesn't fit very snugly into the unit when plugged in.

Otherwise, it's a great solution to high def mobile recording.

Comments about Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder:

The recordings made "out of the box" with the MR1000 far exceed the most complex digitisation I've been able to get with any PC-based solution (and this includes Protools).

It's easy to set up (you basically plug in the recording source and turn it on, then press 'Record' to start recording!), it has a good range of level controls and clipping options for those strange input configurations, and it's trivial to redo and check new recordings.

While the DSD and WSD/DFF (1-bit) native files aren't editable directly, it's dead simple to add in live markers that can then be used to navigate through the playback.

Once you're happy you've captured what you want, it's super simple to transfer the recordings in any of the formats to a PC for detailed editing and manipulation.

The included Audiogate software allows direct playback of all supported file formats, and is amazingly capable of format conversion to/from any of the supported formats. Typical DSD to high-def WAV conversions take place at around 5x normal speed, and faster if you transfer the source files first and convert them on the target system.

You really haven't heard a good recording until you've heard a 1-bit reproduction with this unit, it's quite amazing to hear the dynamic range available.

There are some basic filename editing functions available on the unit itself, but you're better off leaving the naming until later. The default auto-generated unique filenames are fine unless you need more than 200 recordings per folder - but then you can create your own folders if you really want to.

The rest of the well-thought-out menu system allows for a pretty full set of utilities, such as reformatting the hard drive, updating the system software, and connecting/disconnecting the USB connection without pulling the cable out.

I don't use it outside a studio, but I have tested the battery life, and it easily meets the manual specs - roughly 4 hours regardless of battery type. Using NiMH rechargeables is definitely a good option. I've gotten 6 hours out of lithiums, but at nearly $50 a set, the extra time wasn't worth it for me!

I got a chance to play with a prototype a few years ago, and there have been some great software improvements, but the hardware didn't need improving at all, it was fine as-is.

The other MR models are basically the same guts (processor, sampling, input, and controls) in different boxes, just with more or fewer connection features.

The only caveats I've come across are that you do have to be careful when breaking the USB connection - you just can't pull the cable out, or the unit will need to be reset - and powering down - you have to wait until the power button shutdown completes before pulling the power cable. But then, both of those are no-nos in any case!

You'll also find that after considerable recording, deleting, moving, re-recording, and so on, that the hard drive does require defragmenting, and this needs to be done via a PC. But if, like me, you collect a fair number of recordings, then transfer them all to the PC, it's actually quicker and easier to simply use the menu to reformat the hard drive!

Comments about Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder:

I have long been a fan of DSD - the recording format used by SACDs. I think it has a naturalness and smoothness that all but the best PCM lacks. Unfortunately, it has not succeeded as a consumer medium, but that doesn't stop it from being useful in other areas.

I had considered the higher-level units at twice the price, but couldn't justify the expense. Recently my vinyl playback chain has improved to the point that I started thinking seriously about archiving my newer albums in some way to preserve them before they get worn or scratched, and while my needle and tubes are all making happy sounds. This not only allows capturing them in their prime, but they can then be converted to whatever digital format you want.

I will also be using it as a mastering and archiving recorder for my original recordings. May even have to get back into recording sound effects in the field!

One of the nice things about DSD is it downsamples beautifully. From the recordings I make with the MR-1000, using the free AudioGate software, I can create up to 24/192 DVD-Audio discs that sound nearly indistinguishable from listening to the source. I'm still hoping to find a way of playing back the DSD-Disc formatted DVDs that can be created - it is essentially an SACD-resolution copy, but unfortunately at this point (and maybe forever) only plays back on PS3, Vaio computers and one (out-of-stock) Sony SACD player.

If you're more into getting your music on to your iPod or computer music system, it will make beautiful-sounding FLAC, Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF, etc. at pretty much any size and resolution you could want. It takes a fair number of steps to accomplish this, but it works well.

As for the physical unit itself, I have a few reservations. Line input is only available through 1/4" inputs, which is fine when going from TRS to TRS or XLR to TRS such as from the output of a mixer. But if your line source is RCA...well try and find audiophile RCA to 1/4" cables! It requires a pair of adaptors - an audiophile no-no. I'm going to have to roll my own.

Mic input is via XLRs, but the quality of the internal mic pres is not up to the capability of the recorder, so you really want the best line-level signal you can feed it to get the full benefit of the high resolution. Similarly, the headphone output doesn't give you a real picture of what you are capturing, so I look at that as more of a confidence-monitoring output.

Output is via either RCA or XLR, which is how I wish the inputs were configured. The case, which appears in photos to be metal, seems to be either very thin metal or some sort of plastic. It is not as rugged as a pro field mixer even though it looks like one. It does have the advantage of being compact and portable, though I have read differing views on its drive's resilience for field recording. I guess I would have argued against including "Professional" in the descriptive name of the recorder, because that suggests something more sturdily constructed with better mic pres than this unit.

Having made those qualifications, it nonetheless is capable of making amazing recordings that are indistinguishable from the source. It is compact, portable, well laid out, comes with really nice free (downloadable) software that extends its capability amazingly, runs on AC or batteries, and cost is half that of the next-best options.

Four Stars.

Comments about Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder:

Hang it on your shoulder wired to a pair of mics and walk around the city picking up SFX of staggering quality. The playback (only possible from the MR1000 itself) - puts you right back in the field you recorded. The Audiogate software is flawless in translations. Old rhythm tracks I put through the box and then played also sounded better, pristine - as if they had been sonically expanded.

Comments about Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder:

The 1 bit quality is overkill for Film and Video Applications. I haven't had a chance to use the 1 bit for anything other than archiving my music masters and recording Foley sound effects. I have to eventually down-sample to 48k in most cases. It is future proof but for video, time-code is a more useful feature. I'll hold on to it because if I am to record a seminar or band with intentions to deliver a data disc or superCD this is great. Just not good if your intentions are to sync with video later. The Tascam is all you need.

Comments about Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder:

The product detail uses words like, "Location recording" but the manual says "don't move device while power is on". I wish Korg would make their minds up about the durability of this product but I have been using it for "Location Sound Recording" as in, "movie and foley audio". I was torn about timecode so I bought a slate with sticks. I was torn about being limited to two channels when I could have 4 with the R-44 but having two means I just need to use my 3 channel mixer more efficiently. This recorder is small, easy to use, and looks very stylish. I think this device was aimed towards the music market. I think it is strong enough to take some film style abuse. I think the MR-1000 is the Red Camera of Audio recorders. The buttons are big and easy to push. The menu is simple. The thing I don't like is that the file organization system was designed for SONGS and not TAKES for film use. What I mean by that is when you hit record and stop, that "take" is organized on the hard drive as a folder by itself. So at the end of the day when you have 100+ folders to rename it gets tedious to open each one up to get your audio file.

If you are torn between this, the Tascam, and the Edirol, read each of the manuals online, or if you are in NYC go to B&H and check them out. I bought this guy because the price was right and I'm a sound quality addict. It also comes with its case, and free software for converting your audio. I'll pick 1-bit over timecode any-day. 4 channels would be nice. I might be able to omit my mixer from the chain. But the Edirol had a lot of bells and whistles that I would never use, like onboard effects. It was a painful decision, but I believe I made the right one for me. Korg has never let me down.

Comments about Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder:

I used the MR-1000 for several live concert recording sessions, and many studio back up work. I'm very satisfied with the result it came out. The 1-bit recording is what I need. It could produce the highest quality recording in a professional's hand. B & H is of course my first choice in terms of professional gears purchasing.

Comments about Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder:

Uses: Professional recording of stereo SFX and music performances

Great: Portable, compact,excellent audio recordings

Not great:8 brand new Duracells lasted 20mins (on 3 occasions!) and a 1hour 15min stereo recording of a live concert was out of sync by almost two seconds!

Use only for short duration sync recordings ....!

Comments about Korg MR-1000 - 1-Bit Professional Digital Mobile Recorder:

I've had my MR-1000 for about a month and have recorded 3 organ recitals using TLM103 pair. In all cases I've used the default 5.6MHz option, using Audiogate to convert files to 96KHz/32Bit IEEE-Float files. Flawless operation of machine, equally flawless copy to computer via USB 2.0 port. Highly recommended.