Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

It gives you a very good audio definition. It's small and not heavy at all. I recommended.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

I'm a PhD student doing interviews for my research and I really wanted something that was portable and easy to use. Although several oral history organizations recommended its bigger brother, and it is big, I went with this model because it's more handheld, easy to read, easy to use, and you seem to get a lot of the same functionality for a lower price. So far it's worked great!

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

Pretty good interface and controls. The noise floor is pretty high, so not recommended for low-volume field recording. The build quality is a little less tough than comparable models like the Sony PCM-M10. Except for the noise floor issue, good product.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

i place this recorder at the Front of House position so it records what the live engineer is hearing PLUS i kindly ask (and sometimes give a couple $ ) the engineer to feed a live board mix to the recorder. I end up with two stereo files and then blend them in post with any video I am recording. Extremely easy to use and the quality is very usable... It has some other really cool features that would be extremely useful for reporters or interview takers as well. For under $200 you CAN NOT go wrong with this; as a matter of fact I am going to buy a second one and open up more options...

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

Doing band rehearsal recording and also some solo practice work with midi files and B in B backing tracks. Very nice, clean sound quality. It is easy to use, minimal instructions, easy to read backlit menu. Battery life is a bit on the short side, I am now using rechargable NiMih and will also get the [$] charger. They should include that, but othert than that, its a keeper.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

For the money, you can't beat this wonderful little machine. I can't believe how many bells and whistles it has on it for the price. There are other portable recorders that do less than this one, and they cost 4X the price! I use it for interviews and making back-up recordings of our internet radio show. It has built in mics or I can record direct from my audio board. Simple to use, and it remembers all of you settings. Once you set it up, just turn it on again, and you are ready to record!
Whats great is it records to a camera type memory card, that loads very quickly into your computer.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

I use the Tascam DR-2D to record live performances of my band. The ability to record two versions, one 6 to 12 db lower has come in very handy avoiding peaks without using the limiter. The sound quality is very solid and the remote is a nice addition so I can activate it from behind the drums. This is a very sensitive recorder and picks up more detail than I expected. You will definitely hear crowd noise so it is important to choose your placement wisely. Definitely buy a windscreen if you are planning on using it outdoors.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

Very good design, and works fine. Dual recording let you set the level hotter, and still get a -12dB backup file in case the level reach clipping. Seems the only one on the market. Unfortunately it cannot provide enough power for DPA 4060/4061 as the plug-in power at only 2.13V instead of standard 3V. There's sound, but not normal, lower level plus kind of extra noise. Works with other lower cost electret miniature microphone.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

a little hard to use for a novice but includes great instructions.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

Follow these instructions: Push and hold the I/O button, the square one to turn on. Press the red record button, it flashes while you set your audio levels, press again to record. this should be on page two...not pp 25 of the guide. But it works very well for a field recorder and I have used it with a wireless set-up as well. it's robust but read the user guide, several times to learn all the bells and whistles.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

This is to be used as a general purpose audio recorder, not specifically for music. However the attributes I was looking for (compact, high sensitivity, low noise, good frequency response) are all here. The documentation and display are obviously geared towards music use, some of it fairly gratuitously, for example, use of musical note symbols on display, and terminology in the documentation. I would have preferred more generic terminology which would not have detracted from the its usability one bit. I suppose we have "marketing" to blame for this.

In several reviews I had seen reference to the weight of the unit. I don't know what it was being compared to, but I didn't feel it was heavy at all. In fact having had my expectations set, I was perhaps a little disappointed that it felt just like any other plastic Chinese consumer item.

I was a little worried when I first turned it on, and then left it untouched for half an hour or so, then upon picking it up, feeling it was quite warm, and seeing the battery state indicator reading low (after 30 minutes???). However, I did later notice that in the documentation they mention that the batteries delivered with the unit are for functionality testing only, and may not last very long. I have yet to try it out with a new set of decent batteries to see how long they last. From reviews that I read before purchasing it, I am not expecting much in terms of battery life.

On the topic of cheap Chinese feel, the "jog wheel" (for want of a better name) is somewhat of a disappointment when you use it. It could be much smoother to operate.

The internal speaker is claimed to deliver 0.6W.
I seriously doubt that it delivers 6mW.

Overall, worth the price from B&H Photo? Definitely. Worth the list price? No way.

Sound recording quality: Excellent.
Usability: Good.
Construction: Mediocre.
Internal speaker: Practically useless.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

I bought this product (B&H Photo in NY) to capture my songwriting ideas when they happen, as well as choir rehearsal and when we do live performances. I also purchased, as stated on the media list, the Transcend 16GB card, which is more than enough to work with. It formatted easily and works great! I am looking forward to exploring the uses of the DR-2d, which I got to compliment my purchase of the Tascam DP-02.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

remote control is awesome to have, all others should have one

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

I use this product to record lectures and sermons for our church. Have used other TASCAM products (DR-7) but just wanted a few more features. This recorder handles all our needs. I would recommend getting the AC/DC Adapter. Batteries don't last too long, about 3 hrs tops.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

The Tascam DR-2d is a great compact digital recorder. Well suited and I recommend for amateur level to pro musicians to record rehearsal, song sketches & arrangment ideas, performances. Have used indoors and outdoors - no issues with reflected sound or wind noise. CD quality sound. Easy transfer .wav to PC to CD. Small speakers difficult to hear, must use headphones or earbuds to adequately monitor playback. Eats batteries, make sure you have fresh batteries at start of each session of an hour or more. Would purchase again if lost or stolen.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

Brilliant *design*, but the implementation blew a few things, unfortunately, & 1 of those things probably requires better hardware inside...

It takes roughly 110 minutes to fully-format a 32GB card ( Kingston 32GB Class 4 ).
That's right, nearly 2 whole hours.

Unfortunately, however, once you have formatted that 32GB card, you can't reliably record to it:
it either stops recording ( glitches: remaining on, but not in record-mode ) or it powers-off, completely, after minutes ( usually less than an hour, sometimes less than 10 minutes ).

Once your batteries die down somewhat, it becomes more-able to record to your 32GB card without shutting-off, but at what level? Do I need to put in *half*-dead batteries to get it to reliably record?

This is with even single-stereo, 16/44.1:
so it is *the current being drawn by the card*,
not because of trying to write too much data per second ( I discovered this with 24/96, dual, and thought it might be that, so tested with 16/44.1 )...

Also, the metronome ISN'T available as a visual-metronome...

Right. You've got a sensitive recorder, and you are recording through it's built-in microphones, and your only metronome is a built-in-speaker on the same unit??
-shaking-head-

They COULD have used the RECORD-LEDs, when one happened to be recording, and that'd work just fine, you know?
( e.g. Standby-record + metronome being short ON, long OFF,
Recording + metronome being short OFF, long ON )

It doesn't include its windscreen ( search for DR-2d, and you'll see the thing ), and out of doors, you need it.

Right: now what's brilliant about it:

Excellent recorder ( particularly for the money ).

Provides quad-channel record, either duplicating the primary 2 channels at a lower level ( -6 to -12dB, in 1db steps ), OR mics + line-in, if you've got something connected there.

Up to 24/96. ( yum )

Good mics ( much better than the older recorders )

Remote ( included ) means one can activate recording with ZERO handling-noise, and the clear LEDs show whether it's recording or in standby.

Pre-record to nab the previous few seconds.

Tripod-mount: get a mini gorillapod for this: you'll love the combo. ( or just get a broomhandle/painters-extension & a bolt, cut to length, glue together, and you've got an improvised boom, if you need it... duct-tape would work, but doing that to my nice recorder -shudder- :)

REMEMBER the Hold-button, on the back, or you may think you broke it! ( if you put Hold on, for recording, and it runs until dead, the Hold will prevent activation! Flip it, switch it, problem solved )

Wishes: make the thing work with 32GB cards
( Q: how long do Lithium Ultimate AAs last?
A: I don't know: my recorder kept shutting off.
Q: How long can one record with external battery/power-supply into 32GB?
A: see previous answer )

Ogg Vorbis & Speex ( these should cost nothing in licensing, and once implemented in their TASCAM firmware-library, could be re-deployed throughout all their devices, at nearly zero-cost )...
These would provide immediate licensing-free product ( our audio ), and Speex would be MUCH better use of resources than WAV for speech ( and mp3 still sounds like mp3 .. -q=10 Vorbis, however... woulda been nice ).

Include a folded-business-card size cheat-sheet for the thing!

Seriously! sometimes you need to change a setting, and can't remember where it hides!

Finally, WHAT SIZE CARD WORKS WITH IT??

Do I need 16GB cards?
or do I need 8GB cards?
or do I have to drop all the way down to 4GB cards?

Would I buy again?

Yes ( IF it works with 16GB cards ), but with smaller cards than what I got.

Do I recommend it?

..certainly, IF you know what you're getting, know what size card to get, AND that limitation isn't a problem...

Try using a Belkin "ipod" stereo-mini cable ( "male" both-ends, and maybe a Belkin "ipod" extension or 2; the "ipod" ones by Belkin seem to be shielded ) from the line-out of this to the line-in on your camcorder, and you'll have 24/96/dual sound from the close-recording ( EXCELLENT sound ), and no need to re-take due to overload, and sync-sound with AGC in your camcorder, from the pre-scene clap.

Also grab the "Shut-Up & Shoot" book by Anthony Q Artis ( iirc ), if you're doing this kind of thing...
& either Premiere Pro or Premiere Elements.

( if you want to redistribute off your own site, you want Premiere Pro, and encode to VP6/Flash, or licensing becomes an issue )

Cheers!

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

I used it as a back-up audio recording when doing video recording for the local commumity cable television. The last time I discarded the camera audio and substituted the Tascam Audio (for the final video product).
The fidelity is great.
I also use it for background classical music when working on the computer.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

Very easy to figure out and use.
Very nice sounding on board mics
you can do 2 stereo recordings at once at different levels, use inbuilt or external mikes, plus line in, either mixed altogether or separate tracks.
That's why I got the DR-2D, you have the insurance of being able to have an extra recording at a lower setting if you set the gain too high, or alternatively with a mixer or line in, you have 4 track. I've used up to 4 mikes with this unit and a field mixer.
No issues so far. I really like this even more than my DR-1. Smaller, lighter, neater, onboard mikes are protected, very nice build.
I carry 2 sets of extra batteries for insurance, in case I am going to record a whole day, and an extra 8 Gig SD card, cause 4 track uses up memory twice as fast as stereo recording.
I buy only Eneloop rechargeable batteries now, their performance is significantly better than anything else.

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

This is an amazing recorder that has many other features that will especially interest the musician. Besides an easy to use interface and easy punch-in feature, there are wonderful controls for changing the speed, pitch, and key... for those that want to learn fast guitar riffs.. works great!

Comments about Tascam DR-2d Portable Digital Recorder:

I wish it enabled me to add to an existing recording (file). You can split the file but it actually creates two new files and it's complicated to do. Kind of heavy but that makes it feel well built. Unfortunately it's made in china; hope it lasts... Built-in speaker is underpowered.