TASCAM DR-40X 4-Channel / 4-Track Portable Audio Recorder and USB Interface with Adjustable Mic

Battery cover is not available for separate purchase as a replacement, you need to contact Tascam directly for assistance.

It depends on the microphone. Some mics will not work as well and others will. 48V is generally a better option if it is available.

Mic level is significantly lower than line level, so when the inputs are set to mic level they will provide too much gain for a line level signal. This recorder is capable of accepting a line level signal, but the gain for the respective inputs should be set accordingly.

While the DR-40 functions only as a portable digital audio recorder, the DR-40X also provides the option to function as a 2-channel audio interface with your computer. This would be a great consideration for podcasts. It also has an overdub recording option which is useful for musicians, where you can record a single voice or instrument and then record a 2nd audio track over the one that is already recorded. The DR-40X also has a multi-language menu, as well as a dictation mode which can be used to capture testimonials, reminders, or lectures and is made to work ideally with dictation software for transcription purposes.

Yes. The COVID pandemic forced a local church to cancel in-person services, so I taped and edited a Sunday service every Friday, using a Panasonic DMC-G85 DSLR, a Panasonic DMC-Z70 camera, and a Canon Vixia. For audio, I recorded the house mixer system in stereo to a DR-40X. Once I had all three cameras running (and they stayed in sync quite nicely!), I had the minister bring his hands together in front of his face in one sharp "clap." That was my audio/video slate/sync point. I would line up all three video tracks (with camera audio, which I didn't use) in Premiere and sync them to the DR-40X audio track. The sharp spikes, indicating the sound of the loud clap, were easy to spot on both the DR-40X audio and each camera's audio track, allowing for a quick synchronization. I then synced all three video tracks and the audio tracks to the start point in Premiere and went about editing the video, using cutaways to edit out mistakes and second takes. The Z70 worked particularly well in this application with its large battery, as did the Vixia. I used a third-party external power supply for the G85.

No. The only way to record Stereo into the DR-40X is to have a left input and a right input, separately, to the recorder. Each of the XLR connectors on theDR-40X is a single channel.

Yes, you can use the Tascam DR-40x to record the audio from both sides of a phone conversation on an iPhone, but you will need to use another device to serve as an interface such as the JK Audio CellTap 4C Wireless Phone Audio Tap Adapter (B&H # JKCELLTAP4C).

If you are using the Tascam DR-40x as a USB mic or as a USB audio interface for external mics, then you would not be able to use it as a recorder at the same time, but you can record audio directly onto your computer. The DR-40x has the ability to function as either a recorder or as a USB audio interface / USB mic, but it is not capable of performing both functions simultaneously.