Gizmodo
"Make it the size of an iPod, but let me record high-quality audio." It's a simple request, but so far the closest we've gotten is the $500 MicroTrack from M-Audio. Edirol's new R-09, shown last week at California's NAMM music show, improves on the portable recording formula a bit: it's got the silvery "Remington electric razor" looks, and an integrated mic. Instead of CF, it records onto the more compact SD, and it runs on AA batteries instead of lithium ion. All of this for about $400. And since the PR materials don't mention the word "podcast," we can avoid our powerful gag reflex. P. Kirn
NAMM: Edirol's R-09—SD-based, Portable USB Recorder, Hands-on [Create Digital Music]
Comments
Finally, some quality concert bootlegs will start showing up on the 'torrent tracker sites.
$400 bucks for a unit that needs an external memory card, and takes AA batteries. How is this worth it compared to all the alternatives. Cant you record with an iPod, or even a DAT/MiniDisc deck?
We Deliver -- that's an easy question. Can you record with an iPod? No. Out of the box, you can't record at all, and even with a mic adapter, low-res only. Competing MP3 players, you have more options out of the box, but generally MP3-only. (Also, low-quality converters, tricky menu access to even get at the record feature, and the hard drive players can make noise that can contaminate your recording. And none of them have built in stereo mics.) DATs . . . uh, yes, you can. For $400? Nope. MiniDisc? Yes. Can you drag uncompressed audio files to your computer? No. And the MD mechanisms also are not as quiet as the SD cards. I agree, it'd be great to have every MP3 player do this, but they don't. Sorry. The competition is basically M-Audio's MicroTrack recorder, which is also worth a look alongside the R-09 at this price point. See the linked story. -Peter
Hey man I got a scrip for some Edirol, I'll sell you one for ten bucks
all we need is damn MIC IN, or even a LINE IN or newer HD-based MP3 players! I don't understand why this is so difficult for the manufacturers to understand. Come on, guys. No professional wants to me limited to some rubbish built in mic.
*be limited
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