Hello everyone.

I need a portable recorder to use for discreet music recording (e.g. school concerts) and also for composing at the piano and general use.

I also have a pair of KM184s, which I love. When at home these are plugged into a Fireface 800 and recorded into Reaper. But I would also like to use them in conjunction with the portable when the occasion allows, and when I need better quality than the built-in microphones can deliver.

My first choice was therefore the Tascam DR-100, because of the XLR inputs and phantom power.

But I'm also wondering whether I could use one of the many recorders which only sport a mini-jack microphone input, in conjunction with a Samson S-Phantom to provide portable phantom power, and a 2XLR-to-stereo-jack adaptor.

(An alternative would be to get a dual-channel preamp, using the line input of the recorder, but that puts the price of all the minijack units way up above the Tascam. Or maybe I could set the FF800 up as a standalone preamp ... hmmm)

Anyway, my shortlist, which covers a price range from about £300 to £370 here in the UK (including £45 for the S-Phantom where required) is as follows - in ascending order of price:

Marantz PDM620 (+S-Phantom)
Edirol R09HR (+S-Phantom)
Tascam DR100
Olympus LS11 (+S-Phantom)
Sony PCM-M10 (+S-Phantom)

So my dilemma is which of these will give the best audio results not just on its own, but also with the KM184s and the external mic input.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

i have used 184s with a DR100 with excellent results. the zoom H4 and marantz 661 also have XLR ins with phantom. the pres in the zoom are a bit iffy, however.

Thanks for the advice on the DR100. The Marantz is out of my price range, sadly, and I'm not keen on the Zoom.

Anyone have any views on using the Sony PCM-M10 in this way?

Are the mic. pre's. in the new H4N better than the old ones?


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