new solid state field recorder (1 Viewer)

I have used a Marantz PMD670 Field Recorder, but would like to replace it with a new and more up-to-date recorder. However, I am having a hard time find the right one and thus would like to hear some recommendations.

I will use if for recording bird songs and their calls, but also singing grasshoppers etc. for research purpose.

I currently use the following four microphones:

Sennheiser ME67 with a K6 module
Rode NTG-3
Beyer M58
Telinga Twin Science MK2 with a parabolic reflector

The recorder should be of equal sound quality as the PMD670.

Should be a portable field record and thus preferably be smaller than the PMD670

It should provide 48V phantom power

Have longer battery life than PMD670

XLR input

Low level of self-noise

Preferably use AA batteries

Low background hiss with external mics.

Hope that you have some recommendations

All the best

Kent

According to this, the Fostex FR-2 is a real bargain, and the dynamic range is almost on par with a Sound Devices model.

http://www.avisoft.com/recordertests.htm

Kent,
one thing that you may want to consider is you want to record grasshoppers is that you may want to cover the frequency range 0-48kHz.
Most good recorders can cover this region, but all mics cannot. Luckily some of them although spec'd only to 22kHz do record higher frequencies - up to 48kHz. Test and test. Old tube tvs (if you still have them around emits at ~30kH.).

I think the recorder Borjam ment is the Fostex FR2-LE. There is also a FR2 but it is quite large.
The FR2-LE is of quite a nice quality and I use it as my backup, and often with my telinga.
Noise specs are excellent. It does not fit into a pocket, it has a 2 sec buffer, xlr. There are two options for batteries Tamiya batteries, 5000mAh 7,2v batteries last about 9 hours in the Finnish winter night and more in the summer. A bit hard to find. They have to be removed for charging. The batteries are about 50e/ piece and a suitable charger about the same. Alternatively you can use 4 AA batteries, which last about 4 hours.

The only weak thing I have really noticed is the battery compatment cover, which I had to replace after about 4 years or relatively heavy use. A replacement was not easy to find.

The recorder can record continuously to make a 4 GB file (good for 8 hours of 48kHz stereo sampling). It does not continue with a new file.

Other alteratives I have had good experience is the Olympus LS line - check the specs.

The top quality is the Sound Devices 700 series, they sort of clean the table
but they can be an overkill if your budget is tight.

Regards
Harry J

This may be a contender - Tascam DR-680 - overkill for me but at first glance the specs seem comparable to what you are looking for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbqzmkkmqJ4 is a good 'warts and all' review.

Or from the same stable:the Tascam HD-P2

http://www.wildlife-sound.org/equipment/recorders/hd-p2/ the sample recording uses an ME66.

One company that sells a good selection of equipment in the UK is CVP - cvp.com they have been very helpful to me and it may be worth e-mailing them with your requirements as they ship globally.

The Olympus LS series unfortunately do not have XLR connections or 48v Phantom Power, much as I love them, and surprisingly the new Sony PCM-D100 only has mini jack or optical input - which for a £600 recorder is a bit unusual.