LINGUIST List 14.31

Tue Jan 7 2003

Sum: CD Recorder

Editor for this issue: Steve Moran <stevelinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Uwe Seibert, Sum: CD Recorder

Dear fellow linguists,

About a week ago I posted a query (Linguist 13.3340) concerning a new
portable CD recorder which was launched by Marantz this year. Here is
a summary of the little feedback I received.

Martin Paviour-Smith wrote:

 > Our school has recently bought two of these machines, and we are very
 > happy with them. They are very set up for recording, using on screen
 > menus etc, and make good quality audio files. The inbuilt CD burner
 > is an extra bonus. My only minor surprise are the size of the things.
 > It was a little bulkier then I expected. A pretty useful piece of
 > technology.

Gordon Nicholson wrote:

 > I've been using a NOMAD Jukebox to do portable digital recording for
 > about 9 months now. It's a device designed primarily to be an MP3
 > player, but it does do stereo digital recording at 44.1 and 48 kHz
 > sampling rates. It produces automatically named/numbered WAV files
 > that you upload to your computer via a USB connection. For what it
 > does, it is relatively inexpensive and the newer versions have 20 and
 > 40 Gb storage so the recording time is immense. I can't compare S/N
 > specs with the recorder that you have mentioned, but I can't hear any
 > significant difference from my DAT($$$)when using the same mic. It
 > also can act as a portable data hard drive for PC files. The one
 > feature that I don't like on my model is the lack of a gain display
 > of any type, not even a flashing dot when you peak the signal. You
 > have to just monitor by ear. I haven't found this to be a huge
 > problem.
 >
 > I'd suggest it as a device to consider if your budget is limited.

Rod Casalis wrote:

 > I have not seen this model, but we recently purchased a different
 > digital recorder from Marantz for our Bantu Initiative project
 > (sorry, I don't have the model number or the machine itself handy,
 > but you can find the info on Marantz's web site--the number PMD680 or
 > something similar sticks in my mind vaguely). It records onto
 > various kinds of digital media such as compact flash cards, smart
 > digital media, etc.--basically any removable storage for which you
 > can purchase a PC card adapter. It can run on AA batteries or a
 > rechargeable battery. It saves recordings as either .wav or .mp3
 > files. These can be transferred directly to any computer that has a
 > PC card slot. I used it to make some recordings of Kikuyu when I was
 > in Nairobi a few months ago. It's very easy to use and yields
 > excellent quality recordings. It's also very portable, about the
 > same size and weight as the old Marantz cassette recorders. The only
 > drawback is the price--about $1100 through JAARS VMS, but the storage
 > media and other accessories will likely add a couple hundred dollars
 > more.

So, if you want to start digital recording, you can pick between

* a portable mp3 player which can also record ($),
* a little less portable CD recorder ($$), or
* a portable compact flash card recorder ($$$)

I hope that I and everyone else will find the equipment that will suit
our needs,

Uwe