Product: TASCAM DR-07
Price Paid: USD 175
Submitted
05/11/2009
at
09:35am
by
Pete
General
:
9
The DR-07 is a small portable stereo digital recorder with built-in condensor mics as well as 1/8" stereo mic/line inputs. Size is comparable with a Zoom H2. Case is plastic, but seems durable.
Connectivity
:
9
Connectivity is USB 2.0, or the SD (actually SDHC) card can be removed and read directly by your computer. Transfer rate seems very good. Card support, according to TASCAM's supported-media list, includes up to 32GB SDHC cards. I give credit to TASCAM for publishing a list of actual cards that have been tested with the unit, as I record at maximum bandwidth (48kHz x 24 bit), which puts the most stress on the storage card.
I/O
:
8
Inputs include stereo condensor mics (cardioid), 1/8" stereo mic input (with switchable plug-in power), 1/8" line input, and 1/8" combination headphone/line-out jack. No digital I/O, and unlike the Zoom family, cannot be used as a USB-connected sound source. No XLR-balanced/phantom mic inputs on this model.
Input level control features a 3-level gain setting (accessed by menus) and a side-panel gain knob (very handy, compared to menu-based gain settings). The onboard limiter is analog rather than digital, which is a Good Thing. Auto-gain is also available.
Power
:
9
The DR-07 is powered by two AA-sized Alkaline or rechargeable batteries. A menu selection lets you specify which type of battery is in use, so that the battery gauge properly reflects the remaining capacity. Tascam also offers a 5VDC AC power supply. The more-expensive Tascams are powered by a Li-Ion rechargeable pack, but on the positive side, the DR-07 runs on AA batteries available anywhere.
Technical specs
:
9
44.1/48kHz WAV @ 16- or 24-bit, MP3 recording up to 320kbps. 96k would be nice, but I don't have mics or input sources (yet) that might demand it. Perhaps this may come in a future firmware update.
Other
:
10
No software is bundled with the DR-07. I've used its WAV files successfully in Cool Edit and Audacity with no problems.
The availability of a tripod socket (1/4" x 20) on the bottom of the unit makes for handy mounting on a mic stand (with an adapter), which lets me hang mics and a recorder on the same stand for quick-and-dirty recordings. I have a small folding tripod which works fine for tabletop use as well.
Overall
:
9
As a replacement for my Sony portable DAT recorder, I've only begun using the DR-07, mainly to record choral rehearsals, but I'm impressed with the overall ease-of-use and quality. Spec-wise, it's not as quiet as the more-expensive Sony models, but for the church environment I'm in, the noise floor isn't obvious. I am using it mostly with a set of Core Sound battery-box omni microphones, and plan to spend a little more time with the internal mics as well.
