Edirol R-09R 24 Bit Wave / MP3 Recorder, Red
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List Price: $450.00
Our Price:
$399.00
You Save: $51
Features
• Pristine 24-Bit Recording to Go
• 2 Built-in condenser microphones - for mono or stereo recording
• Recording storage on optional SD SecureDigital Memory Cards (a 2GB card provides up to 13.5 hours)
• 24-bit/48kHz (or 44.1kHz) uncompressed recording
• Up to 320kbps MP3 playback and recording |
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Edirol R-09R 24 Bit Wave / MP3 Recorder, Red Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
Not too shabby, but not quite pro-quality, either.
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In terms of consumer audio, the R-09 has a lot lot going for it. It is astonishingly handy and easy to use. Learning it "on the go" is a breeze, thanks to its terrifically intuitive menu structure. The backlit display is clean, responsive, and well-designed. It's light as a feather (although not very rugged) and handsome. Battery life is wonderful (it runs forever on two AAs). And, for most purposes, the quality is excellent, with a decent range of recording options (WAV or various levels of MP3).
My primary problem with it is very particular and would likely affect about 0.0001% of its potential user base. I am a digital archivist working with (among other things) shortwave radio broadcasts, and I need a recorder that has more thorough optoisolation. On the shortwave bands, it spits out an unholy amount of hash and grind which makes my work completely impossible.
The built-in stereo mic has a fairly poor signal-to-noise ratio: fair enough for informal, dictaphone-style use, but you'll definitely want to invest in an outboard mic tailored to your particular situation(s). It easily allows for distinction between a mono and stereo mic with a simple switch on the back of the unit, and has similar switches for high/low gain and AGC (automatic gain control). There are separate line and mic inputs on the top of the unit.
If you're planning on using the recording in any covert situations (not that I endorse that sort of thing... *cough*), the bright-red RECORD button will be a dead giveaway, and there's no particularly easy way to circumvent it without hijacking or defacing the unit.
The R-09 comes with a 64MB SD memory card. With the firmware upgrade, it can take up to a 4GB SDHC card (the non-upgraded unit tops out at 2GB); I've heard reports of folks trying 8GB, but I didn't push my luck there. File management is a piece of cake. You can pull files off of the unit by plugging it in directly via USB (much like a digital camera) or by removing the SD card and using an external card reader of your choice. One strange ergonomic decision is the battery compartment; you have to wrangle with a rather delicate locked plastic mechanism (overzealous users may break it right off) to release the batteries.
For your average sound-recordist and amateur aural chronicler, this is a great little unit. For higher-end folks aiming to cut corners from, say, the Marantz PMD670, you really get what you pay for. |
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Edirol R-09R 24 Bit Wave / MP3 Recorder, Red home electronics.