TASCAM DR-60DmkII vs DR-60D

I've heard that the only difference between the two is that the DR-60DmkII has a better pre-amp. I can't find anything that shows how much better the pre-amp is or if it's worth it.

I do not currently have a recorder and I have a Videomic Pro. I can find the DR-60D on Ebay for ~$120 and the DR-60DmkII is $199. I'm operating on a micro budget and I'm wondering if the pre-amp is really worth the extra $80 which is 60% more.
 
There's more than the pre-amp difference. If you're talking $80, go for it. It's likely to be worth it. There's another thread in here that went into some of the differences a couple of weeks back. Go hunting.
 
It's all about how much you want to spend to avoid some minor "annoyances" and get marginally better preamps. I say "annoyances" because after the -60 came out folks said "it needs this," "the way you have to do this really sucks," etc.; thats why there's a mkII.


Go to various websites like B&H, Guitar Center, Sweetwater, Sam Ash (and a thousand others) and read reviews; see what trade-ups did and did not like about the mkII.


BTW, I'm intrigued by the -70D. Ergonomically it's really well aimed product. It can be mounted on the tripod under the camera, and it looks like it would fit very nicely in a bag. It has four (4) XLR inputs and records four (4) simultaneous tracks. Probably the same old Tascam preamps, but that's okay... you can't have everything for $300. Anyway, the DR-70D is well aimed at the Indie market. I can't wait to hear how it does out in the field.



dr-70d.gif
 
I have a hypercardioid now but the levels still need to be raised a little bit in post. Still this is workable, it doesn't sound bad to raise them a little bit.

What do you think is the next step up in price for something with a good pre-amp?
 
For "good" preamps you want something of decent quality, like the Sound Devices MM-1.

mm1fr.jpg



Only one (1) channel, but it's very transparent, has phantom power, a basic limiter and rudimentary high pass filter, plus excellent headphone monitoring. Great for boom-ops and a nice addition to many sound kits. About $500.

You can get three channels with the PSC ProMix 3 (about $475). The routing functions are pretty basic, but that shouldn't be a concern for most production sound newbs. In the $1k range you can, of course, get the Sound Devices MixPre-D. You may also want to look into used SD gear; I've seen the 302 for around $500 on eBay and other places, but most are running around $1k as well, although they'll include the bag, etc.
 
Great information, thanks!

You can get three channels with the PSC ProMix 3 (about $475). The routing functions are pretty basic, but that shouldn't be a concern for most production sound newbs.

So in this case you would use a mixer for it's preamps and still record into the tascam?

Not a bad way to go either although it's an extra piece of gear to carry.
 
So in this case you would use a mixer for it's preamps and still record into the tascam?

Most professional Production Sound units use a separate mixer and audio recorder. In fact, it is not at all unusual for most professional sound bags to carry (which means that the PSM/Boom-Op has to carry) an audio recorder, a mixer and as many wireless receivers as can be crammed into the bag. And yes, below is a bag a PSM/BO would carry around his/her neck.

Inertia_788T-200x150.jpg


Imagine wearing that around your neck while you're booming!!!!!

Not a bad way to go either although it's an extra piece of gear to carry.

So is a tripod; do you not use one just because it's an extra piece of gear to carry?
 
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I don't like digital interface on dr-70d. Almost everything is done through the one screen with a single button. This interface cannot be accessed while a recording is in progress. So for example if you want to switch from low to medium gain you would have to stop your track and navigate through a little menu and then turn it on. then start recording again.

A minor complaint is it doesn't come with an SD card. Sort of takes away from the excitement of getting it though if you can't use it right away.

Hmmm..
 
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