A nice FedEx man rang my doorbell today and dropped of my brand new Sony PCM-D50 digital audio recorder. I won't be able to post a thorough review for another day or two, but here are some photos in the meantime.
Oh yeah, and I also couldn't resist giving the recorder a quick sound check. Keep in mind, I haven't read through the instruction manual yet, and I haven't tinkered with the settings very much. But my first impression is that while the internal mics have just about the same level of hiss as the mics on the Zoom H4, you get a much more natural sounding vocal tone with the PCM-D50.
You also do need to hold the PCM-D50 carefully when using the built-in mics. While you don't get as much handling noise as with the Zoom H4, you'll definitely notice some noise if you change your grip.
But the most impressive thing, and the reason I bought this recorder in the first place (aside from good hardware controls, a great limiter, a sturdy body, and 4GB internal memory), is that it sounds great with a dynamic microphone. Grab a good pair of headphones and listen for yourself.
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17 Comments:
I would appreciate if you could give more details about the PCM-D50 preamp. The same level of hiss as the mics on the Zoom H4 is quite disappointing.
Do you think Marantz PMD-620 preamp + internal mics will perform the same?
As for the sound quality, Jeff Towne of Transom says the PMD620 sounds better with an external mic than any other low-end recorder he's tried. I haven't tried a PMD620 yet, and to my knowledge, he hasn't tried a PCM-D50, which I would describe much the same way.
It would be great to get internal mics that sound as good as a studio mic, but I think that's just not going to happen. These internal mics do sound very good, and the ability to plug in a dynamic mic and with little interference makes this an excellent deal at $500.
I'll be posting more audio samples over the next few days so you can judge for yourself.
- MM
I'm disappointed you think the mics have a similar level of noise to the H4's. I was hoping I could use the d50 for sound effect and ambience recording but it appears I may have to splash out on the d1 as their mics are supposed to be considerably quieter. If you've used one, do you think there is much of a difference in the level of hiss from the two units?
Thanks for the blog and keep up the good work :)
Rob
As for the OTG hard drive, I honestly have no idea. My Windows PCs automatically recognize the PCM-D50 as an external hard drive, but I haven't tried it with any other devices.
I am comparing these three to how they ran with my Zoom H2, my only other point of reference here.
1)
Of the three, the Rode sounds the best. Little to no background noise as compared to the H2.
2)
The GS lav was pretty bright sounding. Easily driven by the Sony. With the H2 I had to either crank up the grain or bring it up quite a bit in post.
3)
With the 635A it was more easily driven than with the H2. It was tough to get any decent level with the H2. The Sony definitely gave a healthier reading. I noticed however a real low level hum with the 635. I moved around the apt. to make sure it wasn't feedback.
Did you have similar experience with the RE50 mic? My understanding is that they're similar with the exception of additional pop filter?
It really is some sort of electronic hum I'm getting. Not a hiss. Strange. It's not present with the Rode or Giant Squid lav.
Nope, no buzz for me with an RE50. I did get an email a while back from another new PCM-D50 owner who reported that she was getting a buzz with her lavalier mic. She didn't say which model it was, but did say that is sounded better in some parts of her house than others, so they may have been picking up some sort of interference.
Her solution was to switch mics. She says the Audio Technica Pro 70 cardiod lav sounds great.
As for my RE-50, you can hear samples in my PCM-D50 review.
http://www.bradlinder.net/2007/12/sony-pcm-d50-review.html
I think it sounds great, and with the volume cranked up to 7, I can record a much higher signal than I would using the Zoom H4 and PCM-D50 with the volume all the way up.
Hmmm. I have sucessfully run an 8GB pro duo card (Not "high speed" or HG, which don't yet exist in the 8GB size) and got 3 hours 53 minutes of 24/96 recording (line-in) in 4 files with seamless splits.
Jeff
sounds fine with other recorders.
anyone tried a stereo pair of external mics on this recorder?