The R-44 Portable Field Recorder from Edirol/Roland is an ideal choice for videographers, musicians, sound designers and more. The ultra-portable unit weighs under three pounds but packs a number of great features. Record up to four channels of linear PCM audio at a variety of bit rates and sampling frequencies; up to 24-bit/192kHz. The recorder offers four XLR/TRS combo jack inputs for great versatility. The XLR connections have phantom power, allowing you to use your favorite condenser mic. The R-44 can record to widely-available SD or SDHC flash memory cards, making it easy to store and share your audio. Because there are no moving parts, the R-44 delivers silent, reliable operation that you can depend on.In addition to the input connectors, the R-44 also offers built-in stereo microphones and monitor speakers, allowing you to record and play back audio without any additional equipment. What's more, is that the unit will operate for up to four hours on four AA batteries. You can also use the included AC adapter to use it via wall power.Built-in effects include a three-band parametric EQ and a six-band graphic EQ, a noise gate, compressor, de-esser, limiter and low-cut filter. A pre-record function keeps the R-44 listening at all times, so that when the record button is pressed, the previous few seconds of audio (selectable) are captured to your memory card.The R-44 has an easy-to-use interface, complete with a high-contrast OLED display, per
M**S
Two Stars
Defected
S**G
Great usability and low noise preamps for film work
I use this recorder for small-budget film production. This is a big step-up from the handheld 2-channel recorders from Samson (the Zoom recorders) and the Tascam DR-100 and DR-40 recorders. Competitive with the Tascam DR70D and DR 680 recorders, though I have no experience with those.I like the quiet preamps, which show no hiss until you reach +44dB gain, the 4 channel capacity (including 4 XLR jacks), the configurability (you can accept XLR or digital or built-in mics in the same recording), and the ergonomics (individual, solid knobs). It's plastic, unlike the high-priced Sound Devices products, but it's got a solid feel to it.Drawback for film work is that there are no attach points--it's apparently designed for desktop use. You'll need a bag or case to use this for film. Roland offers CB44 for this (which I use with a light Portabrace harness--works great for me), and Portabrace has a custom bag for the R-44 as well. Main button controls are accessible when bagged, the top-mounted buttons less so but still reachable when the flap is open (which is usually the case when I've used it).One thing to watch out for is that the coarse gain controls are the only ones you should adjust. The 6-db-per-click coarse gain knob controls preamp gain, but the fine gain knob controls post-ADC gain. Look for online forums which cover this topic in depth.
M**R
Warranty Information
I can't rate it's quality or reliability, but I did purchase it on the advise of a professional. The 5 stars I rated this Item was because Amazon gave me no choice but to rate it. Although I did talk to a professional sound man who owns this system and has recorded sound for many independent films. He said, for the price it is an excellent, reliable and accurate, easy-to-work-with field recorder for Low Budget or Independent productions.The DVE Store offers a 30 day warranty from purchase date of this product. After 30 days buyer's must address their Item complaints to the Item maker- ROLAND, who offers a 1 year limited warranty.
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