Macworld Forums

Any knowledgeable types care to comment on this little baby?

http://www.edirol.com/products/info/r1.html

BULLEID34081@mac,

on paper it looks quite an interesting device.

It's usefulness will depend on what you are wanting to do with it.

Many portable MiniDisk recorders don't have enough sensitivity when using an external microphone, this may be similar, but if you're planning to use it for locomotive recordings, that's hardly going to be a problem. I would certainly hesitate to use a built-in microphone for any treasured recording, and external one would be much more suitable.

My only questions are what is it's price and is it actually available ?

BULLEID34081@mac,

I wouldn't bother with a recording rate of 64kbs if you want quality, but the conversion rate of 24 bit WAV is a bit more like it. Bear in mind that the greater quality you choose, the lower your recording time will be. Ask how much you can record at top quality, before you buy one.

It depends entirely what you want to do with it. If you want to record music with a large number of players, such as an orchestra, it probably isn't up to the job, but if you want to record a small number of players in medium quality, it would be fine. I'd use external mike(s) for best results. However, if you want to make recordings of events where a large set-up would be impossible, it looks fine.

With regard to its specs at http://www.edirol.com/products/info/r1.html , in the days of valves, electrolytic capacitors were used to smooth the DC supply coming from the rectifier before it was sent to the valves, so I'm not sure how "Electrolytic capacitors provide stable, reliable power to the analog circuits, eliminating DC interference and offering a truly low-distortion sound." Doesn't make sense to me, but I'm willing to be corrected.

AlanAudio,
It would be used in the same manner as my mini disc, ie. for sound effect recordings at steamj railways and airshows. The mini disc does just fine but
transferring material to the Mac in real time is a pain. Just looking to getting things done quicker but not if the cost is lower quality.

crhg,
"if you want to record music with a large number of players, such as an orchestra"
Nothing so grand as per my reply to Alan Audio.

crhg,

you're quite right about their strange emphasis on electrolytic capacitors.

Nearly every bit of electronics uses them and have done for many yeras, so I can't understand why they mention then so prominently.

It's as though a car manufacturer were to boast that the engine is held together with nuts and bolts.

It's probably something that the copy writer half understood and it impressed him and nobody else pointed out the reality.

BULLEID34081@mac,
Sorry, missed your reply to Alan Audio. I would imagine that it would be just about perfect for the use you describe. Have fun!

crhg,
Don't worry. Posted both replies one after the other so would have been difficult for you to have read my reply to Alan much sooner than the one to
you. Haven't seen a price for the gizmo yet and no idea as to UK availability.

BULLEID34081@mac,

that gadget might be vapurware, so here's some more vapourware to keep you thinking.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2004/10/28/r4/index.php/?lsrc=mcrss-1004

It's a much more upmarket concept, but Edirol ( part of the Roland group ) have a track record for selling high spec stuff for very attractive prices.

It also has some promising features for working alongside video cameras.

Watch that space !

BULLEID34081@mac,
I looked on the web site and the Roland R1 seems to be available at digital village, well on their web site www.dv247.com/icat/73 at £329.99 they did not quote any delivery time. As it records on a compact flash card at least you should be able to get the files in to the computer without going back to analog which you can’t with consumer mini disk recorders, why is that? When some of them have usb connections that only go from the computer to the mini disk, ok for downloaders I suppose Check how easy it is to go into manual record level., the Sony mini disk I had was a real pain you had to be in rec pause mode to go into manual and the when you pressed stop it went back to auto, but they are half the price. arnoldr

arnoldr,
Unless I'm very much mistaken, the reason why you can't download from minidisc to mac via USB is because the related software is Windoze only. That is certainly the case with Sony. A manual recording level function is not high on my want list as in most instances I'm taking photographs while the minidisc is capturing the sound. Auto level suits my needs just fine under those circumstances.

AlanAudio,
Even allowing for my comparative lack of knowledge in the field, that looks like a very tasty piece of kit.