The DR-100 is a rugged, hand-held stereo recorder intended for professional applications such as recording music, speech, live concerts, conferences and atmospheres on location. It records from two pairs of built-in microphones or external microphone or line inputs onto a removable SD or SDHC memory card in MP3 or WAV file format; 24-bit, 96kHz recording is supported for WAV files. The design employs high-grade microphone pre-amps and A-D converters. Dedicated hardware controls minimise use of menus. Playback facilities include loop, over-dubbing and tempo-change without pitch-shift, making it very suitable for reportage use, transcription and musical rehearsals. A USB port allows files to be transferred a computer for editing.
Recording level is adjusted manually, with separate left and right controls. Automatic level control may also be selected. There are two pairs of built-in microphones, one pair having omni-directional characteristics, the other pair cardioid. The recording source may be either pair of microphones, two external microphone inputs or a stereo line-level input. Each recording generates a separate file, but new files may also be created during recording either manually, or automatically by file size. The DR-100 has a two-second pre-record buffer, a record-delay facility which avoids the sound of the record button being recorded and an automatic record-start feature triggered by audio level. Markers may be added manually or automatically during recording to aid rapid location within a file. A set of basic file-management functions is included in the menu system, which permit file renaming, tagging and deletion. All controls may be disabled to avoid inadvertent cancelling of record mode. A USB 2.0 port facilitates connection to a computer, which will recognise the DR-100 as an external drive in the usual way, for easy file transfer. WAV or MP3 files may also be transferred from the computer to the recorder. Monitoring of recording or play-back may be with headphones or the built-in loudspeaker. The DR-100 is constructed on a solid metal chassis, making it particularly suitable for outdoor use, and may be fixed to a microphone stand on a standard 6.35mm adaptor and controlled with the supplied remote control either wirelessly or with a wired connection. The internal power source uses main and backup batteries, allowing continuous operation during a battery change.
The primary controls are on the top panel. There are large 'Record', 'Play/Pause' and 'Stop' buttons. 'Next' and 'Previous' keys perform track-skip or audio search functions, depending on the length of key-press. A large, concentric data-entry wheel with integral 'Enter/Mark' button has several functions, including scrub-style location during play-back, menu navigation and file-marker registration. Further dedicated keys open the play-back control screen, access the main menu system, return the display to the home page and open a 'Quick' page allowing rapid file-identing. An 'I/O' key is used to define the start and end of a play-back loop. An 'Auto' key opens an 'Auto Rec' screen, where automatic recording start and stop settings can be adjusted. A four-position slide-switch selects the recording source from: built-in omni-directional or cardioid microphones, external microphones, or line input. A multi-purpose LCD shows various screens, depending on operating mode; left and right record-level, elapsed and remaining times, current file-name, recording format and battery status are displayed during normal recording. Other indicators are a peak LED which illuminates to indicate input over-level and battery charge LED. The two omni-directional microphones and the monitor loudspeaker are also mounted on the top panel.
The right side-panel has a dual-concentric control for left and right recording-level and the main battery compartment. The left side-panel has a coaxial DC input socket, a power on/off button, a 'Hold' slide-switch which disables/enables all other recorder controls, USB port, a rotary-control for monitoring-volume and three 3.5mm 3-pole jack sockets for headphones, line input and line output respectively. Four recessed slide-switches are fitted in the back of the recorder. These select microphone gain, 48V phantom power on/off, limiter on/off and monitor loudspeaker on/off. The back-up battery-compartment is also at the back. A stereo pair of cardioid electret microphones is mounted on the top of the recorder, together with the SD card slot which is protected by a hinged cover. External microphone inputs are two XLR connectors at the bottom of the recorder, where there is also a socket for connection of the remote-control in wired mode.
Compatible media types:
SD card, 64MB to 2GB, or SDHC card, 4GB to 32GB.
Recording formats:
MP3: Two-channel 44.1kHz or 48kHz, bit-rate selectable 32/64/96/128/192/256/320kbps in record mode, variable bit-rate in playback, ID3 tag support up to version 2.4.
WAV files: Two-channel 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz, 16 or 24-bit.
Recording time, with 2GB SD card:
MP3: 24h 50m 192kbps, 37h 16m 128kpbs, 72h 32m 64kbps. SD cards with other capacities have pro-rata recording times.
WAV files: 3h 22m 16-bit 48kHz, 2h 4m 24-bit 48kHz.
Card file system: FAT partition, FAT16 or 32.
External microphone inputs: -58dBu maximum sensitivity, 1200 ohms' balanced. Line inputs: +6dBV maximum input level, 23000 ohms, unbalanced. Response: 20-22000Hz +1/-3dB, 44.1kHz sample rate. Distortion: less than 0.01%. Noise: better than -90dB. Line outputs: +6dBV maximum level, unbalanced. Headphone output: 2 x 25mW into 32 ohms. External power source: 5V DC, 5.5W maximum via optional AC adaptor. Internal power source: lithium-ion battery main, 2 x AA batteries backup, alkaline or NiMH. Dimensions: 80 x 153 x 35mm. Weight: 290g.
The main lithium batteries can be charged by the DR-100 using the USB port or the optional AC adapter but the recorder does not charge the NiMH backup batteries. Battery life, recording/playback, 128kbps MP3, backlight off: 5h lithium-ion, 4h NiMH, 2h alkaline.
Included accessories: 2GB SD card, USB cable, BP-L2 lithium-ion battery, RC-DR100 wireless remote control with CR2025 battery, wired adaptor and cable for wired operation, soft case, microphone windshield, owners manual and warranty card.
Optional accessories: PS-P520 AC adaptor, spare BP-L2 lithium-ion battery. Alkaline or NiMH AA backup batteries, see Powering.