TASCAM XLR Micro Audio Portable Digital Recorder for XLR Microphones, Voice Recorder, Interview and News Gathering, Black (DR-10X)

First impressionIt is much lighter than the typical wireless plug-on. I have provided an image of it plugged onto a Shure SM-58 next to another Shure SM-58 plugged into a Sennheiser transmitter for size reference.For those who are looking for a more reliable wireless solution without concern for radio interference and a need for a receiver this is an excellent alternative to plug-on transmitters.What does it have for storage?No built-in storage. Use micro SD or micro SDHC card.(Not included.)How big an SD card can it record to?micro SD min:64MB to max:2GBmicro SDHC min:4GB to max:32GBLow/Mid/High pre-controlThis is to be expected. Dynamic mics vary widely in output. If it didn't have this option it might as well have a built-in mic like the others. There is also an EXT mode for "external input" if anyone has a suggestion for what this is for please add to the comments section. One would think it is for line lenel so you could plug this on a mixer, but the manual says the nominal input level for this mode is -24dB. Tyical nominal line level is at -8dB and pro at +4dB while EXT mode max's out at -8dB.Lo-cutCutoff @ 120HzLimiterNot as effective when mic gain is on "HI", but still very useful.. almost necessary, as with most digital audio recorders. You may have a different experience, since I tested this with an EV RE50N/D-B which is known for its high output.Safety trackI don't believe this is always necessary to use, I guess it depends on how much battery life and storage space you have left to work with. I would use this in noisy environments when you cannot predict when the speaker might start shouting or for singers when the amplitude of the talent's voice is more likely to fluctuate at a greater range.Timer sync?I have read in a few places that this recorder supports the IR sync signal to synchronize recording time and settings with other Tascam digital recording devices, but I cannot seem to verify this since I only have one. Please leave a comment if you have any experience with this. I might be interested in purchasing a second DR-10x if that is the case.No phantom powerI'd hope to see this introduced in later models, but most of my condenser mics also have a battery option so it isn't a major loss for me.You can power the recorder externally using the USB connection.I guess this is more useful for playback or if I can find one of those rechargeable USB phone chargers that is really small.Battery PowerUses 1 AAA battery (not included.) Depending on the battery you use the lifetime can last up to 10 hours. The average battery is going to get you about 8 hours recording time. This recorder will work on alkaline, lithium and rechargeable NiMH batteries (the manual warns about using industrial dry-cell batteries.) If the battery is dying it will automatically close the current audio file to prevent the loss of already recorded data before shutting down.Playback?You can play back recordings on the drvices though the analog headphone output, plug the DR-10x into your PC with included USB 2.0 cable or insert your micro SD card into a media card reader. The DR-10x acts as a media card reader when plugged in with its USB cable in "STORAGE" mode.Software?Comes with no software. Your computer likely has the drivers necessary to read the SD card or the USB card reader and almost all media players and editors can handle PCM wav files anyway.Firmware updates?None yet, but there likely will be some eventually. My DR-10x came with v1.01 0077Output file format and specs?Bit rate: 1152kbpsSample rate: 48kHzSample size: 24-bit1 channel (mono)Format: wav (PCM)I can configure it in the field using the display's menu or via my PC by saving a settings file on the SD card.Menu items:Mic GainLow CutLimiterAuto LevelSual Rec ModeTime Trk IncAuto Pwr SaveFile Name TypFile NameFormat SDBattery TypeDate/TimeSystem InitVersion InfoPower/Storage (When plugged into USB port)References and further reading:Specifications: http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/865/e_dr-10x_spec.pdfManual: http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/865/dr-10x_om_va.pdfB&H's Demo Video: http://bcove.me/yw8s2z1a

Bought this to use for interviews on the go... No more carrying a big bag of recording equipment to outdoor sites for me! This can easily fit in a small bag, purse or backpack, even your pocket. I have it attached to a Tascam TM-60 mic and I am damn expressed with the capabilities of this little guy. It has several gain options, but I have only had to use the lowest level and it outputs a large enough sound without having too much gain noise attached to the recording.This may not be something you see a lot of major news reporters use, but it damn sure is professional quality enough for any situation.Hint to anyone purchasing: 32GB is the max SD memory card size you can use. I've tried larger and they are not recognized by the unit. I would also say keep a couple extra cards with you as backups, you never know with memory cards - they act up when they want to.Also, the one AAA battery last for a ton of hours in normal settings mode, in my opinion. I didn't start noticing that the battery was getting low until after about 12 hours of recording (adding up several sessions together). I did notice that using headphones during recording is what makes the battery drain faster and I assume that is because it has to power the headphone amp at the same time. Just keep a 4-pack of AAA's with you and its no big deal, there small and not bulky.

Wonderful device. Easy to use and will give you quality files as long as you use a good mic, I'm sure. Using the slider for starting/stopping recordings takes getting a little used to. Feels cheap and light so be careful... I can't tell you if it's durable; we will see. I like the fact it can record 2 files simultaneously - one level set lower than the other for safety. The "back-up" one has a "D" in the file name - for "duplicate", which it technically is not since the db is set lower to off-set any potential clipping. There are other features that are either "cool" or will need to orient yourself to to see if you will like what it has to offer. (See YouTube, the online pdf manual, articles, etc for that info. I'm not an audio guy so I can't in good conscience give it 5 stars since I can't reasonably defend that rating. All I know is that is is a very easy device to set-up and use, and nice that it is "self-contained" so there is no reason to worry about UHV/VHF interference like with wireless mics. It's just a little cumbersome that you have to sync the wav file to the video in post.

I cannot believe how useful this little record is. I have a TON of recording equipment, and some of it overlaps with the functionality of the Tascam DR-10X, so I never bothered buying one. Then one day I did, on a whim really, and MAN is this thing nice and handy.The main application for this recorder is to plug it into your favorite XLR mic and record away, and it works great for that. However, what makes it so handy for me is plugging this recorder into the XLR out of a mixer.For example, I use the Tascam DR-10X to record audio for conferences. I run the mics into a mixer, then one XLR out goes into the house PA so attendees can hear all the mics in use, and the other XLR I run into the Tascam DR-10X.The DR-10X allows me to make 2 recordings at the same time, one quieter than the main one, and it lets you choose -6db or -12db for the second recording. This way if one of the mics blasts out the room, you can switch to the quieter audio recording for that moment and have GREAT audio to mix with your video.I feel like an idiot for waiting to buy this, and I'll probably be buying another here soon.