Portable Digital Recorder Resources

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After several weeks of research I have finally made a decision and purchased a Sony PCM-D50 digital recorder (without the fancy leather carrying case) to replace my mostly broken Sony PCM-M1 portable DAT.

During my research I came across some excellent resources that helped me make up my mind. I found some of the most thorough information on O’Reilly Digital Media. Their comparison chart was invaluable along with the extensive reviews of all the devices listed there. I consulted other in-depth reviews and another great comparison chart at Transom.org. I also read many of Brad Linder’s reviews including his review of the PCM-D50 and Create Digital Music pointed me to more reviews of just about everything I looked into.

This is by no means a complete list. I read lots of other articles and websites along the way, but these sites certainly helped the process along. I have yet to receive my new toy, but as soon as I do I’ll be posting some first impressions and sample recordings.

This entry was posted in Audio News, Sound Design and tagged , , by John CS Keston. Bookmark the permalink.

About John CS Keston

John CS Keston is an award winning transdisciplinary artist reimagining how music, video art, and computer science intersect. His work both questions and embraces his backgrounds in music technology, software development, and improvisation leading him toward unconventional compositions that convey a spirit of discovery and exploration through the use of graphic scores, chance and generative techniques, analog and digital synthesis, experimental sound design, signal processing, and acoustic piano. Performers are empowered to use their phonomnesis, or sonic imaginations, while contributing to his collaborative work. Originally from the United Kingdom, John currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota where he is a professor of Digital Media Arts at the University of St Thomas. He founded the sound design resource, AudioCookbook.org, where you will find articles and documentation about his projects and research. John has spoken, performed, or exhibited original work at New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME 2022), the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC 2022), the International Digital Media Arts Conference (iDMAa 2022), International Sound in Science Technology and the Arts (ISSTA 2017-2019), Northern Spark (2011-2017), the Weisman Art Museum, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Walker Art Center, the Minnesota Institute of Art, the Eyeo Festival, INST-INT, Echofluxx (Prague), and Moogfest. He produced and performed in the piece Instant Cinema: Teleportation Platform X, a featured project at Northern Spark 2013. He composed and performed the music for In Habit: Life in Patterns (2012) and Words to Dead Lips (2011) in collaboration with the dance company Aniccha Arts. In 2017 he was commissioned by the Walker Art Center to compose music for former Merce Cunningham dancers during the Common Time performance series. His music appears in The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (2012) and he composed the music for the short Familiar Pavement (2015). He has appeared on more than a dozen albums including two solo albums on UnearthedMusic.com.

5 thoughts on “Portable Digital Recorder Resources”

  1. I just bought one of these on e-bay for a $100 break in price. Same deal, read on O’Reilly Digital Media and seemed like it had everything I need. I plan on putting it to use for an interesting sample set idea I had for Kontakt.

  2. I think you’ll love the Sony – I got two sets of 2500mA rechargeable batteries and I’m a very happy camper. There are some recordings i made with it and my soundman binaural misc on my website.

  3. That’s a very nice little recorder! I’ve been wanting one of those for a while now but I’ll probably settle for a cheaper model like the Zoom H2.

  4. I’m using Olympus DS-40 Portable Digital Voice Recorder for record lectures, interviews, and meetings. This digital voice recorder is also good for listening music since it has a high sound quality.

  5. I’ve read good things about the DS-40. The Sony PCM-D50 is great for listening to music as well. It’s got a nice and powerful headphone amplifier in it that even drives my set of AKG K240s properly.

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