TASCAM DR-05EB Portable Digital Recorder

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $139.99
Sale Price: $84.31
Today's Bonus: 40% Off

• Built-In Stereo Condenser Omnidirectional Microphones with sensitivity up to 125db SPL
• Up to 96kHz/24-bit WAV (BWF) linear PCM recording and Stereo MP3 recording from 32-320 kbps bit rate
• Automatic or manual level setting
• Bullet-style Ear Bud Headphones with In-line Phone Microphone and Carrying Pouch
• MicroSD (54MB - 2GB)/microSDHC (4GB - 32GB) card slot (2GB card included)

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This is a great recorder. It does what it is supposed to do for a reasonable price. Here are a few notes based on my use of it:

First, skip the ear buds. Get the DR-05 instead. The ear buds are mono only with a temporary stereo switch. That means, to hear any stereo recordings, you have to continuosly press the tiny button. I can't hold it for more than about 30 seconds without fatigue. Also, the recorder sends a stereo signal whether the source is stereo or mono and the buds simply combine this signal into one channel (if you are not pressing the stereo button) which can easily overdrive the speakers. I found the ear buds to be useless.

Second, Beware of the Delete selection on the Quick Menu it deletes the currently selected file, but, depending on how you use the recorder, the selected file may not be the last one you recorded. It changes automagically. I found out the hard way that you really have to be aware of the selected track number at the bottom of the display...

You may want to change the LCD backlight to ALWAYS, or the auto shut off to something other than OFF. I set the recorder aside, the light shut off and I forgot to power down. The next day, the batteries were nearly dead. I know, not really the fault of the recorder, but I don't like the default settings. Ignore this if you're perfect.

Lastly, the mics are quite sensitive and you will most likely want a wind screen for even the slightest breeze. I have a common round ball foam screen that stretches snuggly over the rectangle shape. Not sure if they sell actual custom ones.

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Bought this to record a radio show that comes on overnight and to record LPs that have never made it to CDs. Hook it to my computers headphone jack with a 1/8" male to 1/8" male patch cable. Recording is very clean. Lets you pick the MP3 rate to control the file size. Even with batteries when the unit is hooked to the computer with the USB cable it lets you choose how you want to power it on startup. Simple to operate, comes with a 2 GB card that will record for hours depending on your settings. Mine came with earbuds and a lot of people complained about them being mono unless you hold a switch. Mine had no switch, are stereo and sound great.

The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is I wish you could set a predetermined amount of time to record then have it automatically stop recording. Hopefully somebody at Tascam will see this and have it in the next firmware update.

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And for a lot less money. This system is very portable, easy to understand, and has a lot of automatic settings which makes it fun to operate for the less technically capable.

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I use this recorder for recording through a mixer and the external output recording works great. Good functionality, easy control, and features make this a must buy.