Nothing like a minor spec bump to a digital audio recorder to get the blood pumping on a Saturday evening, but we're real suckers for
these things. Edirol released its high-end
R-09 portable recorder back in 2006, and now they're taking things up a notch with the R-09HR, which can handle 96KHz recordings (up from 48KHz) and supports SDHC up to 8GB instead of the 4GB max of the old model. The recorder also includes a monitor speaker, remote control and playback speed control -- a big win for fans of Alvin and the Chipmunks or for those who need to transcribe interviews, two camps which we conveniently find ourselves in. No word on a US release, but the R-09HR is available in the UK for £249.00, about $497 US.
[Via
Brad Linder]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Cassini @ Apr 5th 2008 9:05PM
I have no idea about the recording quality of this device, but wow, that is one uuuuugly recorder.
wasabi @ Apr 5th 2008 9:12PM
wow that screams tacky like no other.
Mike @ Apr 5th 2008 9:24PM
is anyone else reminded of old time electric razors?
ace_spades @ Apr 5th 2008 9:29PM
It looks like this one electric razor from like 20 years ago
Chris @ Apr 5th 2008 9:53PM
......and they never bothered to hire a design team.
ch4s3r @ Apr 5th 2008 10:05PM
Its really not that ugly, it defiantly has that retro look to it tho. Also when where voice recorders meant to be flashy?
Cassini @ Apr 6th 2008 12:25AM
To say you want it to at least look attractive isn't to say you're asking for it to be flashy (which is something altogether different). However, no one asked it to be ugly, either. Which it is. Aesthetics matter at any price, but for $500 of a person's hard earned money, it better look great!
db2 @ Apr 5th 2008 10:17PM
High-end... voice recorder??? Does not compute.
Damon Joyce @ Apr 5th 2008 10:26PM
I work with the National Park Service, and we use these for wildlife recordings. With a big battery, 16Gb card, and 64kbps MP3 recording setting, we can get 22 days of continuous audio. It's great for species counts and ID. They work well, even in below freezing temps.
Brad Linder @ Apr 5th 2008 10:30PM
It's not so much a voice recorder as a low end pro audio recorder. You can use it to record music, nature sounds, or interviews for podcasts or radio. It includes decent quality built-in mics, and the ability to record from a high quality external mic. And unlike most cheap voice recorders, you can record uncompressed WAV audio files at high bit rates and high resolutions.
Porkchop Flavored Cupcake @ Apr 5th 2008 11:11PM
Ha, people rambling on about the appearance of the product rather than its capabilities.
I understand that the appearance of a product in some professions actually does have an impact on productivity, but not with something like this. Sure, you're free to give your opinion on it, but you sound really foolish when you discount its capabilities in the process.
Those kinds of comments remind of people who just buy stuff and let it sit somewhere as a visual reminder of what they own; conversely serving as a visual reminder to others of what they have no idea how to use.
rishi @ Apr 5th 2008 11:12PM
sexy
dale_nx26 @ Apr 6th 2008 12:09AM
im happy with the voice recording feature built in to my sansa thank u very much. as long as i can hear clearly conversation of lecture and such, i'm satisfied.
Bruce Biganho @ Apr 6th 2008 1:45AM
FYI - I've had an R-09 for quite awhile. It works really well in most respects (yes, I've used it to record at concerts). The user interface is superb, display is great, sound quality of built-in mic is OK (using external mic is better), and the auto gain control follows the volume well.
Where this recorder falls flat is if you're recording something quiet - like a talk with silence in between. Then the background hiss (assumably sub-par preamp) becomes noticeably. Anytime I've recorded voice only, I have to apply noise reduction in post.
mymaclife @ Apr 6th 2008 2:45AM
Be who the fuck would buy a pork chop flavoured cupcake? Now we know how much taste you have!
bidmead @ Apr 6th 2008 3:28AM
The R-09 is a classic. Yeah, OK, I often get that comment about the thing being butt-ugly, but I know it's always going to give me first class recordings at whatever quality I need for the job.
And, incidentally, the 1.03 firmware rev brought the original R-09 up to 8GB SDHC (so the article above needs revision).
--
Chris
sdragon @ Apr 6th 2008 7:12AM
Is this things sponsered by Apple or why did they have to call their "Search" button "Finder"?? o_O
bigdoggie @ Apr 6th 2008 8:20AM
I thought this was a phone for a minute there.
Jeffrey Starroff @ Apr 6th 2008 9:30AM
Good to know. Thanks
Nicolas Letarte @ Apr 6th 2008 10:24AM
I bought the first version of this recorder (R09) for professional use and I'm totally satisfy with it. The sound quality, the use of SD card, the AA batteries power format and the universal platform access make it precious. Once you got it in hands, you'll see that it's a pretty cool design but moreover, it is quick on its feet for fast recording needs. If you have the occasion, try it, you'll see. The new R09HR make me salivate but since My R09 is still top shape, I'll wait for a new one ;)
Chris Anderson @ Apr 6th 2008 11:17AM
Yeah you can definitely use this to record concerts. My brother owns one, and he's got a nice set of binaural microphones. He records environmental sounds, shows, etc. The quality of the device is pretty stunning, as is the sound fidelity. I really wouldn't use the built-in mics unless you absolutely had to.
Shane @ Apr 6th 2008 3:27PM
Why, oh why does it need a Reverb button? I might actually use these in a professional setting if it weren't for functions like that that are pretty useless in my application (news gathering). In all seriousness, the R-09 was a nice little unit and hopefully this one improves even further upon its design. I'll stick with the Marantz PMD660...A bit more rugged than these and no featues that could get an inexperienced user in trouble.
thiel @ Apr 6th 2008 7:42PM
Calling this a voice recorder is a bit like calling a Ducati a bicycle LOL.
Dan @ Apr 7th 2008 4:00PM
Have you tried turning off auto levels and doing the monitoring yourself? Most recorders in auto mode will 'boost' the sensitivity if things fall quiet so silence will equal a lot of hiss.
Rich @ Apr 7th 2008 8:02PM
I own the R-09, and use it to record my Metal band's practice each day so we don't forget any new riffs and song ideas. The quality is great with the built-in microphones. I record at 44.1/16 bit, and I get 180 minutes of wav files on a 2GB SD card. After editing I convert them to mp3's with my computer to throw on my iPod.
zac @ Apr 8th 2008 2:46AM
Could you use this to record concert bootlegs?
Dave McMahon @ Apr 8th 2008 4:55AM
Plainly, most people commenting here have NOT tested this recorder. The Edirol E90 is an AWESOME recorder, it's convenient, fits neatly into a pocket, stores hours of audio and it's descrimination between near and far sounds is unbelievable. You can use it to interview someone in a crowd of noisy people and still get the subject's voice clearly. It's simple to use, but has neat features if you want them. Never had a problem with it, sound quality is better than some standard microphones can offer. Cannot fault it. This after 2 years continuous use and nearly 70 podcast interviews http://www.nxtgenug.net.
harispilton @ Apr 14th 2008 12:07AM
BUTT UGLY.
butt ugly.