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This page provides more homogeneous specifications across the different recorder models. Details on the relevant properties of a recorder in conjunction with a specific microphone are available on the page Understanding microphone and recorder/preamplifier noise specifications. Other details on the properties of the recorders are available in the tutorial on Sound Recording in the Field. Noise levels at the maximum available gain settings (except where indicated otherwise) Equivalent Input Input Clipping Dynamic Noise (EIN) Level [2] Range at max impedance: 150 ohms corresponding gain! [3] to 0 dBFS A-weighted unweighted dBu mVrms A-weighted 20Hz - 20kHz SoundDevices 722 -130dBu -128dBu -46dBu 3.8mV 84dB (-130dBu) (-128dBu) SoundDevices -129dBu -127dBu MixPre-3M (-128dBu) Fostex FR-2LE -129dBu -125dBu -45dBu 4.3mV 84dB (85dB) CEntrance MixerFace -129dBu -127dBu -46dBu 2.8mV 82dB R4R Tascam DR-701D -128dBu -126dBu -50dBu 2.4mV 78dB Zoom F3 -128dBu -126dBu (-127dBu) Zoom F6 -128dBu -126dBu -58dBu 0.95mV 70dB (-127dBu) TASCAM Portacapture -127dBu -125dBu -54dBu 1.6mV 73dB X6 (-127dBu) TASCAM Portacapture X8 TASCAM FR-AV2 (16bit, 24bit and 32bit float) Tascam HD-P2 -127dBu -125dBu -40dBu 7.7mV 87dB Tascam DR-680 -127dBu -125dBu -58dBu 0.95mV 69dB Tascam DR-680MKII (MIC GAIN : HIGH) SONY PCM-D100 -127dBu -125dBu -60dBu 0.7mV 68dB * SONY PCM-D100 -127dBu -125dBu -27dBu 35mV 100dB (REC LEVEL 5, S/ * not max N100, 24 bit) gain! Tascam DR-70D -126dBu -124dBu -51dBu 2.1mV 75dB (GAIN : HIGH) Tascam DR-100MKIII -126dBu -124dBu -53dBu 1.8mV 73dB SONY PCM-D50 -126dBu -124dBu -58dBu 0.95mV 68dB * Tascam DR-70D -125dBu -123dBu -36dBu 4.3mV 90dB (GAIN : MID) Marantz PMD661 -125dBu -124dBu -52dBu 1.9mV 73dB (1.2mV) (65dB) Marantz PMD671 -125dBu -123dBu -50dBu 2.4mV 75dB (1.2mV) (65dB) Olympus LS-100 -125dBu -122dBu -48dBu 3.1mV 77dB (XLR) SONY Hi-MD MZ-RH1 ( -124dBu -122dBu -64dBu 0.49mV 61dB 4) Roland R-26 -124dBu -122dBu -70dBu 0.25mV 54dB (XLR ANALOG IN) * SONY PCM-D100 -123dBu -121dBu -40dBu 7.7mV 83dB (MIC ATT : 20) * not max gain! SONY PCM-M10 -122dBu -120dBu -57dBu 1.0mV 65dB (SENSE HI, LEVEL 10) Olympus LS-5, LS-10 -122dBu -120dBu -54dBu 1.6mV 68dB , LS-11 (SENSE HIGH, LEVEL 10) Roland R-05 (5) -122dBu -120dBu -57dBu 1.1mV 65dB (MicHI+28dB) * Olympus LS-10, -121dBu -118dBu -30dBu 25mV 92dB LS-11 * not max (SENSE LOW, LEVEL gain! 10, 24 bit) Zoom H5 -121dBu -118dBu -53dBu 1.8mV 68dB Roland R-05 (5) -121dBu -119dBu -47dBu 3.5mV 74dB (MicHI) Zoom H4essential -120dBu -118dBu Zoom R4 MultiTrak (-120dBu) Olympus LS-12/14 -120dBu -118dBu -56dBu 1.3mV 64dB (Rec Level 70) Marantz PMD670 -120dBu -118dBu -52dBu 1.9mV 68dB (1.2mV) (65dB) Marantz PMD660 -120dBu -118dBu -52dBu 1.9mV 68dB (1.2mV) (60dB) Tascam DR-60DMKII -120dBu -118dBu -50dBu 2.4mV 70dB * SONY PCM-M10 -120dBu -118dBu -36dBu 12mV 84dB (SENSE HI, LEVEL * not max 4.5) gain! * SONY PCM-M10 -119dBu -117dBu -36dBu 12mV 83dB (SENSE LOW, LEVEL * not max 10) gain! SONY PCM-D10 -119dBu -117dBu -58dBu 0.95mV 61dB TASCAM DR-100MKII -119dBu -117dBu -51dBu 2.1mV 68dB Marantz PMD661MKIII -118dBu -116dBu -50dBu 2.4mV 68dB Marantz PMD561 Olympus LS-3/LS-7 -118dBu -115dBu -65dBu 0.45mV 53dB Edirol R-09HR -118dBu -115dBu -43dBu 5.0mV 75dB (MIC Gain H) * Olympus LS-12/14 -118dBu -116dBu -50dBu 2.5mV 68dB (Rec Level 50) * not max gain! Roland R-26 -117dBu -115dBu -45dBu 4.3mV 72dB (3.5mm PLUG-IN MIC) Roland R-07 -117dBu -115dBu -48dBu 3.1mV 69dB KORG MR-1000 -117dBu -115dBu -46dBu 3.8mV 71dB SONY DAT TCD-D3 -117dBu -115dBu -56dBu 1.3mV 61dB * SONY PCM-D100 -117dBu -115dBu -8dBu 310mV 109dB (REC LEVEL 3, S/ * not max N100, 24 bit) gain! SONY PCM-A10 -116dBu -113dBu -54dBu 1.5mV 62dB SONY ICD-SX1000 -116dBu -113dBu -41dBu 6.9mV 75dB * M-Audio -115dBu -113dBu -48dBu 3.1mV 67dB MicroTrack 24/96 (1 /4'' input, +27dB) Tascam DR-1 (MIC 2 -115dBu -113dBu -28dBu 31mV 87dB IN) Olympus LS-100 -114dBu -112dBu -45dBu 4.3mV 69dB (External Mic) Olympus LS-P1/P4 -114dBu -111dBu -61dBu 0.6mV 53dB Tascam DR-100 -113dBu -111dBu -39dBu 8.7mV 74dB (GAIN : H) Tascam DR-07 -113dBu -111dBu -46dBu 3.9mV 67dB (GAIN : HIGH) * Olympus LS-10, -113dBu -110dBu -30dBu 25mV 81dB LS-11 * not max (SENSE LOW, LEVEL gain! 10, 16 bit) iRig PRE with -113dBu -111dBu -53dBu 1.8mV 60dB Samsung Galaxy SII TASCAM HS-P82 -112dBu -109dBu -51dBu 2.1mV 61dB Marantz PMD620 -112dBu -110dBu -40dBu 7.7mV 72dB Tascam DR-680 -112dBu -110dBu -34dBu 15mV 78dB (MIC GAIN : LOW) Tascam DR-1 (MIC 1 -111dBu -109dBu -41dBu 6.9mV 70dB IN) Tascam DR-05 -109dBu -107dBu -42dBu 6.0mV 67dB M-Audio MicroTrack -109dBu -107dBu -32dBu 19mV 77dB 24/96 (1/8'' input) Tascam DR-07MKII -108dBu -106dBu -42dBu 6.0mV 66dB Tascam DR-2d -108dBu -106dBu -43dBu 5.0mV 65dB Tascam DR-40 -107dBu -104dBu -43dBu 5.0mV 63dB Zoom H4n (6) -107dBu -104dBu -47dBu SONY ICD-PX470 -107dBu -105dBu -53dBu 1.8mV 54dB M-Audio MicroTrack -106dBu -104dBu -46dBu 3.8mV 60dB II (1/8'' input) Tascam DR-08 -106dBu -103dBu -46dBu 3.9mV 60dB Edirol R-09 -105dBu -102dBu -41dBu 6.9mV 63dB (MIC Gain HIGH) * Olympus LS-10, -103dBu -100dBu -30dBu 25mV 73dB LS-11 * not max (SENSE HIGH, LEVEL gain! 2) Edirol R-09HR -103dBu -100dBu -22dBu 62mV 81dB (MIC Gain L) * Olympus LS-12/14 -102dBu -100dBu -39dBu 8.7mV 63dB (Rec Level 30) * not max gain! M-Audio MicroTrack -101dBu -99dBu -41dBu 6.9mV 60dB II (1/4'' input) Zoom H2 (7) -99dBu -95dBu -43dBu Measurement conditions * Recording format: 44.1 KHz, 16 bit (unless indicated otherwise), mono (left channel). All parameters were measured at the maximum available gain setting (at which the lowest possible noise floor can be obtained), except where indicated otherwise. PIP, limiter and noise cancelation options were disabled. Note that a bit-depth of 24 bit would not improve the noise level figures at these high gain settings. Increasing the sample rate would also not improve the results because the decimation filters in the delta-sigma A/D converters already average the oversampled signals. When available, the figures in brackets indicate the manufacturer's specifications. The errors of the measurements should be less than +-2dB * The input (clipping) level at the maximum available gain setting represents the maximum input sensitivity (or "gain") of the recorder. 0 dBu is equivalent to 775 mVrms. Note that the dB gain figures that are often specified by the manufacturers do not represent a meaningful characterization of the relevant input sensitivities that would be needed in practice. * The dynamic range figure at the maximum available gain setting alone should not be interpreted as an indicator for the performance of a recorder because these numbers will of course depend on the individual maximum gain of the various recorders (a higher maximum gain tend to result in a lower dynamic range figure). * The SONY Hi-MD MZ-RH1 Measurements were done by John Beale. * The Roland R-05 measurements were done by Per Baekgaard. * The Zoom H4n measurements were done by John Lundsten. * The Zoom H2 measurements were done by Richard Mudhar. The calculation and filtering procedures were executed by using the Avisoft-SASLab Pro sound analysis software. Noise Performance Test Sound Files In order to evaluate the noise performance of the various recorders in combination with different microphones, the sound of an electronic alarm clock has been recorded subsequently with three different microphones and various recorders. All recorders were set to their maximum gain. The test arrangement was fixed throughout the entire test procedure (the distance between the clock and the microphones was 1 meter). The columns labelled "normalized" contain the normalized sound files. In order to compensate for the different input sensitivities of the various recorders, the normalization was done in such a way that all files exhibit a virtual input clipping level of -60 dBu (the original files were digitally amplified according to the previously measured input clipping levels listed above). Note that this kind of normalization does not compensate for the different microphone sensitivities. So, for evaluating the absolute equivalent noise levels of the various microphones, their sensitivities must be taken into account (50mV/Pa : 40mV/Pa : 25mV/Pa = 0dB : -2dB : -6 dB). The columns "original" contain the original and unmodified 16 bit .wav files. The last two seconds of each file represent the inherent noise floor of the recorder (the microphone input was terminated by a 150 ohms resistor). Sennheiser K6/ME66 Sennheiser MKH60 Rode NT1-A * 50mV/Pa, 10dBA 40mV/Pa, 8dBA 25mV/Pa, 5dBA noise floor: noise floor: noise floor: -108dBu -112dBu -118dBu normalized original normalized original normalized original SoundDevices 722 Tascam HD-P2, 16 bit Tascam HD-P2, 24 bit Marantz PMD671 Marantz PMD670 Marantz PMD660 M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 Edirol R-09 * The Rode NT1-A studio microphone has been added to this comparison only for reference purposes in order to demonstrate the influence of the microphone specifications on the overall noise performance. Due to its large size, the relatively low directionality, the high sensitivity to moisture, mechanical shock and wind noise, this microphone model is not recommended for mobile sound recording of individual animal vocalizations in the field. Due to the incompatible phantom power voltage of the M-Audio MicroTrack 24/96 (30 Volt only), the MKH60 microphone provides a very poor noise floor with that recorder. 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