I first came across the DR100 a couple of years ago and made the unusual mistake of reading a negative online review. This was short-sighted as it turned out and it blinded me to what is actually a good recorder. Perhaps the mk II version is better anyway, but it definitely has a place on anyone's shopping list.
Recordings are very clean if you avoid the high gain setting on the back which does add significant noise; keep to medium with a good input level and they sound really good.
The internals lacked a bit of level when I tried them but they are versatile offering the choice of omni's on the upper face and cardioids on the end to meet requirements.
The noise floor is pretty low which means your recordings don't have to battle against hiss and hum to make themselves heard.
A great feature is an internal, rechargeable Li Ion battery but the option to use AA batteries should that run out - clever!
All in all, a great recorder: 8.6/10
£349
Text from Tascam
The rugged TASCAM DR-100mkII offers high-end recording features to musicians and engineers who demand more from their portable recorder. It features four built-in microphones, two cardioid and two omnidirectional, for great sounding recordings. A pair of XLR microphone inputs with phantom power welcomes pro-grade condenser microphones, and line in and out connectors are also provided. The markII version adds balanced line ins, S/PDIF digital inputs, locking connectors and more.
Main Features
- +4dBu (maximum +24dBu) line input available via XLR jack
- XLR jack with a locking latch for professional use
- Better quality uni-directional and omni-directional microphones than the original DR-100
- Accepts digital input signal from an external digital device via remote jack
- Improved Mic pre amp with higher gain and lower noise
- Up to 96kHz/24-bit WAV recording
- 32 to 320kbps MP3 recording
- XLR or RCA 1/8” line input
- S/PDIF digital power
- Wired/wireless remote control included (RC-10)
- Limiter and low cut filter
- Back panel dedicated switches
- Rugged aluminum casing
- VSA changes playback speed from -50% to +16%
- Records to SD or SD-HC card (2GB card included)
- Mini USB 2.0 jack and cable
- Large thumbwheel individual gain control
- Built-in speaker
- Tripod Mount
- Included Li-ion battery, windscreen and carrying case
