Roland R26 portable audio recorder

kavadni

Mine arrived yesterday. I will try, but will not promise tests .. rather busy for the next few weeks.

I found this while browsing, it may be useful for some.
http://www.videoguys.com.au/Shop/p/25132/rycote-041119-portable-recorder-suspension-ry041119.html

evero

My initial impression after recording sound for a short documentary (not commercial project) with R-26 (Disclaimer: I'm not a soundguy, and my opinion should not be concidered as conclusive). Nice device, better to handle and better preamps than zoom h4n or tascam dr-100. Still could have wished for a even better preamp (introduces some noise when you go up to a certain level), but I'm not sure how much I should expect from it.
I didn't handle the device too much myself during recording, but from what I understood there was some strange behaviour with the battery indicator on lcd showing full power (even when it should have started decreasing) but I'm not sure about this. The other thing was that we experienced various degree of noise floor on different recordings, and I wonder if this actually was the R-26 or the mic / cable / wrong settings causing this. We used a sennheiser shotgun (don't recall the model right now).
If any others have similar (or oposite) experiences, please share :)

spacewig

@sohus @kavadni @all_other_R26_owners

Anyone else have feedback (NPI) on this unit? I am particularly interested in pre-amp noise and noise floor of built-in mics.

Thanks in advance. Any info/opinion/suggestions you could share would be highly appreciated.

RRRR

I've only used it very briefly so far, but I think it seems very promising and it certainly has a better signal / noise ratio than the 4n. I have not tested the internal mics yet, so I can't say anything about them.

First impressions where - good build quality / sturdy, a bit bigger than h4n (may be an issue for some who want to keep their rig minimal - though it's not heavy). Easy to navigate and set up..

I've ordered Roland's binaural mic/earphones so I'm looking forward to trying them out soon. I'll see if I have some time tomorrow to record ambient sounds with the internal mics and compare them to my previous experiences with h4n, h4, h2... (I've basically only used Zoom recorders to any larger extent before).

sohus

I will try to record some Interviews soon. Have been really busy lately with another project that was already shot.

spacewig

@rrrr @sohus

Test files, if you have any, would be much appreciated. If you can make a quick sample recording using the preamps (xlr inputs) and make a note of how much gain you applied and the specs of the mic you used, this would be very helpful. There are none of these units for rent yet in my city so I have to rely on the opinion of users.

Muchos gracias

RRRR

@spacewig I'll see what I can do! I can propably make some test files from the internal mics today. The stuff I used it for so far won't be much good to you anyway since it was a line in recording.

spacewig

@rrrr

OK, thank you, much appreciated!

RRRR

@spacewig and others who'd like some test sounds - send me a PM and I'll mail the files.

The test: folder 1-3, 4 channels xy+omni (separate) on 50%, 75% and 25% level. Folder 4-6, 2 channels xy+omni on 25% 50% and 75% level.

Sounds: ambience, gentle tapping of a pencil on a table close to the recorder, candy paper wrinkle..

I had the recorder part of the time standing up, part of the time directed away from me (towards the street outside).

I did the test in that way to determine how the recorder performs with picking up ambient sounds / sound effects.

qwerty123

One of the things that is a problem with H4n is that it's terrible with the Rode Ntg-2 and maybe other low sensitive mics. The volume is way too low even with mic levels all the way at 100.... so this would be a big deal to me if the R-26 is better in this regard. So reiterrating Vitaliy's request!

RRRR

I can't promise anything, but I'll see what I can do. I don't have such a mic myself but with a bit of convergence such a test should be possible to do.

Come to think of it, I possibly could go make a test at my local sound store.. Next week, that is. Whilst picking up the binaural mics I ordered.

spacewig

@rrrr

Ok, will PM in the a.m. when I'm on my PC. Thx again...

RRRR

I just recorded a quick test with a Rode m3 using the built in phantom power so if anyone is interested in checking it out - send me a PM.

Vitaliy_Kiselev

@RRRR

Just make high bitrate MP3 and upload as attachment.

RRRR

Ok, here are a few clips, made with Rode m3 (phantom powered by the R26):

Mind, the background was pretty noisy and I don't exactly raise my voice (tried to keep at a similar troughout the recordings). I'm not sure about the best way to set up this particular microphone.. but what the heck - I'm sure you'll get an idea.

Input level in this case refers to the dial (% of minimum to maximum) and not exact numbers on the recorder.

RRRR

(Updated with test files) I'll upload some of the other tests I did when I have time at work. My old laptop is falling apart..

00fieldsy

Can anyone test the Rode NTG 2 with the Roland R26? I wish to purchase the R26, I currently have the Zoom H4n & NTG2, but I'm not impressed with the amount of noise I get with the preamps on the Zoom and how close you'd have to put the shotgun mic to get a decent sound. I've listened to the test currently on here, but I need a little more convincing I think :) ... Many Thanks.

RRRR

@00fieldsy I'm sure you can compare signal / noise ratio on m3 and ntg2 and get an idea. Or take your ntg2 to your local sound equipment store and try it out with the R26.

JackDaniel

Hi! When I plug in headphones in the R26 and listen to my recordings the sound is distorted. When I listen to the recordings on my computer anything is fine. Is this just my machine or is the R26's headphone amp just crap?

RRRR

@JackDaniel: for me it's fine with headphones. Maybe there is a problem with your R26? How is the sound distorted?

JackDaniel

It's not that bad. I will go to the shop where I bought it and compare it to another unit. Thanks!

evero

@JackDaniel I think I've experienced the same problem, and I hope the local dealer have another R-26 I can compare with. Did you do get a chance to do so?

peaceonearth

sorry if this may sound a little sheepish. I sold my H4n and switch to Roland R-26. All fine so far.

I need an assistant for sound recording and I have no expert available no budget either. A student without experience is going to assist me. So I thought best would be to switch on the limiter. I was reading every page of the manual and I was checking all setting of the recorder several times but I found nothing about limiter preferences. At which input level will limiter come into action and is this changeable? Thanks in advance for help.

DrDave

The piano and the string quartet sound like like crap. I guess he meant to say "low fidelity" instead of "high fidelity".

rv3adv

Firmware update 1.10 is now available(18.05.2012).

[ Ver.1.10 ]

[Additional Functions] * Please read "Notice of New Functionality" ( R-26_l_add_func_je01_W.pdf ) for details of this software.

The following settings related to the use of 4-channel and 6-channel recording have been added. Settings that allow the input sensitivity/input level to be adjusted independently for the XY mic and the OMNI mic. Settings that allow the input sensitivity/input level to be adjusted independently for the input from the ANALOG IN 1/L and ANALOG IN 2/R jacks. It's now possible to delete an audio memo you've added to a recording.

[Bug Fixes] The following bugs were fixed. There is no sound from the PHONES jack when the input sensitivity of "P-IN" was set to "AUTO SENS" on the following recording settings.

REC MODE : 6 CHANNEL REC SOURCE : XY + ANALOG + P-IN R-26 became inoperable if you turned the [SENS] button on and off immediately after entering recording-standby mode.

http://www.roland.com/support/article/?q=downloads&p=R%2D26&id=62428053

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