PCM-M1 died, looking for replacement

Last weekend my pcm-m1 died after giving 12 years of service  The last drop was one too many. I don't think that repair is useful as DAT is gone the way of the dodo and knowing Sony it would cost more than a complete home studio setup, let alone a new portable recorder.

I have been looking at solid state replacements and found a few interesting ones. But realy good information is lacking and even reading the manuals doesn't help much. So far I got those 4lined up: Tascam DR-100, Zoom H4n, Marantz PDM-660 and M-Audio microtrack II.

All 4 also have phantom power (on decent conectors) so they could replace the DA-P1 as well. But then it gets hairy.

- Tascam: rather largish, with the dual battery runtime isn't an issue but at least one review mentioned the mics were a letdown and there isn't any info if it can record longer files than 2GB.
- Zoom: also large, battery lifetime is ok, but limited to 2GB files
- Marantz: large, looks dated, no filelength info
- M-audio: smallest, always loose mics, non-replacable battery, no file lenght limit (sort of)

I'd like a small unit that I can toss in a backpack but I do need the ability to record more than 2h straight in 24/44.1 and more than 6h battery power (but then I can change the batteries). None of those recorders will do that. Did I miss one that can do this?

For more end-user opinions than you could shake a mic at, see http://taperssection.com/index.php/board,11.0.html

With most of these recorders, they simply start a new file gaplessly when their filesize limit is hit.  So that shouldn't be a problem.  Even the humble Zoom H2 now does that once you update the firmware.

Zoom H4n, Marantz PDM-660 are both well thought of.

I have the Edirol R-44 which offers four proper mic inputs (plus digital I/O, but only 4 tracks) and the mic preamps are very acceptable.  Tascam are about to release a competitor to that which has six mic preamps and its digital inputs can be recorded to another two tracks (total .  However, you may be content to stick to stereo.

Last week I added a Sony PCM-M10 to my collection and that runs for over 20 hours on a pair of AA batteries.  But it doesn't have phantom power, just 3.5mm inputs (into good preamps).  It is however a very well thought out and implemented recorder.  Not only does it gaplessly start new files when its filesize limit is reached, but once the memory card is full it can carry on recording on the built in 4GB of memory (or the other way round).  In essence it's Sony's successor to the now defunct Hi-MD portables.

Thanks, I read a bit further there.

I have seen the 4 channel Edirols (and others) but they are too large. I bought the pcm-m1 because the da-p1 was too large and heavy to take along all the time "just in case". The idea is that it should be small enough to carry all day long in a photo bag on a holiday (using build in mics in this case). If the occasion arises that I would need more than 2 inputs then the whole setup becomes that large that a laptop or even a desktop and mains power woudln't be an issue.

Sony doesn't enter my home anymore. That pcm-m1 was a fine thing but 10 years ago they asked 250 euro to replace a bit of plastic that broke on that pcm-m1 (it stayed broken) and that was after 1 week of deliberation because they never even saw one before. And the Sony dvd I have is a disaster that I hate. Added to that all the problem my brother has had with them I refuse to deal with Sony anymore.

Last year I looked for a handheld 2 track recording device for portable use and as a last resort backup for field recording. My choice finally was the M-Audio Mictrotrack II. The main reason for this decision was that M-Audio was the only one giving precise specs and my experience with otherM-Audio equipment so far is fully positive. I have used the mictrotrack for several occasions, field recording with phantom powering professional condenser mics, field rcording with electret mics powered by the microtrack or signals fed from a mixer. All results with 88.2/24, 48/24 or 44.1/24 format are fully satisfactory. Backup files produced by the Microtrack could not be distinguished from the original. Mic preamps seem to be reasonably good and have never caused any trouble such as noise or signal degradation. The device is easy to handle and very portable. Using a 16 GB CF-Card provides more than 8 hours recording at 88.2/24. There are only 2 negative points:
1. The supplied mic is a T-shaped close spaced omni pair. Though it has a good frequency response, the stereo image is poor. As I use separate mics, this does not count for me.
2. The built in rechargeable battery runs for 3 hours (with phantom suply) only or some 5 hours otherwise. While this usually lasts for a typical recording, you cannot escape a several hours recharge pause after that. The device may be operated via USB (power supply and file transfer) or by the delivered power supply. Yet in no case can you record while having one of these connections on since there is hum and interference introduced, which makes recording impossible. Bad engineering for this point. Hear the samples: