Fostex FR2 Compact Field Memory Hard Disk Recorder

Sets a new price performance ratio in the compact portable two track recorder market.

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Fostex FR2 Compact Field Memory Hard Disk Recorder reviews

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71 People rated this product : * * * * * * * * * * 7 out of 10

 

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* * * * * * * * * * 9 out of 10

"rock solid"

Feature:
Because it can use standard AA batteries, I never get stuck out in the field without power. I can always grab a set at any grocery store if all of my rechargeables run dry. The limiters are ok. The menu system is easy, once you get used to it.

Quality:
I've probably recorded at least a thousand solid hours of audio on the thing and given it a good beating. It's about the size of phone book, so lugging it around is annoying. I wish it had a metal housing. Some of the knobs are a little wobbly. However, the only real wear and tear I've seen has been wierdness with the headphone jack. I'd give it another year of abuse before I need to use an external preamp to monitor reliably or crack the thing open to re-solder the jack.

Value:
It certainly far outclasses any M-audio, murantz or Edirol recorder. I'd buy it again, but the new Tascam recorder is smaller, has more features and costs $200 less. Then again, the Tascam has a slightly higher noise floor and I don't know if it's built as reliably as the Fostex.

Desirability:
It's a tank. Pretty doesn't get the job done though. It works well. That's all that counts.

Sound:
I bought it because I was sick of dat. I was worth every penny. The preamps and line-ins are the quietest of any field recorder under 2 grand. If I need to record quieter matieral, such as room tones or something subtle like a pocketwatch, I use an external preamp with a lower noise floor. But for most recording situations, I just plug right into the recorder and go. I only wish the line-in jack had a lower noise floor. It's quieter than the mic-in, but not as quiet as the average Sound Devices pre-amp, so upgrading to a quieter external pre-amp won't get you more than another -15 db of range.

Ease of Use:
I only need to flip two switches: power and record. When I'm done, I can just yank the flashcard and plug it into a reader and bam, done. The preamps are easy to adjust. All of the important settings are available through simple toggle switches on the top.

Support:
I once tried to update the firmware as directed i the manual and online support. It didn't work. The recorder just locked up until I restarted it. However, I never really needed to upgrade the firmware in the first place. That was a year ago and it's never faltered, so who cares. When I first bought it, I had problems with the PCMIA harddrive failing whenever I tried to record at 24/96. A lot of people seem to have run into that issue. The PCMIA drive simply doesn't write fast enough to keep up with the data rate of the audio. That's a flaw with PCMIA drives though. Recording at 24/48 worked every time. 6 months ago, I purchased a more current 2GB type-2 flash card. It can record at any sample rate/bit depth I want without any trouble. The write speed is about 2-3 times that of a PCMIA drive. The lack of moving parts extends the battery life by almost 50%. I still keep the PCMIA drive plugged in for longer sessions.

Overall:
It's an excellent field recorder. I've owned it for a year and a half and have never been happier with any piece of audio hardware. I'd like another one so I can record in surround.

Submitted: 12/6/2006

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* * * * * * * * * * 9 out of 10

"The centre of my field recording rig!"

Feature:
All the things I needed except a few more channels but then we start talking bigger bucks

Quality:
Solid, well-built ready for action.

Value:
Does more than I expected at a really reasonable price.

Desirability:
It's not going to win any beauty pagents but its performance is sexxxxy

Sound:
Really nice sound. I have been using this in the field for about 2 years and am still surprised at the quality the FR-2 sound capture and reproduction.

Ease of Use:
Once the drive has been initialized (I use a 5GB PCMIA Toshiba drive), it's ready to go. Loses a point for the location of the buttons as the it can be a bit fiddly when rugged up in its case.

Support:
I haven't needed to use support myself but I haven't heard glowing things about Fostex.

Overall:
Unless I get really rich and migrate up the food chain to something with more channels of recordable audio in, I'm keeping this until it breaks in half!!!

Submitted: 3/2/2007

Style of Music: Trance, progressive, alternative

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About This Product!
Description
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Designed specifically for location sound recording, broadcast & sound effects acquisition, TV & radio documentary, and in fact any application where high quality audio recording is required, the Fostex FR-2 sets a new price performance ratio in the compact portable two track recorder market. Flexibility is the keyword with the FR-2.

Recording industry-standard Broadcast Wav Files (BWF) to either PCMCIA 1.8 in. hard drives or Type II Compact Flash cards, the FR-2 brings many features from Fostex's experience as a long-term leader in digital location recording such as a 10 second pre-record buffer, battery power, on-board limiter, and phantom powered balanced mic inputs.

Of particular note is the file per take system with scene & auto take naming which was developed on the industry acclaimed PD-6 & DV40. Specific "firsts" on the FR-2 include the ability to record up to 24-bit 192KHz, making it the first choice where the highest quality sound effects acquisition is required; and the optional timecode card which has a fully-featured reader/generator, including 23.976, and external word/video references, making it an ideal basic production or location back-up recorder.

Features:
Records to innovative PCMCIA 1.8" hard disk drives and Type II Compact Flash

Industry-standard BWF format. Stereo/mono selectable

"File per Take" system with scene & auto take naming/increment

Up to an "industry-first" 24-bit 192KHz recording in the field

132 x 65 dot matrix LCD for ease of use & high visibility in the field

Takes "off-the-shelf" AA-size NiMH batteries for approx. 2 hours field operation (Compact Flash)

Easy file transfer to PC/Mac via PCMCIA, CF adaptor or standard onboard USB connection

Quick file naming on-board or via external keyboard (USB port as standard)

Pre-recording loop buffer of approx. 10 seconds ensures no soundbite is ever missed

Tough rigid housing designed for the rigors of location use

Optional fully-featured timecode generator/reader card

Technical Info

Specifications

General

Recording Media: PCMCIA: CompactFlash, ATA Flash card, ATA type Hard disk

Recording Format: BWF

Number of Channels: Stereo / Mono

Sampling Frequency: 22.05 / 44.1 / 48 / 88.2 / 96 / 176.4 / 192kHz Quantization 16 / 24 bit

Physical

Power Requirement:
- 4 x AA type dry cell (NiMH recommended)
- AC adapter (optional)
- DC 12V

Power Consumption: Approx. 5W

Dimension (W x H x D): 9.5 x 4 x 8.3 in. (240 x 100 x 210 mm)

Weight: 2kg (w/o battery) (approx 4.4 lbs)

Performance

R/P Frequency Response:
- 20Hz to 10kHz +/-1dB (fs: 22.05kHz)
- 20Hz to 20kHz +/-1dB (fs: 44.1 / 48kHz)
- 20Hz to 40kHz +/-1dB (fs: 88.2 / 96kHz)
- 20Hz to 80kHz +/-1dB (fs: 176.4 / 192kHz)

S/N:
- Line: 100dB (ADC-DAC, 24bit, ref:-20dB, fs: 48kHz) typical
- Mic: 87dB (ADC-DAC, 24bit, ref:-20dB, fs: 48kHz) typical

Dynamic Range: 100dB (ADC-DAC, 24bit, ref:-20dB, fs:48kHz) typical

T.H.D.:
- Line: Less than 0.005% (1kHz, -1dB) typical
- Mic: Less than 0.008% (1kHz, -1dB) typical

Channel Separation: More than 90dB (1kHz, 0dB, 24bit, ref:-20dB, fs: 48kHz)

Phase Difference: Within 20 (20kHz) between channel

Reference Recording Level: -20dB

Click: Less than ?30dBV (-16dBu) peak @ power on/off

Power Life: 2 hours continuous operation estimated (4 x AA NiMH type)

Input / Output Connectors

Analog Audio Input
L/R Connector: XLR-3-31 type (Pin2: Hot)

Line:
- Input Impedance: More than 6kOhms
- Reference Input Level: +4dBu
- Maximum Input Level: +24dBu

Mic:
- Input Impedance: More than 6k ohm
- Input Level: -60dBu
- Maximum Input Level: -40dBu

Phantom Power: +48

Analog Audio Output
L/R Connector: RCA pin type

Output Load Impedance: More than 10kOhms

Reference Output Level: -10dBV

Headphone Output
50 + 50mW (32 ohm)

Speaker Output: 1W

Digital Input / Output
(except for 176.4, 192kHz) Connector: XLR

Input Format: S/P DIF / AES/EBU automatic

Output Format: S/P DIF / AES/EBU switchable

USB x 2 (keyboard / PC only)
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