This product was defective out of the box. The slide switches on the back for phantom power, audio limiter, mic gain and speaker are very inferior to the rest of the product. Two of the switches broke on first use. I should have returned it to Zzounds but did not because my initial use was simple. As to sound quality, I recorded some acoustic/vocal with the internal and the packaged Samson condensers, using a variety of positions. The clarity was amazing, although I have never saturated the gain on this device. Which speaks to another problem/defect: every recording I have made, I have to import into Amadeus Pro and boost the amplification 24 to 30 db. Naturally this adds noise, but the noise floor after this process was not objectionable. I wonder what it sounds like with a recording made with appropriate gain? Again, my initial use was spoken voice, and so I was free to manipulate the final recording to a useable result. This was still frustrating since I had paid for a new "working" unit.

Again, I will note the weak quality of the switches on the back of the unit. Three power sources, great. Broad choices of recording format, and quality; plus, this point is upgradeable via downloads. The internal speaker never worked. The amplification of the headphones was very weak. If working, the unit is packed with tons of variables to accommodate many situations.

I would guess that the product was "geek" designed and the subsequent users manual written by the same "geek" or a relative. You really have to go through the manual to pull out the possibilities of this device. On the device itself, some functions are buried in sub-menus. Again, with it not working correctly, it was difficult to know if some functions worked at all.

I believed Zzounds dealt with me in good faith, sending me a new unit, which to their knowledge was in good working order. The overall construction is good, and Tascam packed many features and ports on this unit. I have a long history with Teac/Tascam, having been a dealer and owner of many products. Again, the "bargain basement" components they chose for the four switches on the back of the device surprised me. The device is currently in Tascam's service department in California. Which is another story.

If the unit worked as advertised, I would rate this much higher. If I was getting the support from the manufacturer that commensurates their legacy, I would rate it higher.

My experience in dealing with Tascam on this product for support is not good. I shipped it to Tascam on January 20, 2010 and it took two weeks to receive acknowledgement of receipt via snailmail. This amazes me in this age of communication, but it probably helps explain other service issues. I called Tascam to followup and was told that the service-person had 5 units ahead of mine. [What kind of units? Five DR100s or something else?] I was then told it would be evaluated for repair and that I would be liable for labor charges since I was beyond the 90 days labor warranty. I asked questions regarding the repair history of this model DR100 and whether they had changed component specifications for the switched on the rear. The supervisor I spoke with could not answer my questions. I realize that Tascam is not accountable to me regarding their designs, component selection and subsequent changes they may make, except in my decision to purchase said designs. But, I am convinced that I am not the only owner to have suffered through some of these issues. The next time I heard from them was 2/23/10 and was told I would hear from the service manager on 2/24/10. This has not happened.

I love the idea of it.

Hobbyist

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