Originally published July 5 2005
Best-quality mp3 podcasting recorders
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
After testing the iRiver H10, Sony MZ-RH910 Hi-MD minidisc player and the Marantz PMD660, reviewer Tim Wilson decided the best was the most expensive but highest quality option: The Marantz, costing about $500.
My first attempt with a Samsung YEPP mobile MP3 player was a disappointment.
The YEPP was designed to handle line-level input instead of the mic-level input that microphones supply.
I quickly settled on three options: iRiver H10, Sony MZ-RH910 Hi-MD minidisc player, and the Marantz PMD660.
The Sony is the cheapest at about $199 and very reliable, but minidisc technology is basically a dead end at this point.
The biggest downside is that Sony has crippled the minidisc platform to prevent easy digital copying between the recorder and a computer.
In other words, to transfer the file to my Mac laptop I would have to copy it in real time to the line-in on my laptop.
The iRiver portable MP3 player (about $299) has earned rave reviews as a mobile recording platform, but I wasn't convinced that it would offer the kind of recording features I'd like for the other uses I have in mind beyond mobile podcasting.
In the end I settled on the Marantz solid-state recorder.
It's the most expensive option at about $499, but it has everything I need to make professional-quality recording in the field or in a more structured setting.
It has dual XLR input, records to MP3 on the fly as well as uncompressed WAV, and stores everything on a compact flash card which makes transferring the audio to my laptop a snap.
The list of options is too long to print here, but you won't have trouble finding a lot more information about it online.
The gentleman I bought it from just completed a sale of 50 PMD660s to Minnesota Public Radio.
He told me that they are moving away from tape completely and switching to all solid-state recording.
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