I read about the monitor latency issue before I posted my question, but the first review I stumbled upon then said that it’s indeed been addressed already. And yeah, I don’t really expect or need a full XLR or 1/4″ on a tiny portable recorder. What I’m actually looking for so far is a self-contained package that sounds fine without adding an external mic, pre and extra cables to tangle on. Sort of a one-piece scratchpad, but a good quality one. Seems like PMD620 or LS10 might fit the bill.

chris, Good to know. I’m still somewhat suspicious about that aspect though… The demo recordings I’ve found so far do sound a little too bass-light in comparison with other units. Have you been recording uncompressed audio or MP3 with the unit btw?

The main problem with the PMD620 originally was that there was a latency issue when monitoring recordings through the headphones. But it sounds like Marantz fixed this with a firmware update. I haven’t used one myself, but several reviewers have suggested that the Marantz has decent internal mics and excellent preamps for an external mic. Like most of these low end recorders, it lacks 1/4th inch or XLR inputs and relies on mini jacks though. One of the things I love about my Sony is that while it uses mini jacks, they’re made of metal, not cheap plastic, which convinces me that they’re less likely to break from wear and tear.

I’ve rounded up a bunch of PMD620 reviews here:

http://www.bradlinder.net/2007/11/marantz-pmd620-review-roundup.html

chris, The reported lower frequency thing is actually about the only thing that bugs me seriously in LS-10… The main uses I’d have for a device like that are:

1) A musical sketchpad, for recording little ideas with the built in mics wherever I am - this is obviously something that any working recorder could pull off.

2) Recording DJ sets and instruments on the go, straight via line in - some recorders seem to actually have weird noise or distortion problems even with normal line inputs, otherwise this isn’t much to ask I guess.

3) For doing sort of ex tempore location and SFX stuff: recording ambiences, weird noises, rattles and bangs for sampling. This is where relatively high fidelity recording would actually be cool to have. Overly hissy mic/pre or a serious low frequency limit would kind of ruin it. Now, obviously to do this properly, one would need a good quality external pre and mic… But I could as well lug around my laptop, audio interface and DIY pre by then and spend time setting stuff up. Which is what I want to get away from.

Vack: I haven’t held an Olympus LS-10 in my own hands, but I’ve heard very positive things about it. Several folks who are using them for radio and podcast producing have spoken very highly of it and the audio quality sounds pretty good whether you’re using the internal mics or an external. I’d say it’s worth paying a few extra bucks for the LS-10 instead of the Zoom H2 which has hissy preamps. Overall I’m very happy with my Sony PCM-D50, but that costs about $200 US more than the Olympus recorder.

I guess that’s just what happens when you try to cram big amount of stuff to a tiny space and do it for cheap. Have to continue reading and asking questions while I’m not in a hurry to get anything.