TASCAM’s new DR-10L is an ultra-compact recorder that comes with a Lavalier microphone that is both small and discrete and, says it makers, eliminates the uncertainties of wireless microphone systems.
The unit is built on the company’s previous DR-10X plug-on ENG recorder and the DR-10SG shotgun mic recorder, and couples a professional-quality Lavalier microphone with an ultra-compact body pack that weighs in at a meagre 63g and can thus be easily clipped onto a belt.
It captures 48kHz/24-bit Broadcast WAV files to either microSD or microSDHC cards, and rather impressively can record for up to 10 hours on a single AAA battery (though it will also handily automatically save the file before turning off if the battery does run out). It includes a built-in limiter to prevent distortion, low-cut filter to reduce wind and rumble noise, and a bright OLED display that's easily readable even in direct sunlight.
It also features the company’s Dual Recording mode. This is a decent hedge against the unexpected and captures a lower level safety track to safeguard against unforseen source level spikes. And given that the whole idea of this is to clip it to the talent and let it do its thing as a self-contained remote, that’s not too bad an assumption.
A built-in clock function supports BWF files with included time information for editing and searching, while time track incrementing function can create new files at regular intervals (about every 15 minutes) during recording.
TASCAM is positioning this at the weddings and corporate market, while also reckoning it’s a good alternative to the traditional RF system due to that decent quality backup
Ship date is by the end of the month and street price is $199.99.