16x08 Multichannel Audio Interface and Network/FTP-Ready Broadcast Recorder Also on Tap

Tascam's latest slate of audio products includes two different categories of audio recorder designed to simplify the process of capturing sound on location.

The DR-10C series of linear-PCM 48 kHz/24-bit BWF audio recorders connect to lavaliere mics and write to standard MicroSD cards. They can be used as standalone recorders for body mics or as back-up recorders, placed in the chain between the lav and a wireless transmitter. If there are any wireless drop-outs during recording, a clean copy of the audio should be available on MicroSD card. A dual-recording feature offers another layer of protection, creating a second safety track at a lower volume level to avoid clipping. Two or more recorders can be synchronized via infrared signal. Power is provided by one AAA battery. The DR-10CL is for Lectrosonics mics and the DR-10CS is for Sennheiser, with add-on kits available for Shure and Sony/RAMSA. The DR-10C recorders are shipping now with an estimated street price of $200, Tascam said.

Meanwhile, the new DR-10X is an ENG recorder that attaches to a handheld mic via the XLR connector. Powered by one AAA battery, it records BWF files to MicroSD or MicroSDHC media and has the same dual-recording feature as the 10C for protection against distortion. The DR-10X also allows settings to be copied between units via infrared transmission. It's also shipping now, with an estimated street price of $180.

Also new from Tascam is the US-16×08 ($299 estimated street price), a multichannel audio interface with 16 mic and line inputs, including eight Ultra-HDDA mic preamps with 56dB gain. as well as eight 1/4-inch balanced line outputs. Two of the inputs are switchable to instrument level for recording guitar or bass. It features a built-in DSP mixer for low-latency mixing and each channel has four-band EQ and compression. Tascam ships it with Mac and Windows drivers, plus USB Audio Compliance 2.0 drivers for iOS. MIDI input and output are also available. It's scheduled to ship in November.

On the high end, Tascam's HS-20 ($1,299.99 estimated street price) is a new broadcast recorder that writes Broadcast Wave files at up to 192kHz/24-bit to SD or Compact Flash media. It has a built-in FTP client and server and supports 1000BASE-T Gigabit LAN, allowing automated processes to be created for recording files and transferring them, in the background, to a different system for archiving. The on-unit GUI is a TFT touchscreen display. Balanced and unbalanced analog, S/PDIF and AES/EBU audio are all supported, as well as RS-232C and parallel control interfaces. Tascam said it's available now.