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Deity PR-2 Portable Audio Recorder

jerryfreak

Active Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2020
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Reno, NV
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Background

This review is in regard to the Deity PR2 Stereo Pocket Recorder.

As an amateur field recordist (AKA "taper") who focuses on live concert recordings, this has been a long-awaited item in my community, Deity is a company that focuses on production audio and offers various mics, transmitters, timecode boxes, etc to that industry. A few years back they offered their first two-channel portable recorder, the BP-TRX. After a long long wait (over a year from product announcement to release), if finally came out in summer of 2021, and while it was feature-rich, a friend who gave it a shot was less than thrilled with it for our application relative to other 2-channel devices that were already on the market, particularly in regard to metering/usability. Turns out it just wasn't a good match for our application.

Flash forward to April 2023 when Deity announced the PR-2 at NAB, and had a prototype in hand. The unit seemed to be the perfect device based on its claimed features and specs. 32 bit float... 30 dB of gain... low self noise... can power lavs at 5V. All in a compact form factor with great battery life. The 5V mic power is of particular interest because it allows for the operation of high-quality microphones at a voltage which allows for the high sound pressure levels seen at concerts to be recorded without distortion. These range from sub-$100 lavs all the way up to permanently polarized 20mm condenser microphones that record at studio-quality

I was skeptical based on my recollection of the "vaporware" release of the BP-TRX, and sure enough the summer 2023 release date got pushed back a full year and the PR-2 finally started shipping in July 2024. As someone who has used 32-bit float recorders from Zoom and Sound Devices, i personally found the feature to be of somewhat limited use as in general the 24-bit modes offer adequate resolution to capture anything i record, and I am monitoring the recording as it happens to set proper input level. There is lots of hype around 32-bit recording and while it has its uses, I still have yet to see it implemented in a way that expands the dynamic range available between the input noise and the max input level at overload, which as weve seen with numerous reviews, tops out in the 115-125dB range. In any case, 32-bit float feature is useful for a device such as this, as tapers often record concerts where the device needs to be out of sight and out of mind for various reasons, and the elimination of the 0dBFS wall with 32bit increases the chance of a successful recording in a measurable way.

Unfortunately, somewhere in the revision cycle between prototype and production, the feature set got downgraded to where 32-bit float recording would only be available for mono recording. Considering the existence of 32-bit float single channel recorders from Zoom and Tentacle this would reduce its appeal a bit among tapers, but a good 24-bit recorder is still a good recorder so it is worth a look

Test Setup

Measurements were done using the unbalanced out from either a Topping D90 or a D90SE. The D90SE has the option to do a higher voltage level to improve resolution, but in all configurations the dynamic range of the DACs exceeded the range of the PR-2 and produced similar results. The max unbalanced output of 2.1V at 0dB on the topping is approximately 8.6dBU. i rounded it to +9dBU in the following measurements to make the analysis simple since i was relying on the Topping's output level display which is fortuantely presented in actual dBU

Measurement software was the pro version of RMAA 6.4.5

Microphone tests were done with a single DPA 4015 wide cardioid capsule, and an MMP-GS preamplifier.

General Impressions

First impressions were "wow - its tiny!" a mere 41g without batteries, in fact adding some NiMH's fattened it up to 100g. For those obsessive about weight, given the long runtime on AAs, i think that AAAs with adapters would shave weight and still offer plenty of runtime. non-rechargeable lithiums even more so.

Its form factor is compelling. the nearest competitor is the Sony PCM-A10, which is only slightly bigger in volume, and offers respectable performance for our application. As with most small 2-channel recorders, the plug-in-power ("PIP") the A10 offers is an anemic 2.5V, and can only power limited models of microphones. Many tapers choose to use an external battery box to power these mics, which is commonly at least as large as a 9V battery. Measuring the voltage of the input showed that it indeed delivered 5.0V +/- 0.1V so it should be adequate

The unit has a solid feel, and buttons are responsive. Menu is clear, and the important functions like gain are right at the top where it belongs. In an active recording situation its easy to make adjustments as double clicking the click-wheel takes you right to gain adjustment, and a double click of the power/back button takes you right back. Screw-locks on the 3.5mm TRS input and output are a nice touch. Gain adjustments are in steps of 3dB. I personally favor discrete level adjustments as they are much easier to fix in post as opposed to slower fade-type adjustments.

Most importantly, starting and stopping recording, as well as power-on and -off are all via long press, and a triple press of the power button will lock and unlock the unit. The fact that these actions are all very purposeful, gives me high confidence that once the unit is recording, it will stay actively recording, a critical aspect.

One feature that is sadly missing on the US version is the ability to monitor while recording. This is presumably due to the Zaxcom patents on combination transmitter/recorder products. The non-US version offers this feature and its unclear whether the US version can be upgraded via firmware to enable this feature. As of now Deity only offers a single firmware update for both versions, not specific firmwares for each model

General Operation

The PR-2 offers both mic- and line-in selection, at the same input levels, the difference being the mic option allows 5V power to the mics. no measurements were done with the D90 in mic-in mode because i wasnt comfortable sending 5V power to the output of my DAC

Gain range is from -12 to +36 dB

the unit operates in either 24 bit or 32-bit float in mono mode, and exclusively 24-bit in stereo mode

Level Meters

Level meters were usable, with a caveat.... you need to understand a bit of calibration. at levels approaching 0 dBU, the unit when set at 0 dB of gain will indeed show levels approaching 0 dBFS with a sine wave. Actually recording real music acts is a bit more challenging. the unit is lacking a peak/peak hold level indicator, a serious omission IMO. I'll add some videos later but i was able to "calibrate" the unit by playing back a wave file of a live concerrt recording which had the usual RMS level near about -20 dBFS and peaks near 0 dBFS. When playing this into the PR-2 at a level where 0 dbFS = 0 dBU, the limit of the device, the meters require a different eye. When watching the levels youre really looking at the -20 dB and -10dB lines.... in a real recording with dynamic levels, this rule of thumb works: -20 line on the meters corresponds to about -12 dBFS peak… the -10 line is the equivalent of -6 dBFS. So to record with an acceptable level of headroom i would target peaks above the -20dB line, but below the -10dB line. treat that -10 dB ine as your zero and youre in a safe range.

Measurements

First order of business was to determine the operating range of the unit. Maximum input level is right about 0dBU, with massive distortion occurring above +3 dBU. This is a compromise relative to the Sony A10 or the Tascam DR2D which can safely accept levels up to around +10 dBU. Anyone using the PR-2 to capture a feed from a mixing console would be wise to have an attenuator cable in their kit just in case.

Once the maximum input level was determined, i was able to define a test range. I did an RMAA measurement at each of the gain levels of the unit (-12dB thru +36dB). The negative gain settings were not useful in increasing the maximum input level of the unit.

For 24-bit stereo measurement I set the gain level to record close to 0 dbFS for each pass, so for example a -36 dBU input signal used +36 dB of gain, a 0dBU input signal had a gain of zero, and an input level of +6 dbU was tested at gain values of -6, -9, and -12dB).

RMAA.jpg


I may graph these and insert them later, but we can clearly see the "sweet spot" is in the range of -18 to -6 dBU input level, a good range for a unit designed to take mic input. In general the results are passable but not quite state-of the-art. Here are some tests done on other comparable recorders near their respective max input levels. The PCM-A10 we already discussed. The Sony ICD-UX560 is a smaller version of the A10 which is limited to recording at 16/44 PCM. The Rode AI Micro is a dongle-type device for iphones. Those were kind of one-off tests and i didnt bother to determine the optimum input range of those devices. Both of these are legacy products and can be found for well $100 and its disappointing that the resolution of the deity does not exceed theirs. We see the A10 and DR2D with higher resolution due to their much higher acceptable input levels

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these devices were also tested at lower input levels of -20 dbU and -36 dBU

lowcomp.jpg

Here we see much more respectable showing from the PR-2, it is right there with the A10 and DR2D. It actuallyy exceeds the A10 at low input levels, perhaps that A10 measurement is flawed and needs redone. I did an additional test at all input levels with the gain set to record wave files at -12dBFS to see if i could squeak out any additional performance (waves wer enormalized in post to brign them up to an acceptable level for RMAA to analyze), but here we see we are still limited by input noise.

lowlevel.jpg



32-bit measurements were a bit trickier as it is mono only, and the 32-bit float recording is at an arbitrary recording level. To compensate for this I did the RMAA test, and then took the recorded wave file and duplicated the track into a stereo track, then adjusted volume to get the peaks near 0dB so RMAA could analyze it. I omitted the stereo crosstalk in this test.

RMAA32.jpg


We do see much higher resolution in the 32-bit mode, presumably the unit is stacking the ADCs from each channel to cover different input ranges, which explains why stereo recording is not available in stereo mode. We also see that the gain setting is essentially useless as the results are the same and resolution is entirely determined by the input level in relation to the noise floor of the unit, we see a linear relationship. I dont see the unit approaching anything near the 123dB dynamic range they claim, with the input level limited to 0 dBU

Real-world Mic tests

For the mic tests i compared with my current favorite miniature recording setup, the DPA MMA-A ("AKA "d-vice), a 2018 product, now discontinued, which is designed to power the DPA microdot-compatible series of microphones. DPA claims a spec of 114 dB dynamic range and as a world-renowned microphone manufacturer for 50+ years now i tend to believe them. The unit uses a preamp chip with a THD+N below -136 dB into an AKM5552VN ADC. Has always served me well. Unfortunately I don't have good measurements on this unit due to the non-defeatable 5V bias voltage, and it also requires a mic input load to even turn on, so it would be tested thru a blocking cap/resistor circuit. ive built these in the past as proof of concept to see if the unit could take line-in, and it did work, but ive long since lost that breadboard monstrosity.

Back to the test... I used a 114dB calibrator to simulate a 114 dB input to the microphone, The MMA-A was used with Apogee Metarecorder software on an iPhone. the MMA-A has +30dB of gain, At 114 dB, an input level of 75% in metarecorder yielded something close to 0dBFS

so i tested the PR2 with this same calibrator and it was able to capture the 1khz test wave cleanly at 114 dB and it was well within its acceptable input range. at 0 dBU, the 114dB input at the microphone generated a signal of -20 dBFS on the deity, and adding 18dB of gain put it at -2 dBFS as expected. In this case it is similar to the MMA-A in input and gain range, and should be able to take the loudest signal i would expect to record without overloading the input

So in an attempt to determine the relative noise level of the PR-2 input, i had to get creative. After testing the two setups to get as close as possible to 0 dBFS with a 114 dB tone, i then took the mic, wrapped it up in a t-shirt and then a thick sweatshirt and put it in my closed car at night in my rural neighborhood. The closest i could get to "silence" and my tinnitus was telling me all about it...

So i looked at the recorded noise in a wave editor then compared its RMS level relative to the peak level of each signal (which were all within a dB or two peak level)

MMA-A: 86.3 dB
PR-2 in 32bit: 84.6 dB
PR-2 in 24 bit: 85 dB

what this suggests to me is that the noise floor of all these units is below the combined microphone self-noise and minimal ambient noise

so i decided to test the same mic with a higher resolution setup,a Grace Lunatec V3 which has 70 dB of very clean gain and a low noise floor.

result of that was..... 86.1 dB

id call that essentially the same and while i wouldn't expect the PR-2 to have the same dynamic range and noise floor of the purpose-built preamp unit, its good to see that its noise floor seems to be well below any needed in real-world recording situations

Conclusion

I like the unit for portable recording, particularly if you have a setup that requires 5V mic power such as the DPA mics, sennheiser, Audio Technica, etc. It offers a good combination of size, weight, power consumption, usability, and acceptable performance at mic-in levels. If i was using the device with a hotter line signal from an external preamp or mixing console i would consider using other portable units such as the Sony A10 or Tascam DR-2D.

Cons are of course the lack of real-time monitoring, and lack of peak hold meter

A great effort by Deity imo, and hats off to Andrew Jones the man behind these products . Id love to see them implement stereo 32-bit recording at the resolution we are seeing with the 32-bit mono mode. I realize a unit of this size necessitates compromises, but for example they could replace the 2xAA with 2xAAA and still have 10+ hours of operation and more board space for a second 32-bit circuit as well as something like a switchable 20 dB pad to allow for higher input levels. Well as they say, perfect is the enemy of good, and this is certainly good enough for my application.

Exclusions

I didn't test any of the following features: Timecode, bluetooth/app connectivity, automatic gain, playback/output measurements, low cut filter, or limiter as i dont have a use for these features
 

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Nice write up and extensive analysis, seems like a very cost effective pocket sized unit.
 
did some real-time battery runtime measurements, with DPA 4011GS attached
AA alkaline 13:18
AA NiMH 16:24
AAA NiMH with adapters 04:45

i wouldnt call any of those definitive, as those were all random batteries. the alkalines were new but were some free ones i got from Harbor Freight and of unknown capacity. The AAs were some ikea ladda (eneloop) that are prob not in top form, 2200 mAh if i had to guess. The AAAs were well-worn ones i use in headlamps and are probably ~700 mAH. Based on published tests, non rechargeable lithium AA and AAA should run the unit for 25 and 110 hours respectively

one limitaiton i discovered is the unit cannot delete takes, and if you delete them thru a computer, it doesnt register the free space. You need to fully format the card to make space. So if you have lots of recording on deck, i would recommend a spare card.
 
Big thanks for this. I've been awaiting proper measurement test of the PR-2 My point of comparison is the Tascam DR2d. Unfortunate that PR-2 doesn't quite measure up to that ~15 year old consumer-level recorder. However PR-2 is attractive in being able to power DPA mics directly with its 5V mic power, eliminating the need for external mic-powering or a preamp.

After a few initial test concert recordings using a single PR-2, I plan to look into wireless transport control (via phone app) and clock sync of multiple PR-2, which may require the addition of a Deity TC-1 wireless timecode generator. Also remains to be determined if the timecode precision of clock sync will be sufficient to achieve sufficiently phase-locked sync of two or more audio pairs.
 
huge bummer but the recorder failed me in a mission critical application where i was the only person recording. Dropped samples in several places.

while i did do a 10-plus hour test at home for dropped samples, in the field i had bluetooth connected, which i suspect would be the cause of the interrupts

here are a bunch of examples of dropped samples, in the first few songs when i was most likely checking levels


i dont have the unit anymore, perhaps gutbucket can replicate

a deal killer fo me for sure if it cant be rectified
 
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My initial outing did not use Bluetooth and did not have dropped samples, but was not successful for two reasons. One was my use of some older lithium batteries which failed. Second was DPA 4060CORE microphone output seems too hot causing distortion (PR-2 set to 24bit stereo mode, gain set initially to 0dB, then -3dB). DPA 4061 should be better matched in output level but need to recheck with good powering. Unit stopped responding to any button inputs as the batteries died (LED's turned off, locked screen remaining blank) yet continued to record for several hours. Resulting file was saved properly, but initial distortion increased further over the last few hours after the unit went unresponsive. Will run some tests using 4061 and good powering, and will have an opportunity to recheck with an actual concert recording in a few weeks.

Unfortunate to hear of the dropped samples. I didn't have that problem, but have not yet tried the Bluetooth control app, and could operate without Bluetooth control if necessary. There is a menu setting to use the USB connector for sharing clock (unknown if that can be between multiple PR-2 unit, or if it must be between PR-2 and some other clock source), which is of interest to me for potential use in recording four to six clock synchronized channels if the PR-2 otherwise pans out as acceptable, but I don't have a second unit available to test that.
 
got my global PR-2 yesterday and am trying to replicate the dropped samples with some long tests. this is a different HW version though. i havent quite figured out the monitoring ability it has some strange behavior like changing input level when headphones are plugged in. one of the switch positions apparently passively outputs the input and the other puts it thru processing. I'm seeing the different input levels weirdness in "line-in" mode, in "mic in" mode (my use case) it mutes output entirely when the switch is in the right position so i guess thats nothing to pursue....

apart from the monitoring ability, one other feature Deity touts is the "pass through" power which might potentially offer is using a separate battery box on the output side to deliver, say 8-9V, vs 5V to mics to increase max SPL handling. manual is quite opaque on how one would "pass through power".. should it be on line-in with mic power from the unit off?

some teardown shots, not much to see, tho the actual functional part of the unit is tiny and quite possibly able to be integrated into other designs
 
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some teardown shots, not much to see, tho the actual functional part of the unit is tiny and quite possibly able to be integrated into other designs
That looks like RF stuff, the recording goodies must be on the backside or possibly on a different board altogether.

"Opaque" is the right word, I can't figure it out either. I would probably fiddle with the toggle switch and settings until I find a combination that works.
 
there are two pics there if you click on the imgur link. thats as far as im going. there are boards on both sides with switches and jacks in between them i didnt want to pull them to look at the back as then i get into the spaghetti of ribbon cables and the unseating/reseating of jacks and ports into the case
 
re: global version, i tried to troubleshoot the dropped sample issue, and test functionality of using a separate recorder on the monitor feed by comparing the two recordings. the output from the monitor seems to be quite compressed/processed so there was no point in digitally comparing them via inversion. ill bet if i measured them, distortion would be high, on monitoring, if not on playback as well
 
success on my first field outing

worth noting the battery meter is essentially useless. with nimh it stays full for the first 90% of the battery life and then once it begins to drop its dead in about an hour

hopefully can be fixed in firmware
 
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