High quality DAC / field recorder with timecode support?

[pknittel]

Hi all,
I discovered this forum from the Zoom F6 review, it's refreshing to see proper testing instead of people regurgitating press releases and marketing materials. From what I understand, the F6 has very poor SINAD and seems to have worse audio quality than just about every other prosumer DAC on the market.

I am looking for the best-performing sound recorder that has at least 2 XLR inputs with phantom power, and timecode support, OR an additional 3.5mm mic in for manual timecoding.

I am a videographer and will generally be plugging in condenser microphones like two Rode NT1-As.

I prefer something that is portable (battery powered) and can record onto internal media; however if it's worth it, I am OK with a USB DAC; but once again, it needs timecoding support. Often recommended options don't seem to support timecoding, or have an additional 3.5mm input/channel that I can plug a timecode generator into.

My budget is up to US$1500 / AU $2000. I'm based in Australia. I would greatly appreciate any recommendations since you all seem to know a lot more about audio than me

Thank you,
Paul

 

[sarumbear]

Sound Devices offer the best specifications and is the standard audio mixer/recorder make used in the film industry. I have not measured their range since early noughties but when I did they beat advertised values. They are not cheap but if you earn money from sound recording in film or broadcast world, their devices are the ones to choose.

Home - Sound Devices

Sound Devices is a worldwide leader in portable and installed production sound and video products for a wide range of professional applications.

www.sounddevices.com

 

[Tks]

We simply don't know since ADC's let alone field recorders, rarely come up for reviews here.

 

[DaveLeeNC]

Post #187 by @voltronic adds some very significant additional (after a 2021 firmware update) test data that gives a very different picture of the Zoom F6 vs. what was tested (properly as best as I can tell) by Amir prior to the update. See post #187 in the referenced thread.

dave