Originally Posted By: Mike Halloran
Uh yea... No. The arbitrary $400 ceiling is just laughable.

I have no problem with the Tascam DP3 but the Zoom R8 gives you a choice of 44.1/48 and 16/24 for the same price—can also be used as a 44.1/48/96 24 recording interface (not that I would).
Zoom R8 Recorder/Interface/Sampler

Those microphone recommendations are whack. The mic pres are just wrong for dynamic microphones rated at 150Ω output impedance. Plenty of mics are far superior for not much more money. The AKG D5 C @ $109 is my favorite dynamic under $700 for just plug in without an additional preamp and has a 600Ω output that is far better matched to either the TASCAM or Zoom.
AKG D5 C

Although I'm not a fan of cheap, Chinese condensers when starting out, many are. These are as good as any, I suppose.
MXL microphones


$400 is just for his YouTube video. It's not his studio. His point (and dozens of others) post these lists for demonstration that complete studios can be had for less than $500 that can produce audio on par with expensive setups.

I've owned an R8 and it's a nice machine but the Tascam has better Preamps and much better recording/editing so one it's main benefits is to cut the USB cable between recorder and PC. Tascam's can be connected via USB but it's not necessary - In the intent of the video, Tascam works better because it focus's on being a digital recorder whereas the R8 attempt is to be more versatile and assumes most editing will be done on a PC.

In a direct comparison, Tascam wins here because the budget mark of $400-500 couldn't be met because of the R8's dependence on connection to PC. With Tascam, connecting to a PC is a choice, not a necessity.

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