Portcapture X8

This recorder has more features than probably its competitors. However, not having Bluetooth as a default feature is not a very pleasant experience. Today even the cheapest mobile phone has Bluetooth built in. Second con is its built quality. It feels cheap and ready to break even with a slight fall. As I said, feature-wise it is terrific but only those two things are a downside. Thanks.

The build quality is ok, it's made of plastic with a splattered texture which gives a nice grippy feel. The design offers a decent grip around the device which makes it feel secure in the hand. The attachable mics are also made from plastic but don't feel particularly robust. The mics can be set in an A/B pattern or X/Y pattern, but you'll need to pop them out and turn them around as you cannot swivel and rotate them. The sound quality is excellent with quiet preamps which meassure approx 127dBu. Even though the attachable mics are good, you'll get better results with external XLR mics, nevertheless, the onboard mics are more than adequate. Also note that as the mics are 3.5mm, you can unplug them to use other 3.5mm mics that require plugin power. The XLR ports are your standard, robust dual Amphenol ports. The screen is a nice size which is also bright and responsive to touch, the inbuilt recording apps are good for quickly getting a recording session underway and also features a manual mode so you can have finer control over everything. With the device I've got, I've not seen any phantom frequency issues in the 40+Hz range when running in 96k / 32bit float mode. As a field recordist, I'm very satisfied with this recorder and I'd definitely recommend it for anyone that needs good quality audio with the option of using multi channel recording with high quality 32bit float audio in an easy to use and intuitive device. I'm Very happy. The physical buttons feel stable and do not have any loose rattles, the jog wheel to fine tune your gain feels very robust also.

If you know you would get the benefit from a 32bit audio recorder, this is a good choice, with a very clear and large screen making it easy to see what is going on with VU display etc. But I can only give it four stars as: - The Bluetooth adapter and app is flakey and needs access to your phones GPS for some reason. - Despite the HUGE size of the recorder, it uses the most stupid and smallest of size memory - micro SD cards. "Easy" to change inside, now try it outside, and then if it's winter! - The microphones are made of plastic, not metal. - The microphones need unscrewing from the unit to change from AB to XY pattern, the cheaper recorders from Tascam allow you to flick the microphones to do that without taking the microphones out. - Lots of "user modes" for recording, all complete waste of time, learn to record in manual mode. - This recorder does not have a record Line-In, it would have been useful for some 3.5mm jack microphones, especially stereo ones that people buy for DSLR video recording. Other than those points, it's a great recorder, the touch screen is very good, and as it's 32Bit recording the recorder is able to deal with sudden loud bangs like a very very very close lightning strike (as I recorded), and fireworks unexpectedly close and loud - all recoverable in post. It'd be nice if it was cheaper.

This has surpassed my expectations. Fantastic sound quality and so incredibly easy to use. The only minor niggle is having to unscrew and swap over the mics if you want a wide/narrow mic pattern. It’s a shame they don’t rotate/swivel but then again it gives you two more XLR/combi inputs if you don’t want to use the mics it comes with. With previous recorders I’ve needed to de-noise quieter recordings but no such issues with this so far. The Tascam audio file manager also works well with it. Just make sure when connecting to your computer you use a ‘data AND power’ usb cable. I’m highly delighted with it.

It records ok sound, but build quality is "disposable". I got it and after 2 months headphones jack was distorting, headphone volume was not working, battery never shows full status, whatever batteries you use, to navigate a menu and for example change inputs - its a big dive, not quick at all. When trying to record in field rec mode, with external shotgun mic, you will need a cable splitter or it will record just one channel mono, so you will hear it and monitor it in one ear only XD * it works ok in manual mode. housing squeaks no matter what you do. Built in mics have massive movement tolerances so inside the deadcat they can just touch one another and create distortion. This is a machine to be babied in studio, forever attached to a tripod or something. not field recorder. And build in mics are considerably noisier than fe. Zoom H5 studio. Quite terrible machine, especially at this pricepoint.

I love this product. It does everything you want and more. Suggest buying the Bluetooth accessory and a mini tripod to stop rustling noises. Works well with Timecode device Atomos UltraSync Blue.

Much easier to use than other Tascam devices. I have confidence that when it says it's recording it is. 32bit float is a life saver when you can't monitor input levels constantly

Having used the Zoom H8 for a while, I was desperate for something much more user-friendly and this fits the bill perfectly. Well, almost. As a unit, it is 10x better than the Zoom H8. Better user-interface, batter designed apps, brilliant fully manual app. Quick and easy access to all settings for record settings, general settings and setting up each mic input. Record quality seems pretty good if you get your gains set correctly and, with the inclusion of 32-bit float you're covered when record levels are low or peaking. Having said that (about 32bit float), because it has such a great display, it is so easy to 'see' the levels and be able to adjust on the fly anyway so there's not really any excuse for peaking. However, the cons: It's 100% plastic so I am sure it would be rendered useless if dropped on a hard surface. The mic capsules that come with it must be the cheapest mic capsules out there. Probably on par with a £10 lav mic. They are dreadful. Got to say, Zoom do 100x better with mic capsules. For me that's not a big deal because I'd never use them (I have an old DR-05 if I need to quickly record through attached mic capsules) but to include them makes us realise how cheaply made this product is. At 14grams per capsule (approx) we can assume there's nothing in them of any quality. Another con is the random 'Check BOF MARK' notification and it stopped recording. That was using an SD card that I'd been using for a while and then suddenly... Error. That worries me a bit. Will this happen during an important recording? We shall see. Wrapping up: As a recorder though... Ignoring all the plastic. Spot on. Value for money? At this price? Absolute 100% NO. It's going to break easily and the capsules are rubbish. Far too much plastic. It's manufactured as cheaply as possible. The 32bit float has value, as does the excellent use-interface but considering low-costs of manufacturing, is it worth £400? Not even close. Great work on the user-interface and design but despite it's pros, this is far from a £400 or $500 product.