Review: Edirol R-09HR

Nov 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Michael Cooper

           
 

JAM-PACKED WITH FEATURES FOR HI-RES STEREO ON THE GO

BONUS MATERIAL
Extra Goodies for the Edirol R-09HR
Download the Spec Sheet as a PDF

I also recorded the natural ambience outside my studio, where a light wind was blowing through tall pine trees. The R-09HR provided plenty of input gain to record this quiet soundscape at full scale. The mics weren't as sensitive to turbulence as some other condensers I've used, but the low-cut filter — set to 200 Hz — nevertheless came in handy in all but preventing rumble from the wind. That said, I would recommend fitting the mic capsules with urethane-foam windscreens when recording in the field. Characters on the R-09HR's OLED display — when adjusted to maximum brightness — were visible even in direct sunlight.

While recording, I could monitor my input source with headphones. However, the recorder's inherent 6 ms latency was distracting when recording an instrument in the same room, especially when I was the performer. Output levels at full bore were adequate for monitoring a quiet acoustic performance in the same room using my AKG K271 Studio headphones. But it was clear the headphone output wouldn't be loud enough for confidence monitoring anything substantially louder, such as a rock band, in close proximity.

I loved being able to hear my files play back through the R-09HR's rear-panel speaker, which precluded the need to use headphones for listening to recordings of my songwriting ideas. I could also navigate to a folder for a given song's files and then record a new file directly into that folder — obviating the need to move it there from the Finder's root level after recording. Renaming files and folders was also really fast and easy.

The AGC function worked great for recording song ideas on the go without the hassle of setting optimal levels. The recorder's loop-playback function worked like a charm and was a great boon to transcribing my dictated review notes for this article. However, changing a file's playback speed produced distracting slapback echoes, making that feature only marginally useful.

Quibbles and Kudos

The OS 1.03 software that was installed on my review unit was a bit buggy, causing arbitrary power-downs during playback on several occasions, preventing a split file from being directly accessed, and even making the recorder's functions freeze up one time. Edirol assures me that the OS 1.04 software (which was released too close to press time for me to test) fixes all those problems. Additionally, I wish the R-09HR had balanced XLR or TRS jacks for its mic and line inputs, but the unit's small form factor and modest price point probably made that infeasible.

The R-09HR offers a lot for the money. Many similar products have a leaner feature set yet cost more. Whether you need a high-fidelity recorder to record your band's concerts or capture nature's finer moments, or a low-fidelity memo pad for recording songwriting ideas or a meeting with an entertainment lawyer, the R-09HR is a solid choice.

EM contributing editor Michael Cooper has written more than 300 articles about pro audio in the past 20 years. Visit him at myspace.com/michaelcooperrecording.

PRODUCT SUMMARY

Edirol
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