Lower price on Tascam DR-680

[Reed Gidez]

I've noticed a significant price drop on the DR-680 in recent weeks. Two weeks ago it was selling for $579.99 at B&H, Amazon, and a few others. Today I noticed the price had dropped to $519.99. I wonder if they are getting ready to drop this in favor of the DR-60D?

[Garrett Low]

The DR-60D cannot be thought of as DR-680 replacement. They may be getting ready to introduce a successor to the DR-680 but it would still need to be in the form of a bag recorder to replace it. In any case at $520 for what you get in the DR-680 that is a great deal. Paired with a quality mixer in front of it like a SD 442 and you have the makings of a very good sound kit.

[Kevin Duffey]

Hard to tell from the image, but could the DR-680 be mounted on a DSLR rig for recording? It's probably too big and overkill, just curious if it could be.. in the case of a couple boom mics and 4 to 6 lav mics, this would be great to get audio with. I am looking at the H6N now with it's 4 XLR inputs and optional two more, it looks pretty impressive.

[Reed Gidez]

Kevin

The DR-680 is a little too big to attach to anything and it lacks any mounting points. The photo below shows the Tascam side by side with the Roland R-26, Sony PCM-D50, and an iPhone4 so you can get a sense of the size.

I do know some folks are using the 3.5mm stereo mic input on the Roland with an XLR adapter that gives you two more "XLR inputs" however you do not have control over each channel. For what it does and what it gives you, the Tascam is well priced.

Sorry for the poor image quality... just did this on the fly.

[Garrett Low]

I concur with Reed's comments. The DR-680's size, lack of mounting options and layout of controls would make it impractical to try to mount. I've also got a Sony D50 and that is a wonderful little two channel recorder. No XLR inputs but if you have something like a Rode VideoMic or other self powered mic it is very good. I haven't had a chance to try to Roland recorder but compared to many of the other smallish recorders out there like the H4N and the Marantz PMD661 the DR-680's has a slight edge in features, contols, and the preamps are definitely quiter than the H4N's. If your setup allows you to work with that form factor it is one of the best deals out there.

[Kevin Duffey]

Thanks for the picture.. wow.. that is a lot bigger than I thought. I think I've found my perfect audio recorder, the Zoom H6N when it comes out. 4 XLR inputs plus a switchable top accessory slot, and it comes with a mid-side mic (don't even know what thats for yet) and a dual x/y mic, with an optional boom mic attachment and an optional 2 more XLR inputs. Looks pretty nice, and if they improved the pre-amps, being able to record 6 channels of audio at once will be very nice, should be plenty for anything I'll ever use it for.

[Jay Massengill]

A certain online retailer has the DR-680 as their "less than intelligent deal" for today (5/2/2013) at $430.

[Kevin Duffey]

Found it. ;) Do you know if the pair of 1/4" inputs are balanced? I would assume so.

[Garrett Low]

Originally Posted by Kevin Duffey

Found it. ;) Do you know if the pair of 1/4" inputs are balanced? I would assume so.

Yes they are balanced. I usually take the balanced XLR mix out from my SD 442 into these inputs. Taking line level in they are very clean.

[Reed Gidez]

I purchased the Dr-680 three weeks ago at B&H for $579 and after contacting them, they have refunded me the difference between the new low price ($429.99) and what I paid. Well done B&H!