eh,...
It's a brand new product, recently introduced and probably just hitting the streets now. MF says it's in stock!!
The 8-tracks to HDD Porta-format class of recorders is a hotbed of activity. For the price and features, in brand new 8-trackers, the Tascam DP-01/FX is very competitive. It puts several good features together in one package: tactile hardware EQ controls, generous Aux Sends, large hard drive, USB, 8 dedicated track faders. The DP-01 was made to stomp the crap out of the likes of the Fostex MR8, which it does very easily. Putting the DP-01 head to head with
the Fostex VF08 or VF80, is a more even comparison, and the Tascam DP-01/FX seems to deliver at least as much as Fostex, at a lower price. I think
the Tascam DP-01/FX are a good value in their class of devices.
Contrasting the features/price of brand new product (DP-01/FX), with some of the features/value of some older used equipment , and the DP-01 pales a bit. The used gear market is not for everybody, and that's probably another post. However, for a raw $500 of spending power in audio, the (used) Tascam 388 is by far a superior engineering platform than the DP-01/FX, or anything else in it's class. That's just one example.
The DP-01/FX's 2-track (max) simultaneous recording is often a limitation that is hard to justify, if you're someone who's accustomed to an 8x8 mixing/recording facility. In another related post, I also put the Tascam 424mkIII as highly competitive to the DP-01/FX, because the 424mkIII has a true 6x2 front end mixer & 4-simul recording. So as to not take this post too far off topic, see that here:
http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=139100
The DP-01/FX is a fairly good value in it's own class of devices, is my bottom line thought on brand new 8-track all-in-one'rs. And, the DP-01/FX is a genuine Portastudio, which is the real deal.
The format itself has some limitations, that makes good for some and not for others, but you could say that about any format.
