Hey everyone,
I've had an MSR-16 for several months, and an opportunity to pick up a TSR-8 in great condition for cheap came up in my area. Although I was more than happy with my MSR-16, I was curious what 1/2" 8 track was all about, figuring it would be my first "wide" (or at least not narrow) format machine.
I've been recording a solo acoustic guitar player/singer recently, so I was excited about obtaining such a recorder, since I felt like I was wasting so much space using a 16 track on him. Anyways, I did some test recording, and was kind of surprised that I couldn't hear any difference between the TSR-8 and the MSR-16. I checked the manuals of both machines, and was a little bit shocked when I read the specs on each. They both had the exact same frequency response (40 hz - 20 khz), and with DBX had the same signal to noise ratio. Without DBX, the difference in signal to noise between the TSR and MSR was 68 db to 65, respectively. The only other spec where the TSR won was in crosstalk, which was a difference of only 82 to 80. As anyone can see, these are fairly minimal differences, although I do realize that using 16 tracks with 3 db of more noise on each track will add up. However, since with DBX they both have the same signal to noise at 108 db...
After being on this forumn for a good chunk of time, I was really surprised that there was such a minimal difference. Can anyone tell me what, if anything, the TSR can do a lot better than the MSR? I tried recording with and without DBX, but wasn't really satisfied with the results of non-DBX (this was before I reread the manuals). For instance, can the TSR record a lot hotter than the MSR? I haven't had the chance, or the right type of music come in, to check yet.
At this point, after having owned and operated both machines, if somone had the chance to buy either, I'd highly recommend the MSR over the TSR. But, I would really like to hear someone else's opinion, with or without evidence of specifications, to tell me otherwise. The only thing I could think of is that it would be cheaper to maintain the TSR since it has only half the tracks, logic cards, and connections.
Thanks,
-MD
I've had an MSR-16 for several months, and an opportunity to pick up a TSR-8 in great condition for cheap came up in my area. Although I was more than happy with my MSR-16, I was curious what 1/2" 8 track was all about, figuring it would be my first "wide" (or at least not narrow) format machine.
I've been recording a solo acoustic guitar player/singer recently, so I was excited about obtaining such a recorder, since I felt like I was wasting so much space using a 16 track on him. Anyways, I did some test recording, and was kind of surprised that I couldn't hear any difference between the TSR-8 and the MSR-16. I checked the manuals of both machines, and was a little bit shocked when I read the specs on each. They both had the exact same frequency response (40 hz - 20 khz), and with DBX had the same signal to noise ratio. Without DBX, the difference in signal to noise between the TSR and MSR was 68 db to 65, respectively. The only other spec where the TSR won was in crosstalk, which was a difference of only 82 to 80. As anyone can see, these are fairly minimal differences, although I do realize that using 16 tracks with 3 db of more noise on each track will add up. However, since with DBX they both have the same signal to noise at 108 db...
After being on this forumn for a good chunk of time, I was really surprised that there was such a minimal difference. Can anyone tell me what, if anything, the TSR can do a lot better than the MSR? I tried recording with and without DBX, but wasn't really satisfied with the results of non-DBX (this was before I reread the manuals). For instance, can the TSR record a lot hotter than the MSR? I haven't had the chance, or the right type of music come in, to check yet.
At this point, after having owned and operated both machines, if somone had the chance to buy either, I'd highly recommend the MSR over the TSR. But, I would really like to hear someone else's opinion, with or without evidence of specifications, to tell me otherwise. The only thing I could think of is that it would be cheaper to maintain the TSR since it has only half the tracks, logic cards, and connections.
Thanks,
-MD