BUILD: The charcoal gray anodized aluminum body is solid, attractive and has excellent fit and finish. I wish the cardioid mics were black instead of glitzy chrome. The orange monochrome LCD is 1990s tech but easy to read. The only weak points are the plastic battery door and SD cover, so treat them gently. I broke off the SD door in the first few months of use. A rubber SD boot/cover would be far more durable than plastic.
I have Arca quick release plates on all my gear for fast setup/tear down. The tripod socket is a stainless steel insert but is a little shallow: most plate mount screws bottom out in the tripod socket, allowing the plate to spin. The obvious workaround is to file down the screw. However, I found a slightly shorter Sunwayfoto replacement screw and all is well.
CONTROLS: One of the hallmarks of this model is an abundance of clearly labeled physical controls, resulting in less menu surfing. Lessor models force you to struggle with nested menus to switch input sources or set the limiter, a buzz kill during performances. The MKII designers thoughtfully provided switches for those and most options! Need to change preamp sensitivity? There's a switch on the back. Want to engage or disable the limiter? Flip a switch. And those switches and buttons feel reasonably sturdy and responsive. The gain wheel is smooth but stiff enough so inadvertent level changes should be rare. If you've used a recorder before, you'll find the controls and menus intuitive. I barely cracked the manual. Only seldom used options like SD card format or selection of battery type are in the menus. Very little menu diving compared to my DR-40.
RFI RESISTANCE: I live in the inner city and am surrounded by cellphone and radio station transmitters. RFI is a major problem in my condo and every piece of gear needs shielding or it becomes a classic rock station. I am happy to report the DR-100 MKII greeted me with complete radio silence and is well shielded.
CONNECTIONS: The versatile input options of XLR, coaxial and unbalanced analog allow you to record any source needed from phantom powered condenser mics to digital mixers to turntable preamps. The DR-100 MKII has a switchable pad to toggle the XLRs from mic to line level input. Unfortunately, since this is a palm sized unit, phono and RCA jacks are MIA. You'll have to make due with adapters to plug RCA or phone jacks into the XLR or mini stereo jacks.
One of the hidden jewels of the DR-100MKII design is the coaxial digital-in port, allowing direct recording from a digital mixer, mic preamp, or DAT. Wish it was a RCA jack instead of a 3.5mm but still a welcome feature, especially since few portables have digital in. And it ships with a mini to RCA adapter so you're ready to go out of the box! The digital-in works great with my MOTU Ultralite, reaping the benefits of the better preamps and DAC while sparing me from dragging around my MacBook Pro.
Output options are few: headphone port and analog stereo out, both mini stereo jacks. Tascam could have easily squeezed in a pair of RCA jacks. So adapters will be needed to interface with studio and home stereo systems. I rarely use output jacks since the SD card goes straight in my Mac for storage and editing, so no biggie. It has mini-USB for charging and uploading to your computer, but not for playback or recording. A card reader is faster for uploads but it's good to have a USB port just in case.
BATTERIES: I love the dual battery setup with rechargeable Li-Ion and AA backup. No problem lasting through a long rehearsal and concert. Although the DR-100MKII doesn't ship with a charger, you can charge it with any USB charger, including iPhone chargers, or plug into a computer USB port.
BUILT-IN MICS cardioid mics are great for quick recordings of rehearsals or student performances. They're less noisy than the mics in the prior model (DR-100). However, the character is essentially the same: requires lots of gain and a little bright and thin sounding. Add a touch of EQ in post production and they sound surprisingly full. The omnidirectional mics--the little holes above the LCD--sound horrid. I pretend they don't exist.
RECORDING: I'm a college music educator and use the MKII to record classical guitar (acoustic) ensembles. I attach the DR-100MKII to a Gitzo carbon fiber tripod with the mics pointed at the ensemble. An Arca quick release plate lives on the MKII for fast setup/tear down. The tracks are synced to DSLR video in post production. I'm directing and playing, but also operating the DR-100 MKII, so having a wired remote to start/stop record is a Godsend. IR remote doesn't work from the rear, hence the wired remote.
Classical and acoustic guitars are challenging to record due to low sound levels and subsequent high preamp gain and spare mix. With gain cranked noise from preamps and/or mics are more apparent than recording louder ensembles like rock bands or orchestras. And this is where the MKII really shines: preamps are transparent and clean, a marked improvement over the older DR-100. I'm stoked I don't need Bias SoundSoap on every track!
For critical recordings, I use a matched pair of Neumann KM184 condenser mics and the tracks really sparkle. With mic sensitivity set to high and gain at 50 to 60% the noise floor is virtually nil with these mics. The preamps also work well with my Audio-Technica AT8022 Stereo condenser mic. It yields a rich stereo image but requires considerably more gain than the Neumann.
LAST BLURB
I have a long history with Tascam equipment, going back to cassette Portastudios and DAT. And they always seem to masterfully balance great sound quality, musical needs, portability and cost. And, indeed, I'm pleased with the DR-100MKII: great features, thoughtful ergonomics, good fit and finish, sturdy metal build and wonderful sound at a nice price.