Cymatic Audio LR 16 USB Live Recorder Review

In this video James takes a look at the new Cymatic Audio LR-16 Live Recorder and finds that it is more than just a hardware recorder.

[AudioBeachStudios]

We have just purchased one of these for live gig recordings (not for the studio, we have a big enough setup for that already!). I knew it was pretty feature rich for something at this price, and your video just confirmed it for me. We have made the right choice!!!

[NovareAudio]

Tom great comment, and I appreciate your reply. I have one of these units on order at my dealer, so I am ready to put into use ASAP!

[NovareAudio]

Tom, thanks for the reply. I understand deleting in used tracks after the capture. I use several hd recorders on location and transfer to PT for post production. I love the idea of potential upgrade for arming

[DonFredricks]

Excellent review of a very cool device! (I have one.) One thing you didn't mention is that the inputs are intended to be connected via TRS cables to the mixer's insert jacks. The LR-16 internally bridges the send to the return side of the insert (passively, so you don't have to disconnect it when you power off the LR-16). One consequence of this is that you must take special care when connecting a line output to the LR-16 input -- it's not very hard, and the manual tells exactly what to do.

[orangehillaudio]

The developers were aiming at creating a device that is as simple as and fool proof as possible. I personally love the restraint they have exhibited...there is a tipping point with feature sets that make a simple product into one mired with millions of menus and pretty soon you are pushing buttons with your elbows and while pressing another with your nose...

[schlechtj]

If you already have a mixing board the most useful addition would be track arming so you could punch in a track to fix a take after the entire band records without downloading to a computer and then punching in on the computer.  That would make the difference for me.  16 buttons, arm/disarm.

[fuserproducer]

Hi there, It's fantastic (24 bit 96khz) 16 stereo channels multi track recording interface, easy to use and not expensive about ₤499, Thanks for great review:P

[loskioskbears]

This looks like a great little unit BUT without having built-in mic pre's, it means that it still relies on you having some kind of mixer to be able to mic up your band. So it's not really a single box recording solution like some of the Zoom or Tascam units. Although this gives you 16 recording channels rather than the more common 8 channels, you have the additional expense of getting mic preamps or a mixer to be able to connect up all your mics.     If this unit already included mic pre-amps it would be unbeatable!   

[NovareAudio]

Great review. I may have missed it, but did you mention it is locked to 16 channels when recording. In other words all16 channels are always armed and always recording. So if you need to record 8 channels, you will also be capturing 8 empty channels. I'd prefer to be able to arm tracks to save storage

[orangehillaudio]

You can simply delete the unused tracks when you connect it to your computer to free up space. We are considering to allow some options with track arming...there are a lot of things we can refine in time...this was the basic concept out of the gate.

[lenam]

The video sound is pretty good, beyond my imagination

[dannyveras]

DOES IT WORK ONLY WITH TRS CABLE OR REGULAR CABLES? I BOUGHT THIS UNIT LIKE 5 YEARS AGO AND NEVER BEEN ABLE TO RECORD ANYTHING, IN FACT WHEN I RECORD I HEAR VERY VERY LITTLE LIKE ALMOST NO SOUND, ANY TIPS, ? IS IT BECAUSE I'M USING REGULAR JACK, OR DO I ONLY NEED TRS? OR IS IT MAYBE A MALFUNCTION OF THE DEVICE? PLEASE HELP THANKS!!

[bluename]

how does it differ from "ferrofish a32" or "ferrofish pulse 16 dx"?

[NateOfLandAndSea]

Hola! I just picked up an LR-16, and am having a little trouble. Hopefully you can help. When using the LR-16 to format a hard drive, how long does it take for you? One of my drives perpetually attempts to connect, showing the "USB storage device connecting... please wait." Any ideas?

[elsweesy]

can i connect it to power bank because i dont want it turn off to save my files if the electricity off

[StichtingVOGW]

Great video Thanks! But is it also possible to record track after track (Multi track recording) untill all 16 tracks are used and then mix them down?

[lethibich]

how did you do it can you share with me, thank you

[HedrasRamosSr]

@James:
Can I get away with just regular 1/4 to 1/4 8 Ch snakes? I don't have TRS snakes or double ring tip?

Many thanks in advance,

[MarkusWutte]

How does the quality of the A/D converters perform, compared with RME Fireface 800? THX! :)

[inklipMedia]

Very interesting hardware! I'm looking for a simple setup that can record a few direct takes from the room (or the mixer sends or line outs), and maybe stereo live mix-down from the mixer. So far, my impression is that the audio quality (format, mic preamps) of mixer/recorder combos is a little weak. A Tascam DR-44 or Zoom H6 have 4 or 6 inputs to capture high quality multi-track audio simultaneously, but I like the Tascam sound better as reviewed in comparison here on YouTube, and internal mics plus 2 input channels isn't enough to capture a separate take or two or three in case a practice/jam is worth tweaking properly post-production, AND the stereo live mix in case I want to hear something right away or it just turns out to be the right levels/EQ/FX without need for further adjustment. I think a mixer/recorder combo is what I want but I haven't seen one yet that doesn't get 'meh' reviews on sound quality. The LR-16 almost gets me there by giving my mixer a place to dump, but the requirement of a full-fledged USB hard disc drive (or very expensive solid state drive) means that I now have a) a mixer, b) the Cymatic and interconnect cables c) a USB disc drive that is pretty fragile compared to the SD media of mixer/recorders. I'd love to incorporate a compact machine like this for its ability to expand to a full studio component, but I think I need to make the Zoom H6 or a mixer/recorder console work for me.