Fostex

Hi about the fostex 280,Ive owned one for about 21 years now, and its still in great working order,it has a very nice warm sound, and has been very reliable for me, and still to this day, i also just got lucky and bought brand new fostex 380-s,which of course has Dolby s reduction very nice sound with this noise reduction, in fact the fostex 380-s is the only 4 track recorder with Dolby s no one other than reel to reel machine's had this.I wanted to make a comment about the other review ,that talks about this machine, i'm not sure who wrote about the fostex 280, but there's many error's about what they wrote,First off there's only 4 tracks,and was never 8 tracks not sure where all there info was coming from, it seems most of what they wrote is completely wrong about this machine sorry to say.You can find a few on eBay once in a while, and the 380-s, so if your interested ,there in my opinion a great machine.

The Fostex Model 80 is a two track reel to reel recorder than prints to 1/4" tape on 7" (or smaller) reels in one direction. This means it will have the same amount of track width as a 2" 16 track recorder. It can be run at 7.5 or 15 ips and was designed to record on 1 mm thick, +3 tape such as Quantegy 407. Since Quantegy no longer produces tape, it can use RMGI (Emtec) LPR 35, which is the equivalent of Quantegy 457, a +6 tape. Although slightly underbiased for this, using this tape will produce more high end. The 80 is a little workhorse of a machine and is intended for mixdown. It does have two mic pre-amps on each of its two channels via 1/4" inputs, so it could be used for location recording without a mixer, although there is no onboard EQ or speaker, just a stereo headphone out via a 1/4" jack and RCA outs. The recording quality is pretty good, but this machine is entirely mechanical, unlike it's big brother the 32. This means that there are no memory points, no real return to zero facilities, and no way to really do any editing of the tape. This machine features three heads (erase, record, and play) meaning that the user can monitor from the tape a split second after a recording is being made. This is especially useful during mixdown because what you're hearing is literally what you're going to get as an end result. It could also be used for slap tape delay in conjunction with another recorder. In the time I owned this machine I was very happy with it. The only issue I ever had was the capstan belt was too worn. This will be apparent by playback slowing down or even not working at all; it will not affect rewind and fast-forward.

One of my Genelecs 8020a broke down and I needed something not expensive as a temporary solution. I also have the yamaha msp5, which I basically use to clean up the vocals. (They are fatiguing and unpleasant: A tool to control the mids!). I have used the Genelec 1030s for 1 year in a post-production studio and have the Celestion Ditton 33 and Teac lx for hi-fi listening. My goal was to find a pair of speakers that allowed me to work while my 8020s were repaired, and that, once the latter were repaired, they wouldn't be redundant. Everything for the price of one single 8020... My yamaha msp5s being currently on the other end of the country were not an option. Here are my first impressions: I must add that I have a "project" studio, so I was also looking for speakers to write music, not only to mix. Within this context, I was pleasantly surprised: Even if the Fostex seem less defined, less precise and brilliant than the Genelecs, the stereo image seems larger. I can hear movements in the stereo field much more clearly than with the 8020s. I can also here better the lows. In general, they are far from being ridiculous compared to my other, most expensive, model... I don't know if they are broken in or not, since they were the model on display, so I'll have to wait and see in a couple of days...For the time being, I'm very happy with them. We'll see how they perform with analog synths: I love to improvise a lot, which sometimes demands a huge dynamic response. That was always a problem with the small Genelecs...I was sometimes forced to use small PA speakers for songwriting and then use the 8020s for premixing. What I like least is their finish, which isn't bad, but it definitely can't be compared to the Genelecs or the Focal CMS. They don't look cheap, but they are far from the quality of the Finnish! They don't have a protection grille for the woofers and tweeters, so be careful... What I like the most: Comprehensive connections: Jack, XLR + RCA, built-in power supply for each speaker (models that amplify both speakers from one single speaker should be avoided, in my opinion). - To finish this initial review, I'd say that at this price point there are lots of models to choose from (yamaha hs5, krk, maybe the mackie mr5, and fostex). The pm04 seem a bit light to me. I don't include here the m-audio and similar "disguised multimedia accessories" that don't allow for even the most basic work. I think this Fostex are a good option for people looking for their first pair of speakers and a decent second reference pair. In any case, they are the bare minimum needed. You need to get used to their frequency response, but you shouldn't have a problem with that. If you plan to mix a project with them only, you'd better use a pair of reliable headphones as well, to be on the safe side. These monitors could easily find their place in video and audio post-production facilities without a problem. For less than 400€, I would buy this pair again. With a slightly higher budget I'd take a look at the new Focal ALPHA 50 (since I can't afford the cms...)

This is one of the most influential 1/4' 8 track tape recorders within 90's electronic music, used most notably by Squarepusher and Aphex Twin. All in all it is a good piece of kit for the home studio, especially if your doing a stem mix from a DAW. I have been using it for a year now to add the warm feel of tape saturation to my mixes, and on the whole it has worked flawlessly although tape prices have sky rocketed recently but thats not the multi-tracks fault! I had used a Studer B67 which was on loan to me from a local studio but it didn't have hiss reduction and was an expensive venture to service and find parts for! Personally it was a rather large step up in price that what i had wanted to pay but i knew that the unit had been well looked after and was serviced regularly which was a great ease setter as when these things go wrong they can cost a lot to repair many times more than what they originally cost. After using it for a period of time i have started to feel that it is an integral part of my work process and my setup and would be greatly missed if anything were to go wrong with it. I think i would as i have grown to like the sound of saturation on my mixes and i think i would buy a replacement if it broke down and couldn't be repaired! Good Points. It really sets your mixes aside from the rest, adding a nice level of hiss to your mixes also it does give the ever so often said term 'warm' sound to your mixes. Plus it does look cool in the back of the studio with phono looms connected to it and the detachable transport. Bad Points. how ever much it pains me to say this there are some bad point to this piece of kit, first being the weight as it is a heavy one to carry around and although its said to be portable its unlikely that your going to be able to take it on the train to any sessions. the second and final bad point is the counter intuitive built in computer that allows you to set points in the track for fast forwarding and re-winding.

The Fostex 6301Bs are a set of small 10 watt speakers that I've used in the recording studio. I didn't use these in the studio in a traditional sense for mixing or even monitoring, as they were set up as speakers in the live room for talk back purposes. So while I didn't get to use these in a traditional sense in the studio, they were still quite helpful and did a great job for what they were being used for. These monitors are quite small as they are easily movable. They've got both 1/4" and XLR connections. SOUNDS I've only used the Fostex 6301B for talkback purposes, but for this application the 6301Bs did a superb job. However, I can't speak to how well they would work in a traditional studio setting if you wanted to use these for monitoring during tracking. However, I would imagine that they would be best suited as an extra set of speakers to check mixes on, rather than as a main set for any sort of use as they are simply too small for that. They also would seem to work well for simply listening to music on or for other media applications. OVERALL OPINION For such as small set of monitors, the Fostex 6301B are pretty cool little speakers. I can't say that I'd recommend them for any sort of extended studio use, but for simple jobs or for checking mixes on, they'll do fine. They definitely had a clean and full sound for the talkback application that I used them for as previously mentioned. The price isn't too expensive, but for 10 watt speakers it definitely doesn't make them the cheapest speakers on the market. Having said this, if you want a small set of monitors that actually sound pretty good, the price is actually pretty reasonable. I don't think that I've used any other monitors other than headphones made by Fostex that I can think of, but in my eyes they are definitely a trustworthy company that makes reliable gear...

The Fostex 5030 is a simple eight channel match box that converts impedance. It will convert unbalanced to balanced signals and vice versa. It is an analog piece of equipment that has eight XLR inputs and eight XLR outputs along with eight RCA inputs and eight RCA outputs. So while you can convert impedance with RCA and XLR connections, it isn't compatible with 1/4" connections. This all comes in a rack mountable piece of gear that will take up take spaces in a traditional casing. UTILIZATION Setting up and using the Fostex 5030 is as simple as making your connections. Nothing else needs to be done once you've plugged everything up, as it will pretty much do what it does on it's own. There isn't anything at all on the front panel of this, so it's not like you have parameters to manipulate. A manual surely isn't necessary with the 5030. SOUND QUALITY It's hard to tell the sound quality of something like this without shooting it out with something else, which I wasn't able to do, but from what I can tell on it's own, the Fostex 5030 does a fine job of converting impedance without adding any noise or anything like that. There isn't too much about the 5030 to know in terms of sound quality, as it does the job as advertised. OVERALL OPINION The Fostex 5030 isn't the type of outboard gear that needs too much of an explanation. It's something that you either need or you don't need. If you're converting eight channels of impedance using these types of connections, the 5030 will work for you, and if you don't need it, then you don't. I haven't seen any other eight channel impedance converters like this one to compare it to. I don't believe that finding one of these would be that easy since they're pretty rare, but those who need it will certainly seek it out. The Fostex 5030 gets the job done with reliability and is more than suitable for eight channel impedance conversion.

We were hunting for an affordable pair of monitors for a music production and DJ setup - auditioned extensively side by side models from KRK, Yamaha, Tannoy and JBL - and it was immediately apparent that the 8.4.1 was serving up a much more natural and full sound for around the same price. Side-by-side with the KRK Rockit 8 the 8.4.1 has a much deeper and rounder bottom end, with mid range detail that made that KRK sound very 2 dimensional and flat in comparison. It's clear that by using a 3 way monitor, you get a much more accurate representation of the full frequency spectrum, with each driver in the monitor more able to properly do its work. I hadn't used many 3 way monitors in this price range since the Alesis Monitor 2's, and can honestly say that now this kind of tech is available at this price point, it really makes some of the other similarly priced 2-way offerings around seem significantly inferior. SOUNDS The PM 8.4.1 translates mixes very accurately - deep basses with a full, round character and spectacularly detailed mids. The tops are smooth and precise - these speakers don't create any fatigue in the listener, and hours spent in front of them have passed with smooth mixes resulting and no excess wear and tear on the ears. Stereo is very evident with a stable center image. When switching between the KRK Rockit 8 and these in store the difference was profound - the Rockits sounded kind of choked and cardboardy while the 8.4.1s sounded open and spacious. For their second purpose as monitors for the DJ setup these speakers have performed brilliantly - a huge fat sound is available with the twist of the volume knob - and the 3 way arrangement appears to serve up an enormous amount of bass and volume when you need it. OVERALL OPINION These speakers really do seem to be the superior choice when comparing what's available for the same money. It makes sense that a well built 3 way system will perform better than a similarly spec'd 2 way one - and the proof is really in the listening with these speakers. As always with monitors, only your own ears can tell you what sounds best to you - and side-by-side these monitors sounded like they were on the next level from my experience. Mixes made on the 8.4.1s have translated really well, their precision is fantastic, they're great to listen to for hours on end, and when needed they can wind up and pump. Would definitely recommend to anyone in the market for a great quality speaker for under $1000.

I've been playing guitar, bass, keys and harmonica for probably 20 odd years and have been writing songs and lyrics for just as long. I think there are two types of players, ones that can sit down and play a lick from every song you've ever heard of - and the other crowd with whom I associate - the song writers. Nothing impresses me more than someone who can compose, arrange and perform their own brand of music. Paid $400 online for this unit. I was looking for something portable to take up in the mountains to camp with me when I go on one of my songwriting weekends. I wanted something with a decent sized hard drive (this unit has a 40GB drive), but didn't need a built in CD burner as I do most of my final mixdown and mastering on my PC at home. The recording quality is very good for a unit in this price range. The Fostex MR8HD provides a USB and S/PDIF port so it's very easy to digitally master or transfer files between this unit and your PC. The twin headphones out are helpful, especially when working with someone in tandem. The guitar amp and microphone simulations are basically an afterthought. In no way do they compete with the COSM simulations from Boss or the work that Line 6 has done with the POD series. First rate. I've always admired Fostex's quality and attention to detail and I am impressed with this unit. Overall, for 400 bucks it's a decent unit with just the right amount of functionality for me. I can't complain. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased my mr-8 at a houston guitar center for $230 used after a lot of loking around for the best price. I needed good quality, cheap recording gear for my demo fast, and the mr-8 seemed to deliever in all of the reviews i read on it. I absolutely love the ease of use. I was able to record as soon as i got my compact flash card (a 128MB card comes with a new unit for storage, but i bought a 512 MB compact flash card because i heard the 128 wasnt enough space. Plus, since i bought mine used, it didn't come with a card) It works hand in had with my computer, all i needed was a regular USB cord, the software for tranfering tracks straight from the fostex website, and a demo of Adobe Audition 1.5 (30 day trial) for mixing which by the way is awesome. I got very professional sounding recordings. It's a good idea to invest in a seperate mixer to hookup to the mr-8 so that you can feed in more than 2 mics at a time and have more control over the sound than you would have with just the unit itself. For my demo, i used a berhinger because they tend to have decent quality gear for a fraction of other brands equipment. The mastering effects on the mr8 are pretty admirable for the low price. You MUST look at the list off of the fostex website to make sure you're buying a good compact flash card (if you chose to buy one with more storage, which would be smart)that is compatable with the mr8 because not all of them are. There's a built in mic on the unit, but it's smart to hook in your own mic. I personally use audio technica for my budget. I've dropped it.... more than once to say the least from tripping over cords and what not, and it's held up just fine. The quality is great, i couldnt aske for more. I love my unit and even if i could afford it right now, i don't believe i'd be purchasing a bigger unit simply because of the ease of use and portability of the mr8. It uses batteries for added portability if it so suits you which was an attribute that i really liked. The sky's the limit on this powerful little machine and my home recordings have reached CD quality level because of this unit. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Purchased through Musician's Friend for home studio use. Price paid: $699.99 US Ease of use. Durability. Only one FX buss. No compression on tracking. The built-in mic pre-amp bites. Only 6 tracks for tracking. One two tracks can be recorded at a time. The construction is rugged. Other reviews have noted how heavy this unit is in comparison to comparable units by Zoom and Boss. This is due to Fostex, having built equipment for home project studios for over 25 years, using a metal chassis rather than bakelite or thermoplastic. Although others have commented on the buttons collapsing, when one visits forums such as homerecording.com, the comments on this problem are not directed to the VF-80, but the lighterweight MR-8. Regardless, this is not a significant problem. The buttons respond to a light touch and do not require pounding keys like an old cassette deck. While it is true that this is not a true 8-track unless one mixes and masters to an outboard digital unit such as an ADAT unit or a standalone CD recording deck, for a beginner in home recording who is not planning on recording a full band, it is probably the best on the market. In the Fostex forum at homerecording.com, others have commented that the learning curve on this unit is not as steep as for comparable Boss or Zoom units. I have found for the most part that operation is very intuitive--but I keep the owner's manual handy just in case I get into a jam. While the FX are limited, with some experimentation in the Mixing and Mastering stages, one can come up with some truly interesting results. I managed to duplicate a vintage early 50s Sun studio sound. As noted, the mic pre-amps are not very good. An outboard pre-amp or mixer is almost mandatory. All in all, this is a fine piece of equipment, but we must remember, great music is not dependent on great equipment but on talent, heart, soul, and hard work. Having said that, I'll get off my soap box and close for now. ;-) This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I bought these speakers (pair) from Cookes Band Instruments, Norwich, UK. I was looking for active monitoring speakers to put a Line6 POD2.3 through. I was advised to listen to these speakers, due to their flat response, and good all-round sound. I tried them, and they did what I wnted them to do. Cost: £249.00 The sound is natural. The bass is tight, yet smooth, with a strong sense of clarity. The bass parts in music are easily audible. The mid frequencies are smooth and well balanced, it is also extremely clear. The treble is crisp, but is also just rounded at the very top end, as not to be annoying, or obtrusive. There is great soundstaging, and amazing detail in the stereo field. The overall sound is very warm, and smooth, but highly detailed. A great sound. Clean POD sounds, are awesome. There could have been more connections at the back, this would allow me to connect devices more easily, but 1/4" TRS jack is acceptable. There is a separate volume on each speaker, wih makes it hard o get the same volume on each, but careful twiddling will sort it out. The volume could have been on the front, to make life easier. The units seem incredibly robust. Everything looks tight, and well held. The control is solid. There is no rattling at higher volumes. These speakers are a must to listen to, if your on a budget of £250. They sound absoultely amazing. If your going to mix music, or play POD, or other type units through them, then these are the thing. Warm, clean, tight, and detailed, awesome! This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

$99 on ebay simply amazing - Everything just felt so right - it is so neutral/perfect sounding that i heard dynamics like never before because the entire freq. range was so smooth Bass gives you the feeling of that superb deepness without purposely enriching instruments that shouldn't reach too low I want an instruction manual that explains the technology - i mean it's patented anyway, that would be cool. Construction is good - styling is nothing more than what it needs to be. they've got their heads on straight at fostex. absolutely involving headphones - if you have really good cd's and like music, then these headphones are something worth having. This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com