This is a detailed measurement of a Korg MR-2000S digital audio recorder. It is an older product which I think came out in 2009. But as you will see, its performance is anything but stale. This unit has tons of functionality but I am only testing the DAC portion of it. Later I may be able to measure its ADC features which includes recording to DSD formats.
All of my testing here is done at 24-bit/48 Khz. I did not utilize the USB port. Please read my tutorial on my setup and how these tests are conducted: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/understanding-audio-measurements.2351/
Measurements
Let's start simple with frequency response:
There is a bit of peaking near cut off frequency no doubt due to digital filter. It is only +0.2 db though so inconsequential. There is also a blip around 100 Hz but that may be due to scalar in Audio Precision.
Next let's look at jitter over its S/PDIF input (which is what I used for all of my tests):
This is at the limit of my measurements and is therefore excellent. You can read the few other graphs I have also turned on as a comparison (with "x" mark).
Next let's look at my favorite measurement, linearity:
Just using my limit of 0.1 db we get about 17 bits of resolution. But this is one of those cases where we need to look at the full graph past that point. When we do we see that the error backs down and never gets out of control. Maximum error at 120 dB (20 bits of resolution ) is just 0.36 db. So very good performance here.
Let's look at some distortion measurements starting with SMPTE intermodulation:
We see that it almost matches the Topping DX7. So very good but not the best I have seen.
Here is THD+N:
Distortion is best above 3 Khz but below it loses to both Topping DX7 and Exasound E32. But it never gets worse than -100 dB. So again very good showing.
Conclusions
This is another competently designed DAC/ADC. It has no obvious flaws and is either at the top of the class or close to it. I am not sure what it sells for. I see one listed on Amazon for $899. I have no reservations on the DAC portion of Korg MR-2000S. Recommended!
If you are thinking about buying one though, do look in the manual. This is primarily a recorder and I had to actually record content with it to get it to output analog version of what is sent to it over S/PDIF. If so, it does not make for a usable DAC. The device is also complicated to program and use. So not recommended based on usability.
Bottom line, Pro guys seem to know what they are doing.
As always, I welcome comments, corrections, questions, etc. And appreciate the member who loaned it to me.
If you like this review, please consider donating funds for these types of hardware purchase using Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/audiosciencereview), or upgrading your membership here though Paypal (https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...eview-and-measurements.2164/page-3#post-59054).
All of my testing here is done at 24-bit/48 Khz. I did not utilize the USB port. Please read my tutorial on my setup and how these tests are conducted: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/understanding-audio-measurements.2351/
Measurements
Let's start simple with frequency response:
There is a bit of peaking near cut off frequency no doubt due to digital filter. It is only +0.2 db though so inconsequential. There is also a blip around 100 Hz but that may be due to scalar in Audio Precision.
Next let's look at jitter over its S/PDIF input (which is what I used for all of my tests):
This is at the limit of my measurements and is therefore excellent. You can read the few other graphs I have also turned on as a comparison (with "x" mark).
Next let's look at my favorite measurement, linearity:
Just using my limit of 0.1 db we get about 17 bits of resolution. But this is one of those cases where we need to look at the full graph past that point. When we do we see that the error backs down and never gets out of control. Maximum error at 120 dB (20 bits of resolution ) is just 0.36 db. So very good performance here.
Let's look at some distortion measurements starting with SMPTE intermodulation:
We see that it almost matches the Topping DX7. So very good but not the best I have seen.
Here is THD+N:
Distortion is best above 3 Khz but below it loses to both Topping DX7 and Exasound E32. But it never gets worse than -100 dB. So again very good showing.
Conclusions
This is another competently designed DAC/ADC. It has no obvious flaws and is either at the top of the class or close to it. I am not sure what it sells for. I see one listed on Amazon for $899. I have no reservations on the DAC portion of Korg MR-2000S. Recommended!
If you are thinking about buying one though, do look in the manual. This is primarily a recorder and I had to actually record content with it to get it to output analog version of what is sent to it over S/PDIF. If so, it does not make for a usable DAC. The device is also complicated to program and use. So not recommended based on usability.
Bottom line, Pro guys seem to know what they are doing.
As always, I welcome comments, corrections, questions, etc. And appreciate the member who loaned it to me.
If you like this review, please consider donating funds for these types of hardware purchase using Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/audiosciencereview), or upgrading your membership here though Paypal (https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...eview-and-measurements.2164/page-3#post-59054).
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