Tascam FR-AV2

With superb mic preamps, 32‑bit recording and comprehensive timecode facilities, the Tascam FR‑AV2 is a miniature marvel.

When I started working in pro audio, a professional two‑channel audio recorder was the size and weight of a concrete block. It consumed 12 D‑cells each working day, could only record 25 minutes of audio (at 7.5ips) on a five‑inch reel of long‑play tape, and required a skilled operator to maximise the audio quality because the usable dynamic range was barely 50dB! By the mid‑1990s, of course, digital audio changed all that, first with the 16‑bit R‑DAT format, then with 24‑bit solid‑state recorders and, more recently, with 32‑bit floating‑point recording. Each technological evolution reduced the recorder’s size and weight, and today’s stereo recorders are barely large enough to accommodate the batteries and XLR connectors. Meanwhile, solid‑state media and lithium batteries allow continuous all‑day recording with ease...

And that pretty much describes Tascam’s new FR‑AV2, a miraculously compact professional stereo audio recorder with a robust fibreglass casing. It measures just 99 x 80 x 40mm and when loaded with a trio of AA batteries it weighs only 267g. If the numbers are hard to appreciate, they make the FR‑AV2 fractionally larger and heavier than the Zoom F3, which is its closest equivalent, but the differences aren’t significant in any practical sense.

Features

Tascam’s FR‑AV2 delivers professional‑quality, two‑channel audio recording, with sample rates of 48, 96, or 192 kHz in either 24‑bit linear or 32‑bit floating‑point files, using the broadcast WAV (BWF) format. Recordings are made onto a single microSD, microSDHC or microSDXC card, and data capacities of up to 512GB are supported. The memory card plugs into a slot behind a rubber seal on the right‑hand side of the recorder, alongside a USB‑C socket and on/off slide‑switch. Usefully, the FR‑AV2 features an automatic file closing system to prevent loss of already recorded material in the event of power failure.

The miniature memory card format is not a very practical one for physical exchanges with a card reader to transfer data to a computer. Instead, a more practical solution is linking the recorder directly to the computer over a USB 2.0 connection, and accessing the data as a remote storage device — it’s compatible with Windows 10/11 and macOS 13/14/15. A secondary application for the USB socket allows the FR‑AV2 to be configured as a 2x2 USB audio interface (supporting 48 and 96 kHz samples rates only), again with 24‑bit fixed or 32‑bit float quantisation.

Bluetooth connectivity is an optional extra, in the form of the AK‑BT2 adaptor — and this not only supports synchronisation facilities, but also remote monitoring.If the quarter‑inch threaded insert on the base of the recorder and 48kHz sample rate option didn’t give it away already, the FR‑AV2 is heavily optimised for use with video cameras. It boasts rock‑steady timecode synchronisation features with 3.5mm mini‑jack input and output sockets on the lower side panel for physical connections to any third‑party timecode sync’ing equipment. This is a really useful facility, with support for all the standard video frame rates. Moreover, a socket on the top panel of the machine accepts Tascam’s optional AK‑BT2 Bluetooth adaptor. This not only provides wireless timecode transmission/reception, but also remote stereo audio monitoring, BEXT and iXML metadata entry, and full remote control via Tascam’s Recorder Connect app. Both iOS (16/17/18) and Android (12/13/14) operating systems are supported for the Bluetooth app, and it’s also compatible with Atomos timecode devices.

Even more usefully, when not required for timecode I/O, those same mini‑jack connections double up as unbalanced stereo line inputs and...