See how this recorder stacks up in our portable recorder comparison chart.

I've been itching to get my hands on Korg's new palm-size, high-definition audio recorder ever since it was announced last autumn. The hype said the MR-1's breakthrough technology would fundamentally change the way we think about digital audio. While I won't go that far, it certainly got my attention.

(Feel free to jump to the audio examples before reading the entire article.)

The MR-1 records at a variety of resolutions, including several high-definition, 1-bit formats. (Jump to specs table.) It can also record in MP3 format to save space. Behind the handsome metal surface lies a 20-gig hard drive; the sides feature connections for audio I/O, USB 2.0, and the external power supply. Korg says the rechargeable internal battery will last up to 2½ hours. The company plans to introduce an external AA battery pack this fall to extend operating time. According to Korg, any external battery pack with the proper voltage and connector will work; see the MR Juice sidebar for details.

The MR-1 ships with a faux leather case and a remarkably good little stereo mic. It also includes a clever little mic bracket that's threaded to fit standard camera tripods.

While I'm on the subject of portability, the MR-1's AC power supply weighs a hefty 15.5 oz—more than the recorder itself. However, it handles voltages from 100 to 240V to help accommodate the power configurations you might encounter outside of North America. (You'll need to provide local plug adapters.)

So the MR-1 looks like a strong candidate for field recording right out of the box. But why should you consider it when there are so many choices on the market? To answer that, let me talk a bit about bits.

The palm-size Korg MR-1 records in the same format as Super Audio CDs, promising unprecedented mobile audio quality.

Playing the Bits

Digital audio is all about sample rate and bit depth. CDs set the standard at 44.1 kHz/16-bit resolution. In other words, the level of the audio is measured 44,100 times a second and rounded to one of 65,536 levels. (2¹⁶ = 65,536.) Why this was chosen is beyond the scope of this review, but the short answer has to do with the cost of data storage and the limits of human hearing.

If you've been around for a while, you might remember how excited we got when Alesis released the 48kHz/20-bit ADAT-XT recorder. Why? Because with each increase in bit depth and sample rate the amount of information captured goes up. That translates to greater audio detail.

In standard Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) digital recording, each additional bit doubles the number of values the recorder can use to quantify the level of each sample. (20 bits produce 2²⁰ values, or 262,144 levels). That leads to fewer rounding errors, lower noise, and increased dynamic range, the range between the loudest and softest sounds a recorder can capture. The improvements are particularly noticeable in quiet signals such as reverb tails, which sound fizzy at lower bit depths.

Increasing the sampling rate extends the recorder's high-frequency response, producing a clearer sound. (The theoretical maximum frequency a recorder can capture is half the sampling rate, although real-world tradeoffs limit that. For instance, the steep filters necessary to exclude higher frequencies distort the signal.) Today, even my inexpensive consumer audio interface easily handles sample rates up to 192kHz at 24 bits.