Tascam Portacapture X8 Multitrack Field Recorder

Unreliable for Professional Events – 32-bit Recording Is Not Trustworthy

I purchased the TASCAM Portacapture X8 expecting a reliable 32-bit float recorder for professional wedding work, but the real-world performance has been extremely disappointing.

Even though TASCAM advertises that 32-bit float “prevents clipping,” this unit regularly produces distorted, harsh, and unusable audio when connected to DJ consoles, speakers, or line-level outputs. What makes it worse is that the meters on the unit show everything as “normal,” but the recording ends up ruined. This has happened across different venues, DJs, and setups, so it is clearly a design issue.

The X8 is also overly sensitive to phantom power, hot signals, and line sources, causing unpredictable behavior. Sometimes it records cleanly, and other times it clips internally in a way that cannot be fixed — which defeats the purpose of buying a 32-bit float recorder in the first place.

For live events like weddings, where you only get one chance to capture audio correctly, this device is simply not dependable. I’ve lost important moments due to audio failures that shouldn’t happen with a recorder at this price point.

Great on paper, but in practice it’s unreliable. I cannot recommend it for any professional work.

Least durable device I have ever used

Microphone assembly is extremely fragile, will shatter from movement even if stored in a case. Get the ZOOM alternative if you want your gear to last more than a few days. I tried talking to their support team to replace the mic capsules and they wanted to charge $122 for a new set. The capsules are made of brittle plastic, not metal. Wish I’d known how poorly manufactured this was compared to the competition prior to purchasing.

Build quality is questionable

It records good sound. However, after one month use, one of the ruber dot disappeared 😔...Can someone help me where to order it? It looks terrible...

Excelente

Muy buen precio / calidad

Very nice

Good

0:44

unit is amazing with 1 fatal flaw

The unit itself is great but Tascam cheaped out on the build quality. The external mics are made from paper. mine broke after 5 uses. Tascam has a trash warranty and customer service. They make you send the recorder across the county and it's gone for weeks. They refuse to do anything else. buy a zoom

Issue - Caution Hold On

When the power is on, device screen will stay “Caution - Hold On” forever. Occasionally, it works but now it doesn’t work no matter what I have reset it in any possible ways. Return.

bug.

March 22, 2022

For me, it's just about perfect...

Update May 2, 2022: Tascam did indeed release new firmware that addresses my biggest gripe below. Kudos, Tascam!

-------------

I've seen all kinds of reviews about the Portacapture X8, so I wanted to put in a few words having owned and used it now for about a month and a half...

I like it a bunch.

It definitely has a few quirks, and my #1 biggest gripe is this scenario:

I'm recording in Manual mode, which I mostly do. I turn off all inputs except #3, where my condenser is plugged in with phantom power. Then I record a bit, turn it off, grab a snack and come back to continue. When I power up, now all inputs are active again and if I forget to turn off all except #3, it'll record blank audio tracks for each until I remember to turn them off.

This drives me mad, and it would be such a simple fix. That's why I often check the Tascam website for firmware upgrades. I'm sure it's in the works. I can't be the only one complaining about this.

There are a few other quirks like this here and there, but nothing quite as irritating as that.

Otherwise... This thing is fantastic. It powers my Earthworks Ethos just fine with 48v phantom, and it works very well with a Rode Podmic as well as an SM7b with no activator.

I won't talk about 32-bit float recording since there are 9000 videos about it on YouTube. Just know it's a huge selling point for this device, and it works great on the X8.

The on-board field recording mics are both amazing and awful. They sound amazing. They're very sensitive, and they record field as well as foley extremely well, in my opinion. For anything outside, the dead cat absolutely required. Don't even bother without it. The awful part is the build quality. These mics feel like cheap toys, for real. They feel like they have zero quality. I wouldn't want to drop one.

Overall, though, the build quality of the actual device is solid. Yes, it's plastic, but I don't find it at all cheap-feeling. It feels like it weighs what it should. The touch screen is pretty nice for what it is, though I have experienced some touch-sensing issues (one of the quirks of this thing).

I've seen reports of a thin noise band in the upper frequencies (above the audible range for humans) and I can say I've also seen this in my testing. It has zero effect on my recordings, but could be an issue if those high frequencies make it into your post production edits, ie you're lowering the pitch of the recording and now those high frequencies enter into the audible range... Not an issue for me but worth thinking about for pro foley artists and such.

I bought this fully intending on returning it if any of the issues I read about were issues for me. In reality, outside of that track resetting issue that drives me bonks, I have no serious complaints. In fact, it's the opposite. I've grown to love this device and use it a lot indoors. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I'm hoping to use this alongside my Sony ZV-1 to create a whole bunch of quality content.

Your mileage may vary, and the Zoom F3 is certainly an attractive option in the 32-bit float world, but for me, this is sorta the machine I would have designed for myself if I, you know, did that sort of thing.

Oh, one note. The bluetooth adapter... It's really sort of fantastic. It should not cost 40 bucks, but it does. It might fit a little loose. But it really is quite fantastic. It lets you monitor (in real time, no discernible latency) your audio levels visually (there's no audio passthrough to your smart device, beware) and adjust all the settings right on your phone/tablet, thereby eliminating any sensitivity issues the built-in touchscreen may pose. It's not a must-have, but it's slick and makes the overall experience of using the X8 that much more fun.

I definitely recommend giving the X8 a shot. Might not be your cup of tea but it is mine. If Tascam ever releases higher (build) quality onboard mics, I'll be the first in line. But I suspect the included cheapo plastic ones will do the job until they break/melt/evaporate/whatever cheap plastic does....

Tascam, if you're listening? Be awesome and keep pushing firmware updates. You can own this space if you continue to innovate on the products that are already in peoples' hands.

Firmware nightmare

I usually never write reviews but sadly I feel like I should report that this is one of the worst audio recorders I have ever used. For professional use this recorder is not ready for prime time. I've had countless crashes and firmware glitches where the wheel won't work or gain controls won't even come up when you click on them. Also the manual mode will always make an extra mix wave file even if you are only using one input. Also the manual mode will always start with all inputs activated and if you forget to turn them all off, you will be stuck with 6 wav files for just one hit of the record button. Not only did it freeze up during a recording but at one point it started blipping and bleeping with not even a microphone plugged in and I couldn't get it to go away. Eventually entering manual mode got it to go away. There are too many touchscreen options that are critical recording features that I would not leave up to a glitchy touch screen or firmware to control. I have had several Zoom recorders and not one exhibited even the smallest bit of unreliability that this recorder has. I do professional gigs like weddings and promotional videos for higher end companies and thankfully I did not take this with me on any of those type of sessions. Definitely go for the Zoom h6 or f6. Both are way easier to use and light years more reliable. Hopefully Tascam will address this and release way more solid firmware but the most recent release of their firmware still did not address the extremely bad issues that this recorder exhibits. Sorry y'all hate to be this guy but if you are doing professional gigs do not use this recorder. It is not ready for prime time but hopefully someday it will be. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer thank you for reading hope this helps you.

1:42