Deity launches pocket recorder with 32-bit float audio and 20-hour battery life

The camera may capture a beautiful scene, but bad audio can ruin the whole thing. Deity Microphones hopes to prevent that with the PR-2ii, the second generation of its pocket-sized recorder, available now in US and Japan.

Designed for videographers, documentary crews and content creators, the PR-2ii introduces a new dual-ADC preamp that Deity claims reduces self-noise by 5.4 dB compared with its predecessor. It supports 32-bit float mono recording, which provides additional headroom for unexpected volume changes, alongside conventional 24-bit stereo recording. 

Perhaps more importantly, the recorder now includes PSRAM-backed buffering, designed to preserve usable audio if recording is interrupted or a file becomes corrupted. Anyone who has ever discovered a damaged recording after wrapping up a shoot will probably appreciate that addition.

Deity has also added IP54 dust and splash resistance, a brighter 600-nit display and an integrated belt clip. The 55 g recorder supports microSD cards up to 1 TB, wired and wireless timecode synchronization, and remote control through the Sidus Audio app available on Apple Store and Google Play Store. Battery life exceeds 20 hours on two AA batteries, according to Deity. That's less than the original PR-2's advertised 30 hours, although the brighter 600-nit display and upgraded electronics could help explain the difference.

The PR-2ii package includes an Avora lavalier microphone and costs $259 in US or ¥45,100 in Japan.

Whether the cleaner preamp and recording protection deliver under real-world conditions remains to be tested. Still, for a device whose main job is to go unnoticed, preventing an expensive reshoot would be quite an achievement.