chrismedr

well, worst case I can imagine is that you only notice that some solder points came loose when it really hurts, so personally I'd try the freezer and glue trick first. agreed they are very sturdy tools though, so using them as a hammer might be fun ; )

yes, for me that implies the same thing. the other thing is that personally, I trust that a company who's whole existence is based on reliable, high quality recording spends some time on thinking how to make recordings as redundant as possible and they probably come up with a better solution then I could. And if in doubt, it's best to clarify with the engineers (as Brent did) rather then wildly speculate. Tempted to try the pulling the card next time I have my recorder fired up ; )

IMO they should just put in a REC button on the MixPre-D

I could download without logging into dropbox, just ignore the sign in screen and then click on the download button top right.

just seen a short hands-on video which shows the size nicely: http://www.newsshooter.com/2016/11/21/interbee-2016-hands-on-with-lectrosonics-tiny-pdr-audio-recorder-with-timecode-sync/ also interesting that he mentions the split gain mode resulting in about 110db dynamic range total (opposed to about 105 in mono mode), which clears up some of my confusing math earlier.

I agree that it's a fine app, but also agree on what Rick said above: If you ever want to send the audio over to protools or the like for sound editing/mixing then it's a real pain - which might be not unimportant on a forum of audio professionals ; )

if I got this right, the original question was about the short screw-in-between filter (CUT 60) and Soundwil gave his opinion about the XLR version (LC 60 U). specs on both: http://www.schoeps.de/en/products/lc/specs http://www.schoeps.de/en/products/cut60/specs and the curves (afaik the CUT 60 is the same as the CUT 1 on default settings) Schoeps_Manual_CUT-090301_1388735774.pdf Schoeps-Manual_LC_03-2009.pdf so the CUT 60 is 24dB per octave (not sure if 3rd order or 4th) and before the mic-preamp and the LC 60 U is 18dB per octave (3rd order) and after mic-preamp (but can be used with any mics). probably both do a very nice haven't used either of them (but planning to buy one, so curious about real world experience too)

might be talking about the LC 60 U (the XLR version)?

in the video they mention 1690EUR + tax. just seen it on a UK website for 1366GBP+VAT while at the same place the CMIT 5U is listet at 1412GBP+VAT, so I think it's likely it will be some 50EUR/GBP/USD under the 5U in most places. ps: for comparison: the 4017C is 955GBP+VAT and the 8060 is 605GBP+VAT. all lovely mics : )

how much extra an OS is worth depends on so many things. I've been on OSX for many many years and know the shortcuts, the tricks and the quirks, so for me it's definitely worth a few hundred bucks. IBM just published a study that says it saves them $265 to $535 over 4 years per employee using a mac. But for somebody in the tax business or webserver business, or somebody who has been using Linux for 20 years, switching to OSX would be a disaster. As for the applications: I agree with Constantin that most (actually all) in your list are not comparable - like if I need Premiere for my workflow, no way I can replace it with FCPX. Both are editing apps that have their strengths but they definitely are not interchangeable on complex tasks. well, Final Cut X so far had 3 major updates (and many minor ones) and all of them were free, so It will likely continue that way (unless they suddenly kill it, like what happened with FCP7 or Aperture or Shake etc). It's kinda obvious that we all have our preferences depending on specific needs and on what we are used to. For those who happen to like OSX we're stuck with apple hardware, for better or worse. I find some machines beautiful, expensive power machines that are marvels to use (like macbook pros), nice but somewhat overpriced mini desktops (MacMinis), really good all-in-ones-if-you-like-this-type-of-thing (iMacs), obsolete and limited workstations (MacPros), and non-existent would-be-great-to-have affordable towers with extension capabilities. On the Windows side there's obviously a lot bigger selection of hardware, specially on the cheaper side. There are some downsides to that too of course.

I'm in the other camp on this one - I'd much rather have a smaller unit and the "non-standard" battery. I usually have some AAA with me anyway, but even if I didn't I'd be glad to carry a couple of extra AAA enloop and a pack of lithium as a backup. they are so light and hardly take up any space. The battery door sounds a bit worrying, I would hope that the Lectro engineers opened and closed that door some thousand times to make sure it holds up though.

ah, yes that makes more sense... might be worth to clarify that in the spec sheet (like: in split mode: main track SNR = 105dB, backup track SNR = XXdB). If the backup track measures 90+dB SNR or so, it all works out, even with my dodgy math ; ) Thanks for taking the time to jump in Chris

Well, I didn't mean to suggest that it was the better way to keep everything down. I was just wondering what is the benefit (apart from maybe less confusion for the editor). An example to make my question clearer: Let's say I have a scene where one one line is shouted and one is a quiet whisper, like I have a 60db difference (extreme to make the point). So in split mode, I set the levels that the loud part is just below clipping on the backup track and has a SNR of 80dB. which means my whisper will be recorded at -42db on the main track with a SNR of 38dB (80 - 42) In mono mode, I would set my levels so that the shout would be just below clipping (if I don't want to use the limiters), which means it would be recorded with a SNR of 105dB. The whisper would then be be 60dB down, which if my math makes sense would result in a SNR of 45dB (105-60). so in mono mode the shout would have a benefit of +25dB and the whisper of +7dB (and if split mode disables the limiter the difference would be likely even grater in most cases). maybe I'm misreading the specs and the 80dB SNR in split mode counts only on the reduced track (and the main track still keeps 105db), then it would only be a difference of the 7dB mentioned above but even then it wouldn't really give me more signal on the whisper and less on the shouting (or would it?). Chris Edit: just seen the replies by Larry and Karl so my confusion is probably short lived : )

Larry, one more question about the split gain mode if I may... the specs say: which looks like you'd give up 25db to be able to record a backup track 18db lower. I probably confuse somethings here, but wouldn't it be easier to just record the mono mode 18db too low and then boost the signal 18db in post which theoretically would still have 7db better SNR then the split mode? As said I likely have a thinking error here since SNR numbers are not my strong side. On the bigger picture, love the functionality and form factor and I'm sure they will sound great! Chris

true ; ) but I would even do that on a razor to improve battery life and avoid having the fan on full blast all the time... what I don't understand is why you treat the macbook pro like it was a dog, while apart from GPU processing it's probably one of the fastest machines out there. I get that some people don't like the apple cult, or don't want to spend that kind of money on a laptop, or have specific needs that simply make it a poor match. but I don't really understand how somebody who has used them could dispute they are great machines (as I'm sure is the razor). anyway, back to the topic: I imagine in the transition period the USB-C ports will be a bit of a pain - certainly awkward if you just want to plug in a clients disk and realise you left the adapter at home. on the other hand, I can't wait for USB2 and 3 cables to die - don't even want to think about the amount of time and nerves I've wasted over the years, fumbling trying to get the proper orientation!

I don't need luck with that - I'd transcode those to HD ProRes files for editing anyway and enjoy incredibly fluent playback and great battery life on a quiet machine which is easy to carry around. The one on the 15" actually are: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207256

well, agreed I'd probably want a dedicated audio interface for studio monitors, but I'm still glad that i can plug in some HD-25 headphones on the road to check an edit (or just to listen to music on the train). Actually, I'm quite surprised that people criticise the inclusion of a 3.5 jack port, apart from the USB port it's the most used port I see people around me using. well, which laptop will drive two 5K displays and still work well with some 6K RED footage at the same time? I do get that the macbook pro doesn't fit everybody's needs and it *is* quite expensive, it's just that I don't really see any better options out there for normal use (or what I consider normal use, which is professional work on the road, which means lugging the thing around a lot and be away from mains power frequently) - heavy GPU stuff like gaming and 3D is definitely different and there a macbook pro is likely a waste of money.

actually phil schiller addressed that point (and others) in an interview, and turns out they actually care about audio people ; ) http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/apple-macbook-pro-new-philip-schiller-interview-phil-iphone-ios-criticism-a7393156.html "Is it inconsistent to keep the 3.5mm headphone jack as it’s no longer on the latest iPhone?" "Not at all. These are pro machines. If it was just about headphones then it doesn’t need to be there, we believe that wireless is a great solution for headphones. But many users have setups with studio monitors, amps, and other pro audio gear that do not have wireless solutions and need the 3.5mm jack." sure looks like a nice machine. but slightly larger, heavier, slower on CPU and HD and noisier then a macbook pro. and more significant to me: about half the the battery life. on the upside, quite a chunch cheaper and will absolutely stomp the mac in GPU tasks.

yeah, it's kind of an odd situation... seems like the race to bottom have been even faster on the camera side then on the audio. I guess it's mostly because there's a lot of young people who want to get into camera work and still have a low cost life (cheap rent, no kids etc). on top of that, prices for cameras have fallen even faster then that of audio gear.

just seen on the Kortwich website that there's a VCP-M2 mini now. looks tiny and intended for the alexa mini, but tempting for a light SD633 setup too: Input : 2 x Mikrofon PH48 schaltbar ein/ausKanäle abschaltbar über Potenziometer ( 0-Stellung )Jeder Kanal einzeln regelbarAusgang: Line Level / DC Eingang: 9-18VAusgang auf:- XLR/M 5pol (Arri Alexa)- Mini Lemo 5pol gewinkelt (Arii Alexa Mini)- oder frei wählbar280,00 € netto

they look very similar (the same?) as the ambient ones mentioned earlier on. no experience with them though, I still think that Kortwich makes the slickest right angle TA3 and XLR connectors (they are pre soldered though)

if you know what you're doing and have everything set up properly and nobody knocks the cable loose it's perfectly ok ; ) In other words: run a backup to your zoom. but as soon as your moving around you probably want the sound independent form camera anyway these days, so a 744T makes more sense. you might still want to send a mono hop for scratch to the alexa in case the timecode gets messed up (the G3 will probably be rather low on levels since it doesn't have a hot output). I tried the 8050 next to the 50 and in my clumsy hands the 50 is much more forgiving and I wouldn't dare to use the 8050 on run and gun without some serious low cut filtering. I see the MKH8050 for 625 plus VAT and the MKH50 for 875 plus VAT... most shops here in germany sell the 50 for 1300-1400EUR plus tax

if you want to stay under 3000 (incl TAX) and need to buy it all at once, I'd say get a Zoom F4/F8 (as you have tentacles already), a used MKH50 for indoor (keep the NZG-3 for outdoor) and two Sennheiser AVX (note that you'll have to compensate for the delay) or G3. if you can stretch it a bit get a SD 744 or 633 instead of a zoom, a new MKH50 and 416 (they are very affordable at the moment in the UK) and better lavs for the wireless. don't forget wind protection, cables and other extras.

for what it's worth, the F4 and F8 probably get an extra fader interface: http://cinescopophilia.com/zoom-frc-8-control-panel-8-faders-f4-f8-leaked/

I've been a mac user for a long long time, so obviously I'm biased because that's what I feel most comfortable with (as is everybody else) - I did work on windows and linux occasionally too. that said, I'm quite disappointed that apple doesn't have a good tower, so I've built a hackintosh for heavy video work - not quite as trouble free as the real thing, but suits my needs at the moment. the macbook pros are really good machines though, price might not be reasonable for everybody, but specially the high end machines are just a real pleasure to use. try to find an other model that has the same combination of speed, build quality, touchpad and keyboard, screen quality, weight and battery life - you won't. In fact there are quite a few people who buy a macbook pro and install windows or linux for professional work, because they prefer the apple hardware but still want their OS.