Jeff Wexler Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 I am posting comments made by Don Coufal on the new site he has put up Moving Microphones regarding his testing of the new Zaxcom 992 boom box: "I have done further testing with the TRX 992 and continue to be impressed with it's superior sound quality for both the transmitted audio as well as it's transmitted IFB return. My conclusion is that a hard line cable probably still has the advantage in over all frequency response and reliability. First- frequency response. 1. Zaxcom has achieved near perfection when it comes to the audio signal transmitted from the microphone. Discerning ears will be able to tell slight differences but the overall effect is most desirable. For wireless transmission Zaxcom has certainly raised the bar here. 2. The IFB is by far better then anything on the market today. There is very little difference when comparing the direct output of the microphone to the return from the IFB. One could argue that there is a slight difference in both the High end and low end. From my conversations with Glenn at Zaxcom, he believes that they can make some corrections to the low end but are probably limited in the high end. Even so, for most people this will seem unnecessary. Zaxcom has done a remarkable job of achieving high quality audio from a IFB return. Second-Reliability. Here is where anything wireless still has a disadvantage. As far as the transmission range goes, I believe Zaxcom can achieve about the same results as other wireless units in use today. It still depends on your antenna choice, crowding of the airwaves, others near you on your frequencies and many anomalies that effect wireless microphones. With both the audio and IFB from the TRX 992 the biggest issue to work out is reception. So as I see it, choosing the best, most effiecent antenna system for the most reliability will be the largest task at hand. The audio quality has been achieved. One last point I will mention is price difference. I will leave this up to others to figure out. I will say that the TRX 992 will most likely be a bit more expensive but you will also get things that no other comparable units can supply like recording ability with time code, audio quality, IFB quality and remote features." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted February 23, 2009 Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 thanks for that Jeff. i have a loan unit for a job i am doing tuesday and wednesday and will see how it compares with using my trx700 and a sennheiser ifb. though hopefully the seeming lack of availability of vpx batteries in th UK wont be too much of a problem. unless we shoot for more than 4 hours of course ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted February 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2009 thanks for that Jeff. i have a loan unit for a job i am doing tuesday and wednesday and will see how it compares with using my trx700 and a sennheiser ifb. though hopefully the seeming lack of availability of vpx batteries in th UK wont be too much of a problem. unless we shoot for more than 4 hours of course ;-) Glenn has said that they will produce a battery holder/carrier that fits the 992 battery compartment. This battery carrier will accept disposable or rechargeable batteries, I imagine in the AA size, which should make the battery system a little more flexible. - Jeff Wexler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Trew Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 I finally got a chance to evaluate the Zaxcom TRX-992. My review may be considered too long for this forum, so I decided to put it on the Trew Audio blog site. The article is called "Caution... Cutting edge ahead". Those interested can see it here: http://www.trewaudio.com/audioflow/. Best, Glen Trew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProSound Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 Glen, I think your review was very frank and honest, I wish that zaxcom would keep there manuals more up to date and have a FAQ knowledge base on there website like lectrosonics. I like my zaxcom products but I think should gather more user input during development. Having Private line talk back would have been high on my list too for features that needed to be added Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 I had a long discussion with Gordon from Lectrosonics two or three years ago about designing a system that would allow the boom man to talk to the mixer without retracting ten feet of pole to talk into the microphone. We discussed a voice activated and a switchable option on the boomers headset controlled by a silent trigger on the pole which would route directly to a comm module on the board, and stuff like that. Nothing came of it. I agree with Whitney that this would be the final touch to Zaxcom's very well thought out addition to the sound man's toolkit. Mick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 i used a trx992 last week on a job i was swinging on. normally i use a trx700 and a sennheiser ew100 for my feed from the cart. the sound of the 992 on the boom was what i would expect from the system. and the high quality mode on the ifb was pretty good. you have to make sure you have the correct firmware in your ifb100 fro this to work -Glenn kindly emailed me the latest version. Billy Sarokin mentioned on ramps that in hiQ mode, you lose remote control and timecode sending capability and i agree with Billy that i would much rather have the remote control functionality than higher quality ifb feed. because you can listen to the boom direct from the trx992, i can get by with a lofi feed from the desk. the release notes say that for the private line function to work, your receiver needs to have firmware x83 or x78 for this to work, so if you have an older revision - like me, you receiver will need to go back to zaxcom. i thought the talkback mode would work using the stereo mode, switching between the left channel for the main feed and right for the private line, but the trx992 works in mono mode (if you have it in stereo, you lose the ifb in the headphones completely) and activating the private line switches the output on the receiver. using it, i didnt mind the weight on my belt, it is pretty light. i had a loon curly jumper cable between the 992 and my loon pole, which worked out fine when we were going for a take, but if i wanted to put the pole down, i needed to either pull off the trx992 and disconnect my headphones or disconnect the cable from the boom which means losing sound for the ifb feed to director etc. either way, its not ideal. i also missed the extra weight of the trx700 at my end of the pole, but that me just being lazy. but i think, for me, i prefer the trx700 and separate ifb. i just wish the 700 had the remote control options so you can set the gain from the cart and timecode and recording if need be. there is a good argument for hearing the boom straight off the pre-amp, but as i use cheapish in ear phones rather than hd25s or similar, i only need to be able to hear what my mixer is telling me and a reasonable idea of what i am getting on the mic and still keep a bit of an ear out for whats going on around me. (i would like to use something better, but am reluctant to spend the money on some moulded earpieces, but i reckon thats another thread) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthias Richter Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 I have private talkback wirelessly with my boom op via a dedicated Sennheiser G2 system. Works wonderfully. do you mean a transmitter on your cart for PL from YOU to your BoomOp or a transmitter on the BoomOp? That would be 2 tx and 1 rx on the BoomOps belt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Trew Posted March 5, 2009 Report Share Posted March 5, 2009 Good review but with respect to item #3 - I have private talkback wirelessly with my boom op via a dedicated Sennheiser G2 system. Works wonderfully. like you mentioned, There has always been the ability to rig a separate wireless channel for the boom op to talk back on, but this would not be considered a true talkback system. A talkback system would include a silent push-to-talk for the boom op, a remote activated muting function for the receiver at the mixer end, and a way for the boom ob to hear side tone (their own voice). The Zaxcom 992 has all of these features, but with the limitations discussed in my review. Glen Trew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 That was a really good review--it made how the box worked clear to me for the first time. I think they need to work on the talkback aspect--having the boom mic mute in the mix while the boom op speaks is problematic. But....close. (But....so expensive...) Philip Perkins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Trew Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Sorry for the continued cross-posting, but because some of my TRX992 review had to do with information missing in the manual, and because Zaxcom has issued a revised manual that now has that information, I have added a related post today at the original blog: http://www.trewaudio.com/audioflow/2009/03/05/caution-cutting-edge-ahead/comment-page-1/#comment-718. Thanks, Glen Trew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthias Richter Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 still unclear to me. Your BoomOp got 2 TX? One plugon for the boom-mic and one lav in a second TX on him? And that lav is open all the time and goes always to your cans? That must be very distracting no? But I`m with you that a tx directly on the pole is the better option. I always want a signal from the set even if the mic is set aside. Matthias Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 But I`m with you that a tx directly on the pole is the better option. I always want a signal from the set even if the mic is set aside. Matthias I like to have the boom mic active to me, at the sound cart, just as you mention, but it seems trivial to me that the boom op using a TRX 992 would have to stash not only the pole but also the one box, the 992, before going off on the set to do something else. I think if that is something that is really important and you don't need all the things you can do with the 992, then a plug-on would be fine. Lectrosonics makes a good plug-on that supplies full 48 volt phantom power as does Zaxcom (I don't know about any of the other manufacturers of current wireless). With the plug-on, it is true that the boom op need only set the pole down but continues to wear on his or her belt, the Comtek or Lectro IFB. So, the advantage of the 992 is that it is one box ... this could also be viewed as a disadvantage I suppose. This "disadvantage" or in convenience is far out weighed in my opinion by having one box that provides exceptional audio for the mic, exceptional IFB monitor (in Hi-Q mode), ability to monitor the mic directly, have private talk back to the cart, recording capability, etc., etc. - Jeff Wexler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Trew Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Scott, Like the others, I'm surprised that you would have the boom op's talkback mic open all the time. Since it's clear that this would interfere with your monitoring, I'm guessing there's something missing in the description. Something the Zaxcom system's com output (receiver channel 2) does is keep the channel dead quiet until the talkback button is pressed. Likewise, the hardwired Remote Audio talkback system shorts the com input until the talkback button is pressed, keeping it noise-free. This way, the talkback channel can be available at all times in the mixer's monitor (headphones). On another but related point: With your wireless com rig, I'm wondering how you monitor the boom op's talkback to have it go only to your headphones? Glen Trew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Trew Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 Sorry iPhone thought it was helping me. So my boomop wears the senn g2 lav which I have mute control. He wears a Lectro IFB. The boom pole has a Lectro plugon. He can leave the boom on his stand and I can hear the set and wearing the lav I can hear him or other crew cussing me while he is at crafty. A limiting factor in that system is that the boom op cannot talk to you when they decide they should. I'm also wondering how you monitor the boom op's talkback privately while still monitoring the program mix? (ethics issue of eavesdropping tabled) Glen Trew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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