Jump to content

AATON Cantar Mini VS. Sonosax SX-R4+


yizhye20

Recommended Posts

Hello all,

 

Trying to find out which is the better recorder for me. I know both of them are really beautiful recorders (performance, price). The only issue would be which one fits me well.  

 

sx-r4+ is a simple recorder. 4 channel input and really good mic amp (I don't get a chance to hear the sample yet)

 

Cantar mini is a way much more complicated recorder. a lot more function. The only issue is that seems it needs a recording cart to hold it.

 

I mainly use the 5U right now. Waiting for my DPA 4017B for interior location sound.  I know for sure any one of them will sound way better than my F8. Let me know what do you think. It would be soo nice to hear any samples from any of those two recorders 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I find annoying with the Mini is that it doesn’t have enough analog or digital inputs to use all 10 inputs with one or the other. So you can’t go fully analog or fully digital. If you have ten sources to record you‘ll always need to mix and match. And ten inputs is only two more than I have now with my 788T, so there‘s only two more on the Mini. The Cantar does have great software options though and that screen is awesome. And the faders are built right in so you won’t need to buy a panel one day. 

 

On the Sonosax you can expand that to 12 mic inputs (with an add-on) or go fully digital, that’s great. But there‘s no fader panel yet and the software options are less exciting (if you ever need them all is another question). Soundwise both won’t have any issues I‘m sure. 

 

By the way, you could consider getting a 788T instead. These are coming way down in their used prices and still offer 8 mic/line inputs. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the usual suspects actually just gave me an R4+ to review last week. Although my cantar mini experience is very minimal, I do want to say that the R4+ is the best sounding machine I have ever heard. The preamps are very detailed and extremely quiet. Noticeably (in a quiet room) better than my 633’s, which I actually find quite nice. It is very configurable and customizable.

 

However, one of the biggest issues I see with it is the lack of outputs. It has one line out and a multi pin AES output. While I think it’s awesome to have aes outputs, many things we use don’t have digital inputs. For the jobs I do, I need to be able to easily send to camera, comtek, sometimes a boom ifb and route different things on them. I think they make a cable ($) for a special 7 pin xlr connector you can have installed on the side ($$$) to get direct analog outs, but that’s a lot to go through for such a basic thing. Maybe others have figured out better and easier ways to do this or I’m missing something. I’d love to be wrong.

 

The other thing that may be an issue is that there are only 6 pots on the recorder. If you are used to a Sound Devices mixer with a trim knob and a fader knob and wish to continue working that way you would need the add on knob extension (more $$$).

 

But.... IT SOUNDS F**KING GREAT!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, yizhye20 said:

I mainly use the 5U right now. Waiting for my DPA 4017B for interior location sound.  I know for sure any one of them will sound way better than my F8. Let me know what do you think. It would be soo nice to hear any samples from any of those two recorders 

 

DPA 4017B for interior location sound?, what is the difference with the 5U?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Trey LaCroix said:

 

 

However, one of the biggest issues I see with it is the lack of outputs. It has one line out and a multi pin AES output. While I think it’s awesome to have aes outputs, many things we use don’t have digital inputs. For the jobs I do, I need to be able to easily send to camera, comtek, sometimes a boom ifb and route different things on them. I think they make a cable ($) for a special 7 pin xlr connector you can have installed on the side ($$$) to get direct analog outs, but that’s a lot to go through for such a basic thing. Maybe others have figured out better and easier ways to do this or I’m missing something. I’d love to be wrong.

 

You're very wrong..

On the recorder the optional 7XLR is for the sennheiser ambeo mic input

The 5XLR is switchable: 2xAES/2xbalanced out/4xunbalanced out

There's a ta3 (2 channel balanced) analogue out

Plus a switchable in or out AES

 

All this is covered on the Sonosax site. https://www.sonosax.ch/product/sx-r4p/

 

You have to think of the recorder as a matrix mixer as there's no such thing as a main L/R out, any input/track/mix/aux/etc.. can be assigned to an output.

If you have any questions ask away, I've been using a Sonosax SXR4+ for the past year as my main recorder.

Here's what it sounds like. int: mkh50  ext: sanken CS-1 & mkh50.

 

Grant.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, ramallo said:

 

DPA 4017B for interior location sound?, what is the difference with the 5U?

 

The 4017 has a much smoother off-axis response and in many ways sounds more like a supercardioid. Still it’s not the obvious mic for interiors, but it does sound really nice in most imteriors (abd exteriors, too). Plus with the C preamp it becomes really small. 

Just make sure it works fine with you chosen transmitter 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Constantin said:

 

The 4017 has a much smoother off-axis response and in many ways sounds more like a supercardioid. Still it’s not the obvious mic for interiors, but it does sound really nice in most imteriors (abd exteriors, too). Plus with the C preamp it becomes really small. 

Just make sure it works fine with you chosen transmitter 

 

I did some test years ago between both microphones and I found exactly the oposite, my feel is that the 5U have a gently off-axis, rather than the 4017 that is a bit more sharp. A: Schoeps CMIT, B: DPA 4017C

 

45 is 45º

 

IMMO the best choice is the 4018C and even smaller

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Back to 'yizhye20's original post both (admittedly gorgeous) machines are seriously different (and as Constantin points out might yet not be the ideal for your current situation ...)

 

You really need to find a dealer, rent if need be and assess on your own? Is there such a dealer (with these Euro products) in or in useful distance from Savannah Georgia?

 

Jez

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, engaudio said:

You're very wrong..

On the recorder the optional 7XLR is for the sennheiser ambeo mic input

The 5XLR is switchable: 2xAES/2xbalanced out/4xunbalanced out

There's a ta3 (2 channel balanced) analogue out

Plus a switchable in or out AES

Thank you for correcting me. Between those options there are actually a lot of different  options. The one I have has no optional connector so I ran out of outputs quickly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, ramallo said:

Dumb test, Sound Devices 722, Aeta 4Minx, Sonosax SX-R4+ and Zaxcom Maxx, with a pair of matched DPA4011, in the same place but unfortunately not at same time.

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xuJf1Mb6ykyCpX-wXrcVcXfjjdO3YbGg

 

thank you so much

 

20 hours ago, ramallo said:

 

DPA 4017B for interior location sound?, what is the difference with the 5U?

shorter to me

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, engaudio said:

100% DPA 4017, Sonosax SXR4+ , cabled to FS7. (don't ask why cabled..)

I was really impressed with the reach of the DPA in this location, thought I'd try it on interiors. 

100% the DPA 4017? No lavs? 
Impressed then on the reach in a couple of those shots, very nice. 

What about the performances on the stage?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, engaudio said:

100% DPA 4017, Sonosax SXR4+ , cabled to FS7. (don't ask why cabled..)

I was really impressed with the reach of the DPA in this location, thought I'd try it on interiors. 

 

sounds good.

but whoever did the color correction on this video should get a new pair of eyes... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/17/2018 at 5:58 PM, IronFilm said:

100% the DPA 4017? No lavs? 
Impressed then on the reach in a couple of those shots, very nice. 

What about the performances on the stage?

 

Everything was the DPA 4017, no lavs.

That's what impressed me too when using it, the 'reach' of the mic, even slightly off axis was fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/18/2018 at 12:24 AM, IronFilm said:

Looks like uncorrected log footage in large parts of it.

Definitely just this.  DP probably shot in log like they always do, and passed it off to an inexperienced editor who didn't know what a LUT was. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, engaudio said:

That's what impressed me too when using it, the 'reach' of the mic, even slightly off axis was fine.

wow

 

8 hours ago, engaudio said:

Everything was the DPA 4017, no lavs.


Did they say no to lavs because of the budget?
I can't remember the last shoot I did without lavs :-/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

wow

 


Did they say no to lavs because of the budget?
I can't remember the last shoot I did without lavs :-/

I could get everything on the boom,

No need to use lavs and it saved time,

We were at the final dress rehearsal grabbing people to talk too when possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...