axel

Pretty amazing machine, I got myself a unit from the dealer for testing: my first impression is that I see a cost effective machine and an impressive feature set, easy to operate; but 3 major drawbacks: - the hirose power plug: This is a ridiculous design. maybe some third party manufacturer (Hawkwoods??) will come up with a workaround in the future? To install this recorder in a bag, you have to add like minimum 2,5 cm / 1 inch of safety space on the bottom of the bag to protect the Hirose plug of your power cable from breaking. Even a right angle plug will not improve the situation! This will make the recorder poke out from the top of most small bags. The MixPrev 10 is slim, but rather high. Added the 2,5 cm of height, it reaches the dimensions of the SD688 and needs a huge bag. - solo monitoring is too complicated: A short press on a channel fader opens a channel setup screen, but does not lead to a HP solo monitoring of this channel. Instead after having triggered the channel setup screen you then have to find and tap on a „solo“ surface on the tiny touch screen and tap on it again when your desire for soloing is expired. please do that in the rain or with gloves on or when using a 4 m boom with a shotgun mike on the other end, having to monitor 6 wired folks… how will you find out which of the lavs is rustling? In normal life I am stepping through the potential candidates by soloing each of them. - Input gain adjustment: I was also expecting that on pressing a fader for solo mode, the same fader now could be used to adjust the input gain on that channel in solo mode. Now I’ve learned, that those faders are behaving like analog pots with a stop on either side (which is great for mixing) and I understand that they cannot be used to also set the input gain because of their actual absolute value (their position for input gain will differ from the position for the channel gain). The input gain can be adjusted only on the touchscreen (tiny arrows, one clumsy tap for a 1 dB increment) or with the HP volume encoder, which is a small hardware knob on the right side of the machine, squeezed in alongside the headphone plug, prevented from finger-access by the strap of most bags. So no one-hand solos on the fly doing doc/ENG work and no gain adjustments either. To be fair, I’ve been impressed by the simplicity of the system arquitecture, by the number of full size XLR Inputs and last but not least by the sound. It does not sound cheap, also the limiters seem to be pretty usable. They can be turned on or off only globally, not per track. The fader knobs are small, but really useable, easy to find the right one blind. The touchscreen (I don’t like them in general) behaves responsive and is well thought, anything else but the gain increments is rather easily operated with the finger tips. Metadata handling with the touchscreen/HP volume knob is a bit clumsy, but with a cellphone/wingman combo it is OK for documentary needs. If you have an iPad at hand it gets really comfortable and comprehensive, so no hard feelings using this machine on a cart! I found the Wingman app 100% responsive, far better than the old CL-Wifi I knew from my 788T-days. Routing: You can route any input to any of the outputs pre or post fader, which is nice. I did not find a way to cross route the inputs to tracks, so input 1 stays on track 1, and so on. I appreciate this approach for its simplicity. Power: The MixPre 10 needed around 7,5 - 8 W in a decent setup with 2 phantom powered mics active. As a comparison: in the same setup my old Sonosax SX-R4 sips only 3 W. I fed both from a 14,4 V audioroot battery, each of them with 2 Phantom mics plugged. Apart of the Hirose plug there is an AA adapter, which accepts 8 AA batts. For 8 Watts, 8 Lithium AAs should carry you over 4 hours, 8 black eneloops should do for 3 hs. You also could use L-type batteries, the bigger ones might be good also as a distance keeper for the Hirose plug.

If only the Rx 1 was on (without matching Tx) actually that is a sign that the scan was accurate, Rx1 + Rx2 show the same results in the same environment. G3 Rx are only receivers, they do not communicate with other Rx. If you want to set it up properly, you make a scan with Rx1, switch on the respective Tx1 and then scan again for a clear Frequency with Rx 2. Now Rx 2 should NOT suggest the frequency Tx1 is already transmitting... I use the G3 for IEM only, but they have impressed me during the years with their ruggedness and also signal stability. Zaxcoms, Lectros, Wisys... can play their strenghts when it comes to congested RF, addidtional range, minimal Tx size and extreme dynamics.

doesen't it display the frequency it is set to?

choose according to your needs: http://www.audioroot.fr/products-2/

hi Cybersky, I mostly do fast pace TV stuff, series and drama, many actors, no time, often forced to roll when I still shouldn't. In my world, the most important feature of X3 probably is the metadata engine. I have been forced to work with 2nd class wireless connections on iPads and phones, for years. I do not want to go back there. With X3's perfect overview screens and instant metadata access even during record I can change wrong slate numbers on the fly and later make a note to a specific take that a certain actor's line is clear only here, because there was no overlap. With additional PDF, ALE and CSV reports I can be sure that post will see it when putting the dialogue track together. The second key feature for me is the playback engine. It feels like a combo of a recorder and a NLE system, it allows for scrolling through waveforms and on the fly track solos (waveform according to instant solo selection!) while playing back. It dramatically reduces the time I need to judge over a critical take after the AD has shouted "we are done with this" and I got the chance to hold it before everybody moves on for the next. Like Myk Farmer, I have chosen for a hybrid bag setup, which suits my needs. The bag unfolds at the top shelf of my cart with the onboard faders at my fingertips like a real mixer and easy visual access to 10 Rx with antenna distro, comms, video monitoring and the like. For those inside-the-car or boat or on-the-roof scenes it takes literally only one minute to close the bag and detach the antenna connections to have the same functionality over the shoulder, sacrificing only the amplified sharkfins and the video monitors. for your questions: Sandisk extreme pro 16 - 64 Gb UHS-I SD cards and nothing else. This is also made public by Aaton. Not one media glitch in 2 1/2 years with X3. X3 typically draws between 18 and 24 Watts depending on the setup. With all settings at max (AES 42, Dante, display brightness...) including power supply for outboard gear it could come close to even 30 Watts. So 4 hs with the 2x48 WHs onboard batteries is quite realistic. As it is a clumsy procedure to change those onboard batts inside my bag, I rely on a NH2054 98 WHs battery ("Inspired Energy" style) in the side pocket. I found that many people do. A 12 hs shooting day is about 3 of those for the X3. I still keep the onboards inside for my peace of mind. never used digital mics but I've used the AES 42 inputs for extra receiver pairs once in a while and they performed well (in fact it is AES 3 if you turn OFF the digital mic power). With AES you sacrifice the beautiful analog limiters, which I sometimes use in the way of a soft compressor for voices in appropriate situations. Since I got my X3 I never spent a thought to change to a different machine. I have used a Cantar X1 and an SD788T before, still keeping the X1 for smaller scale over-the-shoulder procuctions and a Sonosax SX-R4 (no "+") for 2nd unit/FX and lightweight bags. I do not know any real life reports about the Deva 24, but if you want the big thing and go totally Zaxcom the Deva 24 might be the best option. If you stay with mixed gear from different manufacturers, X3 imho is unrivaled in the field of location sound recording. For myself I'd narrow it down to "scripted" and mostly cart based production. The SX-R4+ seems to be acoustically great and very small, but also a little clumsy and more inclined towards menu diving. I am always forced to roll in the mid of chaos and need the big screen and the big dedicated knobs for all those last second setup changes. Thats why I was suggesting the SX-R4+ for your needs, thinking you had more time and less chaos when everything was set up for your needs only.

hi Lurker, I am not so convinced if X3 is the best machine for FX recording. Many of it's virtues are maybe not key issues for FX, like onboard sliding faders, speed of workflow, documentation capabilities, monitoring and routing flexibility, playback engine... for your questions: yes!! yes, if you got unlimited budget and a strong shoulder to carry a big bag. If you love to charge smart batteries and like to carry some of them around. to my ears they sound very good. But I find myself using the pres of my Lectro wireless most of the time, so my listening experience is already compromised. the limiters in the analog stage cannot be topped imho, so I would be careful to compare them with "adjustable" ones. I never got that far with adjustable limiters, but I liked those of the analogue Nagra, of the Sonosax and the Cantar machines. All of them cannot be tweaked, because they work in a complex way. already mentioned above. I 've never heared about the 192 khz for X3 thing though, but interesting to know this is also in the pipeline. X3 is immensely versatile and allows for complex tasks to be performed very quickly. It is a studio on your lap. Compared to what it offers, it's weight and footprint are minimal. But it is still one of the biggest all-in-one location sound recorders out there. The key question is, do you need all that workflow speed, complexity and flexibility for your FX recording? It comes at a price of weight, money and power demand. If it was for the best pre's and limiters + enough tracks you could also look for a Sonosax SX-R4+. If you add an AD8+ you got 12 world class mic pres and 16 tracks at less cost, less weight, smaller bag and better energy efficiency. And you could still impress your recordist friends.

No, it is just the same. There is no further companding with Lectro 400 mode transmission systems.

soundshoppe, congrats to your Mic decision! after years of frequent work with the RSM, I find it convenient to have an XLR plug for the mic cable, filters and a pad at my fingertips evenwhen working with a bag. And: there is a Cinela suspension with conbox, basket + fur made specifically for the 191. It solves all your trouble regarding boom and cable noise, but all of that at a tremendous price. And it is clearly made for outdoor use, it would need a significant effort to dismantle the basket for a shorter footprint for indoor shooting.

I once used it to improvise a on-cam mic for an Alexa Mini, which offers only line level input. We attached plugged a gooseneck DPA 4098 with windjammer, directly into the PDA and went line level from the jack output into the Mini. 2nd unit shoot inside a car, no lines, some action. Saw the rushes and it was really OK. No handling noise from the camera. The PDR was just velcroed to the Cam-body, the 15 cm gooseneck poking out aside of the lens. The good thing is, that if you use it as a preamp you get a backup recorder with TC for free. things to be aware: - with black eneloop AAA the recording time is limited to 4 hours max, lithiums last longer. But no set and forget for one entire shooting day. - Timecode syncing is easy and done very quickly. You have to sync though after every power down / battery change. - The lectro servo inputs accept huge dynamics and feature a good limiter which is optimized for speech and human voice. The sensitivity can be adjusted in 1 dB increments. - wiring TA5 inputs for Lectrosonics is special: The combination of the 5 pins makes the difference between wirings for different sources. http://www.lectrosonics.com/Support/Microphone-Wiring/uhf-transmitter-5-pin-input-jack-wiring.html - DPA 4098 are hypercardiods designed as podium mics and compensate the closemiking effect with a fixed LF cut. So in the distance you might find less LF on your track.

Majax 3 1.0.6. beta is a very beta software and can ONLY deal with Cantar X3 generated files. The things it basically does: emulate the playback screen of a Cantar X3 on a computer (for X3 gereated files only!!) give some vital information on how the X3 was set up at the time of recording. playback monitoring control tools (very basic compared to what you can do on a real X3). File handling is limited to poly encode mono WAVS recorded on a Cantar X3 (can be done on the X3 in real time) Sound report creation. But it is buggy and less elegant than on the X3 (just one button press there + more layout options). So if you are confronted with Cantar X3 recordings and dont have an X3 at hand Majax3 still might be useful.

I cannot see the problem, the classic (finnish) sauna is hot, but dry (35-40% rel humidity). Nobody could survive 90% humidity @ 90° C. Even in the phase of the steam (water over hot stones) the humidity rises barely over 50%. If you bring in the mics at room temperature, nothing should happen. Put them on the floor at forst, it is significantly cooler there. After a few minutes they will be adapted to temperature and totally safe to use. Different thing if you have to enter a steambath.

I keep stored everything related to wireless Tx in a Lowe "fototrekker pro" backpack. Once you go to wire somebody you can be sure to have it all (mics, tapes, belts, antennas, tools...) once you grab the rucksack. When working on the cart I carry a cheap lightweight IKEA chair with me to avoid putting the Backpack in the dirt. It now has 5+ years and is still clean enough to fold up on beds, antique furniture and delicate sofas.

Those get lost so easily, but sell for € 9,- per piece here in Austria. No chance at hardware stores, because it is all metric scale here, apart of usual 3/8" and 1/4" gear.

look for a used Sonosax SX-R4 (not SX-R4+!). It has 4 very good preamps (imho better than SD7xx), same footprint as Zoom F4, lightweight (under 1 kg), very power efficient compared to SD or Zoom, can also run on AA Batteries... and it's got a successor model that can do a lot more things you don't need for your project. So People might want to get rid their old SX-R4. There was a post on JW sound on Facebook a few days ago, where sombody mentioned he had an option to buy a SX-R4 for a 1000 $, asking for advice

some little clarification points on the 191: the 191 creates a very well defined spatial stereo image, by far the most accurate one I know deriving from a single point stereo mic. It sounds airy and transparent and creates a sound that comes close to a natural perception. in relation to the RSM 190, the sucessor 191 is quieter on the side (M/S = 16/22 dB-A, A-weighted). Recalling my memory from back in the 90s, the 190 was noisy for quiet ambience recordings. there is a cinela suspension/windbasket made especially for the RSM 191; it is really expensive (>1000,- €) , but worth every cent on a handheld boom if you work documentary style there are also 30mm Rycote lyres made for it, they are cheap and work with any modern Rycote basket. Good for any mic stand applications or careful boom handling. the weight is identical to a MKH 416, but you have to add size and weight of the 191 Matrix box inside your bag; it has some advantages though, like an XLR Plug that is easily accessible, Lo-cut and pad switches at your finger tips, you can easily chose between decoded XY or native M/S setup plus define your stereo width with dedicated switches. cannot understand why Neumann/Sennheiser terminated the production some years ago. One of the best sounding mics ever made.

+1 for the Neumann RSM191, best in a Cinela suspension. If you go standard Rycote it may be hard to keep sound free from bumps and handling noise.

same here, shooting on Alexa Mini, jam synced twice a day, after the first day the assistant editor complained about 1-2 frames drift (Alexa behind). I have the Cantar X3 as a master, next tried to feed the X3 from the Lockit (ACL 204), nothing changed. Now I compensate the Lockit with +1,5 frames (just used to carry TC to the cam) and AE says sync is OK now.

Donald, if you are still on this thread, I've worked with the YPAs, but they have let me down in critical situations: the tiny thread for the microdot connectors was not long enough to make for a sturdy connection. DAP adapters @ triple price sport one winding more, which makes for a reliable connection ! Resulted in ugly dropouts with some actor's movements. It took me several incidents of not knowing what caused the bumps and dropouts until I found it was the connector that was critical on the ankle when it came to skintight pants or on the back with a little sweat and tight clothes. I was using the Lectro-TA5 variant and this happened in 2014, so maybe YPA has already improved the design.

I also have to leave things in the car. And no, I am not willing to go for the paranoia thing. I try to make the remaining items look shabby and worthless. If I were a thief, I would definitely go for anything covered by blankets. I think, a comprehensive list of all stolen gear would make our lives easier, some internet based wiki thing where anyone could add his stolen items, sorted by manufacturer and/or category. Would make it more dangerous for a thief to sell stolen audio gear because anyone could routinely look up serials there ahead of buying something used.

Tambongo, as Rado says, the 8060 is rather failsafe regarding humidity and RF interference (same MKH concept). It is also really robust: I had a crash, where the 8060 on the boom literally was hammered into a tile of an acoustic ceiling when a boom op totally lost his balance control. The plastered tile broke into pieces, the 8060 (no foam!) got a little scratched, but nothing else happened. Sounded the same as ever afterwards and continued working flawlessly for the next two years. Then out of the sudden it developed a strange short inside the tube circuitry, was only working upside down but was totally dead in horizontal position. Still with Sennheiser since late November...

Pascal, a perfect solution in my eyes. :-)

Very nice setup! But how did it work to mix on the touchscreen in the cold? Did you try with gloves? Did the screen get wet?

hey Tambongo, good choice for indoor and outdoor with moderate wind. imho it is also more transparent soundwise than the original sennheiser foam windscreen. I think 15 cm is the correct length for 8060

I confess I absolutely like the sound of the 8060 and also use it indoors a lot. To my ears it outperformed the 8050 (hypercardiod of the same series) many times even on real closeups (sounds "slimmer" in the 150 Hz area). If room acoustics are OK, the 8060 sounds like one step "closer" miked than other short shotguns, even outperforms the 416 in this respect. But: I'd not encourage anybody to sell his one and only 416 for an 8060, because there also some cons: .) The 8060 is very susceptible to windnoise, for quick swings on the pole you are not covered by using the original foam. This foam also alters the sound btw, taking away much of the 8060's specific clarity and "airyness". Look for some light basket solution or some ENG style fur with mesh even for indoors, if you have to perform quick movements. For outdoor use even a rycote basked with windjammer can be critical in windy situations, the bigger the basket the safer you are. I also keep a 416 in my gear for those strong wind days. Maybe a cinela basket is the way to go. .) not sure if Sennheiser has fixed it's manufacturing issues. There were some problems with 8060s of the first buch, one of my 8060s has stayed with Sennheiser for a considerable time back in 2012 to get repaired. Then they re-desiged the body adding a black ring as a visual mark for the new series. Thing is, that I even had one of those new mics go down after only 3 weeks of use recently. None of those issues was caused by maltreating the mics. Sennheiser is very easy with exchanges or courtesy repairs, sometimes even after the warranty has expired, but it takes considerable time to get those units fixed or exchanged.

where is the like button ... I like your setup. But maybe some day your back will tell you, that it was not wise to carry it for -even short- days.