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The Sound Devices A20-TX seems to give us all the goodness of the A20-Mini, but in a bigger form factor (similar to the previous A10-TX). Such as that massively super wideband capabilities, but now it is even wider: of 169 to 1525 MHz, with VHF being included as well. Also adds in the Phantom Power capabilities and longer run time of the previous gen A10-TX which many people wished the A20-Mini had (but couldn't due to its miniature size). Price for the Sound Devices A20-TX is US$2,450. First difference that immediately leaps out is that the A20-TX has 3x AA (vs 2x AA of the A10-TX): Battery run time is "up to 12hrs" for the A20-TX, which at first glance makes it comparable to the A10-TX? As the longest running option for the A10-TX is 12 hr 18 min for low power (10mW) with lithium batteries. Spec sheet indicates the A20-TX is almost identical in size to the A10-TX: 8.5 x 6.4 x 1.81 cm vs 83 x 64 x 18 mm The A20-TX might even be lighter? (if not counting the weight of batteries, as it is 3x AA vs 2x AA) Assuming the A10-TX is listed as its weight without batteries: 98gm vs 104gm Slight change in power output options: Low - 2 mW, Normal - 10 mW, High - 20 mW, Extra High - 40 mW vs Low: 10 mW, Med: 20 mW, High: 50 mW I like that there is the A20-TX Switch which is also announced: It is a little accessory that can be added to the top of the A20-TX, which allows you to mute/unmute the audio, I could see this being handy for a 1st / 2nd AS to wear for coms. The second major announcement is a cheaper 4 channel alternative to the more expensive 8 channel Nexus: "Sound Devices A20-Nexus Go" https://www.sounddevices.com/product/a20-nexus-go/ It's essentially very similar to the big brother Nexus, except it starts out with less channels: 4 vs 8 But just like the Nexus, the Nexus Go can also add extra channels to it after purchase, by paying extra to unlock them: Nexus has options for 20, 16, 8 channels vs the 8, 6, 4 channels of the Nexus Go. The Nexus Go drops the feature of Dante which Nexus has, but Nexus Go also drops the price in a big way: US$8,495 for the Nexus Go ( vs US$14,495 for the Nexus) Otherwise, Nexus Go and Nexus are more similar than different to each other. For instance both can use the A20-QuickDock for 8-Series. I was a little surprised to see that even the expansion license is the same for both the Nexus and Nexus Go is the same at US$2,500 even though this $2.5K for the Nexus unlocks 4 channels but only 2 channels in the Nexus Go? (I'd have hoped that for the same price, then they'd unlock the same number of channels? Or the expansion license for two extra channels on the Nexus Go would be lower?)

I work with the Sound Devices 833 and for outdoor i have a MKH8060 with Schoeps CCM8 ontop in a Cinela Basket. A perfect set-up for documetaries where the post-team knows how to treat MS-stereo files ( i deliver them the descreet Mid & Side iso's in addition to the wireless iso's). But for situations where i know the post-team knows absolutely nothing about MS-decoding i want to record (and deliver) a decoded left- and right-stereo. This seems to work only if i send the MS-signal to the Mix L&R with MS-Link switched on and record the Mix. I remember my workflow with the MixPre where it could be set in the menu wether to record the MS-signal decoded or not - seems not to be the case on my 833. Does anybody know a simple way to have the MS-Signal decoded and then recorded without having to send it to the mix (with SD 8 series)? How is your workflow regarding MS-Ambiences recorded simultaniously to regular takes ? chris

Given that there is only one USB in the SD 664 recorder, I running an USB cable from the recorder to the CL-12. I would also like to connect the WM-Connect dongle. Is there a USB port in the back of the CL-12 to connect it? Cheers, M

hello, So I just received my sound devices 633 and it is amazing! But when I was playing around with it I noticed that there are two tiny tiny pixels which are bright in colour when background is black. I did some research and found out that they were stuck pixels and atm I dont know if I should send it back to the shop which will probably take a week before they can send another one back to me if they approve that its a stuck pixel etc. Should I just keep it or get a new one? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Here's a photo of it. The other pixel is so small the camera cant even pick it up lol. http://i.imgur.com/5v0twrs.jpg Cheers!

Hi everyone, I'm considering to upgrade my A10RX to an A20RX. The cost for having the the unit upgraded is not cheap, at all. I use my A10RX mainly in the bag with A10 TX and betso bowtie direclty connected to it. Using the A20 with the A10TX, I will "only" benefit of the added band pass filer and probably a better or longer firmware updating path. I'd like to know the experience of someone who has already upgraded his unit/s or someone who uses both and can compare the performance of the two receivers. An antenna distributor with a tunable filter costs and weights more, but can be used with more receivers, and of different brands, even if most new receivers tend to have a built in band pass filter. My intention is to buy 2 or maybe 4 wirelss channels next year, but I haven't decided yet wich brand. Any consideration is very welcome.

Hi, I spent the whole day testing the new SD833. Not in real life yet, but rather an introduction and discovery of the new functions. First thing, no more Quickboot, but fortunately, the initialization of the recorder only takes 8 seconds, rather acceptable for this type of equipment. Regarding the battery life, I tested the 833 with an MS couple of Schoeps microphones powered in 48 Volts, and a Wisycom MCR42 receiver connected in AES 3 on inputs 1 and 2. My Audioroot distribution shows a power consumption of more or less 12 W, or about 6 hours with a fully charged 98 Wh battery. In the end, in a real situation, it will take 2 batteries to last the full day, but it doesn't seem to me to be a fundamental problem, as I always carry spare batteries. On the other hand, what worries me a little is the heat released by the device. After a while, it becomes almost impossible to hold hands on the frame as it is so hot. The box acts as a thermal radiator, but I have some concerns for the days when the recorder is installed in a bag and the outside temperature is high. I hope that Sound devices has anticipated this aspect well, because the 833 will first be used in a bag. I called other colleagues and they observed the same heat release. Despite this concern, I love the features offered by this machine. Thanks to the 6 microphone inputs, I can now connect my MS pair to inputs 3 and 4 and link it to keep the potentiometers 1 and 2 free for wireless receivers. With the 633, I had to use 1 and 2 for the stereo pair and lost the possibility to use the second potentiometer. When the channels are linked, all their parameters are also linked (fader, gain, filter, limiter, etc.). The menus are very intuitive and easy to navigate if you know the 633, and there are some well thought-out shortcuts like the Pan. By pressing the */** switch and turning the encoder, the Pan can be varied continuously and not only switched betweeen the three fixed positions. I also like the integrated EQs to compensate for the effect of a fur on a windshield outdoors for example, the adjustable limiters and filters with lower cut-off frequencies but especially a slope of 18 dB/oct, more suitable for cleaning boom handling noises, in my opinion . The screen is very readable and has a better resolution than the 633. The colored LED rings around the gains could look a bit "disco style", but are indeed very useful as you can see on which channels there is a signal and if the levels are correctly adjusted. I found in this machine, the qualities of the 788 (Led rings, internal SSD) and the flexibility and ergonomics of the Sound Devices mixers. Concerning the sound, the preamps seem clearer to me than those of the 633, perhaps because of the absence of input transformers and a decrease in the distortion rate. This will have to be confirmed after the first shoots in real life situations. The version of the Firmware I installed today seems to solve a Timecode problem and provides CL12 and Mix-assist support (in addition to Dungan). After this first day with the 833, it sems that for run and gun, I'll need to prepare configurations as there are so many things that can be customized. This shows the potential of development and this is exciting as one feel that there is lot to come with this new architecture.

Hi, It seems as of this week the Sound devices CL-12 is discontinued... Why is that so?

Hello everyone! One of the great uses for MixPre 6 that I see is a very portable Ambisonics recorder for ambiences and other SFX. The golden rule of SFX recording is to sort them and supply with SoundMiner metadata as early as you can because otherwise you'll hardly ever find the recordings (hello my over 50 GBs from university times). So, is it technically possible to make a version of Wingman app that would have metadata fields (I'll name them the way as SM does) such as Description, BWFDescription, Comments and maybe some other SM fields? It can be much more handy to fill these in while you're recording or right after it. For a long time I though that the field Description is proprietary to SM but suddenly I learned that Reaper's Media Explorer sees that field and calls it Comments and also Search (by prosoundeffects) uses it as its own Description field. I'm a Russian and we tend to use Cyrillic in Description field and English in BWFDescription and when I saw a field in Russian (or that can't be read by Search) I was positive it was the SM Description. So, can Wingman be upgraded to sort SFX for libraries on the go and how many people besides me would be into it? Since SD offers a lot of "without a laptop" features like remix, then why not? Oh, and also, I'd definitely appreciate support of Cyrillic in Description section

RIP. Little fella.. Such a useful tool

Hi, I'm currently looking at options for a 4 x input stereo mixer. I currently use an SD 302 in front of a 702T. It's a combo that I'm very happy with for the majority of my work (mostly interviews, voiceover work, SFX gathering, and the occasional dramatic exercise, although nothing too large scale, obviously). I really only got a mixer initially to ride levels on a mono track, usually using a single, boomed mic. But the interface has been invaluable to me for its great metering, limiters, etc., and the SD has never hiccuped. I've grown into it happily. I do occasionally find the need now for more inputs, now that the work has become a bit more complex, with wireless systems now more available, and even the occasional two-boom setup. I'm also simply curious about the sound quality provided by other top shelf work horse units. I was recently helping someone who was managing dialogue on a Cooper CS-104 and was treated to a set of cans during a few takes, and I was impressed with the sound that I suspect the mixer was providing. Really clean but steeped in character when booming. The rest of the kit/mixing approach was pretty familiar to me, so this is why the CS-104 caught my attention. He was a big fan of it, and from my research I'm fairly familiar with what it offers in it's unmidified version(s). I'm looking at a CS-104 currently that is in really good condition and that comes with some cables and a bag. It has peak meters. But with the recent slump in enthusiasm for the separate mixer / recorder paradigm, in favor of the recent combined mixer/recorder offerings from Sound Devices and others, the 442 and other once prohibitive options are super reasonably priced. Can anyone speak to the integrity of the Cooper as a workhorse whose sound and robustness is worth the trouble of owning a discontinued unit? Is it simply dumb to pick one up when the 442 is now so havable? Build quality, ease of use, and sound are definitely my top three requirements. I'd be interested to hear about how this mixer works for those who have to make a bag setup work for just about everything, and who want to get as much original dialogue on set as possible via boom and a few wireless units. It's been awhile since I've attempted to post here, but needless to say the info from this group has been very helpful to me in recent years. I know the post is long but I just thought I'd provide some background and see what advice folks can offer a young guy trying to maximize a modest setup. Thank you so much in advance. Isaac

Anyone encountered this? the meters on the ISO's look to be recording as per usual but all monitor outputs are outputting static including pfl's. Tried a cut/re roll as well as full power cycle. firmware 4.50

I recently purchased a MixPre 3 and was hoping to use my RODE SmartLav+ and RODE SmartLav and was pretty surprised when they both didn't work. I just want to make sure before I sell one of my SmartLavs that they indeed will not work with my MixPre 3. I also have a TASCAM DR60D that I used the lavs with successfully so I dont understand why the Smartlavs wont work with the MixPre 3. I've been trying with the adapter since the mics are TRRS, can anyone tell me why the SmartLavs wont work with the MixPre 3 thanks.

I enjoyed this "short" :-)) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NltCxxyqFUU Waiting for the next installment. I think this has the potential to become a dark, heavy, action drama with car chase scenes and international intrigue... Episode One: These 2 poolside heavies plant Audio Ltd. wireless mics into Zaxcom headquarters in order to unlock the secret code ..... on second thought, maybe a comedy series would be the way to go....ha ha! The MixPre 6 sounds good to my ear. Anyone know which wireless models, lavs and camera were used? Cheers, Dave

Is there a way to marry multiple takes into a single take (remove take markers) on the 664?

I just purchased used sound devices 664 and was wondering if a SanDisk extreme pro 64 GB is worth the extra money compared the SanDisk extreme, the speed writing is almost the same, what else requirement (in addition the commercial) is really important to consider?

Let me be the first to offer congratulations to the team at Sound Devices for their win at the CAS Awards for the Product of the Year. Great job by a great team. And congratulations to every sound mixer honored by a nomination or an award - yours is a tough job and the end results are always to impressive. Keep up the good work! Gordon Gordon Moore President Lectrosonics

Outputing from my SD 633 X3/X4 outputs to a Lectrosonics UM400 for IFB. Straight cable is a little too hot. Needs a pad of say -20 db. Handy with a soldering iron. What value are you guys using for resistors R1 and R2?. Diagram below. Don't need a lesson in Ohms law, just too lazy to create a spreadsheet on my own for something that I'm sure a dozen of you guys have done. TIA Or is there enough gain if I wire the TA5 into the lectro line level? I should have known to look on the Lectro site first. Found this. Since I can't delete this entire post, I'll leave it hear so it may help others.

http://ironfilm.co.nz/leaked-is-a-new-sound-devices-mixpre-10t-coming-soon/ The clues appear to point in that direction! Would be a 10 track recorder priced somewhere between the MixPre-6 and 633, I assume.

Hi, I am having a spring clean of my surplus gear stored in the garage, and was wondering where best to list it for sale. I have a 788SD which was my backup recorder as well as a bunch of LECTRO gear - multi-couplers, VR Venue, Transmitters, COMTEC gear, plus a SOUNDFIELD SPS200 Mic with breakout cable etc. I don't think this sort of kit would suit EBAY, any ideas?

Has anyone has serious issues with the LCD screen on their 664? I turned mine on a couple days ago and the screen was almost monochromatic. The color was intermittent, then red lines started to cover certain parts of the screen. The issues hasn't repeated it's self since then, but I'm sure it'll just give out while working on set if I don't get it fixed. Unfortunately, my mixer about 5 months OUTSIDE of the 2 year warranty and Sound Devices won't cover the cost of repair or the parts. I'm curious if anyone has had similar issues? Pictures are attached. Thanks! Damen

Hi All, Wondering if anyone has done a music tracking session into a DAW using a Sound Devices MixPre 6/3? Thinking of retiring an Apogee Duet Firewire and wonder how the MixPres sound for music tracking. It's ability to do double duty is very attractive if the studio sound is in the Duet league or better. I've seen a video or two demo-ing recording music live-off-the-floor direct into the MixPre - more curious as to how it sounds as DAW interface as compared to others in it's price-point. Would love to hear a full layered session (clean instruments - not distorted guitar) with a wide variety of acoustic and virtual instruments and especially male and female lead and background vocal overdubs. Curious if the MixPres have "musical mojo" as tracks are layered :-)) Thanks very kindly. All the best, Dave

Open letter (dated 10th November 2015) to Ed Capp, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Sound Devices, LLC regarding the UK pricing of the recently announced CL-12 Dear Ed, Thank you firstly for your reply on JWSound (http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/26269-sound-devices-cl-12-pricing-survey/). It is encouraging to hear that Sound Devices want their international customers to have access to your equipment at a fair price - because at the present time, from my perspective, it is anything but. I would like to first make the point that I have been a dedicated Sound Devices user for over a decade during which time I have owned SD 302, 552, 664, 633 mixers as well as 744 & 788 recorders. I most recently purchased a 688 mixer with the intention of adding a CL-12 as soon as it was released. However those plans quickly changed following the release of the list prices by Shure Distribution (your exclusive UK distributor) which were 45%* more than your U.S. list prices and 33%* more expensive than available in Europe. When purchasing Sound Devices machines in the UK I have accepted that they cost more than they do in your home territory due to shipping, import and local distribution costs. These are understandable costs. What myself and other mixers in the UK are frustrated and disappointed with is while these costs could arguably explain the price increase over the U.S. it isn't clear why Europe mainland prices are SO much cheaper as they share these same costs? Currency exchange costs don't even explain the difference either and neither do the differences in VAT percentages within Europe (see list of prices excluding tax at the end of this letter). Faced with such price differentials I took it upon myself earlier this month to contact your other European distributors/dealers to enquire about their CL-12 pricing and the delivery charges to the UK. As a resident of Europe I should enjoy the privilege of the European Single Market which by definition "is a single market in which the free movement of goods, services, capital and persons is assured, and in which citizens are free to live, work, study and do business." (Source: http://eur- lex.europa.eu/summary/chapter/internal_market.html) so was prepared to pay the additional courier costs (if required) to purchase a CL-12 from a European dealer. However to my surprise the first two dealers replied explaining that they were unable to ship to the UK due to their contractural arrangements with Sound Devices?! Rather than asking what those business sensitive contractual arrangements are I would instead like to request clarification (publically) by Sound Devices on a more straight forward question. Do you (Sound Devices) or do you not prevent dealers within the EU from selling to end users in EU countries other than the one they are based? To be clearer as an example, should I as a UK individual or company be able to purchase a Sound Devices product from a dealer based in Slovakia, Germany or Italy? If not, why not? In your reply on JWSound you state that "Sound Devices does not have any sales policy or agreements that conflicts with EU Trade Law.". For the purposes of clarity may I ask how Sound Devices are getting around the European Single Market requirements that "there is no difference between customers anywhere in the EU. EU rules forbid discrimination between service recipients because of their nationality or where they live." (Source: http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/sell-abroad/service-providers/index_en.htm) I accept that as the supplier you are entitled to have local distributors and dealers within each European country. These dealers will understandably and quite rightly set the price of your products based on local factors. For the record I am not disputing the right for Shure Distribution to set the list price of the CL-12 at the price they have (Standard version at £1950 +VAT & Alia version at£2850 +VAT). What I am disputing is that I (and other UK based mixers) should be able to choose which European dealer we buy from based on the premise of the European Single Market. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Meanwhile I shall continue my attempts to contact European dealers I have not yet received a reply from with regards to their CL-12 pricing and delivery costs to the UK. Regards, --- Matt Bacon Location Sound Supervisor / Production Sound Mixer * The US list price to the best of my knowledge is $1995 (Standard CL-12) and $2995 (Alaia CL-12) which is roughly £1320 & £1980 respectively. * The UK list price I have been told by more than one dealer to be £1950 +VAT (Standard) and £2850 +VAT (Alaia) * Advertised online by an Italian dealer €1995 +Tax (Standard) and €2995 +Tax (Alaia) which is roughly £1420 & £2120 respectively. * Advertised online by a German dealer €2380 +Tax (Standard) and €3620 +Tax which is roughly £1690 & £2570 respectively. * Advertised online by two Netherlands based dealers €2235 +Tax (Standard) and €3395 +Tax (Alaia) which is roughly £1585 & £2410 respectively. SD CL12 Pricing Open Letter.pdf

Looking for the right upgrade path I think we have to establish the needs clear before asking what's better, because there is no one perfect for everyone. So here are my needs: - Best Sound possible. My main constraint is NOT the number of channels or how beautiful are the menus BUT the sound quality for post-production. - I'm a solo sound mixer / boom operator, no help for now. - Never recorded more than 4 channels for now. But I dont' mind to have a couple more... just in case. - Been using 744T + SD442. - Bag a little heavy and I don't really like the menus on the 744T. - Want to have nice and expensive and beautiful equipment to impress my clients. Sound ridiculous but marketing is the most important thing and having the best equipment sells by itself. With all that in mind: Which of the following setups does in your experience record BETTER sound for film and does meet better my needs? - Sound Devices 744T + SD442 combo - Sound devices 788T + CL8 - Sound Devices 664 - Sound Devices 633 - Sound Devices 688 I've almost got a 788T SSD + w/ CL8 and a SD664... but now I think the best choice could be a brand new 633, that will be with me forever... What do you think?

Im looking to make a water proof enclosure for my 633, an np battery and an src receiver. Ideally it would have a clear panel to see meters through. Does not need to be deep water submersible as it will likely be on a kayak deck. Has anyone messed around to make something like this? Opening the lid to adjust gain is probably fine and I will use wingman to roll and cut. Cheers