Sad but true: I have to use a Zoom H4N as a backup recorder for my 552 because it is unreliable as a recorder.

[cory]

So I hate to be a griper, but I find myself in a very odd situation: I can't trust my 552. Every once in a while it messes up recording with a loud KSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH noise over 5 to 10 seconds. There is no indication of any problem while recording, I only find out when playing back the recording. The problem is not consistent, and I'm not sure how to recreate the problem at will.

 

So the whole benefit of the 552 is now ruined, because I still need a separate recorder anyways.

 

I have called Sound Devices several times and they always blame either firmware or the card. But after purchasing 3 new SD cards (brand and class recommended by Sound Devices employees over the phone) and keeping the firmware up to date, the problem happened AGAIN. And then again after another firmware update and ANOTHER new card.

 

It is especially frustrating because Sound Devices has a reputation for rock solid equipment. Is my unit just a lemon? Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

C

[Tom Visser]

I think no matter what, a backup recorder is a good idea, not just a backup media.  I'm sorry to hear about your 552 issues, it is probably a hardware service issue so would look at having it sent in.

[ProSound]

I can only speak from my 552 experiences in the two year I owned it I never had any card issues even when I powered the mixer off while in record I only lost 5 seconds of that file 

[Alexander Burstein]

Send it in! Peace of mind is important.

[Philip Perkins]

Why haven't you sent your machine in to SD?  If it has burned you more than twice then it is broken--it needs fixing.  You can't do this yourself, and the machine will not heal on its own.  It's a bummer but it's what you have to do--all equipment fails sooner or later.  Figure out a backup for yourself.

 

philp

[TimPitot]

Guess what? Moaning about it on the Internet will not fix your 552.

Send it in for repair.

[Martin Kittappa]

Sound devices have great service- Once you send it in they will fix the problem. I sent in my 744t recently for a simple button replacement. Not only did they fix the button, they replaced the internal battery checked out and updated the firmware replaced the screen cover and cleaned it so that when I got it back it looked all shiny and new. Send it in- you won't regret it.

[Olle Sjostrom]

Also, the h4n is perfectly acceptable as a recorder with a quality mixer in front of it. You'd be better off with a smaller on though, like the h2n or a Marantz.. I use a zoom h4n. I'd prefer a smaller unit, but it does the job and held up very well. I've done several commercials with it and indie films.

[johnpaul215]

That is another nice feature to using a Zaxcom TRX900/STA100 transmitter for camera hop. You have a backup recorder hidden in there. 

[TomBoisseau]

Well... I agree, you should send it in. However if it's an intermitant problem it is questionable whether or not they will be able to fix it.

I also had some issues with my 552. It happened only once where channel 2 did not record. Fortunately I had a H4n as a back up. I also experianced a few lock ups. It seemed to always be related to the timecode input.

Tom

[headpooch]

Don't feel sad. You were smart enough to have a very serviceable backup. As they say, "The show must go on!"

 

Applause, applause!

[Q]

I don't own one, but I always thought of the 552 as a mixer with a built in backup?  But, yeah ... if it has failed several times it's time for a checkup.

[studiomprd]

" Moaning about it on the Internet will not fix your 552. "

as you know, I have felt this way for a really long time...

even though it seems so simple : Its broken, and needs to be fixed

[cameronlenart]

I have experienced the same issue as the OP but only once the SD card I was using was near to being full, other than that it has recorded flawlessly.

[cory]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

So, I have sent it in for repair before, more than a year ago, can't remember exactly when. And it was sent back with the note that there was nothing wrong with it/they were sure it was the card's fault...

Though there were no repair costs, I had to work around not having the mixer and eat the shipping costs.

 

My worry is that they won't be able to figure out what's wrong...

 

C

[Manx]

I have had the same problem twice.

[thebrengun]

I have had this problem once, and it was solved by replacing the card.  I was able, as I mention in one of the threads, to reproduce the error by recording tone for hours and hours and opening up the file and looking for the bursts in the waveform.  When I got a new card, I repeated the test and could not repeat the problem.  Do the same across a few SD cards and I bet that 1 will produce the problem and the others will not.

 

 

I wonder though...has anyone ever had a similar problem with any other Sound Devices recorders? You can hear a sample of my problem in the first thread linked to.  Many people have this problem, with many different card brands, speeds, etc. so I am not entirely convinced that it is many many bad cards.