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Zaxcom Maxx - Here's the latest


Jack Norflus

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" So your problem is with my use of the word vote? "
huh?
Zaxcom has proven to take the needs and desires of their customers seriously when designing their gear. "
BTW, they also answer their phones and engage in conversations (telephone and email)...

" The plan is to have as many tracks available at 192 that Maxx can do. "
how obvious...

to most of us...

thus, no "election", no "voting"...

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Will somebody who plans on getting a Maxx and recording at 192KHz care to share with us what they will record, and why they will choose to record at 192KHz?

 

Not trolling. I've never even heard anything recorded at 192KHz, much less recorded or worked with it in any way. 

 

I suppose I can only imagine recording classical music at this rate....but even then, wouldn't the listener need to experience the playback under near lab conditions to appreciate the difference?

 

I'd love to hear from somebody with experience in this area!

 

Cheers!

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I picked up the Maxx on Wednesday from the folks at Trew Audio in Hollywood.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151751817698699&set=a.417990668698.187201.304780963698&type=1&relevant_count=1

 

Big thanks to Ryan for helping me get one so fast.  Didn't realize it was "that fast" :)

 

I'm a couple days into it now having Maxx in my hands and trying to break things.  Certainly some things to work on when it comes to software, but the quality of the audio is pretty nice.  Neverclip/ISO Attenuation is indeed interesting.  Sort of makes you rethink things a bit.  Sampled some clanging wrenches with it on and off.  Pretty neat having that extra headroom actually.  Helps for vocal work too.

 

I've tested it out mostly with my Sennheiser MKH416 and it's working great so far.  I'll put a few more mics on it in the coming days and I'm doing my big timecode/sync with camera test this evening.  Hopefully it's all gravy.

 

As of this moment, it's a pretty damn handy and powerful field recorder and mixer.

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@Rado - Congrats on picking yours up as well!

 

I've used Nomad, but I'm coming from Sound Devices (and some smaller non-timecode field recorders, Zoom and Marantz).

 

I'm happy with the software itself.  Navigation/operation is simple enough.  There's quirky things, like I think I should be able to format a memory card while "mirroring" is on, don't see a reason why I shouldn't be able to.  I've also learned that Maxx isn't happy with certain Compact Flash cards.  I tested 4 brands (all 32GB), two are working "cleanly".  Folks are telling me to go with Transcend, which I don't have here. 

 

Working with Marf/.ZAX is relatively new to me, but for the time being I'm using the BWF from the mirror as that's getting me exactly what I'm after.  Zaxconvert didn't like the Marfs from a couple of those cards and I did get an error and "noise" in the file upon conversion.  Gotta look into that a bit more.  It would be nice to have option to disable marf as a format to access 100% of the media space for "certain types of sampling".

 

Did some timecode tests.  There doesn't seem to be a TOD clock on the Maxx, at least not one I found yet (and perhaps it's not enabled in firmware).  I feed TC to my Red Epic though at it works fine via free-run.  It was detectable and read properly when syncing video to audio in several software packages.  Going to likely pick up a Timecode Buddy next week to make that lack of TOD sort of a non-issue anyways.

 

I'm using a Hirose to D-Tap and connected to a 160Wh V-Mount battery.  I've been testing the Maxx for 3 days and it hasn't drained that yet.  That's great news as these are pretty much what I have here.

 

I'm making a list of thoughts and might call up Zaxcom with those notes next week.  So far I'm really impressed by it and I'm digging Neverclip.  Already knocked out some loud samples and vocals.  Sounds great.  Lots of range and the preamps sound great when really pushed.  Nice and clean.

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@Rado - Congrats on picking yours up as well!

 

I've used Nomad, but I'm coming from Sound Devices (and some smaller non-timecode field recorders, Zoom and Marantz).

 

I'm happy with the software itself.  Navigation/operation is simple enough.  There's quirky things, like I think I should be able to format a memory card while "mirroring" is on, don't see a reason why I shouldn't be able to.  I've also learned that Maxx isn't happy with certain Compact Flash cards.  I tested 4 brands (all 32GB), two are working "cleanly".  Folks are telling me to go with Transcend, which I don't have here. 

 

Working with Marf/.ZAX is relatively new to me, but for the time being I'm using the BWF from the mirror as that's getting me exactly what I'm after.  Zaxconvert didn't like the Marfs from a couple of those cards and I did get an error and "noise" in the file upon conversion.  Gotta look into that a bit more.  It would be nice to have option to disable marf as a format to access 100% of the media space for "certain types of sampling".

 

Did some timecode tests.  There doesn't seem to be a TOD clock on the Maxx, at least not one I found yet (and perhaps it's not enabled in firmware).  I feed TC to my Red Epic though at it works fine via free-run.  It was detectable and read properly when syncing video to audio in several software packages.  Going to likely pick up a Timecode Buddy next week to make that lack of TOD sort of a non-issue anyways.

 

I'm using a Hirose to D-Tap and connected to a 160Wh V-Mount battery.  I've been testing the Maxx for 3 days and it hasn't drained that yet.  That's great news as these are pretty much what I have here.

 

I'm making a list of thoughts and might call up Zaxcom with those notes next week.  So far I'm really impressed by it and I'm digging Neverclip.  Already knocked out some loud samples and vocals.  Sounds great.  Lots of range and the preamps sound great when really pushed.  Nice and clean.

Phfx,

Few notes:

Use the bwav. No need to do anything with the marf.

CF cards I use transcend and SanDisk. Cards are like everything else. You get what you pay for.

You can not disable marf. And personally I don't see why you would want to do that.

I don't understand what you mean by max not having time of day. And unless the job is very specific I avoid running rec-run.

Glad to see that maxx is very power efficient.

Check the zaxcom forum if you have questions.

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Phfx
If the card is one from a major manufacturer then you should let Zaxcom know what brand / size / speed card is causing you problems so they can look into it and get it to work. Zaxcom's goal is to make most, if not all cards work with Maxx, just like with Nomad.
I personally tried transcend, sandisc, lexar and delkin cards all with zero problems.

Also keep in mind that counterfeit cards do exist so if you bought your card from a questionable supplier - or the price way to good to be true that might be your problem.
 

MARF can't be disabled and not sure why you would want to. MARF is a safety net that insures that you won't loose any data due to a power disruption or other issue.
Being that on Maxx MARF takes approximately 50% of the space in the card - I use 64gb cards which gives me roughly 32gb free for wav files. 32gb will give you over 11 hours of record time of 6 tracks at 48k.

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By the way Maxx will be hitting the street in large quantities over the next few weeks - and while Maxx has undergone some pretty extensive testing and is rolling out as bug free as possible - there will most likely be some bugs that pop up. 

Given that Zaxcom is usually pretty fast to get new software out to repair any issues - anyone who was an early Nomad user knows that software fixes can in some cases come in just a few hours after reporting them.

So the best and fastest way to report any bugs or issues is to email Zaxcom tech support directly at:

"Support at Zaxcom dot com"

That email box is monitored essentially 24/7 and is by far the fasted and easiest way to reach Zaxcom anytime.

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Cheers gents.  The card that "isn't loving the Maxx" is a 600x 32GB Kingston, which is interesting because it seems to like a 32GB 133x Kingston card just fine.  I'll send them a list, I've got more cards laying around here to test.  These are legit brand cards and aren't knock offs.  My SanDisk 32GB 90MB/s seems to work.  I'll pick up some 64GB Transcends for this kit.  Maxx is getting it's own little setup.

 

So far I'm really happy with the build quality and audio quality.  Nothing but smiles on that front and that's the important stuff to me.

 

Also, want to thank Colleen at Zaxcom for helping me along the way before it's release.  Based on the tests I've done I believe we'll be using it on set this week without any concern.

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Cheers gents. The card that "isn't loving the Maxx" is a 600x 32GB Kingston, which is interesting because it seems to like a 32GB 133x Kingston card just fine. I'll send them a list, I've got more cards laying around here to test. These are legit brand cards and aren't knock offs. My SanDisk 32GB 90MB/s seems to work. I'll pick up some 64GB Transcends for this kit. Maxx is getting it's own little setup.

So far I'm really happy with the build quality and audio quality. Nothing but smiles on that front and that's the important stuff to me.

Also, want to thank Colleen at Zaxcom for helping me along the way before it's release. Based on the tests I've done I believe we'll be using it on set this week without any concern.

no need for fast cards in nomad or maxx
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Looking very much to getting mine!

Please Zaxcom! Ship a couple to Montreal asap!

:P

 

Reading the manual I agree with phfx that: "I think I should be able to format a memory card while "mirroring" is on, don't see a reason why I shouldn't be able to...". Seems a little quirky that we have to disable and then enable something just for formatting a card :-/

 

Anyhow, thank you to the early (and lucky) adopters for keeping us informed of our little Maxx...

 

 

François

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" option to disable marf "

MARF is Zaxcom's native format.

 

" there will most likely be some bugs that pop up. "

sounds like Weiner...

 

" So the best and fastest way to report any bugs or issues is to email Zaxcom tech support directly at:

"Support at Zaxcom dot com"  That email box is monitored essentially 24/7 and is by far the fasted and easiest way to reach Zaxcom anytime.  "

IOW: <old cap> 

 

" Seems a little quirky that we have to disable and then enable something just for formatting a card :-/ "

that sounds like about a third tier priority...

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