Jump to content

My Sound Devices 633 Review


ProSound

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 92
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Do you only have one CF card? I have about a dozen. If one ever acted up, you should be able to swap another and test. I also sometimes have to send one off with production at wrap and they mail it back to me.

It's quite possible that a cf card is out of spec causing us issues, but would work fine in a still camera.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

sometimes CRAP happens:

Following the launch of the new console on Friday, more Xbox One owners are reporting that their disc drives are malfunctioning. But with 1 million Xbox One consoles sold during the first 24 hours , the problem has spread, triggering a response from Microsoft on Saturday. "The issue is affecting a very small number of Xbox One customers," Microsoft said

 

especially with new products...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was able to check out the 633 over at The Audio Department in Burbank the other day, and I was very impressed. It's a very solid unit, great feel on the knobs, and I found the menus very fast and easy to maneuver. I think a sound package with a 788 for big jobs and a 633 for backup/smaller jobs would pretty much do everything. For $3K, it looks like a really nice machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

More problems with the 633.

 

Watch your XLR Output levels. While recording to a HDX900 and attempting to stripe a new tape, the 633 output levels dropped -10db more than what they were set to. This happened several times. I contacted Sound Devices, and they were able to replicate the problem. Supposedly this is only happening to the XLR outputs and not the TA-3 outputs. 

 

A temporary fix is to reboot the 633. Fortunately it restarts quickly.

 

So far the CF card (which was supplied in the 633 kit) is having problems, as well as the XLR outputs. It's pretty disappointing to have a new piece of gear not work as advertised.

 

Look for an update from Sound Devices soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

JB, your level drop only occurred after power up right, not during actual mixing? As in you powered up, the leves were low and stayed that way? Then after power cycle, levels were normal and stayed thet way?

It happened to me while testing and only happens after power cycling the machine. Once it is powered on it did not change from what i can tell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I had full lock up today, first outing with 633 and didn't know the reset ( menu for 10 sec while off ) - would had made things very difficult if I didn't have backup with me.  Think I may have experienced level oddness too, set tone on Alexa yesterday and it was way off today when I checked.  Bit concerning on the latest brand new machine.  Not feeling confidant about taking it out tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rob - same scenario here. Only after power cycles do the levels change.

Jozz - I agree, and don't feel confident with this machine. 2 issues within 2 days of work. When reliability accounts for a great deal of your work, I can't be bringing something like this around with me.

Studiomprd - I agree to a certain extent. Minor bugs and ergonomics often change, and I expect that. More often than not, the folks who build these things don't spend any time in the field using them, which is why they need the feedback from us guinea pigs. That being said, when I buy a new vehicle, the engine, steering wheel and brakes ought to work on the first day. If these components fail, it is highly unlikely that I would trust any future products from that company. When I show up on a gig with a new crew or a new camera, those excuses don't work.

The live-stream release of this product might have said it all. Hope you were fortunate enough to see that, because their audio didn't work there either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Senator said:

and you haven't yet learned that the early adopters are always the pioneers, and second line Beta-testers.  It comes with the territory on just about everything these days!

 

 

JB said:

I agree to a certain extent. Minor bugs and ergonomics often change, and I expect that. More often than not, the folks who build these things don't spend any time in the field using them, which is why they need the feedback from us guinea pigs. That being said, when I buy a new vehicle, the engine, steering wheel and brakes ought to work on the first day. If these components fail, it is highly unlikely that I would trust any future products from that company. When I show up on a gig with a new crew or a new camera, those excuses don't work.

 

What the Senator said is so true and is really the way things are in a highly technical world...  I know many people who wont buy first year cars, motorcycles or many other products because of the inherent roll out problems... These products with all the computerized components will have issues... It's that simple... This is the way it is.... The sooner people understand this the better the consumer will feel about their new purchase that has a few quirks... This does not mean the product is poor or was manufactured incorrectly, it just means they are working out the bugs...

 

  I for one will never buy a product until it has had time for a real world shakeout....  What I am reading now is the shakeout by you guys... probably time for a thank you... As the Senator said, you are the post Beta testers, like it or not... The sooner everyone understands that, the better everyone will feel... Sound Devices is a wonderful company with second to none customer support... They will resolve the issues... but they need more real world use to identify the issues in the first place.... and that brings us here... to this point in time...

 

  When you find a device this intricate that operates perfectly out of the box the first time... for everyone... pinch yourself to see if your alive or dreaming...

Totally normal.... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not sure what my threshold is for losing faith, but I'm a fair way off losing it - I've had Sound Devices machines for the length of my recording career so far ( except my first mixer PSC M4 ) and this is the 1st time I've been caught out - and I suspect it mayn't have happened if I had not used a certain CF card, which is a bit older.

 

It was more of a wake up call as I barreled out the door all excited and left my back up machine 5 minutes away rather than 30 seconds away.  However I had considered I was partly doing the gig as a field test - it was a charity cheapie.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Every time there is a new mixer/recorder there are these "I have been betrayed by my new machine--they should have known better etc" reports by v 1.0 users.  All the of the machines we use have gone through this, in spite of pretty rigorous testing by the manufacturers.  If you don't want to deal with the teething issues then let others do it and wait for v 2.0.  As was said all new tech products seem to follow this route--mixer/recorders, phones, computers, cars (especially) and so on.

 

philp

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Senator said:

and you haven't yet learned that the early adopters are always the pioneers, and second line Beta-testers. It comes with the territory on just about everything these days!

JB said:

I for one will never buy a product until it has had time for a real world shakeout.... What I am reading now is the shakeout by you guys... probably time for a thank you... As the Senator said, you are the post Beta testers, like it or not... The sooner everyone understands that, the better everyone will feel...

I agree! I've been a beta tester and don't regret the headaches that came with it, but if I don't have an urgent need for a product, I'll wait. Especially with recorders. They're the most delicate balance of hardware & software in our kits.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

" When reliability accounts for a great deal of your work, I can't be bringing something like this around with me. "

then you should not be a pioneer.

my own personal rule is to wait for at least the second production run...

 

" when I buy a new vehicle, the engine, steering wheel and brakes ought to work on the first day. "

not if you are a pioneer and buy the first run Tesla, or Fisker, or most any of the newest all green, plug in electric cars...

they sometimes have an issue like the ones we have...

wait for it...

they FREEZE !!  yep... right there in traffic, need to be towed to the dealership, etc...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Reporting back, same testing scenario as before. 2, 401 receivers and the 633 recording 6 tracks, this time on a brand new Batteries 4 Broadcast 60watthr np-1.

Been going for over 8 hrs solid in record (had to stop and reformat cards mid way) and it's at 13.5v. That's a result I'm happy with, I should be able to get a full day on one battery, I'll be ordering more of these batteries soon. First impression is very positive.

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...