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Zaxcom product launch


Bob

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I don't find the Zaxcom specs misleading.  If you are worried about the unit operation at 32khz because of the frequency response, then read the frequency response spec which clearly states 20 Hz to 16 Khz.  The QRX specs say the AES outs operate at 32khz, and the Analog DAC operates at 48Khz.  That is just the spec on the DAC.  The frequency response is stated accurately, so I don't understand where the misdirection is???

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Please tell me where the 32khz AES DAC has effected your work?

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There is no such thing as an AES DAC. A DAC is a digital audio converter. AES is a digital signal that does not come in contact with a DAC. 

 

Look, this is a very valid question Paschal has and there should be an honest answer. I have a very high end studio and I have tested out my zaxcom digital camera links. They sound excellent. I certainly do hear a difference between short line level cable and stereo digital wireless transmission. That being said I think the "rivals" cable is fair marketing speech honestly. Now, here is where more info is better: If the DAC is running at 48KHZ but has a sample rate converter in front of it, then there is good reason to stay AES and avoid sample rate converting till the very end of your chain. I can hear sample rate converters in my studio. I can NOT hear them through headphones. But if there will be a sample rate convert at the end of the chain again, then I would not want one also happening at the DAC. 

 

All in all more info equals better decision making when dealing with technical decisions. Tomorrow I'm recording the Philadelphia Opera singers. There has been a push for me to send wireless signals to cameras not really accessible enough to get cable. I'm refusing. I'm going to force them to use the recording I'm going to make. I know the transmission would make a sonic difference and I'm not giving them the opportunity to use anything less than the best possible sound. I'm doing this because I have the opportunity to hear my gear in a critical environment. Most people don't have that opportunity, which is why they need to be properly informed. If tomorrow's gig was a dialog gig I would send wireless to the cameras without a moment's hesitation. 

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There is no such thing as an AES DAC. A DAC is a digital audio converter. AES is a digital signal that does not come in contact with a DAC.

Yes I am aware of that, its 3am and the brain is not fully functioning I got the wording wrong.

But my question still remains when has the 32khz output been a problem in his line of work.

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Jeff no agenda. Just spoke on the phone with Glenn for 45minutes. We agreed on many things and also disagreed. Told him many time that I have been thinking a lot of Zaxcom gear. My biggest things was that, more attention was needed on the specs and documentation aspect of the products in order for consumer to make up there mind in a informed way.

An example was me thinking of a Yamaha 01v96 as a mixer for a cart and knowing that even if the publicise DAC is 48khz, since the actual sampling rate is 32khz, it would not function in digital mode. It is important for me that the info is complete on the specs so that I can make a decision.

Now products looks promising and should be evaluated and reported in the field.

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Yes I am aware of that, its 3am and the brain is not fully functioning I got the wording wrong.

But my question still remains when has the 32khz output been a problem.

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Refer to the rest of my post. I detailed where the issues are for myself. Others may have issues as well, and I would guess it would be with using gear with no real time sample rate converters, like say my ULN8. 

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Refer to the rest of my post. I detailed where the issues are for myself. Others may have issues as well, and I would guess it would be with using gear with no real time sample rate converters, like say my ULN8.

If wireless had to be the option for that gig then surely the Sennheiser EM9046 is the best option. Saying that it's designed for Stage/Theater productions and the receiver has selectable digital sample rate outputs.

But for the purpose of the QRX line which is mostly ENG/EFP in the bag or on a cart and dialogue I honestly can't see this is a real issue.

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If wireless had to be the option for that gig then surely the Sennheiser EM9046 is the best option. Saying that it's designed for Stage/Theater productions and the receiver has selectable digital sample rate outputs.

But for the purpose of the QRX line which is mostly ENG/EFP in the bag or on a cart and dialogue I honestly can't see this is a real issue.

I can explain it to you, but I can't comprehend it for you. Some of us want to know what's going on inside the units for technical reasons within our workflow. You don't think we should care, or just use other gear (that we don't own). I guess we will have to just leave it at that. 

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I can explain it to you, but I can't comprehend it for you. Some of us want to know what's going on inside the units for technical reasons within our workflow. You don't think we should care, or just use other gear (that we don't own). I guess we will have to just leave it at that.

When did I say not to care? all I am trying to say that everything is not one size fits all. Every system has it's limitations and we can't go beyond that but as it seems bar the few examples given that this "issue" has not been a problem for the majority using Zaxcom on film jobs

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Yup. This almost always happens when anyone voices a concern about Zaxcom products on this forum. It's usually the same few people instantly  attacking you for making any sort of criticism no matter how valid. Their arguments usually devolve into the all to common lazy reply of "why don't you just buy something else". It really is a shame that it keeps happening here. They don't seem to understand that most of us are hoping that Zaxcom will improve on these (usually minor) issues and become a company we like and trust even more. You can like a company and their product and give constructive criticism at the same time. Hard for some to wrap their brain around.  

Last time I called Zaxcom on Mis-marketing here, JW literally accused me of slander. Condescending "air quotes" and all. Honestly, it drove me to contribute far less frequently to this site. I felt that my opinion was unfairly singled out, and although my opinions were factually based, it didn't fit in with the (ahem) popular opinion. It disappoints me... But I guess you just have to know your audience.

Looks like a cool product, and kudos to all involved, but I've always been able to get 2-3 city blocks (at least) out of my wireless, so I'm good for now.

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Last time I called Zaxcom on Mis-marketing here, JW literally accused me of slander. Condescending "air quotes" and all. Honestly, it drove me to contribute far less frequently to this site. I felt that my opinion was unfairly singled out, and although my opinions were factually based, it didn't fit in with the (ahem) popular opinion. It disappoints me... But I guess you just have to know your audience.

Looks like a cool product, and kudos to all involved, but I've always been able to get 2-3 city blocks (at least) out of my wireless, so I'm good for now.

Yup. One reason I don't post much online anymore.

And I use Zaxcom products. Zaxcom fanboys have no issue attacking me when I am being honest about there products.

I've talked to Pascal on the phone. He is EXTREMELY knowledgeable about anything to do with wireless.

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So, I glean this topic and the new Zaxcom site for application details about the exciting new product announcement, then go away for a refreshing weekend of spending time with friends, and come back to a thread that sounds like a schoolyard scrap with everyone feeling compelled to choose up sides, complete with knee-jerk reactions to knee-jerk reactions of knee-jerk reactions.

 

It would be fantastic if this thread went back to talking about the "Zaxcom product launch." 

 

HINT:  The minutiae of what specs actually mean and how they impact our daily lives, sounds like a good header for a new, and separate, topic.

 

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Philip,

I've bought 4 TRX900LANC since june 2013 (apart from QRX and other Zaxcom things), one of them was defected and I had it back from a warranty service in september, I reported many early issues so, in a certain way, as other ones here, I tested them in the field...

I'm very very disappointed and a little angry that my 3-6 months old, around 10k€ gear, today is 'discontinued'.

 

Just because they upgraded their product line doesn't mean your stuff will suddenly quit working, or that, if used correctly, won't give you plenty of service over years.

 

Too bad Nomad's zaxnet range is about 50'. Can't adjust TX trim across the Hudson I'd imagine.

Well with NeverClip if you can't manage to set up the gain right for the initial conditions, 130dB of dynamic range will save you.

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Also, having the subject 1km away will probably never happen ever.

Just because you can set the gain remotely doesn't mean you have to do it every hour. I set the gain one time per transmitter and then leave it, and this is with traditional systems. This is the way it is for many people.

This feature wishing is getting tiresome.

In the 32khz subject; in games, effects and ambiances are recorded in 48khz and then compressed HANDBOLL, and I'm not taking about level compressing, but frequency wise. Sometimes single effects might be 8000khz sampling rate just to save space. And this is in modern time games. Games have the most intricate and awesome sound design. No one's complaining.

To each his own. I respect that people feel cheated with the 32khz output in AES from the qrx, and I agree it should be stated more clearly. But I also agree with everyone else ; there's no usable information up there anyways . So to me it is a non issue was well. To each his own.

Congrats on this new system.

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I will continue to use my non-NC tx and rejoice that I will have a free upgrade that gives me more range.  I will buy QRX100 at a presumably discounted price because they work perfectly for my application.  Some day in the future I'll upgrade to new equipment, but for now, the recently discontinued Zaxcom gear will provide everything that I need and more.  Good on Zaxcom for such a fantastic progressive rollout of performance and capabilities.

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Let's make an analogy to refrigerators.

 

GE has made the same fridge for the last 5 years, a good, competent, always cold unit.  I buy that fridge today.

 

Next week they unveil a refrigerator that uses lasers to keep things cold.  I want that fridge.  Do I demand they create an update path for my current week old fridge, or demand a firmware update to a fridge that doesn't even have the same hardware as the new one?

 

No. 

 

I suck it up.

 

 

Businesses depend on sales to generate income.

 

Income is required for capital, which is required for R&D.

 

If I tell you 3 months ahead of time that I'm working on laser cooling technology, you are going to not buy a new fridge - waiting for laser cooling technology

 

Which stops income.

 

 

The point is that everything has a definite life cycle, especially when it comes to technology.  If you decide you need a piece of hardware to solve your issue, it's up to you to decide to invest in current technology, or wait for new technology.  Whatever your decision, it's your problem, not someone else's.

 

I understand your fridge analogy.

But your fridge had a 5 years life, you only bought it at the end of its time.

 

So, I'm not complaining about QRX upgrade. 

QRX100Q was introduced in 2009, if I'm not going wrong, so it is good they were hardware improved with new features and I'm not pretending a trade-in for the QRX receivers. They had their time, I just bought them in their late period.

 

I am disappointed for the transmitters. The LANCs had less then 6 months from when they were introduced to when they're made discontinued. I can't remember anything in our business, or in technology generally, that have had a so short life.

It's there I ask for a trade-in.

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One of the most interesting self-improvement projects I've endured was to have voluntarily joined a number of software beta testing newsgroups. While my brain is not well suited for such work, the takeaway was the chance to observe the various ways in which the developers and users handled their respective jobs. Delivering, hearing and responding to beta feedback in text with élan is fraught with potential ruffled feathers. Text often fails us in its monochrome lack of detail, color and high-contrast shadows.

 

Was glad to see the word 'phone' a couple of times above. I know the telephone is culturally passé, but it still serves us well when drilling down into technical questions that actually require full-color, high-resolution back and forth in order to achieve understanding. 

 

These days, I try to approach potentially difficult conversations with the beta test model in mind: that only together can we create the best product/outcome. Developers and testers need each other. Delivering bad beta test news well is not easy, nor is hearing it well.

 

We have the unprecedented glorious opportunity to connect with the engineers who create our tools.

 

We actually know each other personally, which means we know that this or that will have a certain effect. And yet, some seem to act as though they can say this or that and not expect consequences. Pressing 'post' is always a choice. Editing in advance of 'post' to check for tone is also a choice, if often forgotten in the heat of discussion.

 

Pick up the phone if you can't get the text just right; don't we owe it to each other to at least try to get it right?

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Here's a thought I'd like to add to the 32 kHz discussion. Personally I'm quite sure the Zax wireless sounds great, but I'd like to know, on a project for example comparable to Les Miserables (which soundwise I'm sure we all admire), with people singing live on camera, what post people would say if you told them you'll record the voices with 32 kHz.

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Here's a thought I'd like to add to the 32 kHz discussion. Personally I'm quite sure the Zax wireless sounds great, but I'd like to know, on a project for example comparable to Les Miserables (which soundwise I'm sure we all admire), with people singing live on camera, what post people would say if you told them you'll record the voices with 32 kHz.

Ask Simon Hayes, he used Lectrosonics though on that job I think.

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