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Looking to upgrade recorder next spring. Torn. Appreciate your opinions.


AudioMTL

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Best bang for the buck right now if you are buying a new machine IMHO are the Zaxcom products. Nomad is great in a bag and would probably make a great cart recorder as well. It has great preamps and can record up to 12 tracks.. The maxx is also a good option if you don't need the track count. I sold my sound devices machine and got the Nomad for the bag and also use it as the preamp fronted and as backup recorder on my cart.

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Audio has made up his mind, but wants our permission..?

Many of us like to discuss options -- after all, as you may recall, this is a discussion group.

The contentiousness comes in when someone stridently declares their opinion as undisputed fact. Their level of credibility is quickly exposed by those of us who prefer discussion over posturing.

After all, our recorders are simply tools. You choose the right tool for the job and all is well.

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I think the contention comes in when people don't look at things logically and instead let emotions rule their thinking process.  You know, like what chicks do all the time.  John, Jeff, Crew and of course Glenn have such a boner for their recorder that they can not see it's faults - kind of like the mother who thinks their kid can do no wrong. They'll attack anyone that says differently.

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"John, Jeff, Crew and of course Glenn have such a boner for their recorder that they can not see it's faults - kind of like the mother who thinks their kid can do no wrong. They'll attack anyone that says differently."

 

I don't think any of us has a boner...  I mean, I love the gear and all that, but please...  I have no problem assessing and understanding the faults in any of the equipment I use, and I have never "attacked" anyone over any of these issues. I have, of course, aggressively clarified and corrected the reports of "faults" which actually are a product of innuendo and here say and at its worst, the efforts by others to bash a company or its people (and the spill over, anyone who uses the equipment or defends those individuals).

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And for the record, I don't care what recorder anyone uses if it makes their job easier. I own 2 SD recorders and 1 Zaxcom recorder. All 3 are many times better than the Nagra's of yesterday. (Though not as cool looking). This is the usual end of these type of discussions when it breaks down to name calling.

CrewC

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And for the record, I don't care what recorder anyone uses if it makes their job easier. I own 2 SD recorders and 1 Zaxcom recorder. All 3 are many times better than the Nagra's of yesterday. (Though not as cool looking). This is the usual end of these type of discussions when it breaks down to name calling.

CrewC

 

 

 
 

I like being called out by an anonymous coward who will not put his name to his belief(s) in any topic here @jwsound. 

CrewC

 

 

 

LOL !  I believe the ones name calling are you and John. Go back and re-read your posts if you don't believe it.  I said you were emotional and erect.  Do you take offense to that? I would love it if someone said I was erect these days.  Oh, I did say you attack others for expressing opinions that are different then yours, which is true.  You guys are too much... :)

 

I, too, own both SD and Zaxcom.  

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If we are talking about "facts" and "truths" the only true is: Manufacturers make money from us and we make money using their products.

 

The only question I had for AudioMTL: Does the Deva fit your workflow, needs and possible future plans?

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Well said, Jeff.

 

I'm sure Glenn can verify that I have no problem addressing any issues I might have with their gear.

 

My issue comes with someone who illogically claims their personal opinion to be hard facts as if that makes them indisputable by decree.

 

The points I mentioned ARE fact. I'll list them again. Please refute them.

 

1) The Deva, operated as the manufacture suggests, relies on hardware that is not being produced by ANYONE. 

 

2) There are no new PATA hard drives being made. 

 

3) There are no new firewire 400 card readers being made

 

4) Any PATA drives and firewire 400 cardreaders being bought now are leftovers from someones basement.

 

5) People are hacking the DEVA internal hard drives to run on CF cards.  You can not read about or buy parts to do this conversion from Zaxcom.  This is a homemade work-a-round. It is not manufacture sanctioned.  If it was, Zaxcom would write about it.

 

Please tell me how I am wrong on any of these points. 

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Missing the point again Mr Anonymous. Your words mean nothing if you don't own them with a real name. 

CrewC

 

 

I'm missing the point??  This coming from a guy that can't stay on topic and reverts back to my anonymity whenever he runs out of reasoning?  Come on..I expect more from you then that.  See my post #64, which is the bases of my first post and tell me how they're false.  Or am I still missing the point?

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Okay. I think it's time for me to put my Moderator hat on...   knock it off already! This topic did, at one time a long, long time ago, have the opportunity to help someone trying to make a decision on the purchase of a used recorder (most probably a Deva), but devolved into a really nasty "ra.m.p.s." style rant, replete with personal attacks and nothing of any constructive or educational value.

 

You can be sure I will be closely monitoring any comments made to MY post above, so watch out.

 

As a matter of fact, any comment you might feel will only add to the problem, make it a PM (personal message) or a new Post To The Host.

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OK Ken. Your points are all valid and the OP guy shouldn't even consider a Deva. I see the error of my way.

Crew Chamberlain

Wrong, but you can call me Ken if it makes you feel better about my opinion.

 

As to whether the OP buys a Deva, I couldn't care less.  I only brought up my points about the Deva so that he knows what he's getting into before plopping down a wad of cash.  He all ready owns a fostex, why not own a deva?  Movies have been made on both.

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Wow! Thanks everyone for your constructive advice and thanks to those who have taken the time to PM me. I love the Fostex and I get great sounding results with it. My clients are happy and so am I (with the quality and workflow) I have always wanted a Deva. My mentors have always used them and I like the look , feel and prestige that come with them. I also find the users tend to be of a certain calibre (maybe thats just the price point). I am aware of the age old argument with SD versus Zax and everyone is welcome to their preference. Ultimately this is a tool for me to do my job. The Fostex has well paid for itself, and If I had the capital for a Deva when I first purchased the Fostex, it would have well paid for itself by now as well (the Deva). As I stated, I am CONSIDERING an upgrade in many months. Since I last posted, some have approached me regarding their old DV824's and I've been throwing that Idea around as well. I think that may be a great interim recorder (still using PD6 on bag shots) while I wait to see what happens at NAB and any other upcoming Zax deals. Or perhaps just for the Deva 5.8 or Fusion price to come down. 

 

Lets get back on topic! Just to learn a little more the diff between Fusion and 5.8

 

I wasn't heavily considering the Fusion due to its high price compared to a used deva AND the fact that it seems to be less feature rich than a Deva, for example, no internal drive, no DVD burner. Could you enlighten me as to how the Fusion and Deva 5.8 Truly differ aside from the Fusion ONLY offering two CF Card slots? 

 

Thank you!

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Fusion and Deva are very similar if not actually identical except for the Fusion not having an internal spinning hard drive and no optical (DVD-RAM) drive. The operating system is the same, the feature set is the same. This comparison is, of course, between Fusion and Deva 5.8. Deva 5.8 has it all: internal hard drive, internal CF card, internal DVD-RAM (optical) drive. This is why I use the Deva 5.8 as my main recorder --- maximum flexibility. The Fusion lacking the internal hard drive is considered a benefit over the Deva --- totally solid state and lighter in weight, slightly smaller in overall dimensions (since it does not have to have the optical drive). The 2 CF cards are used in much the same way as the Deva uses internal hard drive and the CF card slot --- one CF card is your primary "drive" (like the internal spinning hard drive on the Deva) and the other CF card is your mirror card that is used as your deliverable.

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Fusion and Deva are very similar if not actually identical except for the Fusion not having an internal spinning hard drive and no optical (DVD-RAM) drive. The operating system is the same, the feature set is the same. This comparison is, of course, between Fusion and Deva 5.8. Deva 5.8 has it all: internal hard drive, internal CF card, internal DVD-RAM (optical) drive. This is why I use the Deva 5.8 as my main recorder --- maximum flexibility. The Fusion lacking the internal hard drive is considered a benefit over the Deva --- totally solid state and lighter in weight, slightly smaller in overall dimensions (since it does not have to have the optical drive). The 2 CF cards are used in much the same way as the Deva uses internal hard drive and the CF card slot --- one CF card is your primary "drive" (like the internal spinning hard drive on the Deva) and the other CF card is your mirror card that is used as your deliverable.

Thank you Jeff. I can't see the "benefit" other than the weight and size reduction from not having those internal drive options. But I understand the industry wants to move to compact solid media! Oh well can't fight the future! Thanks again!

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I will add that it is the right "industry move" to solid state storage --- many of us have been pushing to have CF and also SD cards accepted as our deliverable. You have to remember that in the early days of file-based recording it was a major battle to get post production to accept anything new. DVD-RAM established itself because it could be "played out" in real time and transferred to the facility's preferred format in a linear fashion just like tape. Fostex had a lot to do with this with the introduction of the Fostex DV-40 which was very inexpensive and integrated into post facility quite easily. Other types of media for delivery to post (hard drives, CF, SD, USB jump drives, etc.) really only became attractive and acceptable as the cameras went from film based to file based. Then the whole post process was file based and it made it much easier for us to turn in files stored on whatever seemed to be the media of choice.

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