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Zaxcom Fusion Preamps and Known Issues.


MattiaCellotto

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Hey folks,

 

Continuing my research for an upgrade the Fusion seems like a good option, I am just wondering if anyone could tell me what they thought of its preamps, speaking with Zaxcom they mentioned they should be less good than a Maxx's, then again my Maxx's preamps are the best ones I ever tried. Anyone has some hands on experience for comparing?

Lastly, for anyone that used it, is there any known problem with it? It can either be a "over time it tends to -insert issue here-" or some limitation one wouldn't expect. I'll test before buying anyway but I really, REALLY, want to be sure this is what I am looking for.

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Maxx preamps will have NeverClip if I remember correctly. Fusion does not have NeverClip.

 

It has to be said that Fusion is pretty much a legacy machine - they have not been made for some time now.

 

The only real issues I ever had with my Deva 5/5.8/Fusion were with the touch screen, and the power supplies. If dirt gets between the screen and the bezel then it can play havoc with the touch screen. This is fixed with cleaning. Some people have had issues with the internal power supplies, but it is an easily fixed issue.

 

Fusion is/was a great machine - I used mine happily for 10+ years.

 

Simon B

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Hi Mattia, 

 

I've used my Fusion 12 for almost 10 years without any significant issues.

Touch screen was never a problem in my experience and indeed I prefer it over Maxx/Nomad pots and buttons.

 

Fusion is a wonderful machine, imho.

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On 29/3/2018 at 12:22 PM, MattiaCellotto said:

Hey folks,

 

Continuing my research for an upgrade the Fusion seems like a good option, I am just wondering if anyone could tell me what they thought of its preamps, speaking with Zaxcom they mentioned they should be less good than a Maxx's, then again my Maxx's preamps are the best ones I ever tried. Anyone has some hands on experience for comparing?

Lastly, for anyone that used it, is there any known problem with it? It can either be a "over time it tends to -insert issue here-" or some limitation one wouldn't expect. I'll test before buying anyway but I really, REALLY, want to be sure this is what I am looking for.

 

If you want a upgrade and you have the Maxx the logical option is the Nomad. 

 

My experience with the Fusion is very good, but I'm always have the feel of I lost options that I have with the Nomad, like Neverclip, autotrim, trim with faders, Zaxnet in the box, etc. The only thing that I miss in the Nomad is the PFL (Direct in the screen) and the track arm.

 

My drawback with the Nomad is the hardwire high pass in the preamps (Very high).

 

Good luck with the search

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12 minutes ago, ramallo said:

 

If you want a upgrade and you have the Maxx the logical option is the Nomad. 

 

My experience with the Fusion is very good, but I'm always have the feel of I lost options that I have with the Nomad, like Neverclip, autotrim, trim with faders, Zaxnet in the box, etc. The only thing that I miss in the Nomad is the PFL (Direct in the screen) and the track arm.

 

My drawback with the Nomad is the hardwire high pass in the preamps (Very high).

 

Good luck with the search

Thanks Ramallo, yeah I would definitely jump on a Nomad if it wasn't that I want to be able to record at 192KHz to make use of my Sanken CO-100K and a couple of other ultrasonic mics :)

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1 minute ago, MattiaCellotto said:

Thanks Ramallo, yeah I would definitely jump on a Nomad if it wasn't that I want to be able to record at 192KHz to make use of my Sanken CO-100K and a couple of other ultrasonic mics :)

 

You have other options such the Sonosax SX R4+ (Transformer free and up to 192kHz fs) and have a 8 preamp expansion (If you want a battery operated device). 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, ramallo said:

 

You have other options such the Sonosax SX R4+ (Transformer free and up to 192kHz fs) and have a 8 preamp expansion (If you want a battery operated device). 

 

 

Yeah, I looked into it but currently I can afford to get a used Fusion around 3K (GBP), the Sonosax SXR4+ is about 9K, wayyyyy out of my league!

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6 minutes ago, ramallo said:

The Sonosax is in the 5k€ range

Without the additional inputs, at which point I'd be upgrading from the Maxx to another recorder with 4 inputs, I'd rather not use both at the same time, sorry I tried to keep the details for myself on this thread to focus on the Fusion, appreciate the advice it's just that I looked and tested almost every existing option and at the moment I can safely say the Sonosax is not one for me, it's beautiful and I bet the preamps are ace, but it's way too expensive if one wants the extra inputs I'm afraid XD

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11 hours ago, Philip Perkins said:

Are you recording classical music or etc with this rig?  If you are a typical JW member, and thus mainly recording dialog on location, all the Zax pres are beyond fine for what you'd need.  Look at a list of movies recorded with that gear.....

Nope, SFX libraries exclusively would be the idea :), hence the necessity to record at 192KHz, as I have plenty of ultrasonic mics. Thanks for the feedback on the pres!

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