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Sound Devices 688 Discontinued?


TomBoisseau

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I suppose I'm that last to know, but I was shocked today when browsing Sound Devices website that the 688 has been discontinued... (they've put it in the "legacy" category) but they still have the 664!  Amazing!  And the 664 now sells for $5000!  Was that bumped up?  I thought is was a fair bit less.  Why would you buy a 664 when for only another grand you can get (they still are available on some sites) a 688?

 

I was thinking about picking up a second 688.  For my needs, the 688 is more than adequate, although I will admit I'd love to (although I don't need it) the Dante capabilities of the new Scorpio and the 888.

 

Tom

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8 hours ago, TomBoisseau said:

I suppose I'm that last to know, but I was shocked today when browsing Sound Devices website that the 688 has been discontinued... (they've put it in the "legacy" category) but they still have the 664!  Amazing!  And the 664 now sells for $5000!  Was that bumped up?  I thought is was a fair bit less.  Why would you buy a 664 when for only another grand you can get (they still are available on some sites) a 688?

 


Surely willl only be a matter of time until the 664 gets bumped down into the "discontinued" category. 

Am surprised it hasn't happened earlier! Am sure once the 688 and 633 came out then sales of the 664 tanked (and ditto, sales of the 552 probably tanked once the 664 came out, even more so once the 633 came out). As for most people, either a 633 (for much less!) or a 688 (for only a little more) would have made more sense than a new 664

Likewise for most people the 888 or Scorpio is going to make more sense to buy than a 688

The steady march of progress keeps on going forward!

But fear not, if you really want a 688 then I've been seeing them go for bargain prices secondhand! And the longer you can make yourself wait, the cheaper you'll find them 😉

8 hours ago, TomBoisseau said:

And the 664 now sells for $5000!  Was that bumped up?  I thought is was a fair bit less. 


I jumped onto the Wayback Machine to see what it was in 2016:

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20160701025520/http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/891297-REG/Sound_Devices_664_Six_Channel_Portable_Production.html

Has only gone up by fifty bucks over a span of several years! That is less than inflation. Maybe Sound Devices should be selling the 664 for even more! haha

 

 

8 hours ago, TomBoisseau said:

Why would you buy a 664 when for only another grand you can get (they still are available on some sites) a 688?


That is what I've always thought! (ditto selling a 552 for nearly the same price as a 633????? wtf)

Doubt they've been selling the 664 in any massive quanties in recent years. 

Maaaaybe, they've still got a LOT of old stock yet to clear out??

 

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Makes sense to move out older designs to sell the new stuff.  Same thing will be happening to the 800 series when the integrated mixer/recorders/wireless systems hit.  Then another round of gear sell offs and upgrades.  I believe since Zaxcom integrated their systems to the Nova, other manufactures will follow suit.  Probably in the next 9-12 months

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8 hours ago, drpro said:

I believe since Zaxcom integrated their systems to the Nova, other manufactures will follow suit.  Probably in the next 9-12 months


Will take much longer than 9-12 months before Sound Devices replaces the 8 Series (a "9 Series"??) with a recorder than integrates Audio Ltd receivers into it. (if that ever happens? They might just stick with, and further improve, the SuperSlot approach)

And I can't see any of the other manufacturers (Sonosax/Tascam/Zoom/Roland/Aaton/etc) bringing out a recorder with integrated wireless. (although it would be GREAT if they embraced the SuperSlot standard and integrated them in! Of those manufacturers I just listed, only Aaton is)

 

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3 hours ago, IronFilm said:


Will take much longer than 9-12 months before Sound Devices replaces the 8 Series (a "9 Series"??) with a recorder than integrates Audio Ltd receivers into it. (if that ever happens? They might just stick with, and further improve, the SuperSlot approach)

And I can't see any of the other manufacturers (Sonosax/Tascam/Zoom/Roland/Aaton/etc) bringing out a recorder with integrated wireless. (although it would be GREAT if they embraced the SuperSlot standard and integrated them in! Of those manufacturers I just listed, only Aaton is)

 

I reckon Deity will release a recorder soon tbh, and have some for integration between their connect 2.4ghz wireless system.

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I may be optimistic on 9-12 months, but all of the systems exist in seperate forms, along with much of the software.  So most of the new work would be in redesigning cases and modifying the electronics in the case of the wireless receivers to fit.

I just don't believe that Zaxcom in the future will be the only one box shop around.

I know there are some folks on these forums with more inside knowledge, than I have.  Perhaps another version of the 8 series.

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23 minutes ago, drpro said:

Perhaps another version of the 8 series.

 

Maybe maybe if the 888 had never came out, then that "middle ground" between the 833 and Scorpio could have had the receiver integration innovation inside it. 

But as it is, I doubt they can squeeze four separate models within the 8 Series range, just feel like they'd be squeezed into each other's turf a little too much with two much overlap. Where would you put the fourth model? Above Scoprio? Nope. Between Scorpio/888 or between 888/833? Seems unlikely.

 

A model positioned underneath the 833?? Heh, maybe a very compact "822" with 2x XLR inputs plus an Audio Ltd dual reciever built into it (as most jobs are boom + two wireless, and we've got that 2nd XLR input as a spare input for when "surprise" they spring the need for a 3rd wireless onto us) with the ability to use the XL-AES input for additional inputs on top for expansion?? Maybe.

 

Actually, heck, I think I like the idea of this even more than the existing 833!  (could be both more compact *and* have a higher track count of 12 channels when needed? Hehe, guess I'm in dream land right now)

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