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Cheap access to quiet mic preamps?


Samuel Dilworth

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I don’t want to get carried away here and end up spending way more than I planned. (Nor will I keep bumping this boring thread with new questions.) But what’s the closest thing to a MixPre-3 with a pair of XLR outputs?

 

That’s a strange and annoying lack on the MixPre-3.

 

The more I look into this, the more I like the look of the Zoom F4. It’s odd that Zoom discontinued that, since the F8n is way more expensive and the F6 doesn’t have some of the F4’s appealing features. Does Zoom make some kind of plug-in accessory for XLR out? They make a load of accessories … hard to check everything.

 

On 1/20/2021 at 10:01 PM, Eric said:

Shipping costs to Paris alone might kill this "just a preamp" idea if not some of your other criteria.

Probably. Thanks for the offer anyway.

 

On 1/20/2021 at 10:22 PM, Soundwil said:

I found this 302 for sale at a reasonable price on BBlist .. for what it's worth.

 

https://www.bblist.co.uk/item.php?item=75331

 

Anything in the UK has just become a bad value for me because of Brexit. There are import duties and VAT and uncertainties on top of that. Now leaning toward an all-in-one recorder of some sort anyway.

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2 hours ago, Samuel Dilworth said:

I don’t want to get carried away here and end up spending way more than I planned. (Nor will I keep bumping this boring thread with new questions.) But what’s the closest thing to a MixPre-3 with a pair of XLR outputs?

 

I can't recall if you need recording in your device, but if you don't maybe look for a used Sound Devices 302 mixer. https://www.sounddevices.com/product/302/ Or if you want something a bit bigger and even more flexible, perhaps a used Sound Devices 442 mixer. https://cdn.sounddevices.com/download/lit/442-factsheet.pdf

 

The recommendations for a Zoom F4 aren't so bad. Preamps aren't as nice as those in the 302 and 442, but they're OK and the F4 can record.

 

I'm probably repeating what others have said. Looks like there are several good options for you.

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17 hours ago, Samuel Dilworth said:

The more I look into this, the more I like the look of the Zoom F4. It’s odd that Zoom discontinued that, since the F8n is way more expensive and the F6 doesn’t have some of the F4’s appealing features. Does Zoom make some kind of plug-in accessory for XLR out? They make a load of accessories … hard to check everything.

I do agree it is very sad that there was never a "Zoom F4n"! As the Zoom F6 is not a proper replacement for the F4.
However, the F4 outputs are not true pro line level, they're consumer line level. If you want proper line level outputs, get the Zoom F8n.

 

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Just ordered a new old stock MixPre-3.

 

I hope I don’t regret not waiting for the right Zoom F4 to come along. I searched everywhere for a NOS F4 without success. I missed the used one on LeBonCoin that Display Name mentioned earlier in the thread (maybe someone here bought that?).

 

Spent more than I anticipated, but you’re all telling me it’s still cheap, ha. Thanks for the valuable advice, all.

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Wow. This thing is seriously impressive. Cast aluminium body with rubber top and bottom covers (for cameras and tripods). Tiny and yet somehow not too fiddly. Carefully thought out hardware design in every detail. Clean, clean preamps. Clean, clean headphone amp. Pretty good touchscreen user interface, considering.

 

I’m deeply impressed. Only annoyance is that it blows through batteries like nobody’s business. Consequently it produces a fair bit of heat while recording. My Zoom H4N Pro lasts four times longer on half the battery count.

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1 hour ago, Samuel Dilworth said:

I’m deeply impressed. Only annoyance is that it blows through batteries like nobody’s business. Consequently it produces a fair bit of heat while recording. My Zoom H4N Pro lasts four times longer on half the battery count.

 

Look into L-Mount batts on a sled, or one of the external battery systems. There's some good information in this SD tech note:

https://www.sounddevices.com/mixpre-3-mixpre-6-powering-options/

 

And more info here if you search around...

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On 2/1/2021 at 10:04 PM, Samuel Dilworth said:

Only annoyance is that it blows through batteries like nobody’s business.

 

I used a few powering options to start with (I have had a MixPre-3 from when they first came out), but fairly early on realized that the 4 x AA sled was actually the best option for my purposes, with decent rechargeables of course - I use Eneloop Pros (2500mAh). They give 2-3hrs with 2-3 P48v mics, are easy to swap out (I have 3 sets), avoid the less than robust USB connection or the bulk of external Sony L-type batteries via the MX-L mount (or 3rd party equivalent), and maintain the (wonderfully) diminutive size of the recorder.

 

Cheers,

 

Roland

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This is an interesting article on using AA cells:

 

https://www.sounddevices.com/mixpre-3-mixpre-6-maxbatteryruntime/

 

I’m getting less than 1.5 hours with eneloop cells. A bit tight for interviews after accounting for faff. My eneloops are 8–10 years old and well used in flash guns … maybe time for some new ones with “PRO” in the label.

 

I notice the screen brightness doesn’t make a great difference to battery life, which makes sense considering its small size versus the battery capacity and runtime. Still, it would be nice to turn the display backlight completely off in some situations.

 

I’m enjoying the headphone amp for music from my computer (which solves the battery problem with USB power).

 

One weird thing was that it randomly recorded something at 44.1 kHz in Basic mode. I never selected that (and in Basic mode you cannot). Hasn’t happened since.

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Probably after 8 years the battery has lost a bit of capacity. The IKEA Ladda 2450 AAs works good, but for more than 2 hours you'll want a different power solution.

 

Check the USB behaviour in the settings. If you do audio over USB, it will keep the sample rate of the computer it has been plugged into, so that is something to look out for or disable in case you only use it is a recorder.

 

Overall, be aware that you only get a stereo track from the Basic mode, so most likely you'll want the advanced setup or custom mode with recording set to advanced.

 

Hope that helps.

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19 hours ago, Samuel Dilworth said:

 

One weird thing was that it randomly recorded something at 44.1 kHz in Basic mode. I never selected that (and in Basic mode you cannot). Hasn’t happened since.

 

The MixPre may change SR when connected to a computer as a USB interface, depending on what the SR is set in the computer. It won't change back to a prior SR when disconnected. 

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