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Zaxcom vs Sound Devices A20 testing


backfocus

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So I am in the process of testing out some gear to upgrade my kit.  Some of the tests we did over the weekend actually surprised us and was curious about other peoples experience with the A20s or even thoughts of the Zaxcom.  I currently run a Sound Devices 688 with 400 series Lectros.  Over the last week we have been testing out the SD A20 RX and A20 Tx and A10 Tx, plus the Zaxcom MRX414 with the RX4 Interface and the ZMT4s. The plan is to eventually change the mixer out to a 888 or a Zaxcom Nova, depending on the route we go with the receivers.  

We were surprised while testing the A20 in several different powers and modulation modes, that the range was lacking compared to the Zaxcom.  The ZMT4s were clear with no hits for a good 200 feet more than the A20s even with the A20s set to LR modulation and 40 output.  However, with both systems we only tested with the factory whip antennas, not an external antenna system.  I have honestly never used a external antenna system like the bow tie or a sharkfin etc.  I see most people with the newer Sound Devices mixers are using bow ties or some sort of external antenna.  So are the A20s more designed to be used with external antennas?  

The tests were are first done with both systems on a in the bag together.  Then we did the test with each system separately and the other system turned off, close to the same result each time.  The LR modulation added a slight increase in the pickup distance to the A20, but not much.  The Zaxcom was set to 50 output power each time.  Thoughts, or any experience on this?

Overall I thought both systems sounded great.  We can see pros and cons to each one.  I love the battery life on the ZMTs, but the user interface is much easier to use on the A20 Receiver.  I realize that when we do upgrade to a newer mixer most of the receiver work will move over to the mixer interface which will help even out that issue.  We also like the huge wide band of the A20s compared to the Zaxcom.  The Zaxcom was pickuping up a lot of signals in my area that don't show up on my Lector Scans, so I am a little nervous that the tuning bands are not as wide on the Zaxcom.  I travel over most of the southeastern US.  Here in my home base of Little Rock, Arkansas I am fine on blocks 19, 21 and 22, but it is getting harder to find open space when traveling to say Kentucky or Florida areas.  I would like to say I would stay with Lecto, but I feel they are lagging behind in tech and with Sound Devices now owning their own wireless system, will they still be able to compete down the road.  

 

Let me know you thoughts.

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10 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Did you also compare at the same time and place with your Lectro 400 system? How was the sound quality and range performance vs Lectro 400 wireless? 

 

Did you consider Shure Axient Digital?

Yes, We did they exact same route each time all within a 1 hour time window checking different power settings, and modulation settings on the A20.  We did not change the power setting past 50 on the Zaxcom since it seemed to perform better than we expected.  As for the sound quality it is as good or better than the Lectro 411As with the UMC 400s, which I would expect since my 400s are old, but still work great. As for the range the A20 and Lectro 400s, were very close, with the Zaxcom have a longer reach, from our tests.

 I have not looked at the Shure system yet, but I am not opposed to them.  I kind of like the idea of being able to record at the transmitter at times, I don't think that is an option on the Shure.  I do a lot of Parks and Tourism shoots and we sometime do long shot of mountain bikes that it would good to have the option to capture the riding audio when it is too far away from the mixer.  The bikes are typically rigged with GoPros or cameras for these type of shots.

12 hours ago, Philip Perkins said:

Were all the radios on the same freqs?  Like each set used the same TX/RX tunings?  And your tests were exactly the same, at more or less the same time of day (and location!)?  thanks

On the first test that we had both on at the same time no they were set to different freqs. But when we tested them separately we did a version were they are on the same frequency and then another where they were on separate frequencies and separate blocks.  I even the a test in 941 black on the A20 since it was completely clear in my area and all those test were close to the same as far as quality and range.  We did the exact same walking path each time all within an hour to an hour and a half time frame.

5 hours ago, laurenbanjo said:

Zaxcom is wide enough for what’s legal in the US, so traveling to different states isn’t an issue. It’s just not great for traveling to different countries. 

That is good to know.  If I am working out of country I am typically shooting and not doing sound.  The scan in my area on the Zaxcom from 536 to 570ish seemed to pickup more interference than my Lectros, which was making me a little nervous.  The one issue I was seeing is there is not a way to expand or zoom into the scan on the Zaxcom RX4 like I can on the Lectro, so it maybe that is just appears that way because of the size of the scan you can see.

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9 hours ago, laurenbanjo said:

Zaxcom is wide enough for what’s legal in the US, so traveling to different states isn’t an issue. It’s just not great for traveling to different countries. 

This is why I opted to keep 4 channels of my Lectro 600mhz stuff rather than offload it.  Works great when I travel overseas for work it's already paid for itself again in terms of its value vs what it would have cost me in rentals for the amount of overseas gigs I've done.

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Scans will look different on different gear because there are many factors like bandwidth, scale, min and max levels displayed. Most scans are there as a reference. Our products use the scan to auto pick the best frequency when used with Nova or RX8 or RX12. I am glad you got such great range. The battery life and size of the ZMT4 combined with Nova are a great combination and is very cost effective. If I can answer any questions feel free to call me at Zaxcom.

 

Glenn

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18 hours ago, backfocus said:

That is good to know.  If I am working out of country I am typically shooting and not doing sound.  The scan in my area on the Zaxcom from 536 to 570ish seemed to pickup more interference than my Lectros, which was making me a little nervous.  The one issue I was seeing is there is not a way to expand or zoom into the scan on the Zaxcom RX4 like I can on the Lectro, so it maybe that is just appears that way because of the size of the scan you can see.

on the nova, you can zoom in on your scan. But you don’t really need to, since it auto picks frequencies. 999/1000, these are perfectly clean and usable frequencies with zero interference. Whenever I have dropouts, it’s almost always due to transmitter placement. Like if it’s on their back and they lay or sit back, and ankle rigs sometimes give me trouble as well. Then there’s people who’s bodies just absorb RF like crazy. I had this one girl who was super skinny so I was very confused, but no matter what transmitter or what frequency I was on, she was getting dropouts. Must have been something in her sweat. Having a foamie on the antenna helps. 

 

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Kudos to the OP here for doing a real world comparison of some of this new gear. (Yes I know the Zax stuff is not new) We need more field testing publicized. I definitely think Lectrosonics 400 series should always be in any comparison like this since it’s ubiquitous and a great RF performer. 
 

Glenn are you guys going to update the RX12 with Dante? 

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