2 new products announced: Sound Devices A20-Nexus-Go & A20-TX

[IronFilm]

The Sound Devices A20-TX seems to give us all the goodness of the A20-Mini, but in a bigger form factor (similar to the previous A10-TX). Such as that massively super wideband capabilities, but now it is even wider:  of 169 to 1525 MHz, with VHF being included as well.  Also adds in the Phantom Power capabilities and longer run time of the previous gen A10-TX which many people wished the A20-Mini had (but couldn't due to its miniature size). 

 

Price for the Sound Devices A20-TX is US$2,450. 

 

First difference that immediately leaps out is that the A20-TX has 3x AA (vs 2x AA of the A10-TX):

 

 

Battery run time is "up to 12hrs" for the A20-TX, which at first glance makes it comparable to the A10-TX? As the longest running option for the A10-TX is 12 hr 18 min for low power (10mW) with lithium batteries. 

 

Spec sheet indicates the A20-TX is almost identical in size to the A10-TX:

 8.5 x 6.4 x 1.81 cm vs  83 x 64 x 18 mm

The A20-TX might even be lighter? (if not counting the weight of batteries, as it is 3x AA vs 2x AA) Assuming the A10-TX is listed as its weight without batteries: 98gm vs 104gm

Slight change in power output options: Low - 2 mW, Normal - 10 mW, High - 20 mW, Extra High - 40 mW vs Low: 10 mW, Med: 20 mW, High: 50 mW

 

I like that there is the A20-TX Switch which is also announced:

 

 

It is a little accessory that can be added to the top of the A20-TX, which allows you to mute/unmute the audio, I could see this being handy for a 1st / 2nd AS to wear for coms. 

 

The second major announcement is a cheaper 4 channel alternative to the more expensive 8 channel Nexus: 

"Sound Devices A20-Nexus Go"

https://www.sounddevices.com/product/a20-nexus-go/

It's essentially very similar to the big brother Nexus, except it starts out with less channels: 4 vs 8

But just like the Nexus, the Nexus Go can also add extra channels to it after purchase, by paying extra to unlock them:

Nexus has options for 20, 16, 8 channels vs the 8, 6, 4 channels of the Nexus Go. 

The Nexus Go drops the feature of Dante which Nexus has, but Nexus Go also drops the price in a big way: US$8,495 for the Nexus Go ( vs US$14,495 for the Nexus)

 

 

 

Otherwise, Nexus Go and Nexus are more similar than different to each other. For instance both can use the A20-QuickDock for 8-Series. 

 

I was a little surprised to see that even the expansion license is the same for both the Nexus and Nexus Go is the same at US$2,500 even though this $2.5K for the Nexus unlocks 4 channels but only 2 channels in the Nexus Go? (I'd have hoped that for the same price, then they'd unlock the same number of channels? Or the expansion license for two extra channels on the Nexus Go would be lower?)

[Derek H]

And the Nexus Go seems like basically a regular Nexus without Dante or app control. Though it does have Nexlink, good job sound devices. 
 

I don’t know why they limit it to only 8 channels maxed out. That seems like an artificial limitation to me but whatever. Maybe it has less processing power inside but I doubt it. 
 

I was really expecting a half sized unit with 4-8 channels but I guess this works for a lower priced option. 
 

I still say they need a plug on transmitter in the lineup.

[IronFilm]

3 minutes ago, Derek H said:

I don’t know why they limit it to only 8 channels maxed out. That seems like an artificial limitation to me but whatever. Maybe it has less processing power inside but I doubt it. 

I can only guess, but I wouldn't be too surprised if they took out a little more than just Dante from the insides, as the Nexus Go is coming in a lot cheaper than the Nexus. 

 

So maybe the Nexus Go can't physically handle 20 channels, or maybe it can't, who knows. But no matter if it can or not, I'd say this is smart market segmentation by Sound Devices to offer a cheaper alternative, as I'm sure a lot of us had sticker shock when we saw the original Nexus! (although, the maxed out Nexus Go is only US$1K cheaper than the standard 8 channel Nexus)

 

11 minutes ago, Derek H said:

I was really expecting a half sized unit with 4-8 channels but I guess this works for a lower priced option. 

The Nexus is already 1/2 RU sized, so fairly small by rack gear standards. Small enough for bag use!

If you go smaller, you'd be losing those glorious screens on the front of the Nexus 😞 

Also, if you're going even smaller (1/4 RU?), then wouldn't that be getting too close in size to an A20-RX? 

I guess what we'd really like to see is if there was a Superslot quad receiver from Sound Devices, just like the Lectrosonics DSR4 or Wisycom MCR54!

Perhaps in another five or so years we'll see an "A30-TX" come out which will be a Superslot quad receiver from Sound Devices.

16 minutes ago, Derek H said:

I still say they need a plug on transmitter in the lineup.

Perhaps someone will 3D print an accessory for the A20-TX to be like this? Just like some people have done for other transmitters before. 

[IronFilm]

Gotham Audio has put out a video already about the new Sound Devices Wireless products:

 

 

[Derek H]

“the maxed out Nexus Go is only US$1K cheaper than the standard 8 channel Nexus”

 

 very good observation. 
 

Now if they made a half size version (two screens). Capable of 4-6 channels WITH Dante that would have been a good product as well I think. The lack of Dante is troubling but if you only plan to use it in a bag I suppose you wouldn’t miss it. 
 

If you’re a cart user I feel like you still need two regular Nexus units and that’s quite the investment. 
 

And screw slot receivers I say! I can’t believe they’re still a thing. All the wasted engineering time… 

[IronFilm]

17 minutes ago, Derek H said:

Capable of 4-6 channels WITH Dante that would have been a good product as well I think. The lack of Dante is troubling but if you only plan to use it in a bag I suppose you wouldn’t miss it. 
 

I'd say that is exactly the target market Sound Devices is thinking about with the Nexus Go (the "Go" in its name is the hint! It is for people "on the Go"). 

Plus also for cart users who don't need Dante, which I'd say is still most people. 

 

17 minutes ago, Derek H said:

And screw slot receivers I say! I can’t believe they’re still a thing. All the wasted engineering time… 

 

I feel Superslot is fantastic! As the entire industry has finally unified around this as a form factor for us. (even Zaxcom! Although... they've discontinued their Superslot receiver, it didn't last for long. But Lectro/SD/Wisyscom/Sony/Sennheiser all make current gen Superslot receivers) 

 

This is fantastic, as we can mix and match lots of accessories between products! Such as the Lectrosonics Octopack, PSC Six Pack, Audio Ltd A10-Rack, Sound Devices SL2 / SL6, Aaton Hydra, COGA Sound SuperSlot Receiver Sleeve, Soundbag Dashboards, Sonosax SX-RX8+, and more!

 

I don't think any new standard would be able to achieve such a wide range of adoption by many many different competitors. Not without much hard work and many years passing. 

[Vincent R.]

4 hours ago, Derek H said:

And screw slot receivers I say! I can’t believe they’re still a thing. All the wasted engineering time… 

Please elaborate; curious to hear your opinion.  

[DanieldH]

Who stumbled over the observation test in the first image?

[Conor]

Some more tidbits on the A20-TX:

- Adjustable phantom voltage for when you have a mic that perhaps doesn't need the full 48 Volts (saves on battery life)

- Screen display stays on power down! Nifty for effectively "labeling" your transmitters

- Can accept 3.7V AA cells

[IronFilm]

17 minutes ago, Conor said:

- Adjustable phantom voltage for when you have a mic that perhaps doesn't need the full 48 Volts (saves on battery life)

A smart move. They need explore every angle to extend the battery life of the A20-TX. 

As I kinda feel that battery life is an area Audio Ltd / Sound Devices Wireless struggled a bit more than others? Just a little. 

And that's why for instance the A20-TX reports a max of 12hrs (presumably on single use lithiums while on low power, 3x AA. The only wireless transmitter than uses triple AA batteries??)  while the Shure ADX1 uses 3x AAA and gets to 10hrs on medium power with rechargeable batteries. 

Or Lectrosonics DBSMD that is over 12hrs with 2x AA single use lithiums while on high power, or over eighteen and a half hours if on low power. 

17 minutes ago, Conor said:

- Screen display stays on power down! Nifty for effectively "labeling" your transmitters

Indeed, as it uses e-Ink! So that it is always on. Wonder if more manufacturers might embrace this as well in the future? Or maybe using dual displays? (like a mirrorless cameras do, both a normal colour display and an e-Ink display on the top to always shot info while on standbye)

[stef]

11 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Battery run time is "up to 12hrs" for the A20-TX, which at first glance makes it comparable to the A10-TX?

I used to get 3h+ or so with Lipo on A10 Tx at low power. If it can get 12h on 3 AA batts, that's amazing. I'd really just want to see 7h consistently, so that you can simply swap at lunch.

[Dejan Ceko]

As a long term A10tx user ,  I was waiting for this device ... only one thing - operating temperature -10° C to 38° C ... opinions lads ?

[The Documentary Sound Guy]

That seems like a pretty wide range to me, and there's probably a few degrees of safety on either end.  Unless you are planning to shoot in an oven or the antarctic, I can't see it being a problem.  Extreme cold shoots always require some testing and extra care anyway (batteries don't do well below freezing).  And, even with climate change, temperatures above 38°C aren't that common (and, in places where they are, it becomes dangerous to be outside working in those temperatures, so it's unlikely that limit will be pushed that far without having to also take care of the humans who are operating in those temperatures).

What's your specific concern?

[Dejan Ceko]

Average human body temperature , in normal conditions is 36.5 c

[stef]

29 minutes ago, The Documentary Sound Guy said:

And, even with climate change, temperatures above 38°C aren't that common (and, in places where they are, it becomes dangerous to be outside working in those temperatures, so it's unlikely that limit will be pushed that far without having to also take care of the humans who are operating in those temperatures).

Producers don't really care as long as OSHA doesn't come down on them and nobody passes out. Here's your water, get back to work.

 

But 38°C is literally only ~100°F and here in the SW desert, we regularly work in such temps. Last week's heat map of the US is below. These numbers are in shade, not direct sunlight, too. In Arizona, people have been going to the ER for extreme burns because they fell down on the asphalt, so it can easily be hotter than 38°C in sunlight, even when ambient temp is lower.

 

55 minutes ago, Dejan Ceko said:

operating temperature -10° C to 38° C ... opinions lads ?

I think it might be an issue. If they had even gotten that number 5 degrees higher, it would've been a much safer number. If it breaks and it's 101F out, will they say it's not warranted?

[The Documentary Sound Guy]

I'd be shocked if SD knows how to determine the ambient temperature when a Tx breaks.  At best, they can determine the internal temperature, not the surroundings, and those things don't correlate all that well (burying the Tx in insulation so that the internal heat can't escape will cause a higher internal temperature than leaving the Tx in the open at 40° C)

I'd also be shocked if that 38° C spec means much at all ... most electronics will tolerate heat well above that, and that goes double for a battery operated device that, by necessity, can't generate much additional heat.  If heat truly is an issue, it will become uncomfortable to wear long before the hardware itself dies.

But time will tell I guess.

[syncsound]

18 hours ago, Derek H said:

I still say they need a plug on transmitter in the lineup.

 

Agreed.  I prefer the plug-on form factor for wireless boom and plants. Plus, I want the option to use with a handheld when needed.

[stef]

18 hours ago, IronFilm said:

The Nexus Go drops the feature of Dante which Nexus has, but Nexus Go also drops the price in a big way: US$8,495 for the Nexus Go ( vs US$14,495 for the Nexus)

 

I was a little surprised to see that even the expansion license is the same for both the Nexus and Nexus Go is the same at US$2,500 even though this $2.5K for the Nexus unlocks 4 channels but only 2 channels in the Nexus Go? (I'd have hoped that for the same price, then they'd unlock the same number of channels? Or the expansion license for two extra channels on the Nexus Go would be lower?)

 

I think, due to marketing, the Go is more expensive than its big brother if there's any chance whatsoever you'd go to 8 channels. The Go is a little lighter than the Nexus Sr., but loses a ton of capability and doesn't make that up in price at all. It has half the RF hardware inside it. But SD priced it such that a fully-populated 8 channels is nearly the same price as the base Nexus, which has far more capability, and far more potential capability. Consider the cost of 16 channels: 2x Nexus Go @8 channels = $27,000. Nexus Sr = $19,500.

 

In other words if you ever expect to expand this past 4 channels, I think it's a loss. This is solely due to SD's obvious goal of trying to make 8 channels cost "almost as much" as buying a nexus sr so that their existing customers don't get angry. I suspect they were so worried about cannibalizing their own Nexus users that they priced this thing questionably. Instead, they should view the expanded channel licenses as ways to sell more of their $2500 transmitters at virtually no extra cost.

 

Channel expansion costs are arbitrary. You already purchased the hardware, and the only cost is shipping a piece of paper with a key on it. Am I the only one bugged by the much higher cost for expansion? I thought the Nexus Sr. expansion prices were legit. I don't think the Go prices are legit at twice the cost per expanded channel.

 

Heck, charge $2500 for all 4 channels, and everyone will expand it, and that means they will eventually buy another $10k in additional transmitters and be locked into the SD system. And the fully-populated Go would then cost $11,000 + $20,000 in transmitters, and would sell well for bag rigs. But people would still buy the nexus because you can not only expand it, but productions can "rent" additional channels, and going cart based, they'll definitely want a nexus sr with Dante. It's like worrying the 888 is going to cut into sales of Scorpio. The 888 handles 90%+ of everything, but people still are buying scorpio for the potential expandability and would do the same with Nexus.

[stef]

35 minutes ago, The Documentary Sound Guy said:

I'd also be shocked if that 38° C spec means much at all ... most electronics will tolerate heat well above that, and that goes double for a battery operated device that, by necessity, can't generate much additional heat.  If heat truly is an issue, it will become uncomfortable to wear long before the hardware itself dies.

I'd be surprised if it took damage over 38C, but that's still part of the specification. We're talking about ambient temperature, but besides that, battery-operated devices absolutely do have the ability to heat up. Anyone who has installed heat shields on 250mw SM transmitters knows what I'm talking about... battery devices can reach far over 40C. I've welded with AA batteries before; they can drop a lot of amps at once.

 

We're talking about ambient "operating temperature". That would include being wrapped in a blanket, as the operating temp will rise. But outdoors, it is regularly over 38C, as the map I posted demonstrates. The A20 looks like the best boom transmitter on the market today, which is not worn and regularly in the sun, so considering it too hot to wear is just trying to sidestep a potential real issue.

 

That said, I could see it being a minor issue, such as timecode no longer specced at 0.2ppm when it goes above 38C, or batteries wearing out faster or something. Or maybe that's all they certified it for with the FCC... who knows. But not knowing is part of the problem. It might very well simply shut down at 40C, and that could be a problem. I might become an early adopter, and would be happy to post my experiences.

[The Documentary Sound Guy]

You might be on to something with the timecode tolerance.  That is an eminently reasonable explanation for the spec.  Of course, real world conditions will always push those boundaries.

I'm not convinced ambient "operating temperature" includes being wrapped in a blanket, but it's also probably well beyond what they've intended the spec to mean.

And thank you for being a guinea pig ... real world experience is the only way we will find out if the spec is a real problem or just a spec.

[Derek H]

54 minutes ago, The Documentary Sound Guy said:

I'd be shocked if SD knows how to determine the ambient temperature when a Tx breaks.  At best, they can determine the internal temperature, not the surroundings, and those things don't correlate all that well (burying the Tx in insulation so that the internal heat can't escape will cause a higher internal temperature than leaving the Tx in the open at 40° C)

I'd also be shocked if that 38° C spec means much at all ... most electronics will tolerate heat well above that, and that goes double for a battery operated device that, by necessity, can't generate much additional heat.  If heat truly is an issue, it will become uncomfortable to wear long before the hardware itself dies.

But time will tell I guess.

They have ovens to stress test stuff in. They should absolutely know when the transmitter breaks. And they should be simulating a transmitter buried in costume for these tests. 
 

38 does seem low if you consider you might need it to work buried under clothes in 100+ temps. 

[The Documentary Sound Guy]

Sure, but, as stef pointed out, the spec is a bit more ambiguous than just a breaking point.  And, just because they *should* be simulating a tx buried in costume doesn't mean they actually did that.  Knowing about how engineering tests go, I think it's highly unlikely that is the situation they used to generate the spec.  To a certain extent, the specs are just marketing anyway ... it's impossible for one number to fully encompass all the real world situations the device will be used in.

[stef]

6 minutes ago, The Documentary Sound Guy said:

I'm not convinced ambient "operating temperature" includes being wrapped in a blanket, but it's also probably well beyond what they've intended the spec to mean.

 

I meant that you have to consider the additional heat inside the blanket. So, yeah, you can't wrap it in a blanket at 90F and expect it to stay below the operating temp. Or in a car visor in the hot sun. We're on the same page here.

[codyman]

I can't believe people don't like slot receivers, especially in today's bag-centric world (with bag carts etc being popular).  My DSR4 has been great and I can't wait to buy another one.

[Derek H]

43 minutes ago, codyman said:

I can't believe people don't like slot receivers, especially in today's bag-centric world (with bag carts etc being popular).  My DSR4 has been great and I can't wait to buy another one.

Well that’s okay because people in general seem to love them and have been buying tons of them for years. I don’t though and have been skeptical on them for a long time. I’m all for multichannel receiver units I just think the slot mount form factor and the endless accessories and adapters needed to use them out of the original context is a waste of time and resources. (Good for selling more stuff though) I might be wrong but I can’t help imagining that we’d have overall better equipment in 2023 if such a large amount of time wasn’t spent for the last decade re-engineering older tech to fit inside the arbitrary confines of a camera receiver slot. As soon as the SR was released it was like OK everyone.. this is a compromised design and the older single channel is definitely better performing all around…. but it’s two for the price of one!! And who doesn’t love a deal so we all bought lots and taught the manufacturers that we’re  willing to take a hit on quality and reliability for the sake of quantity and a smaller form factor. 
 

Ok what were we supposed to be discussing here