Is the Sound Devices SL2 worth it?

[saadasound]

Looking to get an 833 and wondering if the SL2 has been a good addition for people? It’ll be with 2 DSR4’s.

 

Thanks!

 

Steve

[codyman]

I'll let others who actually have an SL2 chime in but didn't rule out the PSC 4 pack as a "dumb" (dumb as in platform agnostic) alternative.  Mine works great.

[Tobi A]

I have one and to be honest for in the bag using whips it doesn’t give me much over the rx naked. I’m used to changing settings in the rx directly so that’s pretty quick. 
DC out is handy and rf distribution built in is good for external antennas but kinda moot if your using whips. 
 

[EnotsMedia]

I’ve been using the SL2 for two years now…it’s been great. Having less cables to wrangle and the ease of popping out the RX’s is stellar (mostly for DSR4 FW updates).  I use 2x DSR4’s and sometimes add a 411 or SR into the bag and I love that it’s a quick move to add the additional RF antenna’s and power to the SL2. FYI I use 2x SNA600a’s as antennas or tap put to ALP 650’s on my cart. Oh and there’s soooo many settings accessible only via SL2 - like RF filters and attenuation. 

[Fred Salles]

Hi, I have it also for 2 years and been using it with my Wisycom MCR54.

I was previously a regular user of the SL6 in the 6 series.

To be honest I do not see myself going without it in any situation. I am so used to its convenience and efficiency. Going back to stand alone (cables for outputs, 8 out of 4x TA5 connectors... plus 2 DC Hirose4, plus whip antennas 4x 3 sets according to frequency band, or worse a multiplexer and all the SMA cables, etc...), the added weight and mental load would seem like a punitive move to me.

Although I do have to add extra receiver sometimes depending on the setup requiring more than 8 channels, at least it means only output cables and power, the antenna can be connected to the aux out of the SL2. Even if I want to use whip antenna on some situation, I need just 2 per band.

Scan and setup of RXs are so convenient from the 888 menu, although sometimes I do enter the MCR54 menu directly, the combination of both is great.

As said above you can setup filter and RF attenuation on the SL2, that is also convenient when using passive antenna like the Betso Bowtie.

It has been reliable all along the 3 feature films I shot with the combo 888+SL2+MCR54.

Although I have not used it yet, I am confident that with the Lectrosonics DSR4 the "technical satisfactions" will be equivalent to the Wysicom MCR54.

 

 

 

 

[Tim Norris]

I've been using the Scorpio/SL2 combo for a couple years... with a DSR4 and an SRC in 941. No problems at all since 'Lectro and SD updated the firmware to accommodate the SL2. I have not used the SL2 interface for the receivers yet but perhaps one day I will... I'm stuck in an old workflow.

 

When I adopted the SL6 with an SD 688, the greatest change was losing all of the cables, which also reduced the weight of my bag by 8 ounces. I will never go back.

 

Cheers,

Tim

[IronFilm]

On 8/2/2024 at 3:08 PM, saadasound said:

Looking to get an 833 and wondering if the SL2 has been a good addition for people? It’ll be with 2 DSR4’s.

 

I think as you've got a 2x DSR4 then getting a SL2 is a very sensible idea, as you'll get all the full benefits of using the SL2.

 

Personally I haven't as my wireless is largely a mix of Lectro SRb / Lectro UCR411 / Sony DWR-S02D / etc, so I've been perfectly happy using the XL-AES for getting extra channels of wireless into my 833.

 

If/when I get a DSR4, then I reckon I'll go for the SL2 as well, but for now I'm in no rush. 

[rich]

the main reason i got the SL2 was, that if you put some batteries on the base of your 8 series recorder, you are able to swap your main batteries without your receivers and anything connected to the two Hirose connectors on the SL2 powering down.

losing a lot of cabling is also an advantage, as well as gaining a few more AES inputs. and keeping the inputs on the side free in case you need them for something else.

im not convinced that the RF distribution is as good as my Audio Wireless boxes, but its better than what was in the SL6. and less whips in your bag is a good thing. even if you are just swapping a whip on each receiver for a whip on each side of the SL2.

 

[Constantin]

I have one as well, and think it was a good choice, but I could easily live without it, but still am glad that I have it. I use it with just two Lectro SRCs so I am so not using it to its full potential, but I like the additional connectivity as Rich pointed out. I can add another receiver outside of the SL-2, and it gets power and RF from the SL-2, so it’s very convenient. 

[Matt Radlauer]

+1 to, and echoing the responses here.

I've had mine since it came out.. Was using SRb before I switched to ADX5d. I've been super happy with it! I do RX control via the RX itself since I have showlink "enabled" on my RX's. Frankly I prefer it.. But the rest of it, it's functionality, reduction of cables along power distro has made my bag lighter and life just a little easier.