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Author Topic: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?  (Read 9451 times)

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Offline willndmb

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #15 on: June 17, 2014, 10:51:00 PM »
That's primarily a decision about size--the DR60D is ten times the volume of tinybox and four times the volume of tinybox + an M10.  It also has shorter runtime than the tinybox + M10 combo even though it's carrying the same battery capacity of 10Wh, so you probably have to commit to external batteries as well.

Impressive feature set for the Tascam at that price level though.
you 100% need external power unless you tape short shows
The tb is way better IMO unless you need/want two things...
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4ch
Mics - AKG ck61/ck63 (c480b & Naiant actives), SP-BMC-2
XLR Cables - Silver Path w/Darktrain stubbies
Interconnect Cables - Dogstar (XLR), Darktrain (RCA > 1/8) (1/8 > 1/8), and Kind Kables (1/8f > 1/4)
Preamps - Naiant Littlebox & Tinybox
Recorders - PCM-M10 & DR-60D

Offline willndmb

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #16 on: June 17, 2014, 11:17:57 PM »
How long can I get on a tb charge with naiant akg actives powered via high???
30hrs for them or is that pip mics
Mics - AKG ck61/ck63 (c480b & Naiant actives), SP-BMC-2
XLR Cables - Silver Path w/Darktrain stubbies
Interconnect Cables - Dogstar (XLR), Darktrain (RCA > 1/8) (1/8 > 1/8), and Kind Kables (1/8f > 1/4)
Preamps - Naiant Littlebox & Tinybox
Recorders - PCM-M10 & DR-60D

Offline voltronic

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #17 on: June 17, 2014, 11:47:09 PM »
Chiming in on the discussion I have missed:

I haven't bought anything just yet.

I was looking at those AKGs since they were such a deal, but not having heard any recordings using them I was hesitant to move on them, especially without a means to power them.

Tascam DR-60D is something I looked at, but the very short battery runtimes are what kills that option for me.  I don't want to deal with external batteries.  The Zoom H5/6 seems more attractive in the 4+ channel realm, especially since I have very positive direct experience with the H6 preamps and great battery life running 4 channels of 48V mics.  My experience with Zoom's long-term reliablity has been much less positive although I thought the H6 was a big step up in build quality from their past products.  But - my M10 is a solid performer right now, and I don't see any of these other decks actually making a better recording - they would just be a means to an end having the phantom powered inputs.  But it would save me a little money that I could put towards mics or other things. 

The Tinybox would take up most of my budget, but it seems to have a lot going for it in terms of quality and versatitliy.  I also appreciate Jon being honest and straightforward about his products.  If I could afford it, I would certainly go the actives route, as it seems the best of all possible worlds.  Side question - would a tinybox configured for phantom also be able to run actives with no internal modifications, just the necessary cable adaptors?

I'm taking my time with this, because for me, this is quite a lot of cash to lay down on recording equipment.  Thanks again to all.
I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.
- Gustav Mahler

Acoustic Recording Techniques
Team Classical
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Offline willndmb

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #18 on: June 18, 2014, 09:08:03 AM »
You can have a tb configured for multi set ups and that one of the kick ass things about it
I have mine to run 48v/pip/actives
The 48v and pip have adapters while the actives plug in directly
You can also have actives with pfa ends which allow you to run on any 48v pre/deck
So what you could do if you wanted is upgrade to a tb and use your church mics until you save some more money for mics, then you would have two sets of mics and one pre to power them
Mics - AKG ck61/ck63 (c480b & Naiant actives), SP-BMC-2
XLR Cables - Silver Path w/Darktrain stubbies
Interconnect Cables - Dogstar (XLR), Darktrain (RCA > 1/8) (1/8 > 1/8), and Kind Kables (1/8f > 1/4)
Preamps - Naiant Littlebox & Tinybox
Recorders - PCM-M10 & DR-60D

Offline H₂O

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #19 on: June 18, 2014, 10:56:46 AM »
Buy 4 shares of apple stock and sell it after the iPhone 6 comes out - maybe you will have $500 after fees and taxes w/ a little luck
Music can at the least least explain you and at the most expand you
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Offline willndmb

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #20 on: June 18, 2014, 01:05:44 PM »
tinybox can run actives/P48/PIP

PIP or active should be in the 20-30 hour range, depending on what else is in the box.
so to help me make sure i understand and don't screw myself at a show...
I have been running my Naiant AKG actives on HIGH power and in doing so I should see 20 hrs or run time?
I just assumed I would get approx 4-5hrs as I did with bodies in the mix and in turn have been charging up every show.
tia
Mics - AKG ck61/ck63 (c480b & Naiant actives), SP-BMC-2
XLR Cables - Silver Path w/Darktrain stubbies
Interconnect Cables - Dogstar (XLR), Darktrain (RCA > 1/8) (1/8 > 1/8), and Kind Kables (1/8f > 1/4)
Preamps - Naiant Littlebox & Tinybox
Recorders - PCM-M10 & DR-60D

Offline Ultfris101

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #21 on: June 18, 2014, 04:49:47 PM »
tinybox can run actives/P48/PIP

PIP or active should be in the 20-30 hour range, depending on what else is in the box.
so to help me make sure i understand and don't screw myself at a show...
I have been running my Naiant AKG actives on HIGH power and in doing so I should see 20 hrs or run time?
I just assumed I would get approx 4-5hrs as I did with bodies in the mix and in turn have been charging up every show.
tia

I did a time test a while back with my Naiant actives and tinybox and was just over 20 hours for sure. can't remember if it stopped or I stopped it but I was well satisfied I'd be good in most situations. I still charge before a show to be safe but I know I can run "forever" if necessary.

Do a test of your own when you have a chance. It's enlightening and confidence building. Also good to know if for some reason you get wildly different results something must be wrong/different.

I plugged my m10 into wall power, set it to record in 16 bit so no chance it would fill up card, and let it record the fan on my computer so I could tell when it went silent.
Mics: Schoeps MK5,MK41 CMC6,KCY,KC5 | AKG ck63,ck1 C460B,C480B | DPA 4061 | Naiant X-R card,hyper | CA-14o,c
Pres: Sound Devices USBPre2 | Naiant Tinybox | Church Audio 9200, UBB
Recs: Zoom F8 | Edirol R-44 | Sony PCM-M10 | Tascam DR-2d
Video: Sony CX550(2), CX580, HX9

LMA: http://archive.org/bookmarks/ultfris101

Offline voltronic

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #22 on: June 18, 2014, 08:00:02 PM »
tinybox can run actives/P48/PIP in a single box but you have to let me know the configuration on order (or be prepared to return the box for later modification).  Not every option will be compatible, and sometimes you'll have to give up a feature to get something else.  For example, if you want P48 + KCY you'll lose low-volt phantom (16V) as KCY has to run on 8V.  That is also true for some other active options, like MBHO, Beyer, Neumann.  And you couldn't thus have AKG active + KCY + P48, because both AKG (and all nbox) options use 16V.  When you select P48, then your active polarization voltage will be 48V, but if you go active only then it's 54V.  That's just 1dB difference, but some people just want that 54V.

PIP or active should be in the 20-30 hour range, depending on what else is in the box.

The only actives I would probably be able to afford (used) in the forseeable future would be something like Busman BSC2 or the BSC1 actives (if those are even still made).
I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.
- Gustav Mahler

Acoustic Recording Techniques
Team Classical
Team Line Audio
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Offline willndmb

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #23 on: June 18, 2014, 11:05:04 PM »
You will get at least 20 hours (high vs. low makes very little difference in runtime with actives), but to maximize battery life it's still best to keep fully charged.
sweet
Thanks
Mics - AKG ck61/ck63 (c480b & Naiant actives), SP-BMC-2
XLR Cables - Silver Path w/Darktrain stubbies
Interconnect Cables - Dogstar (XLR), Darktrain (RCA > 1/8) (1/8 > 1/8), and Kind Kables (1/8f > 1/4)
Preamps - Naiant Littlebox & Tinybox
Recorders - PCM-M10 & DR-60D

Offline obaaron

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #24 on: June 19, 2014, 12:07:13 AM »
why was I under the impression that my Tinybox was only to be on high when using my AKG Naiant actives?  I can run it on low too? 
Mics:  Gefell M20,M21- sms2000/nbob | Schoeps MK4V;MK4- cmc1L/cmc6/nbob | AKG ck1,3,8,22;ck61,62,63,69- c460b/c480b/Naiant/nbob actives | Neumann KM140/150 | AT853, AT933 | CA-11 | DPA 4022 (on loan)
Pres: Naiant Littlebox | Tinybox | BMod Edirol UA-5 | Church ST-9200
Recorders:  Zoom F8 | Tascam DR-680 | Tascam DR-60D | Sony PCM-M10
Video: Canon VIXIA HF R42

**ISO** -   Schoeps mk22 matched pair | Neumann Ak43 pair

Offline voltronic

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #25 on: June 25, 2014, 01:01:24 PM »
Tinybox is the route I've decided to go, as I think it's going to be the best long-term investment.

Jon, I sent you another email with some final configuration questions. ;D

Thanks everyone!
I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.
- Gustav Mahler

Acoustic Recording Techniques
Team Classical
Team Line Audio
Team DPA

adrianf74

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #26 on: June 25, 2014, 02:35:12 PM »
Glad you chose that route.   It's the best use of your funds for what you're wanting to do (the M10 is a perfectly good deck) plus the TinyBox is very customizable and can be used with both actives and PIP mics (with an additional $19 adaptor cable).  It'll give you all sorts of choices. 

Offline voltronic

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #27 on: June 25, 2014, 02:55:17 PM »
Glad you chose that route.   It's the best use of your funds for what you're wanting to do (the M10 is a perfectly good deck) plus the TinyBox is very customizable and can be used with both actives and PIP mics (with an additional $19 adaptor cable).  It'll give you all sorts of choices.

Yeah after speaking with Jon that's the conclusion I arrived at.  It seems to be the most future-proof, in the sense that while I may have a different recorder and mics in 5-10 years, the tinybox will probably still work with whatever I am running at that point.
I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.
- Gustav Mahler

Acoustic Recording Techniques
Team Classical
Team Line Audio
Team DPA

adrianf74

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #28 on: June 25, 2014, 03:03:28 PM »
Glad you chose that route.   It's the best use of your funds for what you're wanting to do (the M10 is a perfectly good deck) plus the TinyBox is very customizable and can be used with both actives and PIP mics (with an additional $19 adaptor cable).  It'll give you all sorts of choices.

Yeah after speaking with Jon that's the conclusion I arrived at.  It seems to be the most future-proof, in the sense that while I may have a different recorder and mics in 5-10 years, the tinybox will probably still work with whatever I am running at that point.

*THUMBS UP*

I look at it this way: even though you may have shiny actives in your arsenal, you'll never know if/when you'll have a problem with either the cables or the caps so you can always connect your old 1/8" terminated mics and use those in a pinch.  That was a deal-maker for me.  Depending on what you're recording, you might want gain presets other than +4/+18/+32dB but I find those are a good compliment.  Some people here prefer +10/+20/+30db (which I'd thought about) but stuck with the stock settings (twice over -- once on the AKG TinyBox and a second time on the Schoeps TinyBox).

Offline voltronic

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Re: Best use of ~$400 to upgrade my setup?
« Reply #29 on: June 25, 2014, 03:23:26 PM »
Depending on what you're recording, you might want gain presets other than +4/+18/+32dB but I find those are a good compliment.  Some people here prefer +10/+20/+30db (which I'd thought about) but stuck with the stock settings (twice over -- once on the AKG TinyBox and a second time on the Schoeps TinyBox).

I only record acoustic, mostly classical and jazz and lots of choirs.  I had the same thought that I will never use +4, and was thinking about doing the low-noise amp option and something like +12/+24/+48 although I realize they are way far apart.
I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way.
- Gustav Mahler

Acoustic Recording Techniques
Team Classical
Team Line Audio
Team DPA

 

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