Topic: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6

[rippleish20]

Possible bad news from theaudiospotlight review:

The cable can easily be disconnected and both the cable connector and the port on the device can get broken. (This will also result in loss of data since audio does not get saved on power loss.)

I thought Paul had mentioned file headers being updated so as to reduce/eliminate this problem.

Can anyone confirm how solid the power connection is with the battery sled (or more particularly, with the MX-LMount)? If I'm wearing the recorder in some sort of pack, I want to be absolutely sure that power is not going to be cut while I move around. I agree that the form factor with the LMount looks wonky, but it's still gonna be lighter/smaller than lugging around a 744.

Its solid with the four and eight battery sleds. mountaintaper said the MX-lmount sled doesnt like to stay connected

The review indicates the guy got two hours off of batteries (I am thinking he meant, but did not say, with the 8 battery sled...

[gewwang]

Possible bad news from theaudiospotlight review:

The cable can easily be disconnected and both the cable connector and the port on the device can get broken. (This will also result in loss of data since audio does not get saved on power loss.)

I thought Paul had mentioned file headers being updated so as to reduce/eliminate this problem.

Can anyone confirm how solid the power connection is with the battery sled (or more particularly, with the MX-LMount)? If I'm wearing the recorder in some sort of pack, I want to be absolutely sure that power is not going to be cut while I move around. I agree that the form factor with the LMount looks wonky, but it's still gonna be lighter/smaller than lugging around a 744.

I think the best option for a 2 mic stealth where you can't change batteries every 2.5 hours will be the 8AA sled with 2700 mAh nihm batteries. The 4AA sled with these batteries got  around 2.5 hours phantom powering 2 DPA402x mics in my testing. I expect the 8AA sled to cover most shows where there's a 45 min-1 hour opener and a 2 hour- 2.5 hour main act.

[nolamule]

I got the last Mixpre-6 from Trew in ATL this morning! I called TIA and they said the six they had are gone and they only have a few of the 3s left. 

I'd call around. I got mine through DV Estore last week. They had 3 of each in stock. They look to be sold out now, but smaller (compared to B&H etc) resellers might have some. Maybe try TAI Audio.

Thanks! Pulled the trigger with TAI.

Thanks also - I also did TAI - looks like the order went thru-no indication of backorder.

[Paul Isaacs]

I thought Paul had mentioned file headers being updated so as to reduce/eliminate this problem.

File headers are updated so no data should be lost in the event of power loss. We have discovered an intermittent bug where this doesn't always happen - that'll be fixed in the next firmware update.

I agree that the form factor with the LMount looks wonky, but it's still gonna be lighter/smaller than lugging around a 744.

With our L-mount battery sled and a couple of NP-F570 Li-ions mounted, it's pretty slim line and you can shake the thing like crazy and the sled won't pop off. Been tested pretty extensively.


Paul

[rippleish20]

Possible bad news from theaudiospotlight review:

The cable can easily be disconnected and both the cable connector and the port on the device can get broken. (This will also result in loss of data since audio does not get saved on power loss.)

I thought Paul had mentioned file headers being updated so as to reduce/eliminate this problem.

Can anyone confirm how solid the power connection is with the battery sled (or more particularly, with the MX-LMount)? If I'm wearing the recorder in some sort of pack, I want to be absolutely sure that power is not going to be cut while I move around. I agree that the form factor with the LMount looks wonky, but it's still gonna be lighter/smaller than lugging around a 744.

I think the best option for a 2 mic stealth where you can't change batteries every 2.5 hours will be the 8AA sled with 2700 mAh nihm batteries. The 4AA sled with these batteries got  around 2.5 hours phantom powering 2 DPA402x mics in my testing. I expect the 8AA sled to cover most shows where there's a 45 min-1 hour opener and a 2 hour- 2.5 hour main act.

Thats good news. I recorded a show this weekend but was afraid to use the battery sleds without any sense of how long they may last.

[waltmon]

I understand the battery sleds and F-type (744T style battery)dual sled...but with an external larger battery, do you have to power it via the USB?  Right now that's the only thing I'm not digging...don't have one in my hands yet...Tried to order today from TREW in Nashville - no luck

[johnw]

I understand the battery sleds and F-type (744T style battery)dual sled...but with an external larger battery, do you have to power it via the USB?  Right now that's the only thing I'm not digging...don't have one in my hands yet...Tried to order today from TREW in Nashville - no luck

You could use a dummy L series battery with a hirose cable on the dual MXL Mount battery sled if you didn't want to connect an external battery over USB

[noahbickart]

I understand the battery sleds and F-type (744T style battery)dual sled...but with an external larger battery, do you have to power it via the USB?  Right now that's the only thing I'm not digging...don't have one in my hands yet...Tried to order today from TREW in Nashville - no luck

You could use a dummy L series battery with a hirose cable on the dual MXL Mount battery sled if you didn't want to connect an external battery over USB

Link?

[mountaintaper]

With our L-mount battery sled and a couple of NP-F570 Li-ions mounted, it's pretty slim line and you can shake the thing like crazy and the sled won't pop off. Been tested pretty extensively.

Paul

I've shaken mine with 2 NP-F960 batteries and it's too heavy for the sled and it will lose contact and power off...sled doesn't "pop off" but moves enough to power down.  Did same test with just one battery and had no problem. I'd assume 2 NP-F570's isn't as heavy

[johnw]

I understand the battery sleds and F-type (744T style battery)dual sled...but with an external larger battery, do you have to power it via the USB?  Right now that's the only thing I'm not digging...don't have one in my hands yet...Tried to order today from TREW in Nashville - no luck

You could use a dummy L series battery with a hirose cable on the dual MXL Mount battery sled if you didn't want to connect an external battery over USB

Link?

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

http://www.hawkwoods.co.uk/Prods/Product/LR-06

[tgakidis]

I understand the battery sleds and F-type (744T style battery)dual sled...but with an external larger battery, do you have to power it via the USB?  Right now that's the only thing I'm not digging...don't have one in my hands yet...Tried to order today from TREW in Nashville - no luck

You could use a dummy L series battery with a hirose cable on the dual MXL Mount battery sled if you didn't want to connect an external battery over USB

Link?

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

http://www.hawkwoods.co.uk/Prods/Product/LR-06

 http://www.swit.us/s7500f-sony-npf-dummy-battery-ada7500.html

[johnw]

My thoughts after playing around with the Mix Pre 6 for a while now:

- As everyone else has said, it's pretty tiny, but heavy/dense feeling. If someone wants a comparison to a 744, M10 or Nbox I'm happy to post a photo but this has been covered pretty well!
- Preamps seem fine for our purposes. Not sure about the limiters. Haven't had a chance to record a show with it yet
- Firmware update is easy and totally fixes the SD card issue. Works on SD cards at least up to 128GB
- The menu isn't totally intuitive, especially coming from my experience as a 702,722 and 744 owner. But I've gotten pretty used to it and think I've got it set now
- The touchscreen is pretty easy to use
- I don't see any reason to have the LCD above 1 and the LED above 2 in terms of brightness. In fact, I wish the LCD could be dimmer.
- I really wish channel linking was an option (I know Paul said they are aware and working on this). That said, it is pretty easy to match levels across channels with Custom Mode, Basic Gain. Not sure how the gain structure works, but in this setup, you turn the knob and the gain level changes. Fine by me.
- It doesn't seem to power on to the last state every time - at least for the metering display
- I get 2.5 hours using 8 AA Enloop Pros with 4 channels P48 and gain around 50-60, bluetooth off, timecode off and aux off using PFAs>KCY and Nbox cables. I will pack a C>C cable and battery just in case.
- I wish the battery indicator was more advanced, giving an indication of how much time was left. The 7 series shows volts and that is pretty helpful
- I wish it could record to mono wav in addition to poly wav
- Kinda wish it had more output options as I might run it into the 744 some time
- I haven't had any issues with the L battery sled but haven't tried 2 batteries on it yet
- I find the battery sleds kinda hard to pop off. They also feel flimsy (at least compared to the rest of the unit) and I am not sure how long the 8xAA one will last. It seems like its likely to break along the point where it opens to get the other 4 batteries in.

[spyder9]

Thank you johnw and ted for the links to the hirose doo-hick.  USB power comes in handy for festies, bit I like this option much better. 

[johnw]

I thought Paul had mentioned file headers being updated so as to reduce/eliminate this problem.

File headers are updated so no data should be lost in the event of power loss. We have discovered an intermittent bug where this doesn't always happen - that'll be fixed in the next firmware update.

I agree that the form factor with the LMount looks wonky, but it's still gonna be lighter/smaller than lugging around a 744.

With our L-mount battery sled and a couple of NP-F570 Li-ions mounted, it's pretty slim line and you can shake the thing like crazy and the sled won't pop off. Been tested pretty extensively.


Paul

In your testing, how long should 2 of these NP-F570 batteries last on a Mix Pre 6 with 4 channels phantom power? They are only around 5000mAh combined, so maybe an hour?

[dactylus]

I understand the battery sleds and F-type (744T style battery)dual sled...but with an external larger battery, do you have to power it via the USB?  Right now that's the only thing I'm not digging...don't have one in my hands yet...Tried to order today from TREW in Nashville - no luck

You could use a dummy L series battery with a hirose cable on the dual MXL Mount battery sled if you didn't want to connect an external battery over USB

Link?

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

http://www.hawkwoods.co.uk/Prods/Product/LR-06

Manios Digital and Film is a new USA distributor for Hawk-Woods products.  Hawk-Woods suggested that I contact them for pricing on the LR-06 w/Hirose and I e-mailed them this morning.  Even though I don't have the MP6 in hand yet I know that I would prefer the Hirose/dummy cell powering option too.  And the LR-06 outputs a regulated 8V.

https://maniosdigital.com/

http://www.hawkwoods.co.uk/Prods/Product/LR-06


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