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Author Topic: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6  (Read 111977 times)

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Offline Fried Chicken Boy

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #90 on: May 30, 2017, 04:33:31 PM »
A big "thank you" to the new adoptees for taking the plunge, and posting their impressions and field reports here.  There's a few things that I wish these decks had, but the initial reports make them sound great so far. 

Offline mountaintaper

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #91 on: May 30, 2017, 08:12:26 PM »
I don't tape at that many venues but I have never encountered a digital in from the board.  Or it's never been offered......

Lately I've run into the case more and more where they only have digital outs and not the typical analog "tape out" (either xlr or rca). From my understanding, most digital boards don't have analog outs. Except one time I got a single XLR and the soundman had to assign it as a main out (more work and hassle for them and he only did it because Mike Doughty told him to give me whatever I needed).

Digital outs are "yeah plug in here".

I've gotten board patches at a lot of shows in the last couple of years and I have never encountered one that didnt have analog out. And a large percentage of them were digital boards.
`

Multiple times I have run into the situation of all the analog outputs were being used for other things, so it was the digital out or nothing. But yes, most of the time there should be something available that is analog. I'm always prepared for everything, so I'm never worried.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2017, 08:14:29 PM by mountaintaper »

Offline justink

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #92 on: May 30, 2017, 09:02:48 PM »
anyone test if it will go from a dead external (via usb) to "internal" AA's seamlessly?

if so... i think running a 20000 mah anker pack and four AA's would be just fine for most circumstances, right? 
Mics:
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DPA 4018V (Supercardioid)
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Offline drone

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #93 on: May 30, 2017, 09:23:22 PM »
Hi all. My first post!

I took delivery of my MixPre 6 last Friday. I shoved in four AA batteries and started exploring. I quickly became concerned at the rapid decline in the battery indicator so I've done some tests. My findings and some other observations are below. All settings were in advanced mode.

BATTERY TIMES

All these tests are using tracks 1 and 2 to record the input from a stereo microphone.

TEST ONE
Maplin Extra Long Life Alkaline Batteries - 4 new batteries used.
MP6 set up for MS Stereo on inputs 1 and 2 with phantom power to a Pearl MSH 10 microphone.
All recording was at 24/96.
I pointed the microphone at a radio and monitored on headphones

The red battery warning started flashing after 15 minutes.
About 6 minutes afterwards there was a warning message to expect automatic shutdown soon, and there was an intermittent bleep on headphone but not recorded on the track (like the SD702).
About 4 minutes later the MP6 shut itself down.
A valid file was recorded on the card about the same length as the recording time.
Total recording time: 25 minutes

TEST TWO
Using 4 newly purchased Duracell Plus Power AA batteries
Same set up as above but without headphones and with Bluetooth switched off
Total recording time: just over 33 minutes

TEST THREE
Same set up as above (Duracells)
but with both brightness settings turned down to 2
Total recording time: 37 minutes

TEST FOUR
Rechargeable Duracells 2500mAh
4 freshly recharged batteries
Total recording time: 73 minutes with red battery warning about 65 minutes

TEST FIVE
As above but set up changed to record stereo via a Sanken CSS5
Total recording time: 76 minutes, so no significant difference.

Other power sources tried out

[UK] mains plug with three USB outputs, using supplied MX-USBY cable
No problems

Maplin 12000mA Power Bank with 2 USB outputs 2.1A and 2.4A
Fully charged
Connected via supplied MX-USBY cable
Seems to work OK. I did a trial recording and after just over 2 hours the battery indicator was still on full. Didn't continue to discover maximum time.

SD CARDS

Some people have been reporting problems with some SD cards.
My experience is that sizes up to 32GB seem to work well.
Sizes over 32GB may result in the MP6 hanging with the green channel lights flashing intermittently on and off.
There may be a work around.
1. Start the MP6 with the battery sled removed and with no card inserted. You'll need to use a USB power source to do this.
2. After the MP has started insert the SD card.
The card should now be recognised, and you can replace the battery sled.
I have tried and used a 64GB Lexar (150 MB/s), a 64GB SanDisk Extreme, and 256GB SanDisk Extreme PRO - and all worked when loaded like this.
You may have to repeat the above loading procedure each time you reuse the card. I understand the people at Sound Devices are working on a fix.

The above is now redundant if you upgrade to firmware v. 1.01. Well done, Sound Devices!

The MP6 is very fast at reporting the remaining recording space available on a card. Formatting is also very fast.

Files are stored in date named folders. I just noticed today that I couldn't see the details of the files I recorded yesterday when using the MP6 today. This may be a bug (or a feature). The files are still there and can be accessed via a computer. But it looks as though you can't access them or delete them on the MP6. Perhaps someone could look at this and confirm this.

RECORDING LEVELS

Lots of people were worried about whether or not they would be able to set the gain level for individual channels. In fact this is easy to do via each channel's menu. The default is 6dB and you can change it using the up and down arrows on the screen when you press the channel dial in and tap on the visual gain icon.
HOWEVER, if you turn off the MP6 the channel gain levels will all default to 6dB. You can get round this by storing your settings as a preset. However, you will have to reload your preset every time you turn on the MP6. I can see this being a potential problem for me when I record at long events when I often switch my recorder on and off to conserve battery power.

The fader levels for each channel are set using the channel knobs. They are not stored with presets and are maintained and defined by the position of the dot on the channel knob. Fader levels are maintained if the MP6 is switched off and on.

Otherwise everything people are saying about the MP6 is true. It is easy to operate and sounds great. The headphone output is the best I've heard on a portable recorder (better than the Marantz 661 mk ii, the Tascam DR-100 mk iii, and the Sound Devices 702).

I doubt I would have any quibbles about the AA battery issues if the MX-L Mount had been available to buy along with the MP6. However, here in the UK they are not yet available. From my experience with the 702 it is the obvious way to benefit from extended recording times in the field.

I hope this is of some help to people.
« Last Edit: May 31, 2017, 01:57:39 PM by drone »

Online Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #94 on: May 30, 2017, 09:29:56 PM »
anyone test if it will go from a dead external (via usb) to "internal" AA's seamlessly?

if so... i think running a 20000 mah anker pack and four AA's would be just fine for most circumstances, right?

It will. Also it will seamlessly switch from the USB power to AA's if you need to swap out the USB battery.
||| MICS:  Beyer CK930 | DPA 4022 | DPA 4080 | Nevaton MCE400 | Sennheiser Ambeo Headset |||
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Offline rippleish20

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #95 on: May 30, 2017, 09:53:21 PM »
I finally actually have the 6 in hand.

It looks like formatting larger SD cards on other devices may solve the problem. I have a 128GB card working as far as I can tell.. [ update - I thought it worked but at some point it started doing the blinking thing on startup ]

None of the USB-c cables I have give full power except for the stock one which, Ted noted, works if you have both plugged in

A right angle USB-c connector should face down or it will interfere with the XLR ports


With the supplied USB cable one is marked data and the other power. Can you have the device act as a USB interface while powering it vi USB-c? I would like to stream via an ipad by using it as a USB device but also want to power it via USB-c


I wonder if a USB-c battery would be a better option?

The 8 battery sled fits securely and is still small

This thing is pretty small
« Last Edit: May 31, 2017, 09:03:03 AM by rippleish20 »
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Offline rippleish20

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #96 on: May 30, 2017, 10:20:32 PM »
I don't tape at that many venues but I have never encountered a digital in from the board.  Or it's never been offered......

Lately I've run into the case more and more where they only have digital outs and not the typical analog "tape out" (either xlr or rca). From my understanding, most digital boards don't have analog outs. Except one time I got a single XLR and the soundman had to assign it as a main out (more work and hassle for them and he only did it because Mike Doughty told him to give me whatever I needed).

Digital outs are "yeah plug in here".

I've gotten board patches at a lot of shows in the last couple of years and I have never encountered one that didnt have analog out. And a large percentage of them were digital boards.
`

Multiple times I have run into the situation of all the analog outputs were being used for other things, so it was the digital out or nothing. But yes, most of the time there should be something available that is analog. I'm always prepared for everything, so I'm never worried.

I have run into the "all output ports are filled" scenario but a digital option dint occur to me. Are they AES/EBU, SPDIF coax or toslink?
« Last Edit: May 30, 2017, 10:46:16 PM by rippleish20 »
AKG C480B (ck61, ck63, ck8) /  Neumann KM100 (AK40, AK50) / AT853s  (cardiod, omni) / CA-14 (cardiod) / CA-11 (Omni) / Mixpre-10t / Mixpre-6 / Roland R-07 / Zoom F-3
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Offline gewwang

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #97 on: May 30, 2017, 10:24:05 PM »
Got a tracking number from Gotham today. "Thursday, 06/01/2017, By End of Day".

Not sure if the 8 AA and L-series holders made it into the shipment since they were in a separate order but I'll have some battery tests with DPA402x's this weekend.

Offline GDfan

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #98 on: May 30, 2017, 10:26:10 PM »
Just got home and my MixPre3 was waiting for me!! :cheers:
DAMN this thing is TINY; like holy smokes, I knew it was small, but wow. My Anker 14400 astro pro powers it up with the provided cable just fine. I am going to set it up and run a test to see what kind of record time I can get with my Anker batteries. I can't wait to run this in the field!

Thanks Sound Devices!


Neumann SKM184 / AKG 568EB > Sound Devices MixPre3
http://www.archive.org/bookmarks/CLaPorte

Offline PoC2

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #99 on: May 31, 2017, 04:04:14 AM »
What would be nice to find is a USB battery/cable combination for the MixPre-6 that:

1. Fully powers the device (green plug symbol rather than orange).
2. Uses only one USB C cable (no USB A "Y splitters").

If anyone clearly identifies such a combination, please do say.

Offline tgakidis

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #100 on: May 31, 2017, 05:05:59 AM »
What would be nice to find is a USB battery/cable combination for the MixPre-6 that:

1. Fully powers the device (green plug symbol rather than orange).
2. Uses only one USB C cable (no USB A "Y splitters").

If anyone clearly identifies such a combination, please do say.

This cable works for me with 4 channels phantom and 5/6 aux in (green plug!!!). I've run it off a 20,000mah power bank, an Omni charge, a Tekkeon and my MacBook Pro.  All off a single USB socket.  It has a down angle USB C plug that won't interfere with the XLR input.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/162439366511
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Offline johnw

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #101 on: May 31, 2017, 07:46:50 AM »
What would be nice to find is a USB battery/cable combination for the MixPre-6 that:

1. Fully powers the device (green plug symbol rather than orange).
2. Uses only one USB C cable (no USB A "Y splitters").

If anyone clearly identifies such a combination, please do say.

This cable works for me with 4 channels phantom and 5/6 aux in (green plug!!!). I've run it off a 20,000mah power bank, an Omni charge, a Tekkeon and my MacBook Pro.  All off a single USB socket.  It has a down angle USB C plug that won't interfere with the XLR input.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/162439366511

Thanks! The only similar one I can find is this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZLRIG0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Amazon one claims to be manufactured by Zepthus with part # ZP-USBTPC002. The Ebay one claims to be manufactured by Chenyang with part # U3-298-RI

Unfortunately neither are on the list of tested cables linked in the pdf in this article: http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/how-to-find-safe-usb-type-c-cables

I'd say there is a decent chance they are made in the same factory from the same design but packaged for the reseller.

I haven't really seen anything else that orients the Type C cable down. Any idea if the Ebay one is USB-IF approved? The metal connectors looks like a single extruded piece and not stamped from folded tin which is a good sign. The seller on Amazon claims it has the 56k resistor but I don't place much stock on that claim. Any idea how much current these draw? I don't see that in the spec sheet (which btw the manual was updated again yesterday)
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Offline dogmusic

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #102 on: May 31, 2017, 07:52:21 AM »
An important change to Paul's instructions re gain knobs:

" I said in my earlier comment that you set Channel to Basic - that's wrong - I meant set Gain to Basic so that your ISOs are post channel fader knob."

[from jwsoundgroup.net]

Further clarification from that site, posted by Mobilemike:

"It seems to me though that in Custom mode, if you set "Gain" to "Basic" but leave "Channel" on "Advanced" (and Record on Advanced like Paul said) then that approaches what we want to do. Namely in this mode it seems like the channel faders do act like gain pots (albeit with the modified -14-96db range), but since the channel is in advanced mode you still have access to all of the other channel settings like full pan, low cut settings, and linking."
« Last Edit: May 31, 2017, 07:56:28 AM by dogmusic »
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Offline Vunz

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #103 on: May 31, 2017, 10:07:01 AM »
Hmmm... When I switch my MP6 to custom mode and set everything except gain to advanced, I don't see an option to link channels...

Offline Paul Isaacs

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Re: Sound Devices MixPre-3 and 6
« Reply #104 on: May 31, 2017, 10:23:42 AM »
Hmmm... When I switch my MP6 to custom mode and set everything except gain to advanced, I don't see an option to link channels...

FYI - We are aware of this and plan to make linking available even when Gain is set to Basic.

thx

Paul

 

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