Topic: Zoom F3

[voltronic]

I dream of a neutral preamp set with a pair of digital microphones with as little color as possible - Sonosax plus Neumann D? but that's off topic, sorry.

No analog preamp needed (or possible) with a digital microphone.  Conversion from analog to digital is happening inside the microphone prior to output.

I always wondered why AES42 never became widely used. Only a few mic and field recorders still have models that use it.

[Gutbucket]

Happy to help!

..it can be hard to discern by listening if the noisefloor of the recording is being dominated by the noisefloor of the room (HVAC), the self-noise of the mics, or the noisefloor of the F3 input preamp stage.   But from experience, I expect them to range from highest to lowest level in that order.

There should be sufficient data below to figure out the comparative noise floors of each.  Specs as reported by the manufacturers:

Zoom's F3 EIN : -127 dBu or less (IHF-A) when waveform magnification is ×1024 with 150 Ω input (< not sure why the part I've bolded here is relevant)
Input impedance, MIC: 3 kΩ or more
Input impedance, LINE: 3 kΩ or more
Maximum input level,   MIC: +4 dBu
Maximum input level,   LINE: +24 dBu

DPA's MMA6000 EIN :
At 0 dB gain<3 µV (RMS A-weight)
At 37 dB gain<1,5 µV (RMS A-weight)

DPA's 4061 (legacy and CORE) :
Sensitivity, nominal, ±3 dB at 1 kHz 6 mV/Pa; -44 dB re. 1 V/Pa
Equivalent noise level, A-weighted Typ. 26 dB(A) re. 20 µPa (max. 28 dB(A))
Equivalent noise level, ITU-R BS.468-4 Typ. 38 dB (max. 40 dB)
Distortion, THD < 1% - Legacy 120 dB SPL RMS, 123 dB SPL peak
Distortion, THD < 1% - CORE 134 dB SPL RMS, 137 dB SPL peak
Dynamic range - Legacy Typ. 97 dB
Dynamic range - CORE Typ. 111 dB
Max. SPL, THD 10% 144 dB SPL peak

I think you forgot to include the EIN specs of the MMA6000.

It's there [I've now bolded it in the quote above], but is in µV rather than dBu.. and A-weighted.