Topic: Sony PCM D50 with Core Sound's DPA 4060/4061 binaural set up

[Rade]

Hey,

I've been looking around for a while and reading the reviews on his and other forums and I've almost made up my mind on getting Sony's PCM D50 with DPA 4060s for my binaural recording set up.
I'm planning on recording sounds of the nature for sound therapy.
Would you guys consider to be a good set up?
I'm really after good sound quality and portability(Sound Devices products are great but a bit too big and pricy).
It seems that PCM has got good pre amps and that I would be OK with 4060s, no need for the more sensitive 4061s.
Any opinions and suggestions are more than welcome.
Thanks a bunch in advance!
 
Rade

   

[Belexes]

No comment on the mics by me as I don't own them, but I am a proud D-50 owner.  Solid portable deck with 24 bit and digi-in.

[bilco]

No comment on the mics by me as I don't own them, but I am a proud D-50 owner.  Solid portable deck with 24 bit and digi-in.

+1   Great machine, look around for guysonic's comments on the preamp.  I have not tried it with external mics yet.  Like you, I am eventually going to get into binaural recording with it.

[WiFiJeff]

Use the stock DPA4060s and a DPA MMA6000 preamp, you won't regret it. 

Jeff (who's used both the HEB and stock DPAs)

[Todd R]

Hey,

I've been looking around for a while and reading the reviews on his and other forums and I've almost made up my mind on getting Sony's PCM D50 with DPA 4060s for my binaural recording set up.
I'm planning on recording sounds of the nature for sound therapy.
Would you guys consider to be a good set up?
I'm really after good sound quality and portability(Sound Devices products are great but a bit too big and pricy).
It seems that PCM has got good pre amps and that I would be OK with 4060s, no need for the more sensitive 4061s.
Any opinions and suggestions are more than welcome.
Thanks a bunch in advance!
 
Rade

   

Considering the low voltage level on the plug-in power of the D50, you won't be able to run the DPA 406x directly from the D50:

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,95964.msg1412983.html#msg1412983

If you go with the Core Sound version of the DPAs, it should come with a battery box, so you'd be ok.  Overall though, you'll want to use a battery box or a Church ST-9100 preamp or the DPA MMA6000 preamp between the mics and the D50.  Should be a great combo with something like that -- I love my D50 and am very impressed with the DPAs.

You do have things backwards though, the 4060's are the more sensitive version and the 4061's are the less sensitive ones.  I'd go with the 4060's though for nature recording, not the 4061's.  The preamps in the D50 are good, but no need not to send the hotter signal of the 4060s.  I use the 4060s with loud, amplified rock shows and they are fine, so they certainly won't be too sensitive for nature recording.

Shameless plug:  I'm probably going to be selling my pair of 4060s if you're interested.  I think I'm going to keep my companion ST-9100 preamp though, so I've been trying to decide to sell the 4060s outright or make a battery box to go with them and then sell the package.  Contact me if you have any interest and we can discuss things.

[Rade]

That's great!
Thank you so much for your views and tips.
Thanks Todd, you are right about the sensitivity of DPA 406x, my mistake there. I think that I'll be going for Core Sound's all in one package, thanks for the offer though.
You got me thinking Jeff, DPA pre amps sound like a good idea, adds as few $ to the total and it's a bit bulkier than Core Sound's battery though, but would you say it's worth getting one, significant difference in sound quality in your opinion?

Rade

   
 

[WiFiJeff]

It doesn't add much weight (the Core battery box is a metal monster), though it is bigger.  It gives you a nice warning when the 9V battery is dying (about 3+ hours of operation once the blinking light goes from green to red), which the Core battery box does not.  Since it is designed for the 40xx series, it gives pretty clean gain in nice 2.5 dB steps that are easy to set exactly.  Also, a number of us have had issues with the HEB having one mic eventually go bad, which DPA says it sees a fair amount of, don't know why.

Jeff

[Todd R]

If you want to go the stock DPA 406x route, I'd also highly recommend the Church ST-9100 preamp.  It is an excellent preamp, pairs well with the 4061's, and is a cheaper and smaller option than the MMA6000 (about $180 new I think).

Chris Church can build it to use 3.5mm (1/8") jacks, or mini-XLR jacks, or the standard DPA microdot connectors.  I'm not sure, but I think he can also terminate your mics accordingly (with 1/8" plugs or mini-XLRs), but you'd need to check with him directly (he's on this board, and can be found in the Retail section).  Personally, I'd go with the MMA6000 or ST-9100 option rather than the HEBs with the battery box.

[Gutbucket]

I do nature recording as well as classical, jazz, and loud rock with the 4060s and the MMA6000 into an R-09 as my small footprint portable rig and would buy the same setup again if I had to do it over.  Great performance in a small package. The Sony is just as good if not better in some ways.  Good choice I think.  Definitely 4060s over the 4061, especially in this case for the lower self noise and hotter output.

[Todd R]

Gutbucket -- I can't seem to reply to your pm, system seems to tell me your profile doesn't exist.  Drop me another line when you get a chance.

[Gutbucket]

I changed my email address in my profile this afternoon and had to reactivate my account a few moments ago. Should work now.

[surf1div1]

Rade,
when considering purchasing mics, check out the warranty- DPA has them at 2 years. Any reputable dealer should at least stand behind their equipment for the same, or else look elsewhere. As they say, buyer beware. Thanks to T/S for all that they provide- I just wish I knew about this site prior to my first purchase.

 

That's great!
Thank you so much for your views and tips.
Thanks Todd, you are right about the sensitivity of DPA 406x, my mistake there. I think that I'll be going for Core Sound's all in one package, thanks for the offer though.
You got me thinking Jeff, DPA pre amps sound like a good idea, adds as few $ to the total and it's a bit bulkier than Core Sound's battery though, but would you say it's worth getting one, significant difference in sound quality in your opinion?

Rade

   
 

[Rade]

Ok guys,

I've ordered PCM D50 already so now I'll look into Chris Church's pre amp and MMA6000.
Do you know of a good dealer for DPA in the States?
Thanks!

Rade