Topic: Sony PCM-A10 (Part 2)

[morst]

Doug Oade took one apart and determined he couldn't mod. Not sure why.

probably far too teeny and integrated / monolithic to be able to improve and still get the case shut!?

[Sebastian]

Doug Oade took one apart and determined he couldn't mod. Not sure why.

Finally. I never really understood the need for these mods. Not for the kind of recordings we make. Everyone is better off spending that money on concert tickets.

[MakersMarc]

Doug Oade took one apart and determined he couldn't mod. Not sure why.

Finally. I never really understood the need for these mods. Not for the kind of recordings we make. Everyone is better off spending that money on concert tickets.

could not disagree more. The post mod specs are so much better. I won't run a $2000 pair of mics into a prosumer recorder's crappy preamps. Now line in, it's fine. But not the preamps. I look at someone going cheap with a stock A10, or running cheap mics, skip a few high ticket runs and you've got the cash. Imo.

I ran the A10 out of a babynbox and the results were really weak.

[gmm6797]

I ran the A10 out of a babynbox and the results were really weak.

Can you quantify the "really weak"?

[vanark]

I ran the A10 out of a babynbox and the results were really weak.

Can you quantify the "really weak"?

I was more than satisfied with the results:
https://archive.org/details/ttb2021-12-03.m21.flac24

Doesn't edtyre run schoeps > baby nbox > A10? I don't think there is much complaints there with his recordings.
https://archive.org/details/@edtyre2?query=a-10

ETA:
To be clear, I don't run into an A-10 because I'm being cheap. I'm doing it for low profile ability. Period. When I can bring a bag and stand, I bring other gear although after listening to this recording, I may choose to run low profile gear more often.

[gmm6797]

I get only running the A10 "in the hat" situation and better gear in the bag, I do the same thing. I always factor that into my ears when listening to a recording... i hope others do too

[RyanJ]

Anyone aware of any mods anyone is doing with the A10??

Doug Oade took one apart and determined he couldn't mod. Not sure why.

I asked Doug if he could mod these a few weeks ago and I think it was that the parts were soldered to the board and it deemed the A10 could not be modified.

I agree, I use the A10 for low profile situations. I have not had any issues running the Schoeps babynbox A10 rig. I am very happy with the sound results.

[Sebastian]

could not disagree more. The post mod specs are so much better.

They might be better on paper, but I highly doubt they'll have any real world influence on what the kind of recordings we do sound like.

I ran the A10 out of a babynbox and the results were really weak.

Maybe the sound was already "weak" (whatever this means) when entering the recorder. It's hard to believe, but sometimes a recording just sounds bad and there's nothing a $2000 pair of mics or the best recorder in the world could do about it. There are other factors that influence how a recording sounds that are way more relevant than some number on a spec sheet. Especially in the kind of situation most of us usually record in.

I asked Doug if he could mod these a few weeks ago and I think it was that the parts were soldered to the board and it deemed the A10 could not be modified.

Aren't pretty much all parts in all modern recorders soldered to the PCB?

[MakersMarc]

I ran the A10 out of a babynbox and the results were really weak.

Can you quantify the "really weak"?

flat, two dimensional, lacking in width or depth of soundstage.

[MakersMarc]

Doug Oade took one apart and determined he couldn't mod. Not sure why.

probably far too teeny and integrated / monolithic to be able to improve and still get the case shut!?

I think that was it. Unlike the Marantz decks and the M10, there are no mic spaces to be removed, since they protrude in the A10

[MakersMarc]

I don't mean to dog anyone's tapes, it's not the difference between bad/good. It's good/very good to great. I've heard several good bnb_A10 tapes. Just no great ones.

It's a bit of a moot point for the near future, my understanding is that the parts Doug needs are backordered until 2023.

[morst]

Aren't pretty much all parts in all modern recorders soldered to the PCB?

No, some are actually integrated into chips or packages, and can't simply be swapped out.

[Ozpeter]

I ran the A10 out of a babynbox and the results were really weak.

Can you quantify the "really weak"?

flat, two dimensional, lacking in width or depth of soundstage.

That would only be caused by severe lack of channel separation, if it was demonstrably caused by the recorder itself.  I don't recall anyone reporting such a phenomenon before.  It's very easily tested - feed a signal into one channel and see whether it also shows up on the other channel. It seems therefore to be a local issue, caused by a defect in the unit, or by misoperation eg incorrect settings for recording format.  That's not an insult - I recently did that myself when using a recorder I hadn't used for some time, and contrived to record in mono...

[DavidPuddy]

I don't mean to dog anyone's tapes, it's not the difference between bad/good. It's good/very good to great. I've heard several good bnb_A10 tapes. Just no great ones.

It's a bit of a moot point for the near future, my understanding is that the parts Doug needs are backordered until 2023.

Taste in tonality is subjective, just like everything else. I certainly understand the itch to mod.

I've been very happy with my nbox > A10 combo and have been increasingly using it except for the times I want to run 4 channel.

[MakersMarc]

I ran the A10 out of a babynbox and the results were really weak.

Can you quantify the "really weak"?

flat, two dimensional, lacking in width or depth of soundstage.

That would only be caused by severe lack of channel separation, if it was demonstrably caused by the recorder itself.  I don't recall anyone reporting such a phenomenon before.  It's very easily tested - feed a signal into one channel and see whether it also shows up on the other channel. It seems therefore to be a local issue, caused by a defect in the unit, or by misoperation eg incorrect settings for recording format.  That's not an insult - I recently did that myself when using a recorder I hadn't used for some time, and contrived to record in mono...

um, no. I don't believe that is what I'm hearing. I've owned plenty of IEMs that give the same aural representation.