First off, I'll say it. This this is sweet, but cost more than most of you can spend. I know it, and I'm not going to rub people's faces in it. I bought because I wanted it and kind of had to (more later).
I've owned this unit for about 6 weeks now and have done several shows with it. Most recently the Radiators where I had my four mics, plus 2 line inputs all going into the unit.
While you don't want anything to have limitations when they cost as much as the DEVA IV does (list is around $10,500), it currently has a few limitations that do present some problems for recording long shows.
There is currently a 4 GB limit on partition sizes. While this doesn't present much of a problem for shorter shows, when you're laying down 6 or 7 tracks at 24/48 or 24/96, you've got some partition issues you're going to have to deal with. That is not to say you're hosed, there are work arounds, but the current firmware won't allow you to change the partition sizes. To get along with this limitation however there is a cool feature called pre-record. From what Glenn the owner of Zaxcom says, it was almost by accident that they have it. When you turn the Deva on, it is always in the "record" mode, that is anything going into the mics or line inputs are being processed, this is nice because it allows you to set levels and get your mix right. There is an option on the Deva to buffer up to 10 seconds of this data before it dumps it from the FIFO (First In First Out) buffers. On a DAT The first note comes on, you say "crap" then hit record because you were fiddling with something, etc. You've missed that first few seconds. On the Deva, first note comes on, you hit record, later dump the show to your computer and the entire show is there thanks to the pre-record option. This same option gives you 10 seconds of time to stop the recording at any time during a show, change partitions, then restart the recording. The nice thing is it really can be done in about 2 or 3 seconds, so you don't miss a beat. You do have to "splice" the shows together later, but with time code embedded in the files, you let your DAW software handle that.
Another downside to this thing is the learning curve. While most things jump right out at you, there are a few things that are just plain hard to find at times. Buried one too many menus deep, or not where I would have thought they should have been placed. The Deva has a color touch screen and as such, menus and screens can be changed later with a firmware update. The nice thing is Zaxcom does listen to it's users and I've already made some suggestions that are on their list of things to change to make it a bit more user friendly.
If you look at the picture of the Deva IV, you'll see 4 pots on the front for the mixer. This is great except, you've got either 8 or 10 channels coming in. I suggested to them a few weeks back that it would be nice to be able to assign the pots, then "lock" the level, pick a new channel for that same pot. Glenn responded that he had something better coming along, and that they did. Last night they issued a firmware update that blew me away from a technology standpoint; soft faders for 4 or 6 more channels. Now you can have a fader for every channel on your screen, these aren't designed to ride, so you can't have something that you have to ride the levels on assigned to them. But for something like a sound board feed, they are perfect. You set the levels, leave yourself a bit of headroom then you can "lock" them, so you don't accidentally change them and move on. Speaking of sound boards. One of the things talked about most often with matrix recordings is the delay of the sound board. You're off by a millisecond or two depending on how far away from the stage your mics are and where the mixing console is that you are patched out of. The Deva has a delay function that allows you to set the delay of any input, so you can get rid of that delay and make the entire recording sound like you're right there again.
So, am I glad I bought it? Yes. Do I wish it cost less? Yes. Now that the SD744T is actually shipping will the cost go down? Probably not, while there is some market overlap, this is an 8 or 10 track recorder that is a full 8 or 10 channels, not some device that still needs an external mixer to bring in multiple mics. So, why did I buy this unit. Partly because of the 744T. I had my name on the list, but then as time went on, I started thinking about using a less expensive HD recorder as "backup" to my DA-P1. Zaxcom was offering refurbished Deva II units (4 track recorders) for $5,000 shipped. I decided that it was time to reduce the amount of gear I was lugging around and bought one. However, what I didn't know until I used the Deva II was that my Earthworks mics that required 10 mA each wouldn't work because the Deva II couldn't produce that much power. Zaxcom was nice enough to offer me a deal on an exchange for the Deva IV. Of course the downside is it cost me double what I was willing to spend. However, The nice thing about upgrading was instead of owning a piece of gear that was at the end of it's life, I own a product that has many years of life ahead of it.
After using this thing for a while, I'm very glad I bought it. I realize that it's overkill, I also realize that you're probably not going to see too many of these at shows. In fact, if you see one at a show, it's probably me. But now that I do own it, and I have listened to what it can do, I'm now starting to sell off my other gear. I just don't need it. External preamps, mixers, A/D converters, all of it is no longer required. What I hear at shows is what I get down on the drive. That is what is important, and this is an industrial design, no worrying about funky optical cables that might break or connectors popping out because they don't have some way to "lock" them into the unit.
So, how does this rate up against the "big boys" of HHB's PortaDrive, Fostex's PD6, and Aanton's Cantar? Zaxcom's Deva had a better THD+N rate than all of them. This test is being challenged by HHB, Fostex, and Aanton, and Zaxcom has agreed to let anybody interested in retesting them to do so. HHB contacted Zaxcom to have some settings changed prior to a new reading and it suddenly got a whole lot better, however it still wasn't better than the DEVA. Now, what does this mean to you and me? Little to nothing because at the levels we're talking we're not going to hear it in our recordings. But it does mean that regardless of which box you choose from this group, you've got an awesome recorder with many years of life on it.... FYI, the Cantar is a wonderfully strange looking device, but functionality-wise, you're no better off with it and in reality more limited because it can't be changed with just a firmware update. Oh yeah, it's also going to cost you another $5,000.
So, if you see a guy with a way too bright looking screen and box at a show, stop by and have a look. I don't bite and as most folks who know me will tell ya, I'm always happy to loan you cables, a patch, whatever you want, even if it's just to talk shop. ;-)
Peace,
Wayne
Topic: Thoughts of Deva IV after some use (long) (Read 2529 times)