My A10 arrived today (a day earlier than I thought). I hope to take it out tomorrow, but that first outing may now be in doubt (family stuff). If I can get out, I'm going to see if I can find a splitter so that I can record into the A10 and the M10. I think Sebastian said he did that without issues.
First impressions, it's small. I think we all knew that. While not as rugged as the M10, I didn't think it was too terrible. It is lighter than the M10. Again, another thing we all knew. When taking this out for shows, I might actually put this in the tiny foam case it came with. I just have to make sure the foam case won't impact the mic jack at all. I did read in the manual/instructions that it came with under precautions that
"Noise may be heard when the unit is placed near an AC power source, a fluorescent lamp or a mobile phone during recording or playback". I find this statement odd since there is a phone app. Which to me would kind of defeat the purpose of the phone app. Sebastian have you had an issue with that? Might be something to look out for.
It paired to my phone nice and easy. I do wish that I could switch audio (line) in/mic in on the recording app itself. As it is, at least from what I've seen, each time I plug my mics in, I have to chose between mic in or audio in and select manual. Not a big deal. I can hook up before the show since battery life won't be an issue. I just wish I could set that as a default setting for every time I turn the unit on. Maybe I can, but I haven't looked for it.
I do like how I can run the A10 from my phone while the A10 is locked. I do
not like that the buttons on the phone app are a little closer than I'd like to have. I've got fat fingers! I also wish there was a hold option on the phone app. I am going to suggest that. I may even ask for a little more separation between the buttons as well.
I ran some initial tests with a babynbox, an IPA (set at 4db), and a tinybox (low setting--I think it is 4db as well). From my initial tests, I think I'd have to run line in with the babynbox. On the M10, I ran mic in as per Nick's suggestion. With mic in, I peaked levels quite easily (even at 1). I was screaming like a banshee into my mics and going over each time. I know that isn't the best test, but I figured it would be somewhat close to real life. When I connected the babynbox via line in, I didn't have that issue. I tested the IPA and Tinybox as well (line in). Again, I began screaming like a banshee which meant everyone in the house was wondering what the hell I was doing! I don't remember what levels I set, but they did not peak.
I'm not sure this is the perfect device, but if things go well, it will be nice to have an even smaller device for what I'm normally doing when I record.
