Jeff- have you experienced any problems or concerns running the Josephson's into the F8n with loud sources? They are quite sensitive, no?
The Josephson 617s are indeed very hot running mics. With them about 6' up and maybe 2 feet from the piano I have been running gain of 13-16 dB on the F8n (Schoeps mics on string groups generally take 35-40 dB gain), depending on the pieces played and the aggressiveness of the pianist. This leaves plenty of headroom (aiming for ~4 dB boost in post). Pianos up that close are loud, but an orchestra with brass might stress the input limits.
Jeff
Jeff, I've just been playing around with my F6 and discovered...
You CAN adjust recording levels when set to 32-bit float point!MENU > REC > MODE > set to Float (32bit)*
MENU > INPUT > TRACK KNOB > change to REC LEVEL
The default is Reference Level, which does not allow you to adjust the ISO track level with the trim pots; just the L/R downmix as you described.
Changing this setting to REC LEVEL allows you to adjust from -60 to +60 dB.
I verified that I was set to 32-bit float mode only, and NOT dual 24/32.
Also verified in post - I recorded a quick speech test with a pair of CM3s at close range, alternating with max and min trim setting. In iZotope RX, the portions recorded at max were peaking at +6 dB; those recorded at minimum were so low they didn't even register on the meters or waveform view. The portions recorded at max I lowered -12 dB, and the portion recorded at minimum needed a boost of +110 dB to match. See screenshots.
EDIT: I can't say for sure if this is adjusting mic preamp gain or the level at some other point in the chain. Yes I can: According to the block diagrams in the menu, all level adjustments in 32-bit float mode are happening post-ADC. That makes this whole discussion about level adjustment in this mode largely irrelevant, because preamp gain is fixed in that mode.What I
can say is that it does so without any change in background noise level. If it is adjusting the preamps, then these preamps are dead quiet. The sample I recorded with the level setting alternating between -60 and +60 sounded totally even and consistent once the levels of the different sections were raised and lowered to match.
*EDIT2: Note that the trim pot setting is grayed out in all REC modes
except Float(32bit).