Ahh John I should have expected a response from you. You certainly do or die with the Nagra and Rycote products. Do you get a commission from them?
No, I just like them.
I know sometimes I go a bit OTT on the Rycote, but that's because I'm so knocked out by the engineering that makes a far better shockmount at a far lower price.
1. I am in the US. I see quite a good number of reporters using cassette recorders still. Lots and lots of reporters, bloggers and the like still making shit for money so a Nagra for an interview isn't happening. Heck in last night's post World Series interviews I saw two reporters using the built-in mics of an iPhone.
I am in the UK - mostly here cassette went years ago. If the money is tight, then they tend to use the small inexpensive hand-held flash recorders with built-in mics..
2. The LB is at least 20% - 40% higher than any comparable SD unit. That statement from you is just wrong.
No, I am not wrong - In the UK the LB is £1,600 and the 702 is about £1,800.
3. Yes the Nagra VI is cheaper than the 788 but with four less usable channels. Best mic pres in a portable? I'm thinking the Zaxcom and Aaton folks will have a slight disagreement with you on that one. Quality wise I think the Fostex and the aforementioned Zaxcom boxes would very much beg to differ.
I didn't say the others were bad, just that I consider the Nagra he best. From what I have seen of the Zaxcom, I would never use one, whatever the price. The Aaton Cantar and Sound Devices I like very much; but the Cantar is double the price of the Nagra VI and the 788T, although it does have lots of great things about it, was not quite the machine for me.
4. 100% my opinion no doubt. Since I don't have the strong attachment that you do to the Nagra gear I tend to think my opinion is based on looking at the facts of the matter without prejudice towards any one brand. While I own a SD box I certainly don't think they are the only or best tree in the forest. For the price of the Nagra VI I don't think there is much of a competition when compared to the Fostex PD606. Not one spec of the Nagra appears to be more favorable than the comparably priced Fostex. I was able to fiddle with a PD606 a couple of months ago and came away very impressed with it as an example.
I looked at several machines before buying the Nagra. What won me over was the ergonomics and sound quality and I put that ahead of other things. When I bought the Nagra, the SD was way behind, though upgrades have improved it vastly since I made my decision. The Fostex was not the machine for me, not out when I bought the Nagra and I have not looked closely at that one. I am the sort of person that, if I really like something I tend to talk about it. That's all, you are reading too much into it.
As for my last statement John:
While Nagra has been around a long time in this business I just find it hard to believe that they're not just resting on their legacy when it comes to current products. What we do here for the most part makes the Aaton's, Deva's and the like overkill I still can't help but wonder who would choose one of current Nagra products when compared to their competitors at similar price ranges and feature sets. 5 to 10 years ago maybe but in 2010? No thanks.
Other than being on the Nagra payroll where do you see the current Nagra lineup beating the competition? If you want to compare by price points the Nagra's seem to lack comparible features to others at the same price point. If you want to compare feature sets then again Nagra is behind to similar competition. Then the ergonomics? Well again there i'm having trouble finding Nagra above the competition. I don't think Nagra makes junk or are a bad company I just think that currently the competition from the lower, same and higher price points are ahead of the Nagra product line. If you set the Kool-Aid down for a second and looks at the specs, reviews and experiences of all of these products I can't fathom how you think the Nagra's are the clear winners but I am certainly willing to be convinced if possible.
For my purposes the Nagra clearly beats the competition, or I would have bought one of them. For film use on the run the 788T seems to be the winner, for other purposes some people choose the Cantar. I am recording classical music and want a machine without any compromise in the sound quality and the Nagra does that for me better than the others. And others agree, there are quite a few people doing the same sort of recording that I do and have chosen the Nagra VI above all the others. And I'm *not* on Nagra's payroll at all!