<thread theft in progress>
If you're really thinking about spending $450 on a battery box to go with the $450 Sony D50, then also consider spending $670 on a Sound Devices MixPre or $750 for an Aerco MP2 preamp, and sending the signal to the line input of a less expensive recorder like the $200 Tascam DR-1 or the $230 M-Audio Microtrack II.
Going line in bypasses the preamp of these recorders, and just requires the A to D conversion and storing the result on the flash card. Both the DR-1 and Microtrack II have very low self-noise in their line input circuits. The new $200 Tascam DR-07 appears to be a slimmed down version of the DR-1.
While the preamp in the D50 is very good, it can't match the MixPre or Aerco. It makes sense when you think that the preamp is just one part of the $450 D50, while the preamp is the only function of the MixPre or Aerco. Both the MixPre and Aerco can provide 48V phantom power through XLR connectors.
Some people prefer the Aerco sound, which is a little warmer than the MixPre. The Aerco is smaller and lighter. I like the way you can change the AA cells that power the MixPre without opening the case. And the MixPre has metering lights and a jack for monitoring through headphones.
</thread highjack>
Flintstone
The mixpre has a 1/8th inch "tape out". Is that the same as "line out"? I.e. can we connect that to a line input of another recorder?
It's great that the Mixpre uses AA batteries. I much prefer that to 9v. But it only lasts for 6 hours
with phantom powerswitched off.
The D50 lasts apparently for 25.5 hrs on 4 AA, and the XLR-1 40 hrs with 4AA. That calculates at 30% higher battery consumption for the Mixpre (not including any recorder) compared to the XLR-1 + D50.
Mixpre 0.333 AA/hr (must be more with phantom power on)
PCM-D50 0.157 AA/hr
XLR-1 0.1 AA/hr
Then whatever recorder one would use after the Mixpre will probably have quite high battery consumption too? With the microtrack for example, if you would need to record for more than a couple of hours you'd need a battery pack too! Getting gradually heavier and bulkier.
Weight-wise:
Mixpre = 862g (said to be 0.8kg without batteries, so I included battery weight) Doesn't include recorder and battery pack.
D-50 + XLR-1 = 890g
However, seems like the mix-pre is a good machine. What combination would you recommend using it in then, to keep weight down but able to use for many hours?
Is there any setup that can come close to the D-50 + XLR-1 in terms of weight and battery life, retaining at least the same (or better) sound quality?Justin