Taperssection.com
Gear / Technical Help => Ask The Tapers => Topic started by: tgos3 on October 21, 2025, 10:39:47 AM
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Howdy All
I have tried to be a good user and searched in multiple fora for the thread where this was discussed, but i guess my search-fu is inadequate
I am currently using an SD 'recommended' card, (SanDisc) but it is no longer made, apparently.
I want to buy a couple of extra cards for my 10 II, and of course SD no longer tests current cards from other mfgs.
I am aware that even the same model numbers change internally, so i would like to see what has been tested and verified within recent memory, if someone is still doing that.
Where should i look here?
thanks much
TG
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SoundDevices make their own card, FWIW.
YMMV, but I have a few of the 64gb cards in my wallet
(https://store.sounddevices.com/product/sam-64sd/)
(https://www.fullcompass.com/prod/590417-sound-devices-sam-128sd-128gb-sdc-card-for-recorder-mixers?s=c)
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SoundDevices make their own card, FWIW.
It is very unlikely that SD makes them, but they certainly charge a premium for putting their label on it.
Those linked V60 cards cost twice or more of what similar V60 cards from reputable manufactures cost.
Problem of-course is to find out which card they have re-labelled or doing your own stress test.
I guest it is a matter of "what is your time worth?"
If no one chimes in with alternatives here, OP could ask in the JW SoundGroup forum. Some members there are likely working with that device for a living:
https://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php
BTW: Doesn't the SD MixPre have a read/write card testing mode? My Zoom recorder has two modes for testing the recorder's ability to work with a given card.
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true, i should have been more specific, clearly SD isnt 'making' their own cards as I mentioned, rather branded and endorsed
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true, i should have been more specific, clearly SD isnt 'making' their own cards as I mentioned, rather branded and endorsed
I have tried them, they fail
I do not recommend them.
Had trouble with two out of the three that I had and then the third one the protect tab broke off
Warranty service on those cards is useless, as it is done through the retailer
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I have had good luck on my MixPre-6 (v1) with the Integral Ultima Pro SDXC I V30 64GB. This was one of those listed on SD's approved card page.
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I have a MixPre10II and don't recall any card test function (I'm not near it at the moment). I think the 700 series did.
I just took a card and set it to record the max channels at the max sample rate, and ran it in RECORD until it stopped and looked for any write error message. This might not be a bad idea for every card you use, despite the time it takes.
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I have a MixPre10II and don't recall any card test function (I'm not near it at the moment). I think the 700 series did.
I just took a card and set it to record the max channels at the max sample rate, and ran it in RECORD until it stopped and looked for any write error message. This might not be a bad idea for every card you use, despite the time it takes.
there's no way I'd trust a Sound Devices branded card even if it passed this test 100 x
#SoundDeceives
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I have a MixPre10II and don't recall any card test function (I'm not near it at the moment). I think the 700 series did.
I just took a card and set it to record the max channels at the max sample rate, and ran it in RECORD until it stopped and looked for any write error message. This might not be a bad idea for every card you use, despite the time it takes.
there's no way I'd trust a Sound Devices branded card even if it passed this test 100 x
#SoundDeceives
dang now, i'm less than confident about my brand choice... open to new things, will get a few of the Integral Ultimas
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I’m also not fond of the price premium of the SD cards. I haven’t bought new cards for years as I don’t do long term storage-archiving on my SD cards.
I think I still have Sandisk Extreme, when SD said to not get the Extreme Pro. I’d be interested in what works now, too.
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I've been using this card since January 2023 without Issue! It was on Sound Devices approved list. I also have a 64gig PNY card that has worked without issue in my Mixpre 10 II
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H4BPZZG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1
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It looks to me that the Sandisk Extreme cards are still available. If you don't want to buy from CalvinNHobbs on Amazon, B&H shows them available. IIRC, the Sandisk Extreme SDXC cards were approved by SD, but the Extreme Pro was explicitly marked Do Not Buy. No idea if the current cards are anything like the original approved cards.
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It's a couple of years out of date, but here is the SD list: https://www.sounddevices.com/mixpre-series-approved-media-list/ (https://www.sounddevices.com/mixpre-series-approved-media-list/).
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To be honest I used an unapproved card for a year without issue! I bought my Mixpre 10 from a friend and the card came with the recorder. I upgraded after I found out it wasn't an approved card, but I recorded several shows without any problems.
It looks to me that the Sandisk Extreme cards are still available. If you don't want to buy from CalvinNHobbs on Amazon, B&H shows them available. IIRC, the Sandisk Extreme SDXC cards were approved by SD, but the Extreme Pro was explicitly marked Do Not Buy. No idea if the current cards are anything like the original approved cards.
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I'm sure many people put in any old card and have no problem. But since the MixPres don't have dual card recoding, personally, I prefer to test a batch of cards with the record-until-it-stops method, then just use those for recording, replacing every several years. Recordings are transferred to my large HD arrays that are backed up. Don't trust any one storage drive of any kind.
With the 10II, you can also record to USB stick, but that's another media problem and it seems to lag way behind.
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thanks for your thoughts everyone
The reason i posted originally is that someone at taperssection has already done a 'high bit rate multi channel long recording' test of multiple (?reasonably recent) cards and posted the results. I was unable to find that post or thread, and i was hoping someone else here could direct me to it.
I have found the same model number San Disc card as what i am using, as well as the same spec but different mfg code number, (but as we know, the internal function of such cards may have changed.) I am not going to buy and test multiple cards, though i applaud and respect others with the motivation and time to do that.
I have also read previous posts documenting the failure of SD brand cards, as also posted in this thread, which makes them a no go for me.
Regarding the excessive cost of SD cards, I agree, but remember that SD has made devices mostly for people making a living with them, who can 'charge off' or depreciate equipment costs. In addition, it appears that SD under new ownership is 'rationalizing' their prices for parts and service, hence the daunting out of warranty repair prices for discontinued models.
I am hoping someone remembers where the long list of 'failed test' and 'passed test' cards is posted
I have read everything at SD about the MixPre II series recorders.
tg
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https://www.sounddevices.com/mixpre-series-approved-media-list/
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https://www.sounddevices.com/mixpre-series-approved-media-list/
thanks.
of course that was the first place i checked, before I bought the MixPre, and how i selected my original card (i bought 2, on one of which i have stored the latest !0 II OS update)
AFAIK, that list has not been updated...am I wrong about that?
i finally found a years old series of posts in the MixPre 3/6 stuff where someone tested a bunch of cards, many of them micro SD, which Sound Devices still recommends against using. Many of the micro cards failed the tests. this was before the II series came out, so might not be relevant to current internal OS of these units, but SD still warn against micro cards. (Which is what Sweetwater sold me, with my 10 II, since the 'sales engineer' had not actually read the instructions and I had to remind him...he looked, confirmed, and they refunded the card purchase price, but did not have ANY SD recommended cards).
thanks all for your comments.
I will keep in mind the various cards you have used successfully
I tend to use smaller cards, since i offload files into my DAW for post processing.