Topic: SD 552 worth the upgrade?

[gmoe]

Hey guys,

I'm on the fence. I currently have a SD302 to Edirol R-09HR with AKG mics. I do both event/live music and film narrative recordings and I had originally done a number of recordings with my SD302/SD722 combo which I loved but the heavier gear weighed me down.


With the SD 552 I could have the best of both worlds so to speak. However, I did notice that the A/D Dynamic Range is
103 dB and is lower than the "7" series.

The price jump is significant and I don't know if I'm going to get a hella of a difference between what I have currently so I thought I'd ask for a little advice.

Thanks in advance,

Gmoe

[SClassical]

I was thinking of selling my 442 to get the 552. I'll still keep my SD772 because I think SD552>SD772 will sound better than SD552 alone. I think the best thing to do is the buy it and see..after testing it sell whatever you don't need. I might actually do a comp test with SD552 vs SD442>SD722 vs SD552>SD722 when I get the SD552. Just need to find the time to do it.

[SClassical]

Actually I was just contacted by a SD552 owner/user (who was also once an owner/user of the SD442) that it is not recommended to use the SD552 as the main recorder. So I might just keep my SD442. SD552 is a fine 5 channel mixer/preamp but not recommended as a "replacement" for our 7 series recorders.

[spzkt]

Sound Devices have a point by point comparison the comes to a similar conclusion:

http://www.sounddevices.com/notes/general/552-or-7-series/