Sony PCM-A10 (Part 2)

[robgronotte]

A10 internals on top of my head, secured with a Buff neck gaiter and beanie:

https://archive.org/details/harrington_jaffe_shiroishi2026-05-08.a10

Were you able to point the mics towards the PA?

[dabbler]

A10 internals on top of my head, secured with a Buff neck gaiter and beanie:

https://archive.org/details/harrington_jaffe_shiroishi2026-05-08.a10

Were you able to point the mics towards the PA?

In the same general direction...  I usually try to capture stage sounds from up close-ish as much as possible, especially for instrumental bands.
My front row spot was 15-20' from Max's drum kit and Dave's amp, which is further back than some of my previous recordings of this trio in smaller rooms.  I couldn't see the PA since most/all(?) of it was hidden behind a curtain at 2220.

All of the shows I've seen in the main 2220 room the past year have the performers on the floor in front of the raised stage instead of the stage itself.

In my experience with both the A10 and SP-CMC-8 cards, doing X-Y on top of my
head is pretty close to omnis in sound, the main difference is it rejects some noise from directly behind.

[Bullet1979]

I've tried to skim through this post to see any mention of the issue that I'm having but I'm only seeing people having only great results with this recorder so I'm assuming I must be doing something wrong...

I'm using the same MIC + pre setup that I've been using with older recorders with no issues (CA-14's + CA-Ugly, DPA 4061's + CA Ugly Battery Box)... but the input is too hot and I get clipping even when I set the level to 1.  I've set the External Input Setting to Audio IN -> Manual and "Loud Music" for the scene.  What's the trick?!

[Datfly]

I see the A10 is discontinued. What is considered its replacement? (small, stealthy & good) for my nBobs & MK41's

[Ozpeter]

I see the A10 is discontinued. What is considered its replacement? (small, stealthy & good)

Small, stealthy and good, and inexpensive = Insta360 Mic Pro - but not if you want to connect your own mics etc.

[morst]

I've tried to skim through this post to see any mention of the issue that I'm having but I'm only seeing people having only great results with this recorder so I'm assuming I must be doing something wrong...

I'm using the same MIC + pre setup that I've been using with older recorders with no issues (CA-14's + CA-Ugly, DPA 4061's + CA Ugly Battery Box)... but the input is too hot and I get clipping even when I set the level to 1.  I've set the External Input Setting to Audio IN -> Manual and "Loud Music" for the scene.  What's the trick?!

don't click UP to mic in, click DOWN to line in, and then choose Manual

I would suggest leaving SCENE SELECT to OFF

[robgronotte]

I've never had the levels be too high. On my Tascam I sometimes had to lower the input level all the way down, but I've never had to with the A10. 

I've never even noticed "scene select", but I wonder if that is somehow taking over the manual setting. I would also recommend turning that off. 

[Bullet1979]

Very odd... I just tested in my office with my computer speakers and there does not appear to be any difference between MNL LV 01 with the "Loud Music" scene selected vs no scene selected.  The recording starts clipping at LV15 which is just crazy to me, considering these are just Klipsch computer speakers.

I left the entire setup exactly the same and plugged into the line in on my ol' reliable Edirol R-09HR and I had to crank the input up to 74 before it would show any signs of clipping.

This is really acting like I have a setting wrong somewhere but there really aren't many settings to mess with on the PCM-A10!

[nulldogmas]

CA-14 cards or omnis? I only have CA-14 cards, and I usually run them at about 14 on the A10 gain setting and have tons of headroom, even in loud rock environments. I wouldn't think that omnis would be that much more sensitive, but maybe?

Which other recorders have you run the same setup with and not had problems?