Topic: All in one for 2024?

[yousef]

For my infrequent taping outings nowadays I'm getting a bit weary of mics>adaptor>Tinybox>3.5mm>M10. An all in one beckons.

But what to go for? I've seen an old Marantz for sale locally, as well as a couple of Tascams.

I'm looking for:
- something that saves space by foregoing built-in mics
- able to power a pair of 4022s for 2-3 hours on
-replaceable, ideally rechargeable, batteries (ie AAs)

Happy to buy old tech/secondhand/new. What's out there?

[grawk]

zoom f3
mixpre 3
sonosax r4+
Nagra VII

[yousef]

Thanks for those. I think the Zoom is the closest to the form factor I'm looking for but it's a weird little thing...

What are the modern equivalents of the PMD661 or an M10 with XLR inputs?

[goodcooker]

Thanks for those. I think the Zoom is the closest to the form factor I'm looking for but it's a weird little thing...

What are the modern equivalents of the PMD661 or an M10 with XLR inputs?

The Tascam DR100 has decent sounding preamps built in with XLR connectors and is close to the size of the PMD661. The Zoom F3 is smaller (no internal mics) and likely sounds better. I don't have one but I auditioned a lot of shows recorded with one and it does sound good. If I had to make this choice I'd go with the Zoom F3.

[fanofjam]

Thanks for those. I think the Zoom is the closest to the form factor I'm looking for but it's a weird little thing...

What are the modern equivalents of the PMD661 or an M10 with XLR inputs?

The Tascam DR100 has decent sounding preamps built in with XLR connectors and is close to the size of the PMD661. The Zoom F3 is smaller (no internal mics) and likely sounds better. I don't have one but I auditioned a lot of shows recorded with one and it does sound good. If I had to make this choice I'd go with the Zoom F3.

Seconded.  I bought a zoom f3 recently.  I still own a DR100 and PMD661, both MK1 versions.  I'm not selling either of those because my DR100 is beat to shit.  PMD661s are selling for around $150 so not worth selling since I value it for its digital RCA inputs.  I'd rather keep it than sell it for that much.  All this is to say that, now that I have the F3, I'm grabbing it 100 times out of 100 in favor of the other two all things equal.  I don't know if it's 32bit float, improved preamps, or what, but the sound out of this little powerhouse completely blows away the DR100 and PMD661 internals.  And it fits in my pocket and is MUCH better on power than the other two.  This is a no brainer if I'm the decision maker. 

[robeti]

Will the Zoom f3 take Schoeps mics without a nbox/baby nbox?

[grawk]

it will take any p48 mics including schoeps. If you mean will it take active cables designed to go to some other box, then no.

[adrianf74]

Will the Zoom f3 take Schoeps mics without a nbox/baby nbox?

That's what led to my question the Cables forum about a PFA solution within a Stubby XLR (not possible) but possible with a Pigtail stubby solution (needs enough space for the circuitry).

Solutions for the F3 as I've read:

1/ nBob Active Cable with PFA Pigtail Stubbies - allows you to connect P48 without an nBox
2/ nBob Active Cable > baby nBox > mini XLR > XLR stubbies/chopped
3/ Schoeps CCM 1 U or CCM 1 L with stubby XLR cables (or LEMO to XLR on the second option).

That's truly it from what I've gathered.

[grawk]

There's nothing about it that requires a stubby xlr.

[adrianf74]

There's nothing about it that requires a stubby xlr.

I'm looking for something low-profile on the recorder end that won't have a full size XLR cable sticking out of it - if you're doing open table, never an issue.  I know Robeti does 007 stuffs so he'd likely want something lower profile on the recorder end so that's the solution that exists in that case.

[grawk]

I’ve never had full sized xlr connectors be a factor in whether or not I could pull off a but everyone has their own things they need. 

[aaronji]

You can also get chopped XLRs, which are substantially shorter than the full-size connectors. Ask Ted G.

If you need it super short, on the mic end, try DPA DAO4010 cables. They are designed for DPA mics (19 mm), but would probably work with 20 mm mics as well. Might be a bitch to unplug, though...

[yousef]

Thanks for the recommendations. Looks like that little Zoom thing is going be hard to beat...