Re: Sound Devices MixPre-6 II (second generation)
Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 2:25 pm
Thats a really nice thingy!
Very cool!
Very cool!
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/
https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=97842
Battery Release Pin
Push down the pin with a long skinny object such as a key, screwdriver, or a pen. With the pin pushed in, slide the L- or M-Series battery to the right to release the battery
Username wrote:The problem occur mainly when the MixPre series are bagged and powered with USB-C and have head phones attached. You can't rotate it from the front as you are only able to grip it from beneath it.
And the USB-C power cable is in the way for the switch.
But if you use it in studio, on desktop or as an audio interface and mic pre amp as a youtuber - which was the one of the target users SD had when they designed it, then there are plenty of reach to control the knob or the power switch if you ever want to power it down.
rick.lang wrote:That enlarged knob is the same on my MixPre-6 II, I think it’s the same on all Series II devices.
Kim Janson wrote::D and maybe I should leave it to that, as that is how this 'attack agains change' makes me feel as I realise that is how I feel also about few things.
However I will say this
- the "tire" as well as the extension knob change nothing, they are optional parts that can be removed in few seconds.
- not all MixPre users are professionals on sound recording, and not all professionals think alike.
- there is other uses for them than location and field recording.
- I could send you one to be tested, but I take it you have already made your mind.
robedge wrote:rick.lang wrote:That enlarged knob is the same on my MixPre-6 II, I think it’s the same on all Series II devices.
As I understand it, Sound Devices added what it calls a “tire” (that’s the word used on the Sound Devices web site) than can be used around the rotary knob, or not, as preferred. There is speculation, apparently credible, that the “tire” is a LEGO part
These complaints are not coming from people who have experience with location and field recording, and they are definitely not coming from people who have recorded out of a bag designed for sound recording. If I were feeling flippant, I might suggest that it sounds like whingeing from teenage boys who are addicted to big shiny knobs and touchscreens and who make YouTube videos in their bedroom
Kim Janson wrote:For me it was a solution to a very practical problem. I use the 10T also as a headphone amplifier with computer and it is located above my head, making the access to headphone volume control very difficult without the extension knob. That is the use on witch I have also problems with the power switch.
Robert Niessner wrote:I also don't share the thought that Sounddevices had a great plan for the way they designed the power knob and the head phone knob. I have the MixPre 10 II in an Orca bag and fiddling with the power switch is just annoying. Far worse is their NPF battery sledge where it is almost impossible to change the battery when everything sits in the sound bag. Whoever came up with that design should be punished.
And putting the SD card slot behind the battery sledge is - argh.
Chris Leutger wrote:
Agreed, that power switch just plain sucks. I was flabbergasted that it remained the same on Gen II. The battery sled on the new version I find much harder to get on and off compared to the old version. In retrospect, I wish I had kept the old one for that issue alone, now access to the SD card is even more painful. Probably should have learned to properly slate so I wouldn't have been seduced by timecode. I also found it mildly annoying that they replaced the multi-connector cable I got with Gen I to usb-c only. Which may be fine for Mac users (or Mac users with the newer units) but isn't useful for Windows users.
robedge wrote:Hi Chris,
Sounds like you’d be happier with a Zoom. Let me know if you want to sell your MixPre ii, I’m interested in buying one.
Chris Leutger wrote:robedge wrote:Hi Chris,
Sounds like you’d be happier with a Zoom. Let me know if you want to sell your MixPre ii, I’m interested in buying one.
Wow, that's really off the mark. I said I loved the first version except for that switch. I've also mentioned on your other thread that the reason I bought the Mixpre to begin with was reading about the quality of their higher end gear and because I hated the interfaces with Tascam and Zoom. However, just because I don't love every aspect of the Mixpre ii, doesn't mean I hate it and want to sell it. NO ONE likes that power button except perhaps you. It's a complaint I've read everywhere. We're allowed to dislike aspects of any piece of gear we come into contact with because most don't satisfy everything. I just find it surprising that they didn't change that between version i and ii.
Chris Leutger wrote:robedge wrote:Hi Chris,
Sounds like you’d be happier with a Zoom. Let me know if you want to sell your MixPre ii, I’m interested in buying one.
Wow, that's really off the mark. I said I loved the first version except for that switch. I've also mentioned on your other thread that the reason I bought the Mixpre to begin with was reading about the quality of their higher end gear and because I hated the interfaces with Tascam and Zoom. However, just because I don't love every aspect of the Mixpre ii, doesn't mean I hate it and want to sell it. NO ONE likes that power button except perhaps you. It's a complaint I've read everywhere. We're allowed to dislike aspects of any piece of gear we come into contact with because most don't satisfy everything. I just find it surprising that they didn't change that between version i and ii.
Username wrote:Remember that limiters are only available in 16- and 24-bit mode recordings.
They are not available or needed in 32-bit float recordings. :)
rick.lang wrote:I still do adjustments within the MixPre-6 II so the levels I’m monitoring look decent. I know you’ll do that too better than I can. But I’m often in category 3 in your list and something like category 1. So I try to be somewhat skilled at it all, but then I can relax because it’s 32bit. Especially true now that Resolve fully supports 32bit.
rick.lang wrote:Audio file sizes are a third larger so that takes more resources and signed 32bit floating point takes more processing time than 24bit binary, but I’m afraid I’ve not done a controlled comparison. I could have told you a few decades ago when I was working directly with those things, but processors have changed greatly since then and it’s possible that there’s little impact on the processing end by the CPU given the much more capable designs we have now. I don’t think it’s exponential, but it will take a little longer since you’re handling that binary value anyway as the mantissa and shifting it left or right by the value of the signed exponent. Shifts are a lot faster as we are talking about the theoretical shift of roughly 750 dB in Waithe direction, but the shift of likely 1 or 2 bits only for most sounds we might encounter. Given everything else going on in the production of the video, the larger audio file size is the larger impact.
rick.lang wrote:You know he doesn’t know what he’s talking about when he says 32bit audio requires “a lot more space” than 24bit. It’s simple math, a third more! Then he claims a 10 minute audio render in 24bit requires more than 20 minutes in 32bit. That’s not exponential and I wasn’t clear if he’s rendering 24bit output from 32bit input or something else.
If there are modern theatre projectors that handle 32bit or if the DCP specification includes DCP with 32bit audio, then you don’t have to convert anything. If the output is 24bit, you may need to shift the occasional amount of values one or two bits in real world usage.
I suppose he’s not wrong about the results he says he gets but it’s not clear what else might be happening.
rick.lang wrote:Thanks for catching my bad read on that portion on the rendering times which went from “one and a half or two minutes for audio to twenty to thirty minutes.” That’s big alright. I was only remembering the “twenty to thirty minutes” thinking the difference was 10 minutes or 50% whereas it was really two minutes becoming thirty minutes. Sorry about that folks.
He does mention he used Adobe Premiere and may be related to how he defines his timeline and so on. It’s good we try and get a handle on these impacts with Resolve 16.2 which now supports 32bit audio.
Robert Niessner wrote:For me 32-bit didn't have any significant impact on rendering times.
robedge wrote:Thanks, good to know. I’ll be doing some tests this week using RX, Logic and Final Cut, hopefully with the same result. What computer/processor and how much RAM were you using?
Robert Niessner wrote:Rob, my main workstation is now in its 9th year:
Intel i7-980 sixcore 3.33 GHz with 48 GB RAM, Asus P6X58D-E Deluxe mb, Nvidia GTX780 with 6 GB, LSI-9750-8i raid controller with a 35 TB Raid-5, 2 TB Samsung 850 SSD for System, 0.5 TB Crucial M4 SSD for render cache
Brad Hurley wrote:I still use the original MixPre 6 for location recording and have no plans to upgrade, but as someone who works on documentary I can think of a few times where the newer generation MixPre would have made life easier. One example was last year in Brittany where I was documenting a procession that has happened every year on the same date since the late 1600s. Part of the event took place inside a church, followed by a procession to a statue, and once the church service was over I ran down the path that goes to the statue and positioned myself to capture the procession as it went by. There was no way to predict the right levels on the MixPre (the procession involved about 75 people and included singing). I set the gain relatively low, relying on the low-noise preamps and my low-noise mics to give me room to bring up the levels in post, but even so the limiters came on when the loudest group of singers passed by. Once the procession drew near I was too busy capturing video to even glance at the levels on the MixPre.
rick.lang wrote:Post noise suppression for me is useful with very cautious use as it can distort vocals