Hi Klas,
thanks first of all for your report.
Am I right to assume that you are talking about the EDIROL R-4 as the recent
preamp discussion was about the R-4?
I own the R-4 and recently bought four XLR FEL Mini MicBoosters.
So far they work fine. But I must stress that I am a technical amateur, I can
just say what pleases my ear or not.
I do understand that preamps like the Mini MicBoosters reduce the headspace for
the R-4 preamp.
This is why I only use them where no loud signal is to be expected.
Another possibilty would be to take advantage of the four inputs and use a four
mic setup with one recording with the Mini MicBoosters the other one without
them.
I usually use a modified Jecklin disc quad setup (which I can recommend warmly
for quadheads) with AKG C 480 with omni capsule and Audio Technica AT 3031
cardoids for the rear channels.
One interesting effect with the FEL Mini MicBoostersis is that if I have fairly
loud signal like flowing water or very close loud songbirds I hardly have to
use the R-4s preamp. I just use it to get the input up to -12 dB. So the
internal preamp noise hardly comes through. And I experienced no overrride so
far. There is even a signal with the internal preamp turned off!!
Next week I will be out among the sequoias of the Sierra Nevada in California,
where I will give my setup a thorough practical test in an environment
hopefully much less spoilt by manmade noise than here in Germany. And if anyone
is interested I will put up some samples on the net when I come back.
Klas, I would still be interested in further results of your test as for me the
question is still pending if aquiring the R-4 for nature recording was
worthwhile in the long run.
Volker
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