So Greg
Would you take it to Papua New Guinea in a remote place for 16 days?
What about the Arctic for 21 days? Would the machine cope with high
humidity? Would the screen fill up with condensation?
These are the questions that matter, you said you used it in studios
etc but what about extended use away from amenities?
What would you do for battery life for the duration?
If I was comparing to a 4 channel recorder I would still pick the
SD744 because its tried and tested in grueling environments.
Nagra say this is a 6 channel recorder but in fact you DO need extra
pre-amps boosting the weight capacity!
Those batteries nagra provide are Proprietary and expensive.
I'm curious
Martyn
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Martyn Stewart
http://www.naturesound.org
Redmond WA
425-898-0462
Make every garden a wildlife habitat
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Listen to the Birds and the Bees at
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http://naturesound.blogspot.com/
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On Oct 6, 2008, at 5:37 AM, Greg Simmons wrote:
> --- In Martyn Stewart <>
> wrote:
>
> > I would NOT touch the new Nagra VI with a barge pole nor would I
> > consider the "Fusion or "Deva" recorders from Zaxcom.
>
> I cannot comment on the Fusion or Deva machines, but I had the
> pleasure of having a Nagra VI in my possession for one month (July)
> for review purposes, using it in studios, concert halls and outdoors.
> I'd be extremely happy to touch it with a barge pole - or even my
> bare hands - again and again. It *is* physically large, but it is
> also surprisingly light and it sounds very clean and quiet. Nagra
> claim it has the best preamps they have designed, and I am sure
> they're right. The input stage is particularly impressive; probably a
> good combination of preamp and AD converter design. Internal
> photographs show four transformers, one for each preamp - these are
> only switched in when using dynamic or ribbon microphones. If you're
> using condenser microphones, the transformers are not in the signal
> path.
>
> I think the size would put many people off on first impressions. But
> when you pick it up and/or carry it around for a while, you realise
> it is not too heavy at all, certainly lighter than the 2-track Nagra
> V. I slung it over my shoulder and traipsed around the streets of
> Sydney following and recording WYD pilgrims for about four hours, no
> inconvenience at all.
>
> One benefit of the size (and perhaps the reason for it) is that, in
> addition to offering a truly useful and readable display, all the
> important controls are easily accessed on the front panel; normal-
> sized rotary pots for gain adjustments, decent toggle switches and
> the Nagra rotary transport control, all accessible without your
> fingers tripping over each other and inadvertantly pressing the wrong
> button.
>
> It's refreshing to see a manufacturer not get sucked into
> the 'smaller, smaller, smaller' trap at the expense of ease-of-use.
> Considering the light weight of the Nagra VI, I am sure they could've
> made it much smaller if they wanted to. They certainly knew what else
> was out there, such as the SD products, so I'm sure the size was a
> deliberate decision. Personally, I like the ability to make very
> quick and intuitive changes to gain and related settings without
> having to squint at an unnecessarily small display to make my way
> through layers of menus, and without trying to look 'around' my
> fingers to make sure I'm hitting the right button (because the
> buttons are so damn small my fingers obscure them).
>
> It won't be for everybody, but if you want a very classy sounding and
> easy-to-use bit of kit that will probably prove to be highly
> reliable, it's a valid option.
>
> > It has 6 channels but only 4 pots to control them with, the other
> two
> > controllers are found in the menu!
>
> Just to clarify: the Nagra VI has six tracks and four preamps. The
> four pots on the front panel are intended for the four mic preamps,
> which are internally routed to tracks one to four. Tracks five and
> six are accessed by either AES or line inputs, no mic preamps, but
> can also be assigned to the internal mixer to capture a stereo mix of
> tracks one to four (a useful feature for film sound, but probably not
> much use for nature recording). There is no need for a quick access
> gain control when being fed from the internal mixer, little need for
> one when using a line input, and certainly no need for one when using
> a digital input. In typical Nagra ergonomic fashion, they have used
> the front panel space for things that need fast and sure control (mic
> gain) and relegated less urgent things to the menus. Nice...
>
> Nonetheless, from a strictly nature recording point of view it may as
> well be a four track recorder with four mic preamps, similar to Sound
> Devices' 744. To record onto five or six tracks in the field would
> require an additional preamp/mixer, adding complexity and cost - the
> eight-track Sound Devices might be a better option if you need more
> than four tracks.
>
> The decisions then are track count, price, size/weight, ease of use
> and sound quality. Most nature recordists will probably be better
> served with a Sound Devices product, but if your needs go beyond just
> nature recording (or you want a higher quality sound) the Nagra VI
> would be a worthy consideration.
>
> Where's my barge pole?
>
> - Greg Simmons
>
>
>
>
> .
>
>
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