Nino and Philip:
Thanks very much for responding and for the great tips.
Philip:
A person from Sound Devices sent me essentially the same note of caution ab=
out unbalancing when connecting the MixPre to the D-50 using the XLR output=
s, which left me a little confused because I'm still a newbie. Exactly how=
does one unbalance the output? Does this mean there is a special kind of =
XLR-to-3.5 cable that I should use? Or does this mean that I have to first=
modify any XLR-to-3.5 cable I purchase?
-Shirane
____________ _________ _________ __
From: Philip Tyler <macmang4125@ yahoo.co. uk>
To: naturerecordists@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Sat, March 20, 2010 5:35:46 AM
Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Re: Sony PCM questions
Hi Shirane
You have two options with connecting your MixPre to the D50, you can use th=
e 3.5mm Tape-Out or the XLR Line-Outs.
The tape out will require a 3.5mm to 3.5mm jack lead, which you can make yo=
urself or buy from any good electronics shop. As mentioned right-angle jack=
plugs are preferable to straight and try and get gold-plated plugs, it wil=
l stop lots of unwanted 'crackling' which you can get with the nickel type =
plugs.
Another suggestion which I do is to have short 3.5mm plug to socket leads o=
n the recorder. These I leave plugged in all the time and plug in and out o=
f the flying socket. This has the advantage of reducing the wear and tear o=
n the recorders sockets and allows you to easily disconnect the recorder fr=
om your rig without too much trouble.
Something like theses:
http://www.felmicam ps.co.uk/ products/ felleadsandadapt .html
The FEL socket saver.
Your other option is to make or buy a lead which has XLR's one end and a 3.=
5mm jack the other. A word of warning the MixPre has an electronically bala=
nced output and often the way some leads are wired is not the preferred met=
hod that SD recommend, this from their manual.
Left and Right Line-Level Outputs
Active-balanced XLR line-level outputs. +22 dBu peak output level. Pin-2 =
=3D hot, pin-3 =3D cold, pin-1 =3D ground. To unbalance, use pin-2 as signa=
l and pin-1 as ground, pin-3 should not be grounded.
There is a slight advantage in using the XLR output if you look at the onli=
ne PDF:
http://www.sounddev ices.com/ download/ guides/mixpre_ en.pdf
In the specs you can see that the maximum gain mic to tape-out (3.5mm) is 5=
2dB while mic to line-out (XLR) is 66dB. Depending on what you are recordin=
g and the output of your mics that extra gain might be very useful.
I also connect another 3.5mm lead from the line-out of the recorder into th=
e tape-in of the MixPre that way you can listen back to recordings. In fact=
I tend to leave the monitor on tape as then I know if I am at least in rec=
ord ready as you will be hearing the output.
Hope that helps you.
Phil
____________ _________ _________ __
From: Shirane Sanzan <shiranesanzan@ yahoo.com>
To: naturerecordists@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Fri, 19 March, 2010 20:21:44
Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Re: Sony PCM questions
On the topic of the Sony PCM-D50 and the Sound Devices MixPre, is any parti=
cular cable better (e.g., in terms of durability) than others for connectin=
g the MixPre to the D50?
____________ _________ _________ __
From: oryoki2000 < com>
To: naturerecordists@ yahoogroups. com
Sent: Fri, March 19, 2010 9:13:08 AM
Subject: [Nature Recordists] Re: Sony PCM questions
In my experience with the two recorders, the lower EIN of the D50 preamp is=
a difference you can hear when using external mics with very low self-nois=
e, like the Rode NT1A. Mics with higher self noise, such as the Sennheiser =
ME62, mask the difference in preamp.
These mics need a battery box to connect to the D50 or M10. Rather than a b=
attery box, you should use your Sound Devices preamp, and connect to the li=
ne input, bypassing the recorder preamp.
--oryoki
|