Portable compact audio preamps

[Alexandru Petrescu]

I'm looking at battery-powered audio stereo preamps with phantom power to fit on a Canon HV20 camera, overall still cheaper and smaller than the Canon XH-A1 camera. After search I came across:

Beachtek DXA-6HD
Sound Devices mixpre
CEVL IM2
Grace Design Lunatec V3

I'm not going to ask which is best :-) but rather is there another obvious one I haven't seen? Like some Japanese- or German-made (after all they make good mikes and lenses)? Any other?

Thanks,

Alex

[Brooks Harrington]

Beachtek DXA-6vu is the one you want for the HV-20. This one is not a preamp, just +48 phantom with level meters and some trim. It's a smaller profile because the HV-20 is a shorter cam.

MixPre is a good pre, but no way to mount it, you would need a sound operater, or carry it over your shoulder. I hooked up to the HV-20 once, and it mic level only going in. Mix Pre only has line level out.

Never heard of Cevl

Grave V3 is good, but not for your application, and I don't think it's battery operated.

[Abe Dolinger]

The Apogee Mini-MP comes highly recommended, though it's probably overkill for you. Like the MixPre, no way to mount it on the cam.

[Alexandru Petrescu]

For mounting, I was thinking of drilling a small whole in the device's upper plate and attach a quick release adapter and plate (used to attach cameras to tripod heads, like this http://tinyurl.com/33j782). It may be overkill or it may simply work.

[Alexandru Petrescu]

Originally Posted by Abe Dolinger

The Apogee Mini-MP comes highly recommended, though it's probably overkill for you. Like the MixPre, no way to mount it on the cam.

Thanks for this pointer to Apogee Mini-MP, looks interesting. I can't find its dimensions, are they public somewhere? Would you compare it larger/wider than the mixpre for example, or to another?

[Abe Dolinger]

Its dimensions don't seem to be available online. I only saw it briefly, but it was definitely larger than the MixPre. I remember it being approximately the MixPre's width and very long, maybe twice as long.

[Wayne Brissette]

While there is no place for batteries on the Grace V3, many people use it in the field, you simply have to find a power source that you find acceptable (from a weight perspective).

Another option is the Wendt X2 mixer. It's actually about the same size as the V3 and MiniMe, and uses the same pre-amps that are in the larger Wendt X4/X5 mixer. I use to own the X2 and liked it quite a bit. The only downside is the LEDs on the unit. Even in the dimmest position, the LEDs seemed overly bright to me.

I don't know how you would mount any of these on a camera, but I suppose it could be done as somebody pointed out by drilling holes in the case and using the proper mounting hardware.

However, there are two things that strike me about most of these options. First, most are as much, if not more, than the camera you're using. Second, most of the cameras that require you to use 3.5 mm input connectors really don't provide much in the way of sound. What I mean by that is that even with the beachtek, and other devices providing the A/D, they are still very noisy and I still recommend that editors only use it as a guide track. If your goal is to get much better sound, you might consider using an off camera recording device like the Microtracker, R4, or something similar, and use it's line output to go into the camera. This way you have a better version of the audio, which you can use to replace the audio from your camera. This might be overkill depending on what you're doing, but I've never been happy with the audio on the GL-1 when using a beachteck, but I'm pretty picky when it comes to audio.

Wayne

[Alexandru Petrescu]

Originally Posted by Wayne Brissette

While there is no place for batteries on the Grace V3, many people use it in the field, you simply have to find a power source that you find acceptable (from a weight perspective).

Another option is the Wendt X2 mixer. It's actually about the same size as the V3 and MiniMe, and uses the same pre-amps that are in the larger Wendt X4/X5 mixer. I use to own the X2 and liked it quite a bit. The only downside is the LEDs on the unit. Even in the dimmest position, the LEDs seemed overly bright to me.

I don't know how you would mount any of these on a camera, but I suppose it could be done as somebody pointed out by drilling holes in the case and using the proper mounting hardware.

However, there are two things that strike me about most of these options. First, most are as much, if not more, than the camera you're using. Second, most of the cameras that require you to use 3.5 mm input connectors really don't provide much in the way of sound. What I mean by that is that even with the beachtek, and other devices providing the A/D, they are still very noisy and I still recommend that editors only use it as a guide track. If your goal is to get much better sound, you might consider using an off camera recording device like the Microtracker, R4, or something similar, and use it's line output to go into the camera. This way you have a better version of the audio, which you can use to replace the audio from your camera. This might be overkill depending on what you're doing, but I've never been happy with the audio on the GL-1 when using a beachteck, but I'm pretty picky when it comes to audio.

Wayne

That sounds about right, I think this brings me to the other topic of portable compact solid-state audio recorders I came across:

Zoom H4
M-Audio MicroTrack II
Marantz PMD-620
Ikey Audio
Sony PCM-D50
Edirol R-09

A rather wide range to consider...

Alex

[Brooks Harrington]

Don't forget about this one for a backup too.

http://www.fostexusa.com/index.php?f...ucts/pfr/fr2le

[Ty Ford]

Beachtek DXA-6vu is the one you want for the HV-20. This one is not a preamp, just +48 phantom with level meters and some trim. It's a smaller profile because the HV-20 is a shorter cam.

MixPre is a good pre, but no way to mount it, you would need a sound operater, or carry it over your shoulder. I hooked up to the HV-20 once, and it mic level only going in. Mix Pre only has line level out.

>> I've seen guys with brackets. Call Sound Devices.
>> Sound Devices sells cables with built-in pads for mic leve inputs


>>Regards,

Ty Ford

[Alexandru Petrescu]

Originally Posted by Alexandru Petrescu

I'm looking at battery-powered audio stereo preamps with phantom power to fit on a Canon HV20 camera, overall still cheaper and smaller than the Canon XH-A1 camera. After search I came across...

To not follow up my own post, here are some more portable preamps I came across after search other forums. Just FYI.

Church Audio Stereo mic preamp ST-8 on ebay
Denecke AD-20
Hitec Audio PreMobile 2 Vorverstärker (! :-)
NADY Systems DMP-2
MINIATURE LOW NOISE GAIN-SELECTABLE PORTABLE STEREO PREAMP
Aerco MP-2
Wendt X2

Alex

[Alexandru Petrescu]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

Beachtek DXA-6vu is the one you want for the HV-20. This one is not a preamp, just +48 phantom with level meters and some trim. It's a smaller profile because the HV-20 is a shorter cam.

MixPre is a good pre, but no way to mount it, you would need a sound operater, or carry it over your shoulder. I hooked up to the HV-20 once, and it mic level only going in. Mix Pre only has line level out.

>> I've seen guys with brackets. Call Sound Devices.
>> Sound Devices sells cables with built-in pads for mic leve inputs

Ty, thanks for the reply. On another dvinfo thread Don and Alan mean the HV20 camera has a MIC ATTenuation feature that could be used with the camera's Mic in (no line-in entry on consumer camera).

By "cable with built-in pad" you mean some attenuation resistor? Would this be better in some wizardry way than the built-in MIC ATTenuation feature? (considering mixpre-to-hv20).

Thanks,

Alex

[Guy Cochran]

How 'bout a PSC DV Promix 1
http://www.professionalsound.com/Cat...Promix%201.htm

Dropped into a Bracket1 box
http://bracket1.com/brackets.php

Or Rover Aux Box
http://www.videosmith.com/shop/index...products_id=18

I haven't checked the size, but it should fit. You'll still need an XLR to 1/8" mini cable for the short run from mixer to camera.

[Alexandru Petrescu]

Originally Posted by Guy Cochran

How 'bout a PSC DV Promix 1
http://www.professionalsound.com/Cat...Promix%201.htm

Dropped into a Bracket1 box
http://bracket1.com/brackets.php

Or Rover Aux Box
http://www.videosmith.com/shop/index...products_id=18

I haven't checked the size, but it should fit. You'll still need an XLR to 1/8" mini cable for the short run from mixer to camera.

Thanks for listing these. That bracket looks indeed promising, I'd prefer it instead of the box under...

Alex

[Jack Walker]

Originally Posted by Robert Rozak

As a point of information, I wanted to let the group know about a new alternative. juicedLink offers 2-4 XLR inputs, great frequency response, and low-noise preamps. Maybe there are some features that interest you here. Check it out:
www.juicedlink.com

(in the interest of full disclosure, I am indeed a representative from juicedLink)

Those are very interesting looking!