Studio 1 vs Beachtek at DVinfo.net

February 8th, 2002, 03:39 PM

Anyone have any pros/cons or experience to help me decide which XLR adapter to purchase for my GL-1, I'm trying to decide between the Studion 1 XLR-Pro and the comparable Beachtek. Any help would be appreciated. I'm wondering why they both seem to have good reputations but the Beachtek is about $50 less in price.

Vic Owen · February 8th, 2002, 05:17 PM

I haven't used the Studio One, but I've used the Beachtek with excellent results.

I think that the Studio One (might) do a couple of things the Beachtek doesn't, but if you're just looking for balanced (XLR) to unbalanced, attenuators, etc., the Beachtek works well.

February 8th, 2002, 05:52 PM

I have the Studio One, but have not used the Beachtek!
The studio one boasts (copied from instructions shipped with the Studio One XLR-Pro):
"When designing the XLR-PRO we paid attention to the noise problems such as 60 cycle hum from the cameras AC adapter, motor noise, zoom motor noise, auto focus noise, etc. We built the Pro with each transformer being heavily sheilded. This is one thing that really sets us apart from other XLR adapters, as they either have no shielding or a single layer of sheilding material and rely on the metal case to help with sheiding. We also have a ground switch, please make sure you carefully read and follow the instructions on setting the ground switch for your camera."(end quote)
This ground switch is a two position switch where you select the best position for eliminating hum.
I don't know about the Beachtek, but the Studio One Pro also has two 1/8" inputs as well as the two XLR's.

Frank Granovski · May 20th, 2002, 02:56 AM

According to my pro friend, he much prefers the Studio1. He says it doesn't have the hum or feedback he's experienced with the BeachTek.

Ford Minton · June 1st, 2002, 10:10 PM

looks pretty cool:

http://www.studio1productions.com/xlr-proback.htm

Bryan Beasleigh · June 2nd, 2002, 12:15 AM

No one that's actually owned a beach tec has actually complained.(That I've seen) It always my friend says or "I've heard".

I called beach tec and asked about the grounding problem, the owner told me that he will respond to and solve any outstanding problems. He also said that this bit about grounding hasn't been an issue.

Frank Granovski · June 2nd, 2002, 04:55 AM

Beaser, this guy's a long time pro, and I take in his advice 100%. I've also used some of his cams over the years. If you want to see some of his work, just watch some of the car commercials shot out here (made for North America...Nissan, Honda etc). He's also a film cam operater (movies), and has written a number of reviews which you've probably read.

Jeff Donald · June 2nd, 2002, 06:45 AM

Hi Bryan,

I used to own a Beachtek and I was not completely happy with the performance of the product. It occasionaly had a hum and I didn't care for the overall fit and finish of the product. In defence of Beachtek I will say, I was not the original owner, and I used it under some pretty harsh conditions, and some very long hours. Have I replaced it? Yes. Am I satisfied with the replacements? No. I have tried units from Beachtek, Shure, Studio One, Rolls and i think one or two others over the years without complete happines. Oh well, that's my problem, not yours. I know many users of each of these products who were very satisfied with their purchases.

My next victim, err I mean, product I'll try is from http://www.sounddevices.com/index.html They have a couple of units with phantom power that I'm looking at. They are very pricey, but one of their products is being used on Mt. Everest. I would buy another Beachtek, but I don't think I would be completely satisfied.

Jeff

Bryan Beasleigh · June 2nd, 2002, 11:38 AM

Frank
I didn't doubt your or your buddy's sincerity or experience, I just wanted first hand comments.

I spoke with the tech/owner of Beach Tec and explained some of the public axiety about his product. he basicall said , if someone has a problem he always takes care of them.

Jeff kinda put it the way I expected. You have to spend a bundle on a portable mixer, which I'm not willing to do.

I'm going to give Beach a chance to live up to his promise. Their office and plant is close by.

Frank Granovski · June 2nd, 2002, 05:09 PM

Well beaser, I used his PD100A many times with the Beachtec attached. I noticed a hum. Now he's got a Studio1 on his GL-1, I tried that too. I didn't hear no hum. Hmmmm.

Bryan Beasleigh · June 2nd, 2002, 08:28 PM

And you naturally picked the phone up and called Beach Tec and asked what could be done. Frank, I've been in various forms of electronic vocations for 40 years (not production audio)and I some times go with a hunch. My hunch is that any problems can be overcome. The man said he'd back his product, I choose to give him that oportunity should the necessity arise.

Jeff Donald · June 2nd, 2002, 08:39 PM

Bryan,

Go with your gut feeling. Local support is very important. I wasn't 100% satisfied with the quality of the unit I tried, but I'd try it again if I felt it would suite my needs. If you have talked to the owner and feel confident with his assurances I would not hesitate.

Jeff

Ford Minton · June 3rd, 2002, 05:40 PM

RE: the hum from the beachtec and the MA100. Spoke with a local audio guru and he recommended a work-around for hum, this is to jerry-rig a couple of alligator clips and wire to make a ground.

Bryan Beasleigh · June 3rd, 2002, 05:53 PM

Apparently some of the beach tec units had a top plate that was isolated from the rest of the enclosure by paint. The fix was to remove one screw and scrape the paint from around the screw hole. One could go nuts and use a serrated washer.

This kind of issue is really not a big deal. The options are to spend considerably more with no real guarantee things will be any better.

Frank Granovski · June 4th, 2002, 02:31 AM

Beaser, I never suggested to not buy a Beachtek. I just said that my pro friend recommended Studio1 over the Beachtek. Another friend of mine, he's ordered a 2nd VX2000 today (crazy guy making 12 grand a month on Xmen 2), is going with Beachtecs. (But then he's new to the video game.) All I'm suggesting is think it over before jumping the gun. Perhaps see if you can rent or borrow a Beachtek first, and try it for a week or so. My buddy had lots of problems with his. He called it Beachcr_p. Perhaps he had a bad one, perhaps they weren't as good a few years ago. I don't know. But if I were to buy one, I'd want a money back guaranty. That's for sure. But then I'm a poor guy, who can't take chances buying something I'm not going to like. I'm a poor guy living in a rich area, remember?

February 8th, 2002, 03:39 PM	#1
ajpate611 Posts: n/a	Studio 1 vs Beachtek Anyone have any pros/cons or experience to help me decide which XLR adapter to purchase for my GL-1, I'm trying to decide between the Studion 1 XLR-Pro and the comparable Beachtek. Any help would be appreciated. I'm wondering why they both seem to have good reputations but the Beachtek is about $50 less in price.

February 8th, 2002, 05:17 PM	#2
Vic Owen Major Player Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 540	I haven't used the Studio One, but I've used the Beachtek with excellent results. I think that the Studio One (might) do a couple of things the Beachtek doesn't, but if you're just looking for balanced (XLR) to unbalanced, attenuators, etc., the Beachtek works well. __________________ -- Vic Owen --

February 8th, 2002, 05:52 PM	#3
Jeff1769 Posts: n/a	Studio 1 vs Beachtek I have the Studio One, but have not used the Beachtek! The studio one boasts (copied from instructions shipped with the Studio One XLR-Pro): "When designing the XLR-PRO we paid attention to the noise problems such as 60 cycle hum from the cameras AC adapter, motor noise, zoom motor noise, auto focus noise, etc. We built the Pro with each transformer being heavily sheilded. This is one thing that really sets us apart from other XLR adapters, as they either have no shielding or a single layer of sheilding material and rely on the metal case to help with sheiding. We also have a ground switch, please make sure you carefully read and follow the instructions on setting the ground switch for your camera."(end quote) This ground switch is a two position switch where you select the best position for eliminating hum. I don't know about the Beachtek, but the Studio One Pro also has two 1/8" inputs as well as the two XLR's.

May 20th, 2002, 02:56 AM	#4
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	According to my pro friend, he much prefers the Studio1. He says it doesn't have the hum or feedback he's experienced with the BeachTek.

June 1st, 2002, 10:10 PM	#5
Ford Minton Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: San francisco Posts: 54	looks pretty cool: http://www.studio1productions.com/xlr-proback.htm

June 2nd, 2002, 12:15 AM	#6
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	No one that's actually owned a beach tec has actually complained.(That I've seen) It always my friend says or "I've heard". I called beach tec and asked about the grounding problem, the owner told me that he will respond to and solve any outstanding problems. He also said that this bit about grounding hasn't been an issue.

June 2nd, 2002, 04:55 AM	#7
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Beaser, this guy's a long time pro, and I take in his advice 100%. I've also used some of his cams over the years. If you want to see some of his work, just watch some of the car commercials shot out here (made for North America...Nissan, Honda etc). He's also a film cam operater (movies), and has written a number of reviews which you've probably read.

June 2nd, 2002, 06:45 AM	#8
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Hi Bryan, I used to own a Beachtek and I was not completely happy with the performance of the product. It occasionaly had a hum and I didn't care for the overall fit and finish of the product. In defence of Beachtek I will say, I was not the original owner, and I used it under some pretty harsh conditions, and some very long hours. Have I replaced it? Yes. Am I satisfied with the replacements? No. I have tried units from Beachtek, Shure, Studio One, Rolls and i think one or two others over the years without complete happines. Oh well, that's my problem, not yours. I know many users of each of these products who were very satisfied with their purchases. My next victim, err I mean, product I'll try is from http://www.sounddevices.com/index.html They have a couple of units with phantom power that I'm looking at. They are very pricey, but one of their products is being used on Mt. Everest. I would buy another Beachtek, but I don't think I would be completely satisfied. Jeff

June 2nd, 2002, 11:38 AM	#9
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	Frank I didn't doubt your or your buddy's sincerity or experience, I just wanted first hand comments. I spoke with the tech/owner of Beach Tec and explained some of the public axiety about his product. he basicall said , if someone has a problem he always takes care of them. Jeff kinda put it the way I expected. You have to spend a bundle on a portable mixer, which I'm not willing to do. I'm going to give Beach a chance to live up to his promise. Their office and plant is close by.

June 2nd, 2002, 05:09 PM	#10
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Well beaser, I used his PD100A many times with the Beachtec attached. I noticed a hum. Now he's got a Studio1 on his GL-1, I tried that too. I didn't hear no hum. Hmmmm.

June 2nd, 2002, 08:28 PM	#11
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	And you naturally picked the phone up and called Beach Tec and asked what could be done. Frank, I've been in various forms of electronic vocations for 40 years (not production audio)and I some times go with a hunch. My hunch is that any problems can be overcome. The man said he'd back his product, I choose to give him that oportunity should the necessity arise.

June 2nd, 2002, 08:39 PM	#12
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	Bryan, Go with your gut feeling. Local support is very important. I wasn't 100% satisfied with the quality of the unit I tried, but I'd try it again if I felt it would suite my needs. If you have talked to the owner and feel confident with his assurances I would not hesitate. Jeff

June 3rd, 2002, 05:40 PM	#13
Ford Minton Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: San francisco Posts: 54	RE: the hum from the beachtec and the MA100. Spoke with a local audio guru and he recommended a work-around for hum, this is to jerry-rig a couple of alligator clips and wire to make a ground.

June 3rd, 2002, 05:53 PM	#14
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	Apparently some of the beach tec units had a top plate that was isolated from the rest of the enclosure by paint. The fix was to remove one screw and scrape the paint from around the screw hole. One could go nuts and use a serrated washer. This kind of issue is really not a big deal. The options are to spend considerably more with no real guarantee things will be any better.

June 4th, 2002, 02:31 AM	#15
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Beaser, I never suggested to not buy a Beachtek. I just said that my pro friend recommended Studio1 over the Beachtek. Another friend of mine, he's ordered a 2nd VX2000 today (crazy guy making 12 grand a month on Xmen 2), is going with Beachtecs. (But then he's new to the video game.) All I'm suggesting is think it over before jumping the gun. Perhaps see if you can rent or borrow a Beachtek first, and try it for a week or so. My buddy had lots of problems with his. He called it Beachcr_p. Perhaps he had a bad one, perhaps they weren't as good a few years ago. I don't know. But if I were to buy one, I'd want a money back guaranty. That's for sure. But then I'm a poor guy, who can't take chances buying something I'm not going to like. I'm a poor guy living in a rich area, remember?