Mixer Help - Point me in the right direction

The quality of the audio is directly tied to the quality of the build. The parts they use make a huge difference in the noise floor, preamps, limiters, lowcut and service life.
 
thanks Sane,

now the questions is, do you know of a reliable place to find good deals on used SD302?
 
what did you like to hear , that the sound on azden is **** - and the rolls is falling apart and sounds **** , the psc was made for idiots or teh shure is extrimly noisy and better use your camera
.
or did you like to hear you need more pesos and less doughts :-)
best
 
PaPa said:
thanks Sane,

now the questions is, do you know of a reliable place to find good deals on used SD302?
Click to expand...
there is no good deals on 302 as demend is more then the pieces for sale .
i sold 2 a year ago
it took about 4 days , incl one that went directly to sd for repair ( it was advertize) and now serv soundmixer who make 5-10 million productions ( incl s sopranos secend unit )
do you think he was buying an azden? :-)
 
the only problem now is that i have a few gigs coming up which will require the use of a mixer, that i do not own, and can't get until i find a good deal on a SD302... damnit.
 
ya, i guess i could. just have a thing against renting certain types of equipment. I've been in disastrous situations.
 
PaPa said:
ya, i guess i could. just have a thing against renting certain types of equipment. I've been in disastrous situations.
Click to expand...
Don't want to be rude here, but if you don't know what a good mixer sounds like, if you don't know a reliable rental place, if you don't have money to buy a good mixer, if you don't know where to buy a mixer. Are you sure that you should be taking these gigs? Probably you should say not, I can't do it and let them to find a sound person with a mixer
 
These are different types of gigs, using multiple microphones to record into camera for a childrens play. Generally, i have been plugging directly into my camera, or we rent a shure mixer for 75 bucks a day, only to have it die on us, or problems with the batter connection, etc.. always something going wrong.

But this is what my sound guy deals with, i myself, and now looking for a mixer and know very little about them, but learning more as i go along.

I have just found a friend who is dying to get the SD302 of of his shelves as he never uses it, maybe hell strike a deal with me.
 
When I was on the market for a mixer, I strongly considered the mixer below based on Ty's review. However, I ended up getting the Sound Devices.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/438841-REG/Sign_Video_ENG44_ENG_44_Field_Audio_Mixer.html


SIgnVideo Four Input Audio Mixer - Economy With Quality

Ty Ford
Baltimore, MD
Portland, Oregon-based VideoSign (www.signvideo.com) makes a relatively long line of audio and video gadgets. The latest in their audio line is the ENG-44, a light-weight handy, economical ($529 list priced + $15 s/h 30 day unconditional money back guarantee) four input, battery/AC powered mixer.
The ENG-44 weighs 2.25 pounds with four AA batteries loaded. On its left side there are four, balanced 2 k Ohm XLR inputs, each of which can be switched to mic or line. 48 VDC @ 14 mA Phantom Power is also individually switchable on each input. A 6 dB/octave high pass filter at 100Hz is next. It sounds fine, but there’s a dead spot in the middle of the switch that, mutes the input. As long as the switch is firmly to one side or the other, you won’t have problem.
There’s also a three-position LCR pan switch (with no dead spots) mounted below each of the four channel pots. The fifth pot is the master. Under it and to the right are a Mix/Tone switch that routes a 1 kHz tone or stereo mix to the adjacent double line of ten LED lights (-20 to +3) that comprise the meters. The Limiter LED, slate mic button, External and Battery power LEDs are under the metering LEDs. Finally, there’s a 1/8 inch stereo jack for the 10 Ohm headphone output, a headphone level control and a Mix/Tape Return switch that allows you to choose what you’re monitoring.
The right side of the side is populated by by a slightly unconventional three-pin XLR that feeds an unbalanced stereo headphone (for the boom op or some other purpose), balanced left and right XLR outputs, unbalanced stereo 1/8” line out, Aux In, Tape Return In and Mic Out jacks. The slate mic also outputs to the unbalanced Boom Headphone output. Finally there’s a power switch.
On the bottom of the ENG-44 are labeled recessed switches for Mic/Line, Phantom, VU meter intensity (high and low) and posts for adjusting left and right Tape Return levels. The LED intensity switch is a nice feature, especially when working in bright sunlight. The Power LED does not change in brightness. If you’re off-axis from it it’s fine, but if you happen to be looking right down into it, it’s a bit bright in indoor lighting.
The back panel sports a 2.1 x 5.5 mm coaxial power plug (center positive; input protected against reversed polarity) and the drawer for the four AA batteries. A 12 VDC wall wart comes with the ENG-44. The mixer auto switches between AC power supply and batteries. The battery drawer was a nail breaker. When I called the company, they said I had a early unit and the drawer had been fixed.
IN USE
Operation is straight ahead. The limiter is not defeatable and seems to kick in above +3dB. Using the ENG-44’s tone generator, I adjusted the Master to set the tone at 0 dB. That put the master pot between 10 and 11 o’clock. Connecting the ENG-44 outputs to a SV-3900 Panasonic DAT inputs, I adjusted the tone to hit the DAT inputs at -12 dB. Plugging in a Schoeps CMC641 hypercardioid, and adjusting the input to 2 o’clock and the master still set between 10 and 11 o’clock, I was able to get peaks at 0 dB on the ENG-44 with the Schoeps about six inches above my head. The meters change quickly enough for me to guess that they are peak reading. The limiter is actually pretty nice sounding. I found pushing enough level to occasionally cross the threshold, using the LIM flasher as an infrequent Peak Meter, worked nicely and did not degrade the sound. As I pushed the limiter harder with more gain, the output LED showed a slight level difference between the left and right outputs. Under normal operation, you’ll probably never find yourself in this situation.
The ENG-44 passed my T-Power/Phantom Power drain test. Some Phantom Power supplies just don’t have the power to keep the mics fed. The result is distortion and sometimes power supply motorboating. I connected two Schoeps CMC641, a Sennheiser MHK 416 and the Sennheiser 435T through the converter and they all sounded fine. The headphone amp was passably loud with my Sony MDR7506 headphones.
The ENG-44 also passed my noise test. We all know that some mixers can get pretty noisy, especially when the master pot is turned up higher than the inputs. The ENG-44 is quite quiet, even in that unnatural state.
VideoSign claims 14 hours for a set of alkaline batteries. Phantom Power does pull batteries down. I got about nine hours with a fresh set of alkalines. During that period, I had one Schoeps CMC641 always connected. My experiment with the other three mics lasted about a minute and I spent about a half hour on one other occasion with a Sennheiser MKH 416 fired up. Still, nine hours on one set of AAs shows that the ENG-44 was designed with relatively newer components that don’t chew up batteries as much.
IN CONCLUSION
The ENG-44 is a very good value. I can see it being used in schools and the expanding minicam market. Even in professional and higher-end video and film sound, the ENG-44 would be nice to have around. My first grab is my Sound Devices 442. When the director wants me to go some place slippery, wet and/or gooey, the ENG-44 sounds like the perfect mixer.
Ty Ford is a location audio pro in Baltimore, MD. He may be reached at http://www.tyford.com
__________________
Want better production audio? Try "Ty Ford's Audio Bootcamp Field Guide."http://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
 
alright, so it turns out im getting the SD302 with the bag, wires, and all the goodies for 1000. Never been used, still fresh in box, and warranty. Also, getting from a friend, so no worries about bad product.

****, this really screws my cash workflow. guess its time to rearrange things.
 
Oleg 2 said:
there is no good deals on 302 as demend is more then the pieces for sale .
i sold 2 a year ago
it took about 4 days , incl one that went directly to sd for repair ( it was advertize) and now serv soundmixer who make 5-10 million productions ( incl s sopranos secend unit )
do you think he was buying an azden? :-)
Click to expand...
Hi Oleg, do you have any Wendt x2 for sale, by any chance?
 
Michael Foo said:
When I was on the market for a mixer, I strongly considered the mixer below based on Ty's review. However, I ended up getting the Sound Devices.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/438841-REG/Sign_Video_ENG44_ENG_44_Field_Audio_Mixer.html


SIgnVideo Four Input Audio Mixer - Economy With Quality

Ty Ford
Baltimore, MD
Portland, Oregon-based VideoSign (www.signvideo.com) makes a relatively long line of audio and video gadgets. The latest in their audio line is the ENG-44, a light-weight handy, economical ($529 list priced + $15 s/h 30 day unconditional money back guarantee) four input, battery/AC powered mixer.
The ENG-44 weighs 2.25 pounds with four AA batteries loaded. On its left side there are four, balanced 2 k Ohm XLR inputs, each of which can be switched to mic or line. 48 VDC @ 14 mA Phantom Power is also individually switchable on each input. A 6 dB/octave high pass filter at 100Hz is next. It sounds fine, but there’s a dead spot in the middle of the switch that, mutes the input. As long as the switch is firmly to one side or the other, you won’t have problem.
There’s also a three-position LCR pan switch (with no dead spots) mounted below each of the four channel pots. The fifth pot is the master. Under it and to the right are a Mix/Tone switch that routes a 1 kHz tone or stereo mix to the adjacent double line of ten LED lights (-20 to +3) that comprise the meters. The Limiter LED, slate mic button, External and Battery power LEDs are under the metering LEDs. Finally, there’s a 1/8 inch stereo jack for the 10 Ohm headphone output, a headphone level control and a Mix/Tape Return switch that allows you to choose what you’re monitoring.
The right side of the side is populated by by a slightly unconventional three-pin XLR that feeds an unbalanced stereo headphone (for the boom op or some other purpose), balanced left and right XLR outputs, unbalanced stereo 1/8” line out, Aux In, Tape Return In and Mic Out jacks. The slate mic also outputs to the unbalanced Boom Headphone output. Finally there’s a power switch.
On the bottom of the ENG-44 are labeled recessed switches for Mic/Line, Phantom, VU meter intensity (high and low) and posts for adjusting left and right Tape Return levels. The LED intensity switch is a nice feature, especially when working in bright sunlight. The Power LED does not change in brightness. If you’re off-axis from it it’s fine, but if you happen to be looking right down into it, it’s a bit bright in indoor lighting.
The back panel sports a 2.1 x 5.5 mm coaxial power plug (center positive; input protected against reversed polarity) and the drawer for the four AA batteries. A 12 VDC wall wart comes with the ENG-44. The mixer auto switches between AC power supply and batteries. The battery drawer was a nail breaker. When I called the company, they said I had a early unit and the drawer had been fixed.
IN USE
Operation is straight ahead. The limiter is not defeatable and seems to kick in above +3dB. Using the ENG-44’s tone generator, I adjusted the Master to set the tone at 0 dB. That put the master pot between 10 and 11 o’clock. Connecting the ENG-44 outputs to a SV-3900 Panasonic DAT inputs, I adjusted the tone to hit the DAT inputs at -12 dB. Plugging in a Schoeps CMC641 hypercardioid, and adjusting the input to 2 o’clock and the master still set between 10 and 11 o’clock, I was able to get peaks at 0 dB on the ENG-44 with the Schoeps about six inches above my head. The meters change quickly enough for me to guess that they are peak reading. The limiter is actually pretty nice sounding. I found pushing enough level to occasionally cross the threshold, using the LIM flasher as an infrequent Peak Meter, worked nicely and did not degrade the sound. As I pushed the limiter harder with more gain, the output LED showed a slight level difference between the left and right outputs. Under normal operation, you’ll probably never find yourself in this situation.
The ENG-44 passed my T-Power/Phantom Power drain test. Some Phantom Power supplies just don’t have the power to keep the mics fed. The result is distortion and sometimes power supply motorboating. I connected two Schoeps CMC641, a Sennheiser MHK 416 and the Sennheiser 435T through the converter and they all sounded fine. The headphone amp was passably loud with my Sony MDR7506 headphones.
The ENG-44 also passed my noise test. We all know that some mixers can get pretty noisy, especially when the master pot is turned up higher than the inputs. The ENG-44 is quite quiet, even in that unnatural state.
VideoSign claims 14 hours for a set of alkaline batteries. Phantom Power does pull batteries down. I got about nine hours with a fresh set of alkalines. During that period, I had one Schoeps CMC641 always connected. My experiment with the other three mics lasted about a minute and I spent about a half hour on one other occasion with a Sennheiser MKH 416 fired up. Still, nine hours on one set of AAs shows that the ENG-44 was designed with relatively newer components that don’t chew up batteries as much.
IN CONCLUSION
The ENG-44 is a very good value. I can see it being used in schools and the expanding minicam market. Even in professional and higher-end video and film sound, the ENG-44 would be nice to have around. My first grab is my Sound Devices 442. When the director wants me to go some place slippery, wet and/or gooey, the ENG-44 sounds like the perfect mixer.
Ty Ford is a location audio pro in Baltimore, MD. He may be reached at http://www.tyford.com
__________________
Want better production audio? Try "Ty Ford's Audio Bootcamp Field Guide."http://home.comcast.net/~tyreeford/AudioBootcamp.html
Click to expand...
peace of crap
 
This is from one of my earlier posts::


set the hvx inputs to mic level

turn off the mic alc on the hvx

route input 1 to channel 1 (on the hvx)

route input 2 to channel 2 (on the hvx)

make sure phantom power is off (on the hvx)

plug xlr outs from the 302 to the ins on the camera (loop it through the handle for strain relief) left goes to input one and right goes to input two

turn on the tone (on the 302) adjust the dials on the hvx until the tone is set to -20 (the first line) wait a minute, sometimes the tone takes a while to to come up all the way. Put tape over the hvx dials and don't adjust them any more.

on input 1 the 302, set it to left

on input 2 on the 302, set it to right

on input 3 turn it all the way down

turn on the 80hz low cut for all inputs (unless you are recording music)

make sure mic power on the 302 is set to phantom and 48

make sure all inputs on the 302 are set to mic level

power off mixer (or just turn phntom power off)

connect mics

power on mixer (or just turn phntom power on)

test mics, one channel on the hvx should be the hand mic (may not need phantom power) the other should be the lav (listen on the hvx too)


There are many many more ways to do this, but you asked for quick and easy. The most accurate way to do this is to set up the hvx using "full scale tone" to match clipping points, but that can damage you equipment and you hearing if you have headphones plugged in when you do it, and it is a bit of a pain, so this way should be just fine.

Levels should be set using the channel gain with the faders set at unity, that way subtle adjustments can be made with the faders
 
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