DVX 100B preamps

kenackr

kenackr

Well-known member
I'm wondering if anyone knows if any qualitative tests have been done on the MIC Pre's inside the 100B?

I have an M-AUDIO DMP3 dual mic pre that I use with my VSM's for VO, etc and it does a great job running through a Delta 66 to get signal into the MAC.

For location audio, I go with lavs (wired when ever possible) or Rode NTG-1's for speech. If I need or want ambient, I go to DAT with CAD equitech 100's.

I'm just switching over to the DVX, and have heard that it's audio capability is great but that like on all cams in this price range, the pre's are not truly "studio" grade .

So I'm thinking of using the DMP3 dual mic pre in the field and running the audio signal as line input to the DVX for max s/n. The Dmp3 has 48 phantom, low cut, 2 gain ranges (high range tops out at 66db boost, low ramge at 36), is quiet as a church on Monday, phase switches, and VU meters with peak clip indicators. The only drawback is that it's AC powered, so shoots in the woods are out.

It would be great if there were a camera mount unit with similar capabilities and specs, but so far I don't know of any. You'd tell me if you knew, wouldn't you?

So the question is: does anyone see any drawbacks besides it's not camera mountable and it has to have AC?

Thanks,
Ken
 
As far as portable mic pres go, check out the Sound Devices Mixpre and its bigger brothers.

Re: the dvx100's pres, in my experience they aren't too bad. However, I recorded some interviews in the last year with a DVX100 (not A or B) and I noticed a whine a bit below 16kHz (15,750ish). On some of those interviews, I was fortunate enough to run through a Sound Devices 722 which was recording and sending a signal to the DVX through the line out. The sound clips from the DVX had a nice whine at 16k, while the files off the 722 didn't. Needless to say, I used the files off the 722.

Note, I wasn't using the onboard pres on the DVX for those shoots. I can imagine if I did a comparison between the DVX pres and the 722 sounds files, the difference might have been more dramatic. Maybe it was the output of the 722 adding the whine. Maybe it was the DVX input circuitry. Maybe it was the DVX recording circuitry, and maybe the DVX had a problem. I don't know, but in my book, I wouldn't want an important shoot to be flawed by 25 cents of electronics in a camera. The idea of using an outboard pre is good, though as you realize, AC powered hardware isn't always the best choice. Check out the SD mixpre - its a nice piece of kit and it does the job. To be honest, in 90% of situations out there, I think there's no real excuse for an outboard recorder as well...
 
A 16k spike is usually caused by a CRT monitor. A low-pass filter will take that out nicely.

And I second the recomendation on the Mixpre. Excellent preamps and can be easily mounted on/under the DVX.

Cheers
 
Yup, mixpre, or 302, or better yet 442. You cant beat the 302 for all-rounder abilities in terms of size and performance. The mixpre has smaller size and a lot less features, and the 442 has a lot more size and a lot more features.

But what rocks is they all have the same killer preamps.
 
Interesting about the CRT monitor. All of these shots were done over the span of several months in various location and there was never once (unfortunately) a CRT around. The only constants were the camera, a soft box, and the interviewer. I'm thinking it was the well used DVX100...

I did take care of it with some filtering in post on the shots where I had no other choice. Certainly not the hardest thing to fix, but I'd much rather fix it at the source or avoid the problem all together. It should also be noted that it wasn't very audible until it came time to mix on my PMC's.
 
Thank you all for the heads up on the SD mix pre.

I'll motor over to the site and check it out.

Thanks again!

Ken
 
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