Fostex FR-2LE Field recorder advice or workflow ideas?I just opened it from box.

[Dirty Uncle Bob]

Okay Ullanta, quick question, so the rca signal I will be sending to the hvx from the fostex, is obviously not 24/48 correct? I mean rca signal is way less quality than xlr obviously right? I just want to confirm. Though the hvx could take a max of 16/48, what will the rca cables actually be feeding it? I just don't know the specs of the rca cables.

RCA is unbalanced, as opposed to XLR which is balanced.
The 16/48 and 24/48 values are purely digital. This means that the fostex and the HVX will encode the analog signal that they are fed separately.

There is no such thing as bit depth or sampling frequencies in analog audio.

So long as you use a decent set of shielded RCA's you should be fine. People in the past have done more with less, just don't cheap on the cables, or you're asking for interference and all that jazz.

I have used this workflow in the past and it's doable, so long as you consistently exercise proper mic placement (I was always told to get as close to the source as you can without being in frame, and to aim for the breastbone for dialogue, keeping levels between -9 and -18. ) and maintain levels.

 

[ullanta]

Oh boy.

(First I want to interject that i think all of us corresponding with you here appreciate and respect the fact that you are making a serious effort to get a grip on all this, in advance, to do the best job you can! That's very important, show's you're taking your sound seriously. Kudos!)

Anyway... Oh boy...

You're mixung up analog and digital sound here; it's important to know the difference!

Mics are analog devices. They feed into an analog preamp which boosts the level to "line level". There may be another analog stage or two (limiters, low-cut filters, etc). At some point, the line level signal goes through an A/D converter and becomes a digital signal. It is at this stage of conversion that sample format issues (bits and Hz) first raise their head.

Now, confusingly, for most types of cables/connectors, there are common and incompatible analog AND digital signals they may carry. An XLR cable may be analog mic or "pro" (+4) line level, or AES/EBU digital. An RCA cable may be either consumer (-10) line level or SPDIF digital.

But, a mixer is generally an analog device (though that's changing, in the music world, at least). And inputs to video cameras are generally analog. monitoring outputs are generally analog. In general, you can assume any XLR, RCA, or 1/4 inch connector carries analog signals unless specifically marked as digital.

On your FR2LE (and for any XLR inputs that feed preamps), the XLR's are analog inputs. The RCA outs are also analog. (Anything marked Left and Right will be analog... each digital connection carries at least a stereo signal!)

So none of these connections involve and distinction between 16 or 24 bits, or 44.1 or 48 or 192 kHz.

They DO have distinctions in signal level. The RCA outputs are consumer line level (same as the "tape out" on many mixers, and thus not as "hot" as an XLR "pro" line level would be. But the HVX gain pots can make up for this, and the FR2LE preamps will still be doing most of the work.

I don't know where the FR2LE outs are in the FR2LE's signal chain... they may be before A/D; they may be post A/D (implying an additional D/A stage); they may be switchable. If switchable, set it to Pre-A/D for best quality and redundancy.

So: you'll be using the FR2LE's preamps to feed both the A/D converters of the FR2LE (24/48k, say) and the HVX (16/48); you'll have two redundant versions of the same recording. Theone from the FR2LE will be somewhat better.

 

[Dirty Uncle Bob]

Well said Ullanta.