Little DARling Distributed Audio Recorder from JuicedLink now in stock

O

OldCorpse

Rockin the Boat
After a very (very!) long development process, the long promised Little DARling Distributed Audio Recorder from JuicedLink is finally available for purchase. This is a very important option for filmmakers, and I dare say, while obviously not a complete substitute for a wireless system, I believe will make serious inroads into the film production world, as one can presume the quality of recording and lack of interference will become increasingly important in a world where the available spectrum is constantly shrinking. And at a price point that makes it attractive vs almost any decent quality wireless system. I'm somewhat curious to see if there are any legal issues similar to the Tascam pileup with the DR-10C series, hopefully not, but when it comes to the law you just never know. More info:

http://juicedlink.com/collections/audio-recorders
 
Sounds Interesting, The main use for this of course would be to use a lavalier to record and sync in post, However I have used recorders besides my mixer when more than one mixer has been needed.
I'm talking about the zoom H1, that some times I use with a lavalier for this same purpose, with great results. Of course the build, size and features from the little darling makes it very special.
BUT one thing I can do with the zoom H1 is to use it as a preamplifier by connecting a shotgun mic the to mic input, and connecting a 3.5 cable from the camera to the headphone output
Results are very good for the minimum gear of this rig. This is again when more than one mixer is needed.
If I'm not wrong seems like Robert had to drop this feature from this units since he says that he made some exclusions since NAB and one of them is that headphones mute during recording,
and that will be the otput to the camera.
I wrote a mail to him requesting info on this and no answer yet, so I guess it mutes during recording.
Saying this seems to be a Fantastic device for what is made but that extra feature I've used succesfully with the Zoom H1 does not exist in this unit.
Still hopping I have the wrong info, because I have wait for this for a long time.
 
Right. But in compensation, you get to record a safety track, which you can't do with the H1 - that can be invaluable, should the actor get loud or whatever. The remote control on the more expensive model is useful too. The biggest issue of course is the lack of monitoring. An interesting comparison is with the Tascam DR-22WL and the DR-44WL, although the form factors on those are a deal-breaker for most people (myself included).
 
I think, if i remember correctly from what i read somewhere, that Zaxcom has a legal issue with audio output of these type of devices. Its the reason Juicedlink doesn't have it and that tascam can't sell it in America. I'm glad Juicedlink eliminated output in order to get a device like this easily available because I think its a great device to have for those times when you need it. And the youtube test Robert did comparing the SD 702 and the Lil DAR , it sounds great too.
 
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Worth carrying as a sound guy in the extreme situation where you wireless stuff cannot work for ''X'' reason. But as usual, operating in the dark about your audio will always non-optimal.
 
goodgoings said:
I do wish the safety track was adjustable. Seems like auto -16dB is a little too much, no?
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I agree adjustable would have been better. The Tascam has a -4db backup track. -16 seems extreme. -4 wouldn't help that much with an intermittent scream or such which is why I think Robert went that far.

And yes having a dedicated soundman is the best but there are situations where these devices offer an option finances or situations wouldn't allow. Its not like you have to use the sound if its bad but you've got something you maybe wouldn't have gotten without one.
 
Even with a sound man, these are a way to record something that would have been difficult to get otherwise. Gopros didn't replace the camera man yet.
 
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Robert from juicedLink here. Hope you don't mind if I answer some questions.

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The safety track is not adjustable, and that's how I wanted it. If I let people adjust it further down (-18dB, -20dB), then you start to get into a dangerous area, and I didn't want people who didn't know what they were doing to mess themselves up. Giving people the option to adjust it up (-12dB, -8dB) merely decreases the dynamic range you get from the safety track, for no benefit. This has a juicedLink low-noise preamp in it, so the SNR is going to be limited by the SNR of the lav in any of these adjustment ranges, so there is no SNR benefit to doing this.
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I know many will be disappointed that this can’t be paired with a wireless transmitter.

But, honestly, I always saw that as the smaller market for me (otherwise, I would have just killed the project when the issue arose). For the people that the multi-camera, multi-DAR production flow with wireless DARlink works for, I’m going to be selling these in bunches. In fact, I sell them on the website with volume discounting.

I see these in weddings, events, gopro action, incognito scenes in bars/restaurants with PocketCameras or iPhones (where you can’t have a bunch of wireless receivers on you camera, or bring a sound guy).

I see this opening up a lot of creative opportunities for the one-man-band. Aside from the limitations in wireless audio of range and dropouts, there is a practical limit to the number of wireless units a one-man-band can use at once. Where could you mount 4, 6, 8 receivers, and how would he/she manage the audio streams at the receivers? So, this opens up creative opportunities to mic up a whole lot of things/people, that you wouldn’t have considered micing up before.

And, when I say micing up “things”, I mean just that. My daughters jump horses. I mic up the jumps to hear the grunting of the its breathing and the pounding of its hoofs on its approach to the rails. All at the same time of micing up 4 kids, 2 trainers, and 6 parents.

In some situations, it doesn’t have to be a replacement to wireless audio, but can compliment it. In a wedding, for instance, you may want to be behind your screen and hear the vows in your headphones. Put a wireless lav in the book that the pastor/rabbi/judge/whatever reads from (that’s a good place, as he’s standing right between the bride/groom). But then, you can sprinkle DARs around (entire wedding party, family, etc) for everything that leads up to the ceremony and the following reception (to get better audio than just from your camera mounted shotgun).

So, it’s not for every situation. But, there are situations where it has its place. And for those situations, users will field a bunch of them …
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-R
 
Robert, I use a Countryman B2D for all my narrative work. It's a directional lavalier, and has an XLR connector. Actually, it has a screw-on connection to the XLR. I have an inquiry in to Countryman about this. I have been waiting for your product for so long, but this is a problem.
 
Curtis Mack said:
Robert, I use a Countryman B2D for all my narrative work. It's a directional lavalier, and has an XLR connector. Actually, it has a screw-on connection to the XLR. I have an inquiry in to Countryman about this. I have been waiting for your product for so long, but this is a problem.
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For those XLR/adapter/power supply, most need Phantom Power (which the DAR123 does not have) (or a battery if that's an option). Otherwise, just plugging the mic directly into the new DAR123 recorder should work, since it supplies the needed bias voltage (aka, 'Plug-in Power')... providing your B2D has a 1/8" plug that's wired conventionally or for a Sennheiser G2/3 SK100 transmitter. If it has some other plug, (TA, Lemo, Hirose, ect) a custom adapter/cable would be needed.
 
No I had a couple of lines with Robert and he confirmed the one I mentioned, Little darling provides power by the 3.5 output to lavalier mics o course no phantom XLR.
Otherwise a standar not locking connector works but loosing the benefits of a locking connector
A XLR CONNECTOR IS CLOSE TO THE SIZE AND WEIGHT OF THE Entire Little Darling

 
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Yes the one you listed will work but it needs to be wired and soldered. The countryman B2D has a changeable connector and the one I listed is the locking connector for the B2D that will work with the juiced link WITHOUT having to wire it.
 
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