MixPre to Olympus LS-10 or Sony M10

J

johnnyevil

Active member
Both these recorders are stereo mini-jack inputs. If I send a signal from the MixPre to either of these recorders, from a single mic, will it send it to only 1 track of the recorder? Or will it record it to both tracks?
 
Since both these recorders accept 1/8" stereo line-level input, and the MixPre has a 1/8" stereo (line) "Tape Out," it really depends on how you have the input routed on the MixPre. There's an L-C-R switch on each of the two inputs. Center a mic ("C") to send it to both record tracks.
 
Thank you both. That's what I thought, but just wanted to check. I was listening to sample recordings from various recorders, and those two, to my ears, sounded so much better than the Zoom H4n and the Tascam DR-100, or pretty much everything else in the 200-300 price range I have heard so far.
 
Be careful about those sample recordings. They're likely revealing more about the mics and/or preamps built into the recorders, not how they perform taking a line-in from a mixer.

Unless one person is recording from a single mic split out to the four recorders with identical settings, it can be very tough to compare.
 
I own the Olympus LS-5 which is pretty much like the LS 10 and while its great and well built and sounding very good, the file naming is what bothers me a bit. Every recorded file gets a number and you can't reset it. It looks like LS_50001.wav and on from there.
Don't lknow about the other manufacturers but I think Edirol has good file naming in their recorders.
 
JordanBlock said:
Be careful about those sample recordings. They're likely revealing more about the mics and/or preamps built into the recorders, not how they perform taking a line-in from a mixer.

Unless one person is recording from a single mic split out to the four recorders with identical settings, it can be very tough to compare.
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The samples actually had 3 samples for each unit. Internal Mic, Dynamic Mic, Condenser, and Line in. I realized that it's tough to judge these recorders, because there are so many other variables affecting the sound quality. I'm going to do a little more research before I buy, but I am leaning towards getting a decent less expensive recorder now, till I can justify a better one down the line. This way I'll have something to screw around with and learn, and if I need something better, rental time.
 
I would get the Sony M10. It's got a clean layout, a nice user interface, and a quality build.

Check out the battery shoot out on the Wingfield site. The Sony M10 destroys every other recorder in battery life. Landfill-wise, the M10 is the most green.
 
johnnyevil said:
Would it be preferable to do Stereo mini to Stereo mini from the mixpre, or XLR to mini from the mixpre?
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The stereo mini Tape Out on the MixPre is the better way to go. Sound Devices' Tape Out is consumer line-level, which is what the line input on these portable digital recorders are calibrated to accept.

The XLR Line Outputs on the MixPre are better suited for either a recorder with XLR inputs, or patching to a video camera with XLR inputs.
 
Hi, so I am thinking about picking up the sony pcm m10. I am a total noob. I can't seem to figure out how a mixer and a pcm m10 would work together. If I get a 2 channel mixer with xlrs, phantom power, and 2 mics and record onto the pcm m10, the two mics get recorded together onto one track? Or do they get recorded separately, seems like there is only one line in. Like I said total noob. My point is if I want to get this, I guess I am better off just getting a single channel preamp because if I get a 2 channel the mics get merged right? Thanks.
 
A single 1/8" cable can be mono (1 channel) or stereo (2 channel). So most common setup for that to work would be something like a MixPre-D 2-channel mixer, to 1/8" stereo cable, and to the M10. That lets you record 2 mics, onto separate channels.
 
Gohanto,

Thanks for the reply. So based on what you are saying, if I take a single 1/8 inch cable and record it stereo, I will get two separate files - one for each mic? I just want to retain flexibility when I make shorts with my friends. In case maybe the sound from one mic wasn't so great, but the other was good, I would like to be able to access the sound from the good mic. I am afraid that I would get just one file and I couldn't separate the bad sound from the good. Thanks.
 
You're correct...-ish, haha. Couple things.

1. Yes, you can take a STEREO 1/8" cable from the Mixer to the M10 and get two channels. The tip of a stereo 1/8" cable (also called TRS, tip-ring-sleeve) has 3 sections to carry the signals vs. mono cables (TS) which only have 2. Just be sure you have the right kind of cable and you'll be all set.
2. Most recorders record 2-channel audio as a single stereo file, instead of 2 mono files. Easy to separate though.
3. Can you elaborate a bit on why you're running 2 mics? You shouldn't have a case of using two mics and praying at least ONE will be good. Starting out, it's usually better to just focus on using one mic correctly.
 
Gohanto,

First of all, thank you for being so generous with your time. I really appreciate your help. My buddy has a T2i, another buddy has some lights, and we have no sound equipment. Another friend can get me a good deal on a Sony M10 or D50. I have read about the Zoom H4N and Tascams with the XLR inputs and they speak a lot about 4 channels, etc. So I sort of thought they recorded onto separate files. I also have read that te sony lacks XLRs but it records really well.

I think all I can afford is one good mic, and this preamp by ART http://www.amazon.com/ART-USB-Dual-...AT78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307896822&sr=8-1. It has been discussed on a few websites as not too bad.

We might do a documentary where we might need two mics and I just want to know if the Sony M10 with a preamp could handle 2 mics.

One more question, please. In movies is audio usually mono? Do they just duplicate the file to make it stereo?

Thanks!

Many, many, many thanks!
 
Film (and TV) dialog is usually recorded mono and panned to the centre - ie equally between left and right channels - in post. Music is often stereo and sometimes SFX will be as well. Ambience too.

Why do you think you'll need 2 mics for your documentary? Not that you wouldn't do that in some situations, just wondering what you're shooting where you think you'll need it.
 
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