MM-1 for DR100 MKII?

B

Bacon!

New member
I have a TASCAM DR100 MKII and I'm looking for a preamp to reduce the noise level. I have a RODE NTG-2 and the external recorder doesn't have quite enough gain to get clear audio. Would the MM-1 be a good choice for this? If I'm not mistaken, the line-in would allow me to bypass the DR100 MKII's preamp entirely (correct me if I'm wrong, I don't know a lot about audio equipment). I am on a budget, so I'd prefer a price-concious solution.
 
The Tascam DR-100 MK2 is a great recorder if you can stay away from using the HIGH mic gain setting.

If you have to use the HIGH gain setting, then adding a good mic pre-amp ( like the Sound Devices MM-1 ) should take care of things.

Here are my RMS noise-floor test results for the DR-100 MK2.

I consider a RMS noise-floor below -60 dB to be noise free, but keep in mind that any volume boost in post will also raise the noise floor.

So if you raise the volume of a recording by 10 dB, then the new RMS noise-floor is 10 dB higher than it originally was, so a -60 dB RMS noise-floor becomes -50 dB after the volume change, and you may start to hear noise in the quiet parts of your recording. This is why you want to use a recorder that has a better than -60 dB RMS noise-floor.

Tascam DR-100 MK2

MIC GAIN SETTINGS

RMS MIC NOISE FLOOR : MIC GAIN = LOW

MIC LEVEL 2 : -83 dB
MIC LEVEL 4 : -84 dB
MIC LEVEL 6 : -84 dB
MIC LEVEL 8 : -83 dB
MIC LEVEL 10 : -84 dB

RMS MIC NOISE FLOOR : MIC GAIN = MED

MIC LEVEL 2 : -83 dB
MIC LEVEL 4 : -83 dB
MIC LEVEL 6 : -83 dB
MIC LEVEL 8 : -80 dB
MIC LEVEL 10 : -79 dB

RMS MIC NOISE FLOOR : MIC GAIN = HIGH

MIC LEVEL 2 : -79 dB
MIC LEVEL 4 : -72 dB
MIC LEVEL 6 : -63 dB
MIC LEVEL 8 : -55 dB
MIC LEVEL 10 : -53 dB

* * * * * * * * * * *

RMS LINE NOISE FLOOR

LINE LEVEL 2 : -84 dB
LINE LEVEL 4 : -84 dB
LINE LEVEL 6 : -84 dB
LINE LEVEL 8 : -80 dB
LINE LEVEL 10 : -79 dB
 
Thank you for the quick and comprehensive post! I do have to use the HIGH setting to acquire useable audio, so it looks like an external preamp is the path I'll be taking. Is there a better alternative, or does the MM-1 seem like a solid choice for this issue?
 
Bacon! said:
Is there a better alternative, or does the MM-1 seem like a solid choice for this issue?
Click to expand...

The MM-1 unit is designed to be used by a boom-op, and has a good headphone amp built-in, so your boom-op can get a very clear idea of what the mic they are booming is picking-up. This unit does not have to be used by a boom-op, but it's handy that it can be used this way.

...As far as other high quality mic pre-amps go, I would consider a few other options:

1- JuicedLink Riggy unit ( like the RA222 or RA333 ) which outputs MIC level audio with 30 dB of clean gain. ( the MM-1 offers up to 66 dB of clean gain ) The price is in the MM-1 ballpark.

2- Sound Devices MixPre Mixer ( old model ) Used : A little hard to find, but you should be able to buy one under $500. This unit does everything the MM-1 does, but with 2 audio channels, has an LED audio level display, a 2-stage limiter, a 1 kHz test-tone generator which enables you to properly calibrate your camera or recorder audio input levels, a tape-out to feed a digital recorder while the main XLR LINE outs connect to the camera if you like ( I started with a MM-1, then one year later I bought a MixPre which I used for 4 years, and this year I upgraded to the newer MixPre-D mixer. )

3- Sound Devices MixPre-D Mixer : $750 new and updates a lot of things from the old MixPre mixer. Much nicer LED audio level display, inputs and outputs are switchable between MIC and LINE levels, can be used as a digital audio interface to your computer. It's a lot more money, but it will last for years and still keep it's resale value, so you could sell it a few years down the road and get most of your investment back. ( just make sure you always keep it in a case, so it stays clean and looks good )

All of these choices will have you covered in terms of producing good sound, as long as you ( or your boom-op ) does a good job placing your mic.
 
Regarding the 1khz test tone generator, what level do you normally set the recorder or camera to? Cheers.
 
I also have a DR100 and just decided last week to go with an MM-1 pre-amp to take away the gain on high, which is needed with my Oktava MK012 to get it to peak where I need to. I tested this off brand / no-name mic pre-amp and it took away the gain noise completely, so it gave me some confidence that going an MM-1 would likely solve the problem. Mine will be here within a few days.
 
bimdas said:
Regarding the 1khz test tone generator, what level do you normally set the recorder or camera to? Cheers.
Click to expand...

Digital recorders have no recording headroom, thus we have to create our own headroom by setting a recording level below 0 dB.

With low cost equipment that tends to have a fairly high noise-floor, most people will use the 1 kHz test-tone to establish a recording level of -12 dB, which provides you with 12 db of headroom to capture louder sounds.

With higher grade recorders ( like the Sound Devices recorders ) you may have a noise-floor that exceeds -100 dB, so you can afford to allocate 20 dB of the recorders dyanmic range for headroom and still have 80 dB of usable recording range.

The short answer: Most people calibrate the test-tone to -12 dB. If you're using a Sound Devices recorder ( or something similar ) you can calibrate to -20 dB.
 
Andrew Lewis said:
I also have a DR100 and just decided last week to go with an MM-1 pre-amp to take away the gain on high, which is needed with my Oktava MK012 to get it to peak where I need to. I tested this off brand / no-name mic pre-amp and it took away the gain noise completely, so it gave me some confidence that going an MM-1 would likely solve the problem. Mine will be here within a few days.
Click to expand...

Nice, tell us how it works when you get it!

Also, are you using the original or the MKII?
 
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