Squeezing the best out of the Rode lav + H4N. Do I need a mixer?

[rossagrant]

Pretty simple guys, would a mixer feeding the H4N really give me much better audio due to better preamps or is it not that noticeable?

All my videos will be shot on a Canon 600D with the audio recorded by the Rode lav to H4N direct via XLR.

All videos are indoors in a quiet room either single person to camera or interview style with 2 Rode mics going to XLR on the H4N.

The SD Mix Pre is out of my league price wise but the juicedLink CX231 is affordable although doesn't have limiters.

Would I miss the limiters in this situation and does the juicedLink CX231 need to be used with a PAD like the mix pre does when used with H4N to get around the db differences?

Hope this makes sense.

Would love to hear some comparisons of the H4N standalone and then H4N combined with a mixer.

Thanks so much all, these forums are outstanding. I'm learning so much from them so cheers!

 

[Kit Hannah]

If you're looking for better preamps, upgrade your recorder. I think the h4n is fine, but whatever you feed into there doesn't bypass those preamps.

I use a Tascam DP-008 and I like it a lot. I have had 2 H4n's in the past and I thought they worked fine. The Tascam gives me a little bit more control over my mix though, which I do like. You can do a lot of things in post so long as you record a flat and clean, undistorted signal.