Zaxzom ZFR300

egproductions said:
What do people think about using something like this in lui of a wireless transmitter for something like an interview.
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It is a wireless transmitter (with a recorder).
Sure, Zaxcom makes great gear. The $1K+ price tag seems a bit overkill for interviews though. Then you'd have to purchase the receiver or other ZaxNet device to monitor the sound.
 
I was actually looking at it like a stand alone recorder. Yes it has wireless features but from what I've heard about it the range is pretty bad.

With that in mind, do you think it would be good to just put in someones pocket and record without monitoring levels? I don't know what to make of the "never clip" feature.
 
NeverClip is not a typical dynamics gain type comp/limiter, (it has two separate A/D converters). However the ZFR 200/300 does not have NeverClip, it does have a soft-knee comp/limiter/expander dynamics processor (with enough of the typical parameters to get inexperienced folks in trouble if that's you). It also does not have a HP amp or line output (and as I previously stated), a ZaxNet receiver would be needed to monitor sound.
 
Yes, I do see NeverClip stated in the product page.. wasn't mentioned in the 200/300 product manual, which was my reference
"Is NeverClip something that is better than limiter/compression?"
- Probably less noticeable and foolproof than a brick-wall limiter, and would sound different. 'Better' is subjective. Having an on-board dynamics processor with adjustable parameters would be very desirable to most audio pros.
 
egproductions said:
I was actually looking at it like a stand alone recorder. Yes it has wireless features but from what I've heard about it the range is pretty bad.
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Really? Bad range on a Zaxcom? That doesn't reconcile with how popular these things are with the Hollywood dialog recording crowd. What I've heard, is that the Zaxcom units have better range and better sound than even the Lectrosonics units. And for what they cost, they better.

As to using it as a stand alone recorder, as has been said many times: Recording sound without monitoring the sound is like operating a camera without monitoring the video. The primary focus of that transmitter is to transmit the sound to the receiver; the recording capability is secondary -- it's just a backup.
 
Bruce Watson said:
Really? Bad range on a Zaxcom? That doesn't reconcile with how popular these things are with the Hollywood dialog recording crowd. What I've heard, is that the Zaxcom units have better range and better sound than even the Lectrosonics units. And for what they cost, they better.

As to using it as a stand alone recorder, as has been said many times: Recording sound without monitoring the sound is like operating a camera without monitoring the video. The primary focus of that transmitter is to transmit the sound to the receiver; the recording capability is secondary -- it's just a backup.
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I'm confused, are you talking about the same product? This is marketed primarily as a recorder, the wireless features seem to be mostly for monitoring levels, however, I've seen reviews that this particular unit (not speaking of other Zaxcam transmitters) doesn't have good range in that regard and that you have to be a few feet from the recorder to control it.

i understand that you want to monitor audio levels but I was mostly curious about the never clip feature since it sounds too good to be true:
"Neverclip: gives you an incredible dynamic range without clipping your audio"
 
egproductions said:
I'm confused, are you talking about the same product?
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Nope. You're not confused. I am. Sorry. It is what you said it is, simply a standalone recorder. The only transmission going on is Zaxnet. Interesting device, but if I can't monitor the audio well, I don't have a use for it. If you do, have at it. Looks like it might be a nifty device for something.
 
BTW, NeverClip wasn't designed to compensate for 'improperly' set levels and recording techniques if that's what the OP is seeking... a limiter without the artifacts, which sometimes are desirable.
 
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