Zoom F4 Limiter Test

J

jcs

Veteran
Somewhat unintentional Zoom F4 "Advanced Limiter" clipping test (+ Schoeps CMC641, line level in to 1DX II):


Guess that's more than +10 dB over; though in post the waveform isn't hard clipped (the Sound Devices analog limiters don't sound like that when clipping).
 
Now, who's this one? lol

[It appears you're always working with these random up-and-coming aspiring actresses.]

And when she yelled it was hot/distorted, but still completely usable for me.
 
Mikayla Soul; we're starting some original comedy work- will post more shortly.

Was surprised by the waveform- it sounds distorted and instead of hard clipping its like a sawtooth pattern.

A Zoom F6 and/or MixPre 6 might get tested in the future (both should be better at handling unpredictable levels). F6 appears to 'work' re: non-clippable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4oNd1RgGL0 (MixPre 6 might sound better re: preamps, regardless of clipping performance).
 
I don't know how much of a "test" this is. For one thing the "clipping" could have happened in a number of places and also some of that is her voice and the room. Even at lower levels she has a crunch when she tries to go loud. Not super unusual for people with out much/any vocal training. They don't know how to go loud with out pushing the voice and getting crunchy.

On the other hand I agree with Rick, I would not expect a recorder I paid about 1/2 of what my old MixPre cost to sound as good as the SD recorders. And limiters on field recorders are not supposed to be actively used, they are there to salvage the unexpected peak, and give you something usable instead of garbage.

Anyway I had issues with the sound before she yelled. It had a very over-pressured "sound". Like it was recorded in a room that was too small for the volume, and maybe overly dead room? But maybe that was what you were going for since it kind of works with the infomercial look of the piece. Not necessarily a bad thing I guess but not a sound I personally like.
 
Good points Scott. The room is highly dampened- which allows using convolution filters to make the room more easily sound like other locations; no audio post done here.

I like the idea of the Zoom F6 using floating point (and can't effectively ever clip), however prefer the overall sound of the Sound Devices preamps ( https://www.akm.com/akm/en/product/datasheet1/?partno=AK5578EN ). Also curious if the newer MixPre 6 audio topology sounds noticeably better than the older 702-based design (which is in the USBPre2 used on our main audio workstation).

While it would be cool if SD added 32-bit float support to provide unclippability, it only helps if recording externally vs. into the camera. Another plus for analog limiters (saving 'just kissed the limit' recordings for unexpected events).

EDIT: good to know SD fixed the 192kHz bug: https://www.creativefieldrecording.com/2018/12/12/sound-devices-updates-mixpre-firmware-to-300/
 
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The room is highly dampened- which allows using convolution filters to make the room more easily sound like other locations; no audio post done here.
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Um,? maybe. The problem would be that it's not a neutral sound. But it isn't bouncy so yes it does probably help.

Hardly anything but sound post done here.
 
Noiz2 said:
Um,? maybe. The problem would be that it's not a neutral sound. But it isn't bouncy so yes it does probably help.

Hardly anything but sound post done here.
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Hmm- normal speaking doesn't sound neutral, or higher levels/yelling? It's a small home studio, with carpet, green screen and lots of objects which (mostly) break up reflections. No acoustic foam / panels or blankets, etc.

Same room, mic, recorder (preamp + camera), actor, with noise reduction, Foley (dining sounds), subtle reverb (to sound more like a restaurant): http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?364711-Service-Animals
Sound OK? Is there a way to make it sound better?
 
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