Is the 788t a magic box????

[supoUSA]

Is the Sound Devices 788t basically an "everything" replacement? Are the preamps and convertors so good that I just need this thing for location recording of orchestras, choirs, bands, and other acoustical ensembles. I have experience hearing/listening/recording on the Prism and the Apogee convertors, and the Millenia, Grace and Apogee microphone preamps.

I have the funds - but - I'm hearing that the metric halo's/myteks are great convertors and a variety of preamps. Is the SD the way to go or getting a bunch of other stuff and chaining it - like the equipment above.

Thanks

[Baithak]

Dear supoUSA :

I was very impressed with the Nagra VI at the AES. I am sure the many fans of this machine on GS will eagerly nominate it in this category. But it has only four pres and six tracks. Perhaps if it could become a six pre, 8 track machine it could become by machine of choice.

The other nominee would be the Cantar of course. But then, it is really expensive.

The Zaxcom solution is supposed to be really good too but I don't have any direct experience;

Last month, I had to make a similar decision and ended up buying the 788 (replacing the 744 and 442) for its combination of size, price, featurers and sound. So far I am really happy but the big test is next month when I record a big festival. The only features I do miss are 1. the ability to pan the individual inputs to the mix track 2. Lack of an easy way to implement a fader for the inputs - one could add the optional second fader box 3. a mix down feature during playback (again no pan feature). So if I need a scratch mix to give to the artists at the end of the show, I still have to carry an external mixer or a notebook computer. Sound quality is stellar though.

Sonosax came so close to my ideal with their SX R62 ... but sadly they have discontinued development on this box.

Baithak

[John Willett]

The 788T is certainly very nice and is the one portable that can take AES42 digital mics as well.

The Nagra VI was my own choice for music recording as the mic. pres and ADCs are about the best there are - also, the ergonomics are superb when doing music recording.

The menus are extremely well laid out and very easy and quick to navigate - much better than the 788T I hear.

So - for quality and ergonomics the Nagra VI is definitely the 1st choice, but the 788T is certainly a good second choice as anything else seems to be well down from these two. The Zaxcom gets a definite *no* from me and the Cantar, although very good, is a lot more expensive.

[tsvisser]

Originally Posted by Baithak

...But it has only four pres and six tracks. Perhaps if it could become a six pre, 8 track machine it could become by machine of choice...

psst, this is in fact going to happen... it will "soon" be a 6 input, 8 track recorder, where you can record a separate mix or matrix of your inputs. There is also going to be a Nagra VI preamp packaged separately (or in pairs?), would be nice for that 5th/6th line input, or even used in multiples as a submix if you don't feel you have to ISO everything.

[David Spearritt]

Originally Posted by tsvisser

psst, this is in fact going to happen... it will "soon" be a 6 input, 8 track recorder, where you can record a separate mix or matrix of your inputs.

I wish they would go one step further and use both AES stereo inputs as 4 separate tracks, then it would be 8 inputs and 8 tracks. Could be done in firmware alone, maybe?

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by tsvisser

psst, this is in fact going to happen... it will "soon" be a 6 input, 8 track recorder, where you can record a separate mix or matrix of your inputs. There is also going to be a Nagra VI preamp packaged separately (or in pairs?), would be nice for that 5th/6th line input, or even used in multiples as a submix if you don't feel you have to ISO everything.

Would be nice if they can do this.

The mic. pres would also be nice - but really *do* need to be as pairs so you can have an MS option and the option to link as a stereo pair controlled by a single control.

Let's wait and see.

By the way, I am told that the latest firmware will allow swapping the hard drive for a solid-state hard drive if you wish.

[zoom]

Does anyone has an information about the current consumption of the 788T? Or the effective battery lifetime in practice? Interesting to know also how it is compared to the Nagra VI.

I've heared that the 788T works also as a heater in its bag - so battery lifetime is probably be a critical issue...
Maybe it's possible to switch off the pre-amps of track 3-8 if only a 2 track recording is made? And: is there any difference in batterie lifetime if I compare the standard 788T with the SSD-Version?

Cheers
Stefan

[tsvisser]

The 788t uses the Sony L-mount batteries. They are available in a lot of different capacities, up to 7 Ah or so. If you are using the largest battery, turn off timecode, turn off unused channels, you could probably get about 8 hours or so of run time. Using a typical battery under normal conditions, the runtime is probably under 3 hours. The Sony batteries are relative cheap and readily available from lots of different sources.

The Nagra has two battery options, with the larger being 13.8 Ah. I have never run out of power using the large battery, including some marathon 14+ hour days (the recorder wasn't necessarily on the whole time, but most, typical of film production environments). I don't know what the exact run time is as I've never let the unit run down. I believe the Nagra is much more efficient with power, just based upon the difference in heat emission, the Nagra never really gets hot. The Nagra batteries are expensive and of course only available from Nagra.

Both units can be powered from an included AC power supply or from another DC power source, such as a lead acid battery, if you need heavy duty long run time.

[boojum]

SD posts this for a 744T power consumption. Double the useage would be a safe guess for the 788T:

Power Consumption of 7-Series Recorders*|*Sound Notes*|*Sound Devices, LLC

Battery Life of the 7-Series Recorders*|*Sound Notes*|*Sound Devices, LLC

The manual states that power consumption varies from 4W to 20W 12 volts depending upon variables such as media and inputs.


I have read postulations about the differences between SD and Nagra and some folks know one is better than the other. I am not that smart and will have to wait until there is a head-to-head test. "One test is worth a thousand opinions." ;o)

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by boojum

I have read postulations about the differences between SD and Nagra and some folks know one is better than the other. I am not that smart and will have to wait until there is a head-to-head test. "One test is worth a thousand opinions." ;o)

Both SD and Nagra are high quality recorders and top of the market in quality.

The SD runs hot, the Nagra runs cool.

WIth the high capacity battery the Nagra will run for more than a full day (12-15 hours) - SD I don't know, I'm afraid.

Ergonomics and menus the Nagra is certainly better, but it is larger.

Sound quality of the Nagra is the better, I would say, as the mic. pres and ADCs are about the best there are.

Running around with an "electric handbag" for film and TV work the SD obviously wins because of it's small size - but for quality music recording I would say the Nagra VI is the winner (which is why I bought the Nagra VI myself).

[boojum]

Originally Posted by supoUSA

Is the Sound Devices 788t basically an "everything" replacement? Are the preamps and convertors so good that I just need this thing for location recording of orchestras, choirs, bands, and other acoustical ensembles. I have experience hearing/listening/recording on the Prism and the Apogee convertors, and the Millenia, Grace and Apogee microphone preamps.

I have the funds - but - I'm hearing that the metric halo's/myteks are great convertors and a variety of preamps. Is the SD the way to go or getting a bunch of other stuff and chaining it - like the equipment above.

Thanks

Is the 788T a magic box?? Well, I would have to know what you mean by that. It is not the best recording solution in the world. It is a compact, rugged, simple-to-use and good sounding piece of equipment. Where it ranks depends entirely upon whom you talk to. I know of no actual AB comparisons but I would offer the use of mine in one.

The best way to find out how it sounds is rent or borrow one. Take mics you are familiar with and go to a venue you with a group you are familiar. If you can get a splitter, take more than one machine. And, id you can, post the results for us to hear.

It works; it works well.