Beachtek adaptor
 

Hi guys. I need some advice. I'm thinking about buying the Beachtek adaptor DXA-6 but I'm having second thoughts whether it will be worth it.

I currently own a Rode Videomic for exteriors and a Rode NT3 for interiors. The NT3 is connected to the camcorder with a simple xlr to 3.5mm adaptor cable. The Beachtek would obviously be used with the NT3 as the Videomic doesn't have XLR connections although I may upgrade the shotgun to an XLR in the future. I have doubts because:

1. At the moment I can't see myself using 2 mics at the same time.
2. At the moment the only xlr I have is for interiors and I haven't as yet had the need to run cables > 5 metres (the cut off for need of balanced output)
3. The NT3 can be battery powered.

The reason why I'm thinking of the Beachtek is essentially for potential future projects (longer cables, although I may be being overly optimistic - I'm presently a one man band) and for phantom power, thereby giving greater scope for better mics. The other reason is that I'm going to New York soon and the Beachtek is so much cheaper than in the UK.

So I guess what I'm asking is, all things being equal, would the sound quality from the NT3 be that much better going through the Beachtek adaptor with phantom power compared to the current adaptor with battery power? Would it be a really noticeable improvement in my current situation?

Someone suggested that because the Beachtek doesn't have preamps then I shouldn't see too much difference. However, the NT3 is a really hot mic so are preamps that important for dialogue recording?

Thanks for any help.

Mark ...

I started off using a BeachTek DXA-4 (no phantom power), running two NT3s into it with excellent results. I've used in-line XLR adaptors and transformers in the past and they are fine but are more likely to come adrift and cause noise and hum due to poor connection than the BeachTek.

But for the same price (or less) than the BeachTek, you can buy a reasonable portable mike mixer which will allow you more control over level and tonal quality and give you much more flexibility for the future.

I have a Behringer UBB1002 mains/battery mixer so I can mix up to 5 XLR mikes on very long balanced cables for stage work. The mixer is wired to one or two cameras using phono to min-jack cables and the quality is excellent. You might also want to look at small digital mixers such as the Alesis 8 and 12 track firewire or USB mixers. These are a bit more expensive, but also give you the option of recording multiple channels into a laptop at higher quality than DV/HDV can deliver, and you can re-mix in post.

So its as well to know where you are going with this before parting with the cash.

Tony

If you really want to improve your audio, look for these things in the device you purchase:

• Ability to set levels manually
• Ability to easily monitor your levels
• Good pre-amps
• A decent limiter - for audio overload
• Phantom power - which allows better mics

The trick is to get it all in a simple package without breaking the bank. The beachteks starts you down that road, but I don't think you'll really experience a significant improvement with your equipment. If you were looking to upgrade your mics then the DXA-6 makes more sense. The DXA-6VU makes even more sense since it has the level meters. The DXA-FX or inexpensive mixer is further down that road and can be a decent compromise.

If you're serious about improving audio quality, the next level up is the Sound Devices MixPre/US$700 and the Sound Devices 302 Mixer/US$1300. And it goes on from there.

Tony:

I was looking at this set up, having had learned the benefit of a field mixer in a shoot I did a couple of months back. In that case I used mixer and my DXA-4, running line out from the field mixer via another XLR cable. I looke at the UBB1002, and noted that line feed would be coming in as you indicated. One of the benefits I liked about the set up we used was that sound man/boom man could be pretty remote from camera. How long a line have you been able to run with the that type of cable without having issues ?

More than you're likely to ever need <grin>. I've seen references to hundreds of feet for balanced mic level cables up to several thousand feet for balanced line level,

My question was probably a bit confusing. It appears that the run between the UBB1002 is not XLR balanced cable. I don't know if that is needed, and I am no sound tech, but will that create a problem at greater distances from the camera, using longer phono to minijack cables he indicates runs between camera and mixer ?

Example: In one shot, I was at camera 20 feet away from mixer, being held by boom pole operator, sound guy. Who was monitoring sound and operating boom pole. Can we get that same type of remoteness with the phono mini jack type cable ?

The answer is .... maybe. It all depends on the environment and the amount of potential intereference present. 20 is pushing it for unbalanced if you have motors, flourescent lights, cell phones, etc in the immediate vicinity.

Chris ...

My mixer is always next to the camera so the cable is only a coupe of feet long at most. But don't forget we are talking about a line-level signal from the mixer to the camera, which is much less prone to interference from external sources so longer runs with a good quality camera may not be a problem.

Another option is to use an analogue or digital audio recorder, or preferably use a second DV camcorder to record just the audio from the mixer using the DXA-4 - any old camcorder will do. Audio recorded on DV is much easier to sync up in the edit - and it stays in sync.

Tony

Not to be contrary but that doesn't make a lot of sense. DV cameras are not noted for their audio circuit quality ... far too often it seems the manufacturer has treated audio as the ugly stepchild. Nor is there any reason for an audio-only signal recorded on DV tape and captured into the computer to be any easier to sync up than would be a BWF file recorded at 48kHz sample rate on a good quality audio recorder. If anything I'd expect sync to drift WORSE with audio recorded on "any old camcorder" since the stability of the sync clock is the determining factor in sync drift and a beatup old camcorder is more liable to have a wonkier clock frequency than a current generation audio recorder.

Thanks all for the info guys. The nice thing about the unit we were using in that shoot was that it did run balanced from the mixer to the camera. I do have a plug powered Yamaha mixer that is set up the same way as the UBB1002, and I will experiment a bit to see what kind of sound I can get out of it before I commit to the UBB1002. The only reason I considered that one was the battery power.....

Mark, I've used an NT3 with a Beachtek (DXA-8) providing the phantom power and the catch was that the NT3 draws about 8 mA, compared to the 2 mA that something like a AT 897 draws. You have to monitor your sound carefully because the sound doesn't fade away at the end of the battery's life, it drops off a cliff; one moment it's there, and the next, it's gone.

Thanks for the comments and info. Much appreciated.