Bryan & Marcia,

Notice I did not say that audio without a mixer wouldn't be okay. I will stick with the advantages of having one though.

A mixer without a meter is a waste. The main advantage of a mixer is to monitor levels. If you cannot do that with a high degree of confidence, then save your money until you can afford a good one.

Headphones that wrap completely around your ears provide isolation from ambient noise and allows you to hear your audio without interference from ambient sounds. In-ear monitors like the Etymotics and others (see http:IFBSource.com) are small and seal your ear canal for the same effect. They do tend to be more expensive.

The advantages of having one will weigh against the simplicity of not bothering. For a one mic setup, it'll be a total waste. I admit they are a nice to have accessory, i own 2 Sound Devices. With the VX2000 modifications I have to use one.

If we say OK lets use one there goes the budget. A cheaper mixer can be more trouble than it's worth.

Beaser is right, the 7506 is an industry standard, if you use them to monitor, you'll pretty much be on the same page as the rest of the world. I haven't had that much complaint with their isolation except when I'm shooting a loud rock band. Then it's watch the meters and be conservative. Kind of wish I had an outboard squasher...even with a mixer you'd need mighty quick hands to catch the occasional rogue peak.

As for..."but is the fact that they're stereo a positive or negative? " most of them are stereo anyway, including the Sony. It can be a bit distracting at first when you are only recording on one channel, like when I use the wireless lavalier on a talking-head-shot, but you get used to it.