what is mixer about?

[Marty Atias]

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.

[Bryan Beasleigh]

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.

[Mike Butler]

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.