Sound Devices MixPre II Series with Paul Isaacs

Does the Re-Mix feature work in all modes or just when originally recording in 32bit floating?

Hi Curtis! Thank you for your impact to the audio community. Can you please recommend small bag for mixpre6 ? I am looking on Orca or28, but seems like is doesn’t have bottom access to sd card slot (I don’t want to take out the mixer every time, when I need to change the card). thank you!

I’d love to see a video on how to get time sync between a MicPre Mk ii and the Blackmagic PCC 4k

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Curtis, will anyone of these Mix Pre units be substantial for my feature film I’m presenting to Netflix?

Too much for thr plug in

I love his passion behind Sound Devices' vision.

Hi Curtis-when you recorded this, is the sound recorded on to the camera?

Curtis if want a good shouting microphone without needing any compression is Audix OM7

That was very intuitive. On the strength of that interview (and your reviews) I've ordered the MixPre 3 ii and a Rode NTG4+ mic. Quite excited really. Syncing 2 cameras will have to be done the hard way for now coz I'm going to be eating beans on toast every night for the next month until I recover from the financial outlay.....lol. I feel like a martyr to the cause but hey... the results will be worth it....

I got my MixPre3 ii today. Looks great. First scary thing I had to do was update the Firmware to 7.10. I hate doing that but it's fine. The question I have is to do with the Cam TC in socket. I've never seen one of these and I'm guessing it's Micro HDMI (Thank you Wiki). I've got an HDMI powered splitter which is normal size HDMI, the camera is I guess Mini HDMI, but I just need confirmation that the MixPre is Micro HDMI before I order a cable. Thank you to anyone who can help.

Can i connect another SD mixpre II as a an input extension ?

Can we jam mixpre II series timecode with the HDMI? For example if i can't keep it on camera because i have everything else fixed in place.
Do we have any information on the next gen date? :)

Very useful. It makes those Items even more likable when you know some people behind it.

mind opening! the 32bit float tech was really a new subject for me, now I can say I'm starting to get my head around it. thanks !

So, Paul Isaac of "Sound Devices" is using the computer mic for his audio during this interview... I see....

Which microphones would you recommend for mix pre 6 mk2? Mostly for foley sound recording?

When will SoundDevices improve their control-App for the MixPre3-mk2 to include gain control for each channel and improve the user Interface design (example: the app for Zoom F6) ?

Is this guy drunk? ;) ;)

Is there a way to send more than one IFB feed from the X1/X2 output? Would a splitter cable work for 2 transmitters?

Thank you!!! :) It was fantastic to listen to you :)

I see that the mixpre II has its timecode triggered by HDMI. Apart from using a cable, can you use an HDMI transmitter on your camera rig to trigger the timecode?

Paul is the awesome guy! This is was very clear and simple explanation of using 32-bit audio. Of course I want what I need now and for what purpose. Now I need only choose the brand what I want. But with one point I am disagree with him. He told that 32 big audio is good for unpredictable environment (that is true - that is why we shoot in RAW), newbies in sound recording and for anything who not familiar with sound recording, like dp or another person. I am agree with him about environment and maybe about people who not familiar with sound recording or maybe not. But person who want to learn sound recording should also known for which situations 32 bit are good and when regular 24 bit is good enough. It is like photo or video - you can shoot only RAW and fix your work on post production, but in that case you will not be a good photographer or dp. You will be doing your job as well as you could and you also will hope that you can save your shoot on post.
After that great interview (again thanks for your great job 👍) I decided that I need F6/MixPre-3 II for uncontrolled environment and ambient recording and F8n/MixPre-10 II for more controlled environment. With my skills, price of products and tons watched reviews I think for me, as a hobbyist, F6 and F8n will be enough for a long long time. But design, functionality and awesome creator of MixPre II series looks so good that I do not know what to do now. May be it is a good idea to spend more money for a little bit great product. I do not know. And nobody could not answer on this question except me. I started to have a lot of confidence in the owner 😄
Anyway good job again 👍

Why floating point? Why not linear 32bit? From 0 to FFFF FFFF?

Is the mix pre 2 the same as the mix pre 3 or is it just the hole name of the product line 3 6 and 10t just want to confirm thanks .

I think they are still working on the mark III !

I have both the Mix Pre 6 II and the F6. There is no comparison. The F6 outperforms the Mix Pre 6 II on almost every level. 2 Years later and the timecode support is NULL. Thanks for the Jam [insert passive aggressive eye roll]… Zoom, Atomos, and Timecode Systems was ahead of them then, now, and for who knows how longer. Sound Devices need to step up on their timecode and bluetooth eco system. Zoom is years ahead. I am not an audio engineer… just a multi-cam user….. nothing has changed for sound devices in the areas that are I guess now relevant. All of their short comings are software based and firmware based. Changes that matter can be accomplished. Lack of focus is the problem (I waited a while to post this… I hate that I feel I have to).

Dear Sound Systems: Bluetooth is available…. come join us in this decade….. I spent a small fortune on your Kashmir amps thinking that maybe it would be my answer….. Audio recording and quality are great (golf clap…. I paid for it) your external control and timecode need a complete overhaul.

funny all these hitech like he said people from specifically professional audio companies do not do much to their sound whenever they are the ones to do i. like in this video call. you would expect him to have an amazing sound, the skype/internet excuse is not really relevent

Geee!! Outstanding interview!!!!!!!
Curtis, you owned both Zoom F8n & Mixpre II. Did you compare it`s mic preamps with same mic? I`m interesting noise lavels, Datashit reads they`re the same. Are they the same, or Zoom F8 is more noisier?
Thank you!

Great interview. What is the replacement for SD702 ?

That was a good interview and full of excellent information and great questions with design and usage scenarios. Look forward to these types of intervies. Paul was a great interviewee. 👍

Why not a hirose power connector :(

I have the mix pre 6 ii, this is f**** amazing sound

Why have a limiter with 32 bit?

well, manufactures could have it as an "updated circuit board system" if they really wanted.
I know we did that when i was at VeriFone.

Holy sugar these dudes are smart.

I have a MixPre 3 and I really liked it but over the years it became unreliable. It would on occasion, stop recording. I thought it was a power issue but this behaviour continued with the AA sled, the NPF sled, and a USB power bank. After it failed again recording a concert. I attempted to test it. The unit would format an SD card but then it would say that it could not detect the SD card after it had formatted it. I tried this with a number of SD cards. I contacted Sound Devices and they won’t look at it for less than $250 USD. They also wanted a pre authorized transaction for much more. They wouldn’t even tell me where to send it. I’m very disappointed. I thought this was a purchase that would last for a long time. My unit is only 6 years old.

All things equal, such as recording technique, gainstaging etc, would there be a difference in sound quality, for recording just voices in the context of voiceover, narrations, and room dialogue using the sound devices mixpre-3 II VS Prism Sound Lyra-1 2x2, using these 2 mics sennheiser mkh 416 and the neumann u87 ?

Heh… you can see that they don’t really cater the prosumer market. They don’t put too much work into talks like this. Any company focusing much more on smaller customers and thus sell much bigger numbers, would try to demo the quality of their stuff as much as possible. They focus instead of the topic at hand.

You know a guy means business when he has straps on his glasses.

What a fantastic interview !!

Do you think the mixpre 6ii is ok for the red Komodo ,c70 and Panasonic s5ii and the deity Theos ,dpa 6060 , Schoeps cmc1 mk41 with cut 30 capsule or will the 18db in the mixpre10ii be needed ? Does the mixpre10ii produce less noise than the mixpre6ii?

Sadly, I had to send my MixPre-3 back because it was impossible to find a battery solution. I record life history interviews for a museum archive, in sessions usually lasting no longer than 2-hours at a time. I couldn't get the beautifully-built Sound Devices recorder to run longer than about 20 minutes even with the highest capacity batteries. The retailer confirmed that the unit was not faulty, but simply is not designed for field recording. Such a shame, I have to rely on Tascam, Roland, and Zoom, none of which reaches the sonic quality of Sound Devices' products.

Is the mark 3 coming out soon? Don’t know if I should buy a used mixpre 3 ii for $650

such a great interview with insights into finer details of sound work

When would the extra 18db be used ? How often have you used the extra db that a recorder like the mixpre 10ii has over the mixpre 6ii? I will be also using the dpa 4017b in the future for outdoor work and dpa 6060