Considering a self-powered audio interface?

[mtingle]

With no need for a powered usb hub and very high quality pre-amps and construction that works with ipad & auria I can heartily recommend sound devices Mixpre-D. I would say it's the ultimate addition to the ipad/ auria setup for the very highest quality recordings in a truly mobile setup. Had mine for a few months now and its a real pleasure to use.

No instrument DI though.

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/mixpred/

[offthesky]

excellent - thanks for posting. this looks amazing. maybe i can upgrade to this once i win the lottery($749 is a pretty penny)

can you tell me how long the battery life lasts on this(i assume you use nimh batteries)? i assume the 48v phantom power is a no-go when this is running off the 2 AA's?

i've also read the zoom h4($269) works 100% mobile but haven't tested this device myself...

[mtingle]

I've not done any precise testing regarding battery life but 2 new alkaline batteries would suffice a recording session running 2 mics using phantom power. Also, if the mics can make do with 12 volts and not 48volts the MixPre-D can change to 12v phantom power if necessary.

It's possible to power the unit from between 10v-17v so you can organise a battery pack to last as long as you want. I configured 8 x 1.5v batteries, this would last a fair time.

[PostGuy]

i've also read the zoom h4($269) works 100% mobile but haven't tested this device myself...

I've tested the H4 (old grey model) and it works OK as long as you use a USB hub (non powered it's enough).
but let's face it: it is like a toy compared to Sound Devices stuff

[Penguino]

There is still a BIG problem with this interface for europeans.
This company is crazy enough to let the sellers in europe put hell of a price.

Actual prices :
US : 749$ ... and Europe : 900 € .... so around 1173$ ... so 50% more O_O

I really thought about buying this at first, but seeing those prices it's a total rip of.

I still don't understand how they can be that stupid, they're loosing a lot of customers over there, cause products look good.

I decided on RME fireface UCX (but not self-powered...).
Will not buy sound devices products till they put normal prices.

[offthesky]

i've also read the zoom h4($269) works 100% mobile but haven't tested this device myself...

I've tested the H4 (old grey model) and it works OK as long as you use a USB hub (non powered it's enough).
but let's face it: it is like a toy compared to Sound Devices stuff

most definitely it's in a whole different ballpark from the mixpre-d. i'm curious if anybody's used the newer zoom h4n and if it's self powered with an ipad as well?

[gmtfd]

With no need for a powered usb hub and very high quality pre-amps and construction that works with ipad & auria I can heartily recommend sound devices Mixpre-D. I would say it's the ultimate addition to the ipad/ auria setup for the very highest quality recordings in a truly mobile setup. Had mine for a few months now and its a real pleasure to use.

I recently bought an ART USB Dual Pre, intending to use it with an iPad 4 and a Rode NT4 stereo mic. Unfortunately I've been disappointed by this unit - it produces a noticeable background hiss, which remains at the same level whether the input gain is turned up or down. I suppose it is very cheap.

I'm now seriously considering getting a MixPre-D. I'm just wondering how silent this unit is? It's important to me because I want to be able to record quiet sounds and background ambiences. I also like to treat my recordings with heavy compression / limiting, which obviously makes any background noise much more noticeable.

And just to double check, the unit can supply 48V phantom power while running off 2 x AA batteries?

Many many thanks for any help with this.

Regards

Gareth

[lorddiagram]

I just bought the Roland Duo Capture Ex and am loving using it.

It is self powered via 3 AA batteries, has XLR and instrument in as well s MIDI in/out. It's been the best investment i've made in a while (even in comparison to high end mics, preamps...etc)

And to add, it does supply phantom power.

lD

[mtingle]

the Roland duo capture ex looks very interesting indeed. Thanks for posting. Battery powered units that can also do phantom power AND di basses are just so ideal for a mobile set up.

Cheers

(link should anybody want it http://www.roland.co.uk/products/produc ... spx?p=1248 )

[blackrose]

I'm now seriously considering getting a MixPre-D. I'm just wondering how silent this unit is? It's important to me because I want to be able to record quiet sounds and background ambiences. I also like to treat my recordings with heavy compression / limiting, which obviously makes any background noise much more noticeable.

And just to double check, the unit can supply 48V phantom power while running off 2 x AA batteries????

[mtingle]

yes it completely silent and yes it supplies 48v phantom power on either or both channels.

[Bog music]

+1 for the Roland duo Capture EX
(Not the horrible Mk 2 which feels like a cheap plastic pencil case)

I have been using mine for months now and it is a pleasure to use both with microphones and DI instruments
I travel with a Duracell rechargeable battery charger and spare batteries and swap them out after 3 hours of recording when using capacitor mics with no headroom issues

It's also the only piece of kit i own which doesn't have an audible hum when switched on. (My MOTU interfaces sound like an electricity substation when fired up)

[lkingston]

I just ordered a Roland Duo Ex. I've been looking at all the different options and this seemed like the best fit. I wanted something that would run on without AC power, could do phantom power for my Shure SM87, could record guitar and vocals at once, and was relatively solid and inexpensive.

[lkingston]

I got the Roland Duo EX a few days ago and it really works well. Latency is low enough that I don't need to use direct monitoring and I love that it runs on batteries. One thing that I found that pleasantly surprised me is that I can power it from a 1 spot power supply. These are cheap, really rugged and have very long cables. Better than Roland power supply IMHO.

[BGR]

In the specs of these two interfaces, they state:

-Sound Devices Mixpre-D
Mic to Line, max: 66 dB

-Roland Duo Capture Ex:
Nominal Input Level XLR: -60 to -12 dBu

Does this mean that the Duo can add a maximum of 48dB gain to any mic? I don't really understand what these specs mean on Roland products.