Sound Devices MixPre 3 II Field Recorder
I’ve used it on my channel here and there for almost two years and I’ve had it for three. I’m finally reviewing it.
The Sound Devices MixPre 3 II. It’s an amazeballs recorder. And it’s wicked expensive—at least for me. But we’ll get into that plus all the nerdy stuff.
So.
Good day and welcome to the Time Preservation Society.
I’m Tony Stark
This is going to be a lengthy review, so in the interest of saving time, I’m going to plow through as fast as I can. There’s so much to cover on this high-end audio recorder. I’m going to try not to veer off into humor too much. Try.
For the YouTube review of the MixPre 3 II, click here: TPS MixPre 3 II Review
I’m not going to be going deep into the menu system because this review would be just far too long if I did, and also it’s been done at length already by a much better reviewer. And presented far better than I ever could.
Check out Curtis Judd’s amazing and lengthy review of the MixPre II line of recorders here: MixPre II Series Recorders
He’ll take you right through the MixPre. He also offers a Mixpre training course for a really low cost. Yes, it’s so complex that it requires a training course. I fully recommend taking this course if you want to know how to use this all proper-like.
As for this review, if you’re still here reading this, I’m going to focus on the features and my experience using it for over three years.
When I first knew I wanted a high end 32 bit recorder—more on that later—it was between the Zoom F6 and the Sound Devices MixPre 3 II.
There was a bit of a price difference between them—the F6 was cheaper—and offered more simultaneous recording channels. But I ultimately made the decision to go with the Mixpre because I wanted longevity and a robust build—and go with a company that doesn’t make cheap anything. I went with a name trusted on film sets around the world. Sound Devices.
Sound Devices is a fantastic company that began in 1998– that’s Armeggedon and Blade ago.
It was started by three dudes who used to work at none other than Shure. That’s a cool factoid. And factoids are cool.
They started the company to manufacture high-end portable audio equipment for use with location sound for video and film.
They went on to win several awards—including many illustrious Cinema Audio Society’s Technical Achievement award—for quite a few of their product designs. The MixPre included.
In 2021 Sound Devices was acquired by the AudioTonnix Group, who also own some well known subsidiary companies such as
Allen & Heath
Solid State Logic
and recently, Slate Digital.
I think they’re aiming to be the Disney of high-end audio. They’ve almost got all the audio infinity stones. But Only half of us should be worried.
Sound Devices devices have been used on countless movies for both location sound, sound FX, and other audio goodies. I guess that’s what happens when an innovative company is left up to their own sound… devices?
So what’s all the fuss about the MixPre?
Many many fantastiballs things. Let’s begin with a rundown:
The MixPre 3 II has 3 channels of simultaneous recording that can be routed in every way imaginable—and it has 5 tracks. It records wav files from 44.1 kHz and all the way to 192khz. It records in 16, 24, and 32 bits.
Let’s touch on the wonderful thing that is known as 32 bit recording. What is that?
Well, it’s maximum dynamic range. That’s what.
When you have your recorder set to record in 32 bits, there is virtually no limit to how loud a sound is before it overloads. In other words, you don’t need a limiter… ever… for most applications. You will never peak out and cause distortion. The dynamic range is so vast that you can record a mouse fart an instant before or after a ton of fireworks going off—and you will be able to preserve the clean, unclipped, undistorted audio for both things. No digital distortion. No overloading. Just a clean sound that is easily recoverable in post. So essentially, you can set your recorder and forget it. No matter how loud the source is.
The dynamic range of the Mixpre 3 II in 32 bit mode is a whopping 1528dB.
Which brings me to another amazing feature. It has programmable analogue limiters, in case you want to stay recording in 24 bit and want a limiter. You would do this when recording sources that sound better with a limiter, like gun shots. Once again for those in the back… analogue limiters. Not digital ones.
The class A preamps in this thing are among the very best in the world. The high gain low noise MixPre preamps are called Kashmir and what a name for them. The best I’ve ever worked with. They’re very quiet and they give recordings that ultra-transparent rounded tone, you know what I mean? Silky smooth sound? Nope. Kashmir smooth sound. With a staggering 76 dB of clean gain and a noise level of -128 dB, there’s nothing you can’t do. It’ll push an SM7B easily, quietly, and without even cranking it.
The unit:
The Mixpre 3 II is a small field recorder. And gorgeous. The front face has three push-button dials representing the three channels. Those knobs have rings that light up when an audio source is present. Green is good and red is a warning. It also has lit up play, stop, and record buttons. On the right of the front is a fully daylight readable color LCD touch-screen display. That’s where your complex menu system is. The unit powers on and is ready to record in only 4 seconds. I love the touch screen. It’s very small but very responsive.
On the left side we have channels one and two locking XLR ins. These can of course be phantom powered and are fully RF-filtered. To the right of those we have a USB-A slot for many additional functions, the least of which is for automatic backup copying to an external thumb drive. I use the 128 GB Sandisk Ultrafit. It’s low profile and it easy to pop in and out to transfer recordings to my computer for editing. This port can also be assigned for other cool things like a digital audio out and other functions.
There’s also a USB-C port that will take power from a powerbank and also can be used to connect to your computer or phone or tablet and either dump recordings that way, or even use the Mixpre as an audio interface for your computer or phone or tablet or other computational devices. No, it cannot be connected directly to your brain stem.
Below the USB ports is the 3.5mm stereo out. This is super handy for when you want to send a stereo analog signal out for many uses, but can be used with wireless headphones etc. You know, giving the director his own untethered headphones. It can also be used as a timecode out. And other stuff. Just not human brain stuff.
On the left side of the unit, you’ve got your own 3.5mm stereo high-fidelity—and loud—headphone out. Beside that you’ve got another 3.5mm stereo auxiliary input. This can be used for many things, but as a field recordist, this is where you plug your set of Clippys or Usis that are terminated in a stereo 3.5mm plug.
It’s worth mentioning that with the current firmware at the time of this review, you cannot use the 3.5mm stereo in along with the three XLR ins for simultaneous 5 track recording. Though, as I understand it, this may possible in future firmware updates. I continue to wait in earnest for that day to come.
Beside the 3.5mm input is your third locking RF-shielded XLR input.
To the bottom left is the universal jog wheel selector. It can be assigned to control all kinds of things inside the recorder. It’s both a dial and a button.
To the right of the wheel is a micro HDMI TimeCode input. This can trigger the recorder when you hit record on some cameras.
The back of the MixPre is a plastic battery sled that can be removed. This is where you would put your 4 AA batteries to power the unit. I do NOT recommend you power the unit using AA batteries. They’ll last about 15 minutes. Seriously. There are other better power options—because this thing needs JUICE!
Behind the battery sled you’ll find your SD card slot. Some people do not like where the SD card is located but I have to say… I put a 128GB Sandisk Extreme Pro in there three years ago and have never once removed it. I use the USB backup thumb drive or just connect the USB-C to my Mac to dump.
You’ll also find a couple of tools that are magnetically attached. The Allen key can be used to push out and lock a 1/4 inch screw for mounting other attachments to this unit.
The Mixpre 3 II can be mounted on any mount that has the universal camera mount 1/4 inch thread.
It weighs about 480 grams without any batteries in—that’s just over a pound.
It measures almost 6 inches wide, about five inches deep from the protruding wings to the battery case, and 1.5 inches high.
I wanted to hear the difference in preamp noise between the MixPre and the Zoom H5 so I fashioned a dummy load XLR cable that will mimic a 150 ohm mic, like an SM7B, but without the mic diaphragm ALSO picking up noise. I matched the dB’s of gain on both units and recorded a bit. You can listen to the difference in the video version of this review here: Preamp Noise Test
By the way, if you want to know how to make XLR dummy loads to test your own preamps, or if you want to purchase them from me, buy them here: TPS Dummy Loads
The Price:
You can get your own Sound Devices MixPre 3 II for around $900 US—if you can find one. Is that a lot of money? Yes. It is. I don’t care who you are, almost $1000 is a lot. But is it worth it? Allow me to go on.
There are so many modes in this thing for recording, so many routing options, so many parameters that are fully customizable that once again, I urge you to go to Curtis Judd’s amazing channel to get the proper lowdown. Here’s a link to his fantastic MixPre Course: MixPre II Course
But once you set it up they way you want, you simply press the record button to start recording, and then push the stop button to stop. It has a pre-roll function that is always recording so that when you press record, it will automatically record a full 10 seconds before you pushed the button. That’s some serious time traveling. And in case you’re not aware… I’m something of an expert in time travel myself.
That’s me collecting sounds back in Victorian London. Sigh. Le good times.
The timecode generator is accurate up to half a frame every 24 hours. It can be triggered via a camera using the micro HDMI in. It also can be routed through the auxiliary 3.5mm input and out through the 3.5mm stereo out. The timecode can be set to
Free run
Time of day
Record run
Camera time code
And more.
With frame rates ranging from 23.98 through to 30 and everything in between.
The USB backup is so handy. After you’re done recording, it’ll quickly back up everything you’ve just recorded straight to the thumb drive for easy handoff. You, of course, still also have your recordings backed up on your SD card as well.
The maximum size of the SD card the Mixpre can take is 512 gigs. That’s almost 500 gigs more than the Zoom H5 can take. You’ll likely not run out of space-time.
When using the Mixpre as an audio interface, and on a Mac running Catalina or later, you can record entirely in 32 bits. That’s incredible.
Of course, you’ve got your standard low-cut filters, polarity invert, and panning functions. As well as a remix function so that you can remix a deliverable right on the Mixpre.
Right on the Mixpre!
You can also use the USB-A port to plug in an external MIDI controller like a Novation Launch Control and have finer control of the Mixpre with larger faders and other switches a knobs. It also fully supports a USB hub, so you can have multiple USB devices connected for all your needs at once.
As for power option, you can power it with the AA batteries for a minute, or you can power it with your computer or other device, or a USB power bank, Sony L-amount batteries (with an optional sled), or wall power.
I power mine with an Anker PowerCore+. That’ll power the Mixpre for like 30 hours or more. I don’t know. I’ve never tested it. But one time… at band camp… I didn’t charge the Powerbank for months and used it almost daily for this and that.
I’m happy to report that it also has Bluetooth. With the free Sound Devices Wingman app, you can do a lot more stuff remotely—including recording and metering and notes and reports.
I’d also like to mention that you can purchase additional plugins for the MixPre.
So far the current plugins are:
The Musician Plugin which converts your MixPre into a multitrack music recording station. Complete with a click track and all the other fun stuff.
The MixAssist plugin which automatically mixes your channels while you’re recording with several mics. Say, in a podcast setting with three mics on three people, when one person is speaking, it’ll automatically cut the other mics, and will mix automatically as you go. This is all non-committed and fully remix-able later.
And finally, the famous NoiseAssist plugin which intelligently removes background noise in real-time as you’re recording. So like the noise of a refrigerator or air conditioner. Or other unwanted noise. It’ll keep the focus on the dialogue and magically remove anything else. It’s a wonderful thing and I hope to do another video testing that out for you in the future. But the plugins are expensive. Like $300 US expensive. A mooka locka heekee.
As for how to carry it or where to mount it, I have three ways that I regularly protect and carry it. The first way is mounted on a tripod of some sort.
The second way I carry it is in this photographers backpack. I use this when I’m going out field recording ambiences in stereo and multiple types of recordings where I need to pack a ton of mics and accessories. The backpack holds all my different mics like the Clippys, basicUchos, ElektroUsis, Geofón, or JRF Contact mics, or potentially a couple of Line Audio CM4s and many more. It also holds my Manfrotto NanoPole stand and all my accessories.
The third way is in the Orca OR-270 mini audio bag. This is for when I need to be ultra mobile and am just rocking my Sennheiser 416 or Oktava MK-012 and recording sound FX or location sound booming or anything that I need to be ultra light and mobile for. I also use an Orca OR-280 sound bag for larger stuff.
But… back to the MixPre itself.
I could go on and on and on about the features and functions of this beautiful recorder but this review would never end. So let me just talk about my experiences with it and the bads and goods in the next segment. ForWARD!
Right then… analysis!
Let’s do the negative stuff first.
The learning curve was a bit steep—even for me who’s been pro in audio for 30 years. 300 years if you count all decades I’ve been in whilst time traveling.
There’s a lot to figure out. Even just headphone mixes need to be configured. You’ll spend some time learning this thing. But once you’ve learned how to use it and you’ve set your use scenarios up and made presets for each one—yes, you can do that too—then you’re off to the races. Taking Mr. Judd’s course, along with practice will make you a pro at this machine in very little time. So the learning curve is a negative, but only for neophyte users and only at the beginning. And only for half of you. And only when the blood moon rises on the seventh day.
I don’t like where the power switch is. When you have a USB-C plugged in, such as a power bank, it’s hard to get my finger in there to slide it on and off. That’s really no big deal though. First world problems. And really, there’s no danger of accidentally powering the unit off when using it.
Many people have a big problem with the AA battery power option. I do not. Those people will ask why Sound Devices even offer it as a power option when you can only run it for minutes. I’ll tell you why it’s there: it offers power switching with no dropouts. So, you can have your 4 AA batteries in the unit, then you’re using a power bank to power the unit. Maybe you forgot to charge your power bank and it’s about to die. But you have a backup power bank with you. You can swap out the old power bank with the new without so much as a hiccup or glitch. Seamless power switching. That’s why there’s the AA battery option.
There are literally no other negatives that I have found with this unit after five and 1000 days of use.
I’ve covered all the positives throughout this video so I’m not going to recap. But I will say a final word.
The sound quality is the best I’ve ever owned. The preamps and DA/AD converters are so kick-ass that I want to punch myself in the face. They’re far, far better preamps and converters than my Apollo Twin X which cost me 1500 doubloons.
It kicks the crap out every other recorder I have and have ever had. The only better Sound Devices recorder you can likely find will be a 633 or 833 or Scorpio. Even then, they preamps are incredibly comparable. Likely indiscernible. Fully inconceivable.
The plethora of functions on the Mixpre make this a no-brainer to purchase but as I asked earlier, is it worth $900 USD?
Yes. It’s so worth it. It may be the very last recorder you’ll ever buy. It’s that good.
Buy it right now!
I’d just like to take a moment to recognize how fortunate we are to be living in a time where technological marvels like this recorder are possible. Man, I remember a time then we recordists had to work on Nagra reel to reel recorders.
The Nagras were awesome and so innovative at the time and certainly paved the way for what recorders are now. Thanks Stefan Kudelski! (Inventor of the portable recorder).
We’re now spoiled rotten by living in the future.
But It's not about me. It's not about you, either. It's about legacy, the legacy left behind for future generations.
Bye now
END TRANSMISSION
