AudioMedia - December 2008 - (Page 56) It’s in the bag – Zaxcom’s portable mixer, IFB, and multi-track machine, says STEVE MURPHY. echnological innovation in the visual production circuit has been fast and furious in the last several years. As exemplified in the blurring – if not erased – line between film and HD video acquisition, the production scene has become a welcomed adopter of an across-theboard range of new technologies, including a bevy of hightech, on-the-set audio tools. So… has the ENG market kept pace with its production brethren? As John Stewart says, “not so much.” In a land oft ruled by fossilised dino-mixers that can be carbondated back to the early s, evolution in audio tools T upgradeable to six or eight tracks. Its inputs are comprised of eight mic-/line-selectable analogue inputs (on XLR) that utilise the same low-noise transformerless mic preamps found on the Deva , and eight digital inputs configured in four AES pairs (on DB- ). Each of the analogue inputs features selectable -volt phantom power, an analogue limiter and an adjustable ( to Hz) high-pass filter. The Fusion’s addressable outputs are comprised of six balanced analogue outputs (on DB- ), eight digital outputs in AES pairs (DB- ), plus two analogue sends to ZAXCOM FUSION ENG Mixer & Multi-Track Recorder (and attitudes) moves at a glacial pace. It is this general market – reality shows, news-gathering, independents, and other field-production work – that Zaxcom ambitiously targets with its Fusion production mixer/ multi-track Flash recorder. THE REVIEWER PAR Studio Editor STEPHEN MURPHY has over 25 years of professional recording studio, production audio, and postproduction/broadcast mixing experience. He can be reached at www.smurphco.com The Fusion is the latest in Zaxcom’s successful Deva multitrack hard-disk recorder line. As its name implies, the Fusion combines a number of mixing, recording, and cue functions into a fairly lightweight, highly portable package. While the other Deva units are more commonly found on audio carts in full productions, the Fusion’s mirrored Compact Flash recording system eliminates the weight, moving parts, and power consumption of hard disks, positioning it well for typical PortaBrace run-and-gun work. The Fusion measures . x . x . inches, and weighs in at lbs (without battery). All controls and indicators are found on its well laid-out front (or, when in a bag, top) panel, the only exception being its power switch, which is nicely tucked away on the left panel. Front-panel controls include generously large transport buttons, a number/ cursor-control pad, and a set of eight dual-layer function buttons – all brightly back-lit. Also on the front is a set of eight user-assignable rotary faders, a built-in mic for use with the dedicated slate button, and the all-important x . -inch full-color touch screen that serves as the main user interface for settings and metering. Without venturing into overstatement, the Fusion has an immense amount of mixing and routing power under the hood, which we’ll look at more in-depth in the section below. To summarise here, the Fusion features inputs, eight output busses, outputs and up to eight recording tracks – four tracks are standard, and the unit is optionally Features a camera via a -pin Hirose camera cable connector that also provides a mono-summed return from the camera’s headphone amp. There is also a headphone amplifier with standard / -inch stereo output derived from userconfigurable presets. The Fusion records - or -bit audio at sample rates of , , , , , , , and kHz, and is capable of on-the-fly sample rate conversion of incoming digital sources up to kHz. Power is supplied to the unit via a standard -pin XLR that accepts between and VDC ( VAC transformer included); alternatively, a standard rechargeable NPbattery can be inserted into the internal compartment power the unit when on the go. Let me state right off the bat that the Zaxcom Fusion is one fabulous, nearly all-powerful marvel of portable mixand-record engineering. The wisdom and experience that years of Deva development Zaxcom has imparted unto the Fusion is undeniable, from its highly tactile hardware faders, to its touch screen interface and near-infinite mix, recorder, and cue matrix-based routing possibilities. It is a complex beast, to be sure, but that is because the Fusion leaves nary a stone unturned when it comes to the potential production demands it is capable of meeting. Despite the wealth of features, I found most of what I needed to be up and mixing four sources (three Sony s and a Sennheiser boom) to two camera tracks, and simultaneously routed the mics to four discrete internal tracks and dialed up a live-L, camera return-R phones mix without cracking the manual. Setting up the Fusion’s user presets for my typical output mix, disk mix (record), and cue mix routing requirements was the obvious next step. I n Use > 56 AUDIO MEDIA DECEMBER 2008 http://www.smurphco.com
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