AudioMedia - January 2009 - (Page 44)

SADIE LRX2 Multi-Channel Location Recording Interface SIMON BISHOP finds the reasons for buying a new SADiE are equally valid now as they were almost 20 years ago. lmost twenty years ago, I saw a SADiE for the first time at (I think it was) the APRS show in London. I wanted one there and then – it was one of the first pieces of audio gear where on sight I had an overwhelming feeling of, ‘I MUST have one of those’. It took me a while to convince myself that my trumped up reasons for buying one were valid, but the urge grew stronger and more irresistible so in the end, after a busy patch of work, I bought one. Now, why on earth could a location sound recordist, working mainly on documentaries, have need of a studio-based DAW system? At that time I was working regularly doing playback for numerous pop promos, many of which required off speed playback tapes or DATs made, and I had just the machine with which to do it. This was, of course, possibly the most extravagant method of making playback tapes, but of course once I had the SADiE (Classic) system set up in my spare bedroom, I found more and more uses for it, and gradually I learned to edit, track lay, and mix within the SADiE software of the time. Truth is that I just loved the endless possibilities to tinker with audio that the SADiE provided, and to this day I usually have more than a couple of outstanding projects on the go that are nothing to do with work or making a living, but are everything to do with audio. A few years back I was shown a very early prototype of a ‘location version’ of a SADiE. It was about the size of a paperback book, had no mic inputs, and hopefully would record (up to) six tracks. This prospect filled me with glee. At some point it was revealed that in fact it might work as an eight-track recorder, so it became the LR , and then it became the LR project, and finally, LRX worked up to about tracks, but was a bit short on DSP, so was rapidly replaced by the LRX , which had loads more DSP, and could be configured to run up to tracks. Though I had by then bought an LRX for myself, it was almost immediately upgraded to an LRX . So – what’s it all about? I shall try to explain: The LRX base unit can only be described as compact. A “Truth is that I just loved the endless possibilities to tinker with audio that the SADiE provided, and to this day I usually have more than a couple of outstanding projects on the go that are nothing to do with work or making a living, but are everything to do with audio.” THE REVIEWER SIMON BISHOP is an experienced film/TV location recordist with a string of notable credits to his name. It measures x x cm (depth/width/height, which is x x . inches) and weighs in at under kg with one slither card fitted (more of slithers later). The front half of the top panel is set up as a control surface, with faders and buttons, and the rear part of the top surface is flat, and conveniently sized to stand a laptop of your choice onto. This laptop will run the SADiE software, without which the LRX can’t operate. Pluggery all occurs on the back panel, other than the headphone socket, which is on the very front vertical, with its volume knob. I should probably mention at this point the slither card business that goes on around the back, as these are really the key to the flexibility of the LRX . On the rear panel there are three SADiE slither card slots, which accept a variety of input or output cards. Generally each slither card is channels worth of something (such as analogue ins, or AES I/O) so by fitting three cards the LRX can become a -track recorder. The MADI card breaks all of the rules and copes with ins and outs ( in MADI-X mode), so, on its own or combined with other input cards, can create a -channel recorder. For location work this flexibility is most excellent, as an LRX can be configured to work with analogue or digital audio feeds that might be derived from all sorts of sources. Permanent rear connections are provided for power (XLR M, v dc), LTC I/O (XLR F and M), AES Ref in (XLR F), Video Ref in (BNC), monitor L & R outputs (phono sockets), USB , and a male -pin D connector for GPI. There is a . mm jack socket on the right, into which can be plugged a microphone that can be used as a slate mic. The slither cards (other than the MADI) use -pin D connectors for I/O. The analogue cards use DA pin outs, so old Tascam style cables are compatible with them. There are two D connectors on each slither card, so channels - are on one, and channels - on the other. The MADI card has a pair each of both BNC and optical connectors. Slither cards are fitted, removed, 44 AUDIO MEDIA JANUARY 2009

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AudioMedia - January 2009 Contents Recording News Post News Broadcast News Geo Focus: India What's Up UK? Special Report: Pimp My Ride AKG C214 Sony Acid Pro 7.0 Final Cut: Mirror's Edge Opportunities in the Reality World She's Got the Look The X-Factor Sadie LRX2 Source Elements Source-Connect 3.1 Buying a Recorder In Control Product Sampler: Trade Shows Video Guide AMSR News Digico SD8 The Last Picture Show File Server

AudioMedia - January 2009

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