ProAudio Review - December 2008 - (Page 20)

www.proaudioreview.com Fast Facts Application Production audio, ENG, surround recording Key Features 10 record tracks; 8 mic-/line-selectable analog inputs (on XLR) and 8 digital inputs configured in four AES pairs; 48V phantom power, limiter and HPF on each analog input; 6 balanced analog outputs, 8 digital outputs in AES pairs plus two outs to 10-pin Hirose; configurable Output, Disk, and HP mix matrices; 16-/24-bit record at 44100, 47952, 48000, 48048, 88200, 96000, 96096, and 192 kHz; 12 - 18VDC 4-pin XLR or NP-1 powered. Price $7,995 Contact Zaxcom | 973.835.5000 | www.zaxcom.com Product Points Near-infinite mix, recorder, and cue matrixbased routing possibilities. Could be overkill for some ENG users, both in price and feature set Score Although costly, the Fusion truly has no equal in the ENG products marketplace. ital inputs configured in four AES pairs (on DB-15). Each of the analog inputs features selectable 48-volt phantom power, an analog limiter and an adjustable (30 to 240 Hz) high-pass filter. The Fusion’s 16 addressable outputs are comprised of six balanced analog outputs (on DB-25), eight digital outputs in AES pairs (DB-15), plus two analog sends to a camera via a 10pin Hirose camera cable connector that also provides a monosummed return from the camera’s headphone amp. There is also a headphone amplifier with standard 1/4-inch stereo output derived from user-configurable presets. The Fusion records 16- or 24-bit audio at sample rates of 44100, 47952, 48000, 48048, 88200, 96000, 96096, and 192 kHz, and is capable of on-the-fly sample rate conversion of incoming digital sources up to 192 kHz. Power is supplied to the unit via a standard 4-pin XLR that accepts between 12 and 18VDC (100-240VAC transformer included); alternatively, a standard rechargeable NP-1 battery can be inserted into the internal compartment to power the unit when on the go. In Use Let me state right off the bat that the Zaxcom Fusion is one fabulous, nearly all-powerful marvel of portable mix-and-record engineering. The wisdom and experience of 12 years of Deva development Zaxcom has imparted to the Fusion is undeniable, from its highly tactile hardware faders to its touch screen interface and near-infinite mix, recorder, and cue matrixbased 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 running mixing four sources (three Sony 88s and a Sennheiser boom) to two camera tracks while simultaneously routing the mics to four discrete internal tracks and dialing up a live-L, camera return-R phones mix without cracking the manual. amount of mixing and routing power under the hood, which we’ll look at more in-depth in the In Use section below. To summarize here, the Fusion features 16 inputs, eight output busses, 16 outputs and up to 10 recording tracks. Its 16 inputs are comprised of eight mic-/line-selectable analog inputs (on XLR) that utilize the same low-noise transformerless mic preamps found on the Deva 16, and eight dig- 20 ProAudioReview | December 2008 http://www.proaudioreview.com http://www.zaxcom.com http://www.thatcorp.com http://www.thatcorp.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - December 2008

ProAudio Review - December 2008 Contents Technically Speaking New Studio Products Opinion: Mastering Matters Review: BIAS Peak Pro XT 6 Review: Zaxcom Fusion ENG Mixer and Multitrack Recorder Review: Sound Devices 788T 8-Track Digital Audio Recorder Review: Universal Audio UAD-2 Solo DSP Accelerator Review: Chandler Limited Germanium Compressor Review: RME ADI-8 QS A/D-D/A Converter Feature: Converters and Clocks: Engineers on Their Choices New Live Products Opinion: From the Road Review: Yamaha IM8 Series Mixing Consoles Review: NTI Digirator DR2 Digital Audio Signal Generator Review: Sencore SoundPro SP495 Audio Consultant Test Set Single Slice

ProAudio Review - December 2008

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