Nagra VI recorder Issue 65
Contents
1. NAGRA VI While pondering the meaning of VI Greg Simmons checks out the new Nagra six track location recorder and discovers that size does matter Text Greg Simmons AT 90 Ah the relentless march of technology In issue 27 of AudioTechnology circa 2003 I reviewed this machine s highly capable predecessor the Nagra V It offered two mic inputs two recording tracks and a ruggedised 40GB removable hard drive all packaged in a sculpted aluminium enclosure for around 12k AUD Adding the optional limiters SMPTE timecode and 24 bit 96k capability pushed that price up to over 15k AUD Nonetheless I saw my entire future within its single modulometer and promptly sold my mother on eBay The Nagra V has been a steadfast and reliable travelling companion ever since My bedroom is a mess but it was a fair trade Five years later the Nagra VI arrives for review In comparison to its predecessor the Nagra VI offers twice as many mic inputs three times as many recording tracks three times as much storage capacity limiters SMPTE timecode 24 bit 96k capability and more all inclusive for less than the entry level price of the Nagra V it now replaces As a Nagra V owner it s hard not to feel a little disenfranchised OUT OF THE BOX The first things that caught my attention after unpacking the Nagra VI were its larger than expected footprint and its lighter than expected weight in fact without the battery pack it fee2. A D 6 are oe oe 5 F Z IC une INPUTS A __ RIGHT MADE IM SWITZERLAND LINE OUT C 3 NAGRAVISION S A CH 1033 CHESEAUX FLOATING 4 4 V 66 Contrary to assurances from my sex therapist size does matter when it comes to ergonomics 99 Rear panel connectivity is comprehensive and of a high quality Both digital and analogue varieties abound AT 91 AT 92 08 12 38 b PLAY 001 00 00 06 Timecode 60 80 66 68 08 06 00 A0 Rec 24 48k 4ch mono converter to have a balanced input circuit That s two considerable chunks of circuitry removed from the signal path Secondly the microphone preamp only needs to supply enough gain to feed the input of the A D converter rather than having to reach the industry standard nominal operating level of 4dBu for interfacing with other devices less gain usually means less noise less degradation and more headroom Furthermore because it s battery powered there are no mains power supply problems to contend with such as hum and transformer isolation The result is a highly evolved recording device that produces clear clean and detailed recordings without sounding etched cold or clinical There is no hint of the glare associated with less than optimum A D conversion which suggests very good internal clocking and there is a subtle hint of the liquid warmth I ve learnt to associate with all signal paths that offer sonic purity from A to D If you g
3. Compact Flash card ready to pop out and hand over immediately Being fully equipped for film work means it can easily tackle less demanding tasks such as recording in concert halls and churches capturing atmos and ambience and making field recordings of ethnic music nature sounds and similar Fundamental to all of these applications is a good analogue input stage mic line preamplifier and A D converter and this is one aspect that really sets the Nagra VI apart Inputs one to four can be switched between mic or line signals while inputs five and six offer line or AES The levels for a line input are adjusted via the menu system with a range of 30dB adjustable in 3dB steps from 24dBm to 6dBm Nothing particularly special there but line inputs don t require anything particularly special The mic preamps however are a different story MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFICATION In addition to high pass filters phantom power and polarity inversion each preamp offers two input circuits one is optimised for condenser mics and provides an electronically balanced input with 12 sensitivity options from 4mV Pa to 50mV Pa the other is optimised for dynamic mics and provides a transformer balanced input with seven sensitivity options from 0 8mV Pa to 3mV Pa Phantom power is available on both input circuits so it s possible to choose the one that provides the best results People recording nature sounds and similar low level signals will appreciat
4. its supplied carry bag initially chasing ducks and cyclists around Centennial Park then crab walking alongside World Youth Day pilgrims as they sang and clapped their way to Randwick Racecourse Thanks to its light weight and large footprint the Nagra VI hung comfortably around my neck and rested agreeably against my stomach with all controls in convenient reach There were no problems reading the display in daylight thanks to its numerous colour and intensity options and the headphone amplifier easily drove my ATH M50s to good clean levels above the background noise No complaints at all BENEFITS OF INTEGRATION All of the above recordings were made with the same DPA and Schoeps microphones that I regularly use thereby providing a familiar reference for myself while also pairing the Nagra VI with the calibre of microphones it s likely to be used with Based on the results I have to rank the Nagra VI among the very best sounding recording devices commercially available portable or not That might seem like a big call but it s not surprising considering the inherent advantages an integrated and portable machine has to offer Because it s a closed box the output of the mic preamp feeds directly into the A D converter This alone has two major advantages over separate components Firstly there s no need for the mic preamp to have a balanced output circuit to interface with external devices likewise there is no need for the
5. d feels a bit different but it thinks the same and sounds even better The relentless march of technology indeed The display is easy to read in daylight thanks to its numerous colour and intensity options NEED TO KNOW Price 58690 Contact Broadcast Workshop 03 9329 7655 info broadcastworkshop com www broadcastworkshop com Pros Excellent ergonomics High quality sound Versatile microphone inputs Light weight relative to size Some users will appreciate the large footprint Cons Some users won t appreciate the large footprint Summary A highly evolved versatile and sonically excellent location recorder that is precisely the size it needs to be Nagra s decision to embrace new materials and technologies works wonders for the price performance ratio Further information An introduction to the Nagra VI can be found here http tinyurl com NVlintro The Nagra VI s user manuals can be downloaded from here http tinyurl com NVImanual In depth user reviews can be found here http tinyurl com NVIreviewl http tinyurl com NVIreview2
6. e being able to minimise noise by using their condenser mics with the highly sensitive transformer inputs while those using dynamic mics to capture high level signals will appreciate the additional headroom offered by the less sensitive electronically balanced inputs Furthermore the choice of input circuit may be dictated by aesthetic reasons e g adding the subtle thickness of a transformer to the sound of a condenser mic Whenever one of the mic gain knobs is turned a horizontal fuel gauge appears momentarily on the display showing not only the amount of gain in use but also the SPL that would be at the microphone capsule if the signal level reached OdB FS this value will be accurate if the preamp s sensitivity has been set to match the sensitivity of the mic being used For example if the gain was set to 109dB SPL and the metered level was 6dB the SPL at the microphone capsule would be 109 6dB or 103dB The Nagra VTs predecessor offered a similar SPL metering function and despite seeming trivial at first I learnt to appreciate its value over time It doesn t take long to get a feel for the right gain setting by simply listening to the sound level at the microphone during set up Regardless of the microphone in use if the sensitivities are matched you ll instinctively know how much gain to use by reading the SPL value a great bonus when a sound check is not possible This is far more helpful and intuitive than p
7. ive it a musical signal it will give you a musical recording What more could you ask for NOTHING TO NAG ABOUT The Nagra VI is a sonic and ergonomic joy to use and thanks in part to that large display the menu based user interface is easy to read and very intuitive ah so that s what VT stands for It represents the culmination of nearly six decades of experience in making location recorders and it shows I cannot find any justifiable cause for criticism Compared to its predecessor it is considerably more versatile easier to use lighter and sonically superior Film sound recordists in particular will find its large footprint allows it to sit confidently in the trolley while its light weight makes over the shoulder operation easy It could also serve double duty in a recording studio providing an excellent set of mic pres into a DAW via AES I admire Nagras decision to ignore marketing trends and focus entirely on ergonomics and sound quality when designing the Nagra VI They have even shunned their own trends moving away from the aluminium front panels the aluminium chicken head knobs and the circular electromechanical meters that characterised the classic Nagra look and feel in favour of a plastic composite front panel rubberised knobs and bargraph metering Despite these cosmetic changes which have no doubt brought the cost and weight down the Nagra VI remains a Nagra through and through it looks an
8. ls like an empty enclosure Surely it doesn t need to be so big Contrary to assurances from my sex therapist size does matter when it comes to ergonomics Ergo in addition to accommodating a truly informative colour display the Nagra VT size allows all the important controls to be easily accessed on the front panel There are normal sized rotary gain knobs that you can actually grip and turn pushbuttons with sufficient spacing between them to allow fast and confident adjustments toggle switches that can be flipped with the tip of a finger rather than the tip of a pen the time honoured Nagra rotary transport control that makes switching between modes as instinctive as changing gears in a car and a thoughtfully sculpted front panel that allows your fingers to quickly find their way from one control to another without looking Likewise the side panels are large enough to accommodate industry standard connectors for all inputs and outputs rather than cramming a cluster of tiny oddball connectors into a few square centimetres of precious panel space In an age of gratuitous miniaturisation it s refreshing to see a manufacturer put ergonomics and practical interfacing ahead of cuteness appeal SO WHAT IS IT Pll spare you a blow by blow rundown of the Nagra VI s extensive features and functions because I have no desire to re write the user manual That kind of information is readily available online see Further informatio
9. n and no one contemplating purchasing such a device should do so on the strength of a single review anyway Instead I m focusing on the Nagra VI s sonic and operational qualities from the perspective of an engineer who regularly uses such a product The Nagra VI is a six track location recorder with four mic line inputs two line inputs that also serve as AES inputs an internal four in two out mixer with fader and continuously variable pan controls comprehensive SMPTE timecode capabilities a built in slate microphone cleverly hidden and protected behind the rotary transport control when not in use external 12V DC powering via industry standard four pin XLR extensive metadata editing capabilities high speed USB 2 0 ports a Compact Flash card slot and a versatile monitoring section featuring two MS decoders an internal speaker and two headphone sockets Combine all of this with a thoughtfully designed menu system and straightforward navigation controls and you get the idea The four mic line inputs are permanently routed to tracks one to four Tracks five and six can be fed from the analogue line inputs the digital AES inputs or a stereo mix of the four mic line inputs via the internal mixer The latter option is of particular interest to those who have to provide a stereo mix of the production location audio at the end of each day s shooting it s worth noting that this mix can also be routed directly to the removable
10. reamps that use an arbitrary numbered scale and combined with the choice of electronic or transformer balanced input circuits reflects the degree of thought that Nagra has put into the design of this product DC INPUT 9 16V amp Fi DC OUTPUT 12V max 1A ofo Oooo CF activity COMPACT FLASH fae y START D7 stop NAU TIME CODE MIC T a C MIC INPUTS Q IN USE You can t judge gear properly until you ve put it to work in real world situations where the pressure is on to deliver Live music concerts are good tests because they dont offer any second chances I was fortunate to have the review unit for one month during which time I used it to record four performances of Gregorian chant at St Augustine s church in Balmain a performance by local chamber choir Coro Innominata accompanied by pipe organ violin and French horn at St Scholastica church in Glebe and a performance by Austria s Eggner Trio piano violin cello at City Recital Hall The Nagra VI performed without a hiccup Furthermore in each of these recordings I was working alongside other engineers and the Nagra VTs headphone amplifier with two sockets happily drove two pairs of 38Q Audio Technica ATH M50 headphones with no sign of strain The true test of a location recorder is how well it allows you to make recordings on the move So I spent half a day on foot catching sounds outdoors with the Nagra VI slung over my shoulder in
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