These very compact, file-based recorders, are designed for professional location work. They record mono or stereo audio from analogue microphone or line inputs and AES digital inputs as WAV, MP2 or MP3 files on either a removable compact flash card or an internal or external drive, depending on model. File transfer to a computer may be achieved via FireWire or removable Compact Flash card. Comprehensive analogue and digital connectivity is provided. Resolutions up to 24-bit at 192kHz sample rate are supported. One model supports time-code.
Recording media may be any combination of the 160GB internal hard drive, a removable compact flash card or an external hard, or DVD-RAM drive connected via IEEE-1394 FireWire. Inputs may be microphone or line-level analogue, or AES3 digital; an external word clock input allows synchronisation of digital inputs with an external clock source. The analogue inputs have 48 volt phantom power, analogue limiters and hi-pass filters at 40, 80, 160 or 240Hz with 12, 18 or 24dB/octave slopes; all functions are switchable. A matrix allows mono mixes of multiple inputs to be recorded as mono files as well as the normal stereo mode. Headphone monitoring options include mono or stereo modes, input/track selection, and MS decoding. Available recording formats are mono or poly 16 or 24-bit WAV files at all standard sample frequencies up to 192kHz, and MP2 or MP3 files at various bit rates up to 320kbps. The 722 incorporates comprehensive file-management, organised to suit the daily requirements of the professional field recordist; filenames may include user-defined scene and take strings, and each take is time-stamped. The FireWire port allows rapid file transfer to a computer (PC or Mac) or DAW. Multiple 722s can be slaved together using the 'C-Link' buss, which distributes transport control and word clock. The power source is either a standard Li-on camcorder battery or external DC; the battery is charged while the unit is operating on external power.
On the front panel there are individual transport control keys for record, play, pause, stop, fast forward and reverse, plus further keys for power on/off, input select/mute, line-up oscillator on/off, LCD backlight on/off and entry to the menu system. An 'HDD' key opens the file management system. All menu-controlled functions are accessed using the multi-function LCD display, which also shows take and time-of-day times, scene and take information, and confirmations of various other settings. Input gain control is via two rotary controls; a menu option disables these and sets the gain at a user-selectable value. Recording-level monitoring is by two 19-segment, three-colour LED bargraph meters. Other per-input LEDs indicate valid digital inputs, input peak level, input signal presence, microphone limiter action, channel 1/2 stereo linking, phantom power and active hi-pass filter. Recording media status and activity are indicated by yellow and green LEDs respectively for each media type. There are further LEDs indicating microphone limiter in/out, headphone limiter action, record mode, matrix input/track routing, charger status and power on/off.
The left-hand side panel has two XLRs for analogue inputs; input two doubles as the AES3 input. Left and right outputs are available in balanced form on two TA3 connectors (mini-XLRs), and unbalanced on a 3.5mm 3-pole jack socket. Stereo headphone output, with adjacent rotary level control, is also on a 3-pole 3.5mm jack socket. Slide switches select input one to microphone or line and input two to mic, line or AES3.
The right-hand side panel is fitted with two BNC sockets for external word clock input and loop-through, two further BNC sockets for AES3id input and output (the input is an alternative to AES3 via XLR), a 4-pin Hirose connector for external DC power and the FireWire port for connection to an external recording drive or computer/DAW for file transfer. There are also two RJ12 sockets for synchronising additional recorders via C-Link. A rotary control is used for item selection in the setup menus.
The Compact Flash card slot is on the rear panel, together with access to the battery compartment and a Kensington-compatible security locking point.
Internal hard drive: 160GB (FAT32).
Removable media: Compact Flash (Types I and II), MicroDrive.
File formats: WAV, mono or poly 16 or 24-bit at ten sample frequencies from 32kHz to 192kHz; MP3, mono or stereo at eight bit-rates from 32kb/s to 320kb/s; MP2, mono or stereo at five bit-rates from 64kb/s to 192kb/s.
Recording time with 1GB CF card: 1h 39m (WAV file, fs=44.1kHz, 16-bit, stereo); 15m (WAV file, fs=192kHz, 24-bit, stereo).
External wordclock range: 32 to 192kHz.
Pre-record buffer: 10 seconds (at fs=48kHz).
Data output: FireWire, IEEE-1394a compliant, compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Mac OS-X.
Microphone input: 24 to 67dB gain range, -5dBu maximum input level (normal gain mode), 7500 ohms, balanced. Line input: -6 to -18dB gain range, +26dBu maximum input level, 20000 ohms, balanced. Digital input: AES3, 110 ohms. Line outputs: +20dBu maximum, 10000 ohms load, balanced. Response: 10Hz to 40kHz +0.1/-0.5dB, fs=96kHz, 24-bit. Distortion: 0.004% THD + Noise, analogue inputs, 1kHz, 22Hz to 22kHz. Battery: Removable 7.2V Li-on, compatible with Sony M or L-type. External power: 10 to 18V DC, 1A minimum. Operating temperature: 5-55 degrees C. Dimensions: 239 x 125 x 45 (w x d x h)mm. Weight: 1.2 kg (without batteries).
Included accessories: AC Power Supply (100 to 240V), 4600mAh rechargeable Li-on battery, headphone adaptor cable, RJ12 C-Link cable, padded bag, FireWire power conditioner (XL-1394). Recording media is NOT included.
Optional accessories: Compact Flash cards or Microdrives, external hard drive, XL-DVDRAM external DVD-RAM drive, XL-LCD lexan LCD covers, CL-1 remote control and keyboard interface, CS-3 and CS-MAN storage and carrying cases, XL-B2 spare Li-on battery. For cable sets and other accessories, please see Sound Devices Accessories.
The appearance, feature set, controls, connectivity and specification of the 702 are similar to those of the 722, with the exception that the 702 records to removable Compact Flash card or an external drive only, having no internal hard drive.
The 702T additionally incorporates timecode circuitry developed by Ambient Recording GmbH, and will time-stamp files with incoming timecode and synchronise to timecode on playback; all standard frame rates (including drop and pull up/down) are supported. Recorded files are BWF-compatible.