SONONEWS December 2018

Message from the President

2018 was a fully loaded year for the SONOSAX team, and I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely and warmly thank then for their remarkable achievements. My thoughts and gratitude also go to our loyal clients who, through their comments and advice, have incessantly helped us to evolve and improve.

This past year saw several milestones: new developments, updates, refinement and improvement of current products. All of these bear witness to the quality of our products and the loyalty of our their users, as evidenced by revisions of several SONOSAX machines (some of which are over 20 years old).

Although market demand was slightly lower in 2018, we were pleased to note that our analog/digital mixing consoles of the SX-ST and SX-ES series still occupy an important role in the majority of large private film productions. Our thanks and congratulations to all sound engineers who rely on our consoles.

This year we were pleased to welcome new clients, particularly in the field of classical music and video game sound recording. Constantly in search of excellence, these video game companies have enabled us to discover new methods and techniques to record novel sounds.

Taking into account the developments and events of 2018, we look forward to a new year and promising year for SONOSAX, with new products and options which we are happy to announce:

  • SX-R4+
    The 4-channel on one connector option is now available in Ambeo Sennheiser and Schoeps format
  • ADN-2A
    Probably the most compact speaker on the market today, with a 40-22kHz (-6db) frequency response, which is now available in 12-24 VDC version, making it the ideal choice for perfect integration in OB vans/campers of mobile studios or even in boats
  • Dante option card
    Currently in development; as previously informed, we are unable to forecast delivery dates as we are still improving the aspects of consumption and portability
  • SX-M2D2
    Impatiently awaited, this new compact pre-amplifier is now in the final stages of development. Delivery date and price will be announced in early 2019
  • SX-LC8+ (control surface for the SX-R4 and the SX-AD8+)
    After consideration of and hesitation on several possibilities, we finally opted for a minimalist, light and optimal solution. Thanks to the innovative ideas of our engineers, it will now be possible to couple 2 control surfaces. The latence of the system is approximately 20ms, latence that is inaudible and exempt of zipper noise. Delivery date and price will be announced in early 2019.

With much satisfaction and gratitude we shall close the exciting and prosperous year that 2018 has been for SONOSAX. I wish all of your a very happy holiday season and extend my very best wishes for 2019, a new year which we shall write together.

Jacques Sax


Message du Président

L’année 2018 a été très chargée pour toute l’équipe SONOSAX et je profite de cette fin d’année pour la remercier chaleureusement du travail remarquable qu’elle a accompli. Mes pensées vont aussi vers nos fidèles clients qui, par leurs conseils et remarques, nous aident à évoluer sans cesse.

Cette année aura été marquée par plusieurs nouveaux développements, des mises au point, des affinages de produits existants et également, fait remarquable qui témoigne bien de la qualité de nos appareils et de la fidélité de nos clients, par de nombreuses révisions d’appareils SONOSAX parfois âgés de plus de 20 ans.

Malgré une demande plus faible, nous nous réjouissons toujours de constater que nos tables de mixages analogique/numérique des séries SX-ST et SX-ES continuent leur chemin au sein de la majorité des grandes productions privées. Nos remerciements et félicitations vont à tous les ingénieurs du son qui utilisent ces appareils.

Cette année, nous avons aussi pu compter sur l’arrivée de nouveaux clients, notamment dans la prise de son de musique classique et de jeux vidéo. Toujours à la recherche de l’excellence, ces compagnies produisant des jeux vidéo nous ont permis de découvrir de nouvelles manières d’enregistrer des sons.

C’est compte tenu de tous ces événements que la nouvelle année s’annonce excellente pour SONOSAX, avec la sortie de nouvelles options et nouveautés au sujet desquelles vous trouverez ci-dessous quelques précisions:

  • SX-R4+
    L’option 4 canaux sur un connecteur est désormais disponible au format Ambeo Sennheiser et Schoeps
  • ADN-2A
    Probablement l’enceinte la plus compacte du marché permettant de descendre à 40Hz (-6dB) et qui existe désormais en version 12-24 VDC, soit l’idéal pour une intégration parfaite dans des OB vans/campers, des studios très mobiles ou encore dans des bateaux
  • Carte option Dante
    Nous y travaillons mais comme nous l’avions exprimé antérieurement, nous ne pouvons pas encore donner de délais, ceci étant dû à la consommation et à l’encombrement
  • SX-M2D2
    Très attendu, ce nouveau pré-amplificateur compact arrive en fin de développement. Une date exacte de livraison ainsi qu’un prix seront communiqués au début de l’année
  • SX-LC8+ (surface de contrôle pour le SX-R4 et le SX-AD8+)
    Après de nombreuses hésitations, nous avons finalement opté pour une solution minimaliste, légère et optimisée. Il sera possible de coupler deux surfaces de contrôle grâce aux bonnes idées de nos ingénieurs. La latence du système est d’environ 20ms, soit une latence tout à fait imperceptible et exempte de zipper noise. Une date exacte de livraison ainsi qu’un prix seront communiqués au début de l’année

C’est donc avec beaucoup de satisfaction que va se clore cette belle et fructueuse année 2018 pour SONOSAX. Je vous souhaite à toutes et à tous de joyeuses fêtes et vous adresse mes meilleurs vœux pour cette nouvelle année 2019 que nous écrirons ensemble.

Jacques Sax

SONONEWS September 2018

SX-M2D2 Product Announcement

The SX-M2D2 is a lightweight 2 channels high resolution dual-domain microphones preamplifier with integrated USB audio Class 2. Compact, low power, battery powered, the SX-M2D2 embeds similar high performance dual A/D converters than the SX-R4+. This product is the ideal companion for various mobile environments. Its ergonomic has been carefully designed for convenience and easy of operation.

Inputs / Outputs

  • 2x mic/line inputs on TA3, electronically balanced, with phase reversal, 48V phantom, LF cut and level control on the front panel
  • 1x AES3/AES42 on TA3, transformer balanced input with phase reversal, 48V phantom, LF cut and level control on the front panel
  • 1x line output on TA3, 2 channels analog unbalanced
  • 1x AES3 output on TA3, 2 channels transformer balanced with ASRC (48/96/192k)
  • 1x USB audio 2 channels input/output on micro USB type B connector
  • independent line/headphones stereo output on mini-jack

Performance

  • 135 dB (A-weighted) overall dynamic range
  • THD < 0.001%
  • 90 kHz overall frequency response @192kHz
  • 24-bit 48/96/192kHz

Powering

  • external DC 9-18V on Hirose 4-pin
  • external DC 5V on micro USB
  • removable lithium-ion battery, charged with external DC input
  • intelligent energy management

User interface

  • 128×64 monochrome OLED display
  • two rotary encoder for gain control
  • intuitive menu navigation

Mechanical

  • Machined aluminum housing
  • overall dimension: 74 x 28 x 130 mm (2.9’’ x 1.1’’ x 5.1’’)
  • weight 300g (0.44lbs) with battery
  • mounting holes on both sides
  • optional mounting bracket for still camera

Note: preliminary specifications, subject to change without notice


SONOSAX at the IBC show

The next IBC show will take place in Amsterdam, September 14th to 18th. SONOSAX will be there are co-exhibitor on stand E96, Hall 8 with Merging Technologies and PSI Audio. Most of the SONOSAX product range will be presented.

You are more than welcome to visit us!

 


Meet Ed Novick


We had the pleasure to welcome Ed Novick here at our SONOSAX company in Switzerland the other day.

Ed lives in Los Angeles, and has been doing motion picture sound for 37 years. He has been nominated 13 times for his work, and has won 6 awards including an Oscar and a BAFTA.

Ed has been a loyal customer for nearly as long as we’ve been in business, and may, in fact, be our longest continuous customer.

Read the full article


SX-R4+ firmware 3.4 released

The lasted firmware introduces a new functionality when operating with the SX-RC8+: all AES input gains can be controlled with the SX-RC8+.In addition, the input menu solo mode has been enhanced: you can solo each channel separately using the rotary encoder push button. There are also some bug fixes, check out the full changelog on the SX-R4+ product page (firmware tab).


Upcoming products

We are aware you are waiting two products:

  • A Dante option board for both SX-R4+ and SX-AD8+
  • A control surface for the SX-R4+

Both products are still under development and will be announced once available. Thanks for your patience!

SONONEWS December 2017

Swedish video game developer EA DICE adopts the new SONOSAX SX-R4+ recorder as the cornerstone of their game audio recording and development

 

An interview with DICE’s Senior Audio Director Ben Minto

 

 

Originally founded by four friends, DICE (formerly Digital Illusions) released their first title, Pinball Dreams for the Amiga, back in 1992.
25 years later, with more than 300 employees based in Stockholm, and as one of around 20 EA (Electronic Arts) teams across the world, DICE is a thriving and ground breaking studio, at the cutting edge of game development, spearheaded by their immensely successful Battlefield franchise and the Star Wars Battlefront series, which has just seen the release of Star Wars Battlefront II.

British born Ben Minto has worked for more than 20 years as a video game sound designer. He moved to Stockholm 10 years ago to join the audio team at DICE. “Audio performs a vital role in our games, by containing encoded information that allows our players to play better”, says Ben, “We do our utmost to always push for excellence in the audio that we develop, which is something that the DICE audio department is known for.”

One can read on DICE’s website; “All of us here at DICE share the passion to create extraordinary things”, and this mantra also drives the team of passionate and enthusiastic sound designers that Ben works with. “Creating sound for video games allows us plenty of room for creativity, and it often requires imaginative, and sometimes non traditional techniques to get the sounds that we want and need.”

“Over the years we have worked with, and still use many different types and kinds of recorders, each with their own personalities and takes on a sonic ‘reality’; in the past we did some tests with the (discontinued) SONOSAX SX-R4 recorder, which tickled our ears, as it sounded so realistic and more natural than many of the other recorders that we had tried. Now we are using the new SONOSAX SX-R4+ which goes even further and we have been more than impressed by its sonic performance; the SX-R4+ offers us that extra audio quality and edge that we are always looking and striving for.”

From left to right: Andreas Almström, Phillip Eriksson and Ben Minto

“We regularly undertake smaller so called guerilla recording sessions, as well as a few larger multi recordists sessions each year. Many of these larger sessions are very unique and expensive to set up, so we need to get them right, and can range from recording vintage tanks to large multi day, multi location firearm sessions. We always aim to record sounds differently on each track (different microphones, different distances, different gain settings etc.), so as to give us a diverse range of material to work with once we are back in the studio. There is a huge dynamic range between the loudest explosions and jets that we record and the quietest delicate ambiences and Foley that we also need for our titles; this is matched by the huge 135dB range of the extremely quiet microphone pre-amplifiers of the SONOSAX SX-R4+ and offer us a real advantage in the field. The preamps can accept very high input levels (+21dBu for 0dBFS) without overloading, which is perfect for us!

We typically deliver video game assets in 24/48, and so we usually record at 24/96 and occasionally at 24/192 if we are using mics with an extended frequency range. For example recording the crackles of water damaged plywood as its bent and twisted at 192k and then playing that back at a lower sampling rate (without resampling) gives astonishing deep and threatening wood tearing sounds. (Note: the SX-R4+ has a flat analogue bandwidth of 96kHz prior to the A/D converter, which is essential for 192kHz recording).

Thank you Ben for this interview and for using SONOSAX products, we wish you and everyone at DICE a Merry Christmas and a very creative New Year.

 

SONONEWS November 2017

InterBEE 2017 / TOKYO – Japan / November 15 to Nov 17

SONOSAX products range will be presented by our Japanese distributor TECH TRUST JAPAN Co Ltd during the next InterBEE exhibition on stand nr 1105.

SONOSAX has officially joined the Sennheiser’s “AMBEO for VR “ partnership program with the SX-R4+ 16 tracks recorder during last IBC in Amsterdam.
Following this agreement, a new firmware version of the SX-R4+ his being developed; it includes a real time A to B format conversion enabling simultaneous recording of the A and B formats – or B Format only – of the Sennheiser’s AMBEO VR mic. Both AMBIX and FUMA modes are supported.

This new firmware has already been presented to the AES Convention in N.Y. last month and has raised great interest. No doubt it will be an eye catcher at the InterBEE too.

An optional dedicated 12 pin connector is also available, enabling the AMBEO VR mic to be plugged directly onto the SX-R4+, thus eliminating the traditional 12 pin to 4 XLR audio split cables.
This is a significant step to ease the life of VR content creators capturing 3D audio in the field.

The SONOSAX SX AD8+ with its optional AVB interface will also be presented at InterBEE. The AVB interface allows a direc connection to any Apple Mac having a Thunderbolt port AVB capable by means of a simple RJ45 Ethernet cable. It has also been successfully tested on MacBook, of the latest generations by using an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.

More info at:

SONONEWS AUGUST 2017

SX-AD8+ AVB option card is now available

SX-AD8+ AVB option cardThe new AVB option card for the SX-AD8+ microphones preamplifier allows a direct connection to any Mac equipped with the Thunderbolt port by means of a simple RJ45 Ethernet cable.

No proprietary software is required: once connected to a Mac, the SX-AD8+ is automatically integrated to Core Audio as a 8-channel audio source.

With 8 channels of superb microphones preamplifiers with an amazing 135dB of dynamic range, a SONOSAX SX-AD8+ connected directly to a Mac makes the ideal combination for music recording on location, home studios.

 


Mechanically connect your SX-RC8+ or SX-AD8+ to your SX-R4+

Connecting brackets have been developed to securely fix the SX-RC8+ fader extension or the SX-AD8+ preamplifier/converter to the SX-R4+ recorder.

Machined in stainless steel, then brushed for a smooth finish, the brackets are delivered per pair with all mating screws.


SD cards cover finally available for the SX-R4+

It is amazing how long it could take, sometime, getting little things to be done the way they have to be done. After bunches of unusable prototypes we are glad to announce that the long awaited SD card cover for the SX-R4+ is now available.

Want one? We send one item free of charge to any SX-R4+ owner, just send us an email (sonosax@sonosax.ch) with your SX-R4+ serial number and your full post mail address. Want more? Additional unit cost CHF 3.90, simply send us the correct amount using Paypal (use our email address sonosax@sonosax.ch) and notify it in your email.

 

 

 


IBC Amsterdam 2017

The next IBC Exhibition will take place in Amsterdam, September 14th to 19th. You are more than welcome to visit us on stand E96, Hall 8.