Nagra

Hi All

Any of you guys used either the Nagra Ares M or Ares MII.

I was speaking to a BBC radio person who mentioned that they are being encouraged to use a Nagra for outside interviews and short pieces outdoors.

A quick search on the web indicates they are quite pricey.   

Charlie

A quick search on the web indicates they are quite pricey.   

Nothing new there, then .

Nagra have always been a bit on the expensive side.  However, they were the machines of choice for film work for many, many years and proved very reliable in the field.

I have no experience of their solid state recorders, but I suspect they are probably very similar to other manufacturer's offerings - although the build quality is likely to be better.

Well, I've had to repair some of these Nagras after use by reporters, and would stay well clear. I thought they were quite awkward to hold and use, and there were some regular faults, I think to do with the battery mountings. I used to use and always admired the old reel to reel Nagras, but those were rarely issued to idiots. 

Like most of this type of device, the built in mic is quite exposed and the size of the rest of the beast makes it a bit vulnerable when thrown into a handbag or dropped.

I'd be after a Zoom H4 or an Edirol R9 if it was my money and I had any. Having said all that, I've not seen how these latter stand up to a reporting environment.

For the last 5 years my main recorder has been a Nagra V.  Nagra claimed it as their lightest and cheapest recorder.  It was an indulgence (my post retirement avocation is recording for the local classical music station) but it is worth it.  With a good stereo mic (Schoeps M-S pair or AKG C426B) the results are excellent - the mic preamps sound like they were designed to be matched to the Schoeps.   And of course the Nagra human interface design makes it a joy to use, and avoids 'mistakes' under pressure.  It was expensive, but on the expectation of 10- years of service, it's not so bad.  But it is the last of the 'traditional' Nagras (including the sine qua non modulometer).   The new Nagra VI multitrack is evidence of this - but it delivers 6 tracks, (4 mics and a line pair) and some useful operational improvements at a price less than what I paid for the Nagra V.  (It DOESN'T have the traditional Nagra phone line connection ....)

The Nagra ARES-M is a useful tool with a lot of flexibility (and therefore a lot to learn) and has excellent quality, but the first model had a few shortcomings.   The ARES-M II was a response to these shortcomings and added USB2.0 support and more internal memory, and a few other performance improvements.  The biggest shortcoming is that the display is very hard to read outdoors.  The unit is actually built in China by an OEM, and then QA'd in Chesaux.  A variant of this unit is also sold by Spanish company AEQ and may be a bit cheaper.

For stand-alone 'track-bashing' portable use, nothing will make me part with my HHB PortaDisc MD recorder.  It still comes out to back up the Nagra V (which was a reconditioned 'demo' unit and there were one or two small but annoying operational issues - overcome by excellent support from Nagra) and on assignments where a Nagra might be inappropriate.   

A colleague has a Zoom H2 and regards it as a viable backup to his professional gear, and is also very pleased with the performance of the Edirol R-44.   Another possibility for mobile applications is my Sound Devices 302 mixer coupled to the H2 line in put - a very compact field recording outfit, with three mics, M-S capability, limiters.   The stupid thing about this portability is that the size of the recording gear is outweighed by the size and weight of mics, stands and cables that you have to carry as well for most jobs.  For "point-and-shoot" market, the H2 is great but won't 'scale-up' in the same way as the ARES-M II.  If the H2 fails, you throw it away and get a new one.   Its the sort of thing you would carry in your briefcase or backpack for the unexpected opportunity ....

In the end, it really depends on what you intend to do and what your quality aspirations are.   I am now equally happy carting around my laptop and an RME Fireface 400, which I am happy to include 'in-line' on live broadcasts.  So the choices are getting better and better.  But the old adage of getting what you pay for is still applicable.  Just remember that the scale is logarithmic - pay ten times and much and end up with something twice as good, a hundred times more is three times as good.  Just work it out with your financial manager.

ps. For an interesting portable unit, have a look at the announced but not yet shipping Nagra LB ('Little Box'?).  Much interesting capability, the traditional Nagra control knob and a built-in EtherNet port.  You can set this up so you connect to the Internet anywhere and fttp your files back to the studio ...

Another possible contender for portability and ease of use is the HHB Flashmic. It is a microphone with built in SD card recorder but not cheap.


http://www.hhb.co.uk/flashmic/