Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Channel Portable Solid-State Audio Recorder

Comments about Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Channel Portable Solid-State Audio Recorder:

THIS IS A GREAT PRODUCT. SOUNDS GREAT! THE REVIEWS ARE CORRECT. I PLAYED W/ IT BEFORE PURCHASE. I LOVE THIS THING!

Comments about Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Channel Portable Solid-State Audio Recorder:

I am using a version of the Sound Devices 788T with a solid state disk inside (788T-SSD) for location sound (mostly effects sounds) and classical music recording, both on location and in my home studio. The firmware version as of this writing is 2.14. This is important as different firmware may make this unit a completely different piece of equipment. I also have the Sound Devices CL-9 control surface, which especially eases music multitrack recording.This review is about one thing only: sound quality. All my recordings are made at a sampling rate of 96kHz (24bit), for best definition in complex mixes (many of them being surround 5.1). The AD-converter of the 788T is of exceptional quality at this rate with terriffic headroom, even compared to outboard converters, like RME Fireface 800's or Apogee's. (There is no comparison with the likes of M-Audio Profire 2626 for example. I gave that thing to a friend.) Actually, whenever possible I prefer to use the 788T, even when recording in the studio. This is not only because of the great AD-converters, but also because of the immaculate preamps. I don't know what Sound Devices have done to their signal chain, but I do get the absolute best signal to noise performance from these preamps. I hate noise and therefore I have a whole range of very expensive mic preamps of the clean type. None of them match the low noise and excellent signal response of the 788T's. So I have a pile of mic preamps costing many thousands of euros sitting in a corner because of the 788T. It is almost annoying, so from time to time I try again using them, hoping for some new love. Instead I keep coming back to the 788T's built in preamps. I use many different microphones with different impedances, but all these are handled effortlessly by the 788T, while my outboard preamps can have difficulty with some.All this means that I can pack top of the line studio recording quality in just one bag. The price-per-channel can even be considered very low, compared to a traditional studio setup. So as long as playback of channels during recording is not needed, the 788T will always be my recorder of choice.Please note that the preamps in the 788T are not the same as in the other Sound Devices recorders. Those are also very good, but generally sound more colored because they use transformers. That is great for dialog recording, but may be less desirable for perfectly neutral sound reproduction, which is of key importance when recording classical instruments.

Comments about Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Channel Portable Solid-State Audio Recorder:

This 8 channel recorder was worth every penny. I film many things and am glad I will now be able to get everything out of my 6 expensive Schoeps microphones rather than losing most of the quality by hooking them directly up to my XLR camera inputs of my Sony EX1R's.

Comments about Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Channel Portable Solid-State Audio Recorder:

The 788T recorder is great! The PFL gain knobs illuminate green, yellow, or red based on your incoming signal. This allows you to know how hot your signal is without only looking at the LED meters. The menus are also very easy to navigate. You can clearly tell when your tracks are armed for recording. The CL-8 mixer is a must have accessory to this recorder.

Comments about Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Channel Portable Solid-State Audio Recorder:

This is absolutely one of the best field recorders out there, and probably the single best that's intended for over-the-shoulder use. Super clean, clear pre-amps, great feature set with plenty of updates and new ones coming multiple times a year, amazing customer service, and best of all it's robust enough to operate in all manner of environments and conditions, especially with the SSD. I've used 7-series recorders in everything from rain to mud to 115-degree blazing desert sun and they all stand up great.8 tracks are great, and more than enough for most things you'd ever need to record in the field. Honestly the only thing I don't like about this box is the fact that inputs 4-8 require special TA3-F to XLR-F adapter cables to use. I know that there are space considerations preventing them from using proper XLR jacks, but I really wish they'd found another way to deal with it rather than making you buy the cables. Like maybe including them with the initial purchase?it

Comments about Sound Devices 788T-SSD 8-Channel Portable Solid-State Audio Recorder:

The Sound Devices 788 portable 8 channel digital recorder is a dream come true. Thirty Five years ago i made mobile 8 channel recordings from an outside broadcast truck on a 1 inch analogue recorder. Having an over the shoulder 8 channel recorder with great mic pre-amps amazing. This is a great recoerder to use with surround micropphones such as the new DPA 5100 or the Holosonics. It can also record simultaneously to its built in solid state drive, a compact flash card and an external fire wire drive. The physical design and robustness of the recorder is consistant with all the other Sound Devices products I have used, such as the 4 channel 744 recorder.