17Mar Beachtek DXA-SLR – First impressions
I own a lot of Juicedlink audio boxes, but I like the large volume knobs of the Beachtek DXA-SLR so I thought I’d give it a try and see how well it preforms. If you keep an eye out this unit pops up used for between $150 and $300 now and again.
The Beachtek DXA-SLR has a number of things I’d like to see Juicedlink add to their units, mainly the thumb wheel for the 1/4 20 mount, and the large volume controls. This unit also has an AGC disabling function for Canon 7d users. The rest of the controls are pretty straight forward, mic/line pad switched for each of the inputs, 48v phantom power on and off, mono or stereo audio mix, and a monitor feature that allows you to hear either the XLR inputs or audio from RCA inputs.
The RCA inputs are designed to receive audio from the RCA outputs of your DSLR (running magic lantern firmware) so that you can monitor the audio being recorded by the camera. The Aux input is stereo if you need it, and the output is squeezed in between the two XLR inputs.
On the bottom of the unit you’ll find the left and right gain switches which add about 15db to the signal and your ground selection switch G1/G2. The easiest way to demonstrate the Beachtek DXA-SLR is to record some audio and see how it sounds.
The file below is actually two tests in a single file. The first test has a phantom powered mic plugged into the DXA-SLR. The microphone is getting it’s 48v phantom power from the DXA, and the gain switches are in the low position. The audio is being recorded by the Zoom h4n with an input gain setting of 7 (out of 100). The Second of these tests is identical to the first except that the gain switch on the DXA has been moved to the “HI” position which adds 15db of gain.
Beachtek DXA-SLR audio test file (download)
The audio was compressed to a 256kbps mp3 file to make the download faster. Take a listen to the audio and see what you think. With the gain switch enabled I was seeing noise levels around -50 db in Sound Forge which isn’t to bad. From all the reports of high noise I’ve read, I was expecting the DXA-SLR to sound horrible. While the noise floor isn’t mind blowing, it’s certainly not horrible. But take a listen and let me know what you think.
If you’d like to find out more about these types of audio adapters I recommend checking out this earlier post.
November 7th, 2013 at 8:12 am
How does the noise floor compare with say a JuicedLink device? From your tests, the audio from this unit sounds pretty good.
November 14th, 2013 at 8:12 am
The juicedlink has a lot more gain than the DXA-SLR, noise floor is pretty similar at equivalent gain.