Zaxcom Ships The Deva Mix-12 Control Surface

Zaxcom has begun shipping its Deva Mix-12, a fully digital 12-fader control surface that directly manages the audio mixer embedded within the Zaxcom Deva IV and V location recorders. Combined with either the Deva IV or V, it performs all location mix and record functions, reducing production costs by eliminating the need for expensive external mixing consoles.

"The ability of the Deva Mix-12 to be combined with the Deva IV and V is a new concept in on-location mixing," said Glenn Sanders, president and founder of Zaxcom. "In the past, due to the nature of electronic design and processing power issues, the audio mixer and the location recorder had to be engineered as two separate devices. Now, with the increase of available processing power within the location recorder, it is possible to integrate these two functions. This integration provides users with a host of benefits, including fewer I/O connections and no sample rate issues."

When paired with the Deva IV, the Deva Mix-12 features 16 inputs and 18 outputs, and it features 16 inputs and 20 outputs when paired with the Deva V. Its microphone pre-amps are studio quality, ensuring no coloration or distortion of the audio by transformers or other analog circuitry. Only the pre-amps and A-D and D-A converters are used for analog connections to the outside world. Mixing is performed digitally via a floating-point DSP, ensuring no distortion or channel-to-channel differences, which can occur with traditional analog mixing consoles over time or with temperature changes. Users will have the ability to remove hum and buzz with the two notch features on each channel, a capability that can save precious time and money on a shoot. The Deva Mix-12 also features three-band shelving filters with level, Q, and frequency control via the Deva IV or V's graphic interface.

Other features of the Mix-12 include 12 fader strips, which provide instant access to bus routing and effects for the channel being used, and an input port that directly controls the gain of the microphone pre-amp as well as the P&G fader. An LED input meter is provided on each channel strip to augment the Deva's full-color output metering. The Deva Mix-12 also comes with a soft-knee compressor that features natural sound and transparency unparalleled in the industry.