Sound Devices 633 Overview

If you are looking for a compact, lightweight, all-in-one mixer and recorder, then look no further than the Sound Devices 633. It offers three high-bandwidth mic/ line inputs on XLR connectors (3+3), complete with phantom power, high-pass filter, input limiter and variable pan. All inputs are assignable to its six output buses, left/right plus Aux 1/2/3/4. It records and playsback either WAV or MP3 files for quality and compression preferences.

All six inputs plus output buses left/right and Aux 1/2 can be recorded to individual tracks. The 633 offers 10-track 24-bit, 48 kHz uncompressed WAV recording (96 kHz and 192 kHz sampling up to six tracks) to SD and CompactFlash memory cards. The two cards can be set to the same file type, recording either identical material for a real-time backup, or to a WAV and MP3 combination. Redundancy is king.

Film editors rejoice! The Sound Devices 633 not only accepts Timecode from other devices but also has the ability to generate Timecode at seven different frame rates with five different modes to keep all devices on set in sync. It has seven sampling frequencies ranging from 44.1 kHz to 192 kHz, with 24 bit A/D.

Weighing in at only 2 lbs 9 oz without batteries and around 3 lbs with batteries, it shouldn’t put as much stress on your neck and shoulders as it’s heavier counterparts.

The 633 can change between 4 different power supplies automatically when the previous one runs out or is removed. One can easily shoot on battery power all day long before having to plug in.

Roll sound! With a two-second power on-to-record time the whole crew won’t have to wait around for the sound crew to roll. Click the switch, wait two seconds, and hit record. Sound speeds!

The menu/meter screen is visible in all light conditions and can be inversed if you want a light or dark display theme. Streamlined menus make it easy to navigate through all the parameters and options/settings. There is also the ability to make quick notes or add quick notes to a take, Good, Bad, and many other phrases built in to help with editing later. Or you can plug in a keyboard and type notes or sound reports. You can easy allocate and set up routing of signals as well.

All this in one location mixer with no need for external recorder, it is quickly becoming the standard for small and larger productions due to its flexibility and cost. Kits with mixing bags, batteries, cables, and SD cards are priced around $4,000.00 and the mixer alone is around $3,000.00. You can shop around to build your own personal location sound kit as well but make sure above all else, it includes the Sound Devices 633 field mixer and recorder.