Productions on the run and always on the road require advanced yet easy to operate equipment for great efficiency and quality. These characteristics are what these traveling and touring units look for in one of the most important pieces of gear the lug along, production mixers. Making its introduction at IBC 2009, Sound Devices 552 is a production mixer that suits the demands of a traveling production ensemble.

From simple run-and-gun skirmishes to complex multi-input/multi-output production setups, the 552 is designed to be the ideal solution. It is the first among Sound Devices mixers to feature a fully integrated two-track 24-bit digital audio recorder. This recorder writes in broadcast WAV or MP3 files amd writes them into SD or SDHC media, making the 552 ideal for situations where high-quality 24-bit local recording is required. Input sources for recording may consist of either the output itself or a combination of inputs and outputs.

In terms of input options, the 552 has five precision, high-dynamic range, and transformer-balanced microphone inputs with expanded gain and headroom. These inputs have their own limiter, sweepable high-pass filter and pre- or post-fade direct output and terminate into a high-performance Lundahl input transformer that frees the signal from interference in even the most severe RF and EMI environments in the field. Stereo linking input pair 1 and 2 and pair 3 and 4 is possible. The four-track AES3 digital output runs at the same rate as the recorder at sampling rates of 44.1, 48 48.048, 88.2, and 96 kHz.

The Sound Devices 552 production mixer has a rugged design that can withstand physical and environmental extremes encountered on the road with its molded, metalized carbon fiber top and bottom chassis panels and water-resistant gasketed front panel. Pricing for the 552 is still TBA.