Uploaded January 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In this week's session, we take a walk through the menus of the Sound Devices A20 wireless microphone receiver and then we answer your sound for video questions.
If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses at school.learnlightandsound.com including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F6, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders. We have a course on sound for live-streaming with the ATEM Mini and just added Introduction to Izotope RX for Dialogue Audio.
Gear I often use or that we mentioned in this episode. The links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, Sweetwater, DVE Store, Waves, or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases:
- Sound Devices A20 digital dual channel wireless microphone system — B&H, Trew Audio geni.us/Ks5fY
- Earthworks ETHOS microphone — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/8G8UdBB
- AEA KU5A ribbon microphone — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/OBUvsAG
- Sound Devices MixPre II Series Recorders - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/O8e0
- Panasonic GH5 camera - B&H, Amazon geni.us/InspOl
- Canon C200 Camera - B&H geni.us/9Zi4m4a
- Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens — B&H, Amazon geni.us/kZyU7e
- ATEM Mini Extreme & Extreme ISO - B&H, DVE Store, Amazon geni.us/b8my
- Allen & Heath SQ5 Digital Mixer - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/sRxFU90
- Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel, pre-amp, EQ, compressor - Sweetwater, B&H geni.us/9ZfE77
- Universal Audio 6176 channel strip pre-amp, EQ, compressor — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/505L55n
The intro and outro music for this episode is from Musicbed. Take your films to the next level with music from Musicbed. Sign up for a free account to listen for yourself: geni.us/G7by
Copyright 2023, Curtis Judd
00:00 Start
02:44 Beginning of stream
03:13 Agenda
04:57 About the SoundDevices A20-RX
08:57 Dual-channel features
11:53 SpectraBand technology
16:32 AutoAssign
18:03 Digital modulation
18:32 Analogue and digital AES output
19:48 RSSI: Receive signal strength indicator
20:45 Q-meters
22:52 Mount A20 Nexus to SD 833?
23:05 Current TX pricing at B&H
23:25 A20 Mini TX- why not regular size?
23:51 How does the A20 compare to Zaxcom + Lectrosonics?
29:00 Compatibility issues with A10 and A20 + MixPre vs. 888?
30:16 Does the A20 transmit in 32-bit?
32:20 Recommended wireless systems for MixPre?
32:50 Why did I choose Audio Limited?
33:50 Back to the A20 walkthrough
41:58 Looking for a plugin to slow down dialogue without altering pitch
44:14 Transmission and battery life improvements on A20 over A10 RX?
51:03 My favorite tech at CES this year
51:38 Fairlight vs. Audition
53:48 A20-Mini TX battery life
54:20 Master clock: TentacleSync or MixPre-6?
55:38 When does the Zaxcom transmit/record patent expire?
56:04 How to link the A20 Mini to an 833
57:56 A20 Monarch antennas
1:00:00 The relative rarity of mini-XLR cables
1:01:11 Best budget shotgun mic for vlogging
1:02:37 Will we be looking at the Nexus soon?
1:03:04 New Panasonic FF camera- improved phase detect focus system
1:04:54 Sennheiser EW-DX system review?
1:05:55 Derek really wants to see a Nexus review.
1:06:07 Zoom M4 review?
1:06:19 Thoughts on Adobe’s new podcast AI tool
1:08:14 Wrap-up
1:08:23 End of stream
In this week's session, we take a walk through the menus of the Sound Devices A20 wireless microphone receiver and then we answer your sound for video questions.
If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses at school.learnlightandsound.com including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F6, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders. We have a course on sound for live-streaming with the ATEM Mini and just added Introduction to Izotope RX for Dialogue Audio.
Gear I often use or that we mentioned in this episode. The links below are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, Sweetwater, DVE Store, Waves, or other affiliate links. As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases:
- Sound Devices A20 digital dual channel wireless microphone system — B&H, Trew Audio geni.us/Ks5fY
- Earthworks ETHOS microphone — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/8G8UdBB
- AEA KU5A ribbon microphone — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/OBUvsAG
- Sound Devices MixPre II Series Recorders - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/O8e0
- Panasonic GH5 camera - B&H, Amazon geni.us/InspOl
- Canon C200 Camera - B&H geni.us/9Zi4m4a
- Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens — B&H, Amazon geni.us/kZyU7e
- ATEM Mini Extreme & Extreme ISO - B&H, DVE Store, Amazon geni.us/b8my
- Allen & Heath SQ5 Digital Mixer - B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/sRxFU90
- Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel, pre-amp, EQ, compressor - Sweetwater, B&H geni.us/9ZfE77
- Universal Audio 6176 channel strip pre-amp, EQ, compressor — B&H, Sweetwater, Amazon geni.us/505L55n
The intro and outro music for this episode is from Musicbed. Take your films to the next level with music from Musicbed. Sign up for a free account to listen for yourself: geni.us/G7by
Copyright 2023, Curtis Judd
00:00 Start
02:44 Beginning of stream
03:13 Agenda
04:57 About the SoundDevices A20-RX
08:57 Dual-channel features
11:53 SpectraBand technology
16:32 AutoAssign
18:03 Digital modulation
18:32 Analogue and digital AES output
19:48 RSSI: Receive signal strength indicator
20:45 Q-meters
22:52 Mount A20 Nexus to SD 833?
23:05 Current TX pricing at B&H
23:25 A20 Mini TX- why not regular size?
23:51 How does the A20 compare to Zaxcom + Lectrosonics?
29:00 Compatibility issues with A10 and A20 + MixPre vs. 888?
30:16 Does the A20 transmit in 32-bit?
32:20 Recommended wireless systems for MixPre?
32:50 Why did I choose Audio Limited?
33:50 Back to the A20 walkthrough
41:58 Looking for a plugin to slow down dialogue without altering pitch
44:14 Transmission and battery life improvements on A20 over A10 RX?
51:03 My favorite tech at CES this year
51:38 Fairlight vs. Audition
53:48 A20-Mini TX battery life
54:20 Master clock: TentacleSync or MixPre-6?
55:38 When does the Zaxcom transmit/record patent expire?
56:04 How to link the A20 Mini to an 833
57:56 A20 Monarch antennas
1:00:00 The relative rarity of mini-XLR cables
1:01:11 Best budget shotgun mic for vlogging
1:02:37 Will we be looking at the Nexus soon?
1:03:04 New Panasonic FF camera- improved phase detect focus system
1:04:54 Sennheiser EW-DX system review?
1:05:55 Derek really wants to see a Nexus review.
1:06:07 Zoom M4 review?
1:06:19 Thoughts on Adobe’s new podcast AI tool
1:08:14 Wrap-up
1:08:23 End of stream
