Sound Devices Keeps Its Cool in One of the World's Harshest Environments, The Cave of Crystals

When Nine Network Australia Sound Recordist Charles "Chick" Davey was given the almost impossible task of recording audio in the extreme environment of Mexico's Cave of Crystals for a feature story on the Nine Network Australia news program 60 Minutes, he turned to Sound Devices' 744T digital audio recorder and 442 field mixer.
Located in the mining town of Naica in the middle of Northern Mexico's Chihuahuan Desert, the Cave of Crystals is situated deep underground and features one of the harshest environments on earth. Connected to the Naica Mine, which is nearly 1,000 feet below the surface, the Cave of Crystals' main chamber contains giant selenite/gypsum crystals-some of the largest natural crystals ever found.
For this perilous journey, Davey and his Sound Devices gear descended into the heart of the mine, where furnace-like heat and searing humidity can kill a person in minutes. "The main challenge faced during this shoot was moisture and heat," says Davey. "With stifling 100-percent humidity and temperatures hovering around 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius), this meant the Sound Devices gear was basically covered in beads of moisture within minutes of entering the cave. In no time, the gear became hot to the touch, and I was worried it would not operate properly. However, my experience with Sound Devices gear and its reputation put my concerns at ease and it once again performed admirably under these extreme conditions."
Another challenge Davey faced was navigating the jagged cave floor to get as much footage as he could in the short amount of time he could spend in the cave. "Just moving around in general was quite difficult, as the ground was very uneven, and time was always a factor while inside the cave because we could only enter for short periods at a time," adds Davey. "Temperatures were hot and the humidity was ridiculous, but the Sound Devices gear never gave up. The 744T and 442 faced up to the environment without any real dramas. There were no break downs and the audio was never compromised."
Sound Devices' 744T, a powerful four-track, file-based digital audio recorder, has become a staple in the rigs of many feature film and episodic television sound mixers. The super-compact 744T records and plays back audio to and from its internal hard drive, CompactFlash cards and external FireWire drives, making field recording simple and fast. The 744T reads uncompressed PCM audio at 16 or 24 bits, with sample rates between 32 and 192 kHz. Compressed audio recording and playback from 64 to 320 kbps is also supported. The time code implementation makes the 744T ready for any recording job, from over-the-shoulder to cart-based production. The 744T implements a no-compromise audio path that includes Sound Devices' next-generation microphone preamplifiers. Designed specifically for high-bandwidth, high-bit-rate digital recording, these preamps set a new standard for frequency-response linearity, low-distortion performance, and low noise. The 744T, like all Sound Devices products, is v
ersatile and designed to withstand the physical and environmental extremes of field production. It's this durability and functionality that professional sound mixers have come to expect from Sound Devices.
Sound Devices 442 field mixer encompasses the audio performance, feature set and mechanical construction demanded by those who rely on audio gear for their careers. The 442, which has been replaced in the product line by the 552, contains four microphone preamplifiers that redefine portable audio performance. The 552 has all the attributes of the 442, with the addition of an integrated recorder and an extra input. The 552 is at home in small run-and-gun applications as well as large, multiple-input productions.
"The 442's compact mechanical construction strikes the perfect balance between access to all functions, uncluttered design and durability," adds Davey. "As always, having the individual channel outputs on the 442 gave me extra confidence, knowing that each channel is not only backed up, but isolated."
In addition to the Sound Devices gear, Davey's kit was carried in a Petrol field bag, along with four Lectrosonics receivers, a time-code receiver and a camera link transmitting to a Sony XDCAM. On his boom was a Sennheiser 416 and Sanken microphone heads for the four wireless mics he employed.
Davey also used the Sound Devices 744T and 442 for a story on the Marum Volcano in Vanuatu that aired last year on Nine Network Australia's 60 Minutes, where the gear performed without incident in another extreme environment.
Sound Devices, LLC designs and manufactures portable audio mixers, digital audio recorders, and digital video recorders and related equipment for feature film, episodic television, documentary, news-gathering, and acoustical test and measurement applications. The thirteen-year old company designs and manufactures from their Reedsburg, Wisconsin headquarters with additional offices in Madison, WI and Highland Park, IL. www.sounddevices.com