quote:

---

You know all I did was call Ivie at their Utah office and they answered right away and gave me prices,

---

Well, that's wonderful, then you should have bought. You asked for our views, you got em. I got poor service. The unit itself isn't horrible, but I bank a lot on customer service and with IVIE, I didn't much at all.
 

---

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-29-2007, 07:55 AM:
 
I don't claim to be a sound expert, but I did recently purchase the Audio Control unit and have been reasonably happy with it. It's cheaper than most of the other options, the build quality is decent, and the warranty is good (they will repair any unit that has not been abused).

The built-in SPL meter is useless without the optional A/C weighting filter (about $50). I find the Rat Shack analog SPL meter to be easier to work with, but using it requires two people (one in the auditorium to hold the meter and point up or down and one in the booth to adjust levels).

You will need to make a long balanced mic cable (for B-chains) and a 1/4" tip/ring to bare wire cable (for A-chains).

I'm sure that the Ivie can do more stuff, but I wouldn't know enough to make use of the additional features, and I'd be concerned about obsolescense of anything based on a PDA. The only other RTA in the same general price range that I have seen is the Gold Line, which some people also like.

As for oscilloscopes, I'm using a low-end 20MHz Leader model that works fine for A-chains. I'm sure that Mark's Tektronix model is far better, but this was cheap on Ebay.

If you can't borrow test loops, get ready to spend about $400 (ouch) for a complete set.

(I'll point out here that I don't make sound adjustments in venues with good equipment and service contracts. I got this stuff mainly for home use and also to help out the occasional low-budget independent theatre. If you aren't a service tech and don't own the system, don't make adjustments to any sound equipment without owner/manager approval.)
 

---

Posted by Michael Moore (Member # 3867) on 05-29-2007, 10:03 AM:
 
I am the manager of the booth and the film program at our venue, so I can do this without any problems, the place is ran by three board of directors, and three managers, general operations, technical director, and projection manager. As for a scope I have a Hameg HM205-3 and it was given to me for free.
I just wanted to know if the Ivie's scope was any good.
thank you all for all your info. It will help me in my decisions.
mike
 

---

Posted by Ken Lackner (Member # 1002) on 05-29-2007, 12:51 PM:
 
I use the IE-35 on an almost daily basis, and I absolutely love it. As you alerady know, it is extremely portable, and the fact that it includes a scope is incredibly handy. Now, it is NOT a replacement for a real scope, as you cannot use it for SRD alignments, and when you are doing a complete analog alignment, it is beneficial to view the RTA and scope simultaneously when adjusting focus and azimuth. However, for just checking your A-chain, such as in a preventive maintenance call, the IE-35 works just fine. I can pretty much keep my scope in my trunk unless I'm doing a digital alignment or replacing an analog reader. The IE-35 is great as an SPL meter, too. Because of the large display in SPL mode, I can place it in a cup holder in the desired measuring row and easily see the display from the booth.

The two RCA jacks are the channel one and channel two input. Yes, you would use those for A-chains. I use RCA cables from Radio Shack. One end of each cable plugs into the IE-35. The other end of each cable has an RCA-to-BNC connector, which is connected to a set of Pomona test pins, which are what you plug in to the test points on the processor.

As much as I love the IE-35, the point of the PDA becoming obsolete is a valid one. Dell has recently pulled out of the PDA market, which means the Axim X51v is no longer available. Mine is only a little over a year old and in great condition, but if it ever craps out, I would be a little scared. I may have to look on eBay for a used one, unless Dell could repair it. Let's hope that doesn't happen for along time, because I do NOT want to give up using the IE-35!

As for contacting Ivie, I've only had to do it a couple times, and I have not had any problems. But that's just me.
 

---

Posted by Michael Moore (Member # 3867) on 05-29-2007, 01:58 PM:
 
I just got off the phone with Ivie, they told me that it is very possible that the IE35 will not be offered anymore in the very very  near future and that they stongly suggest going with the IE45IM (this is the version you can use with your own laptop). I asked them about multiplexing and they said you can do it with the IE45 and IE35, all you need to do is get a multiplexor, however they told me they have an averaging function that you can use to record for as long as you like and the RTA will average as you walk around the theater. then you can recall the average and find the best curve for the room, and use it just as you would any multiplexor.
They also told me THX and Dolby are going to start using the IE45 because they were very impressed with it and how it compared with the R2, how true this is I don't know.
I talked with the for over an hour. I called the main office in Utah.
I think I will go with the IE45IM it is about $500.00 cheaper then the IE35. The IE45 with computer goes for about $2000.00, I think i can use my own laptop, however they did say they have not completed testing it with Vista for those of you who have it, and it will not work well in vista home edition.
thank you for the info on the RCA jacks too.
Mike

Mike
 

---

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 05-29-2007, 06:09 PM:
 
We have the IE45-IM with a Samsung tablet PC which we are comparing to our other hardware at the end of this week during a film festival set-up. Looks delicate, but the features will overide That "problem"
 

---