Riggy-Micro Dual-XLR Preamplifier with Phantom Power

After trying the Beachtek DXA-SLR PRO - DSLR Audio Adapter (which is really designed for the Canon 5DMKII, which lacks earphone monitoring) and several other methods of getting excellent professional quality audio into my Nikon D800 (including buying the Nikon 27045 ME-1 Stereo Microphone Supplied with Wind Screen and Soft Case), I settled on this juicedLink RM222 Riggy.The RM222 is really a miniature mixer in a compact box, not just a preamp. The RM222 has two XLR line/mic inputs; the RM333 has three XLR, with two of the three inputs mixed together before sending the signal to one channel of the camera.Canon and Nikon insist on giving us the amateur stereo-mini, unbalanced, high impedance audio input that is the exact opposite of what a pro is looking for. Unbalanced low impedance signals suffer greatly if extended even a few feet (frequency response suffers) and become more sensitive to RF noise as half the signal path is carried by the shielding. The unbalanced extension cord essentially becomes an RF antenna, attracting noise instead of rejecting it. Even Nikon's own ME-1 external mic is sadly lacking in audio quality, even if it's close to the source.The RM222 provides the professional, balanced, low impedance XLR inputs -- and the extra gain -- needed to bring professional audio into the camera. A balanced low impedance mic signal can run for long distances in electronically (RF) noisy environments with no frequency loss.The key difference to the juicedLink RM222/333 line is that it's tailored to what the camera needs, not just an industry standard "mic level." The RM222 outputs a hotter signal -- somewhere between mic and line. This hotter signal allows you to run your camera's manual input down to "1" to minimize camera preamp noise. The RM222's signal is super low noise and very clean. It allows you to plug almost any mic into the RM222 and get an excellent signal to the camera.It's powered by a 9-volt battery -- either alkaline or LiPoly -- and has an LED that indicates it's turned on and another LED that tells you the battery is exhausted. A switch tells it which type of 9v battery you are using.It has switchable 12- or 48-volt phantom power. If the mic works on 12V phantom, that will use less battery than the 48V setting. To save battery life further you can turn phantom on to each channel separately or turn off completely.The box is sturdy and small -- approx 8oz, 3" x 3.5" x 1.5" -- and designed to mount to the bottom of the camera without blocking the camera's battery door. It has a 1/4-20 tripod socket on the bottom. You can also mount it to the hot shoe on top with an optional adapter or to various rig cages if you have one. The 9v battery is easy to change without tools.The RM222/333 is designed specifically for the newer DLSR's like the Nikon D800 or Canon 5DMKIII, both of which have fully manual audio input controls, VU meters and earphone monitoring.As you use the camera's Liveview screen and earphone out to monitor and check audio levels from the RM222 (it's always better to monitor from the camera), all the preamp/mixer has to do is deliver a clean signal. The RM222 does this very, very well.It has the ability to take a single mic and send it to both channels. But to protect you from overdriving, if you throw one of the many switches it will pad down the right channel 16dB. This way you have an identical signal going to both channels, except Channel 2's signal is lower, in case Channel 1 overdrives.I set my Nikon D800 audio to "1" and set the RM222's pots between "noon" and 1 o'clock, with gain switches in "hi" and line/mic switches set to the appropriate input: "mic" if I'm feeding a mic directly or "line" if I'm feeding a line-out source like an external mixer. You set levels by adjusting the pots until the peaks slap against the -12dB mark on the VU meters. That gives you 12dB of headroom.It's very good for run-and-gun shooting.Two things I'd fix: with 12 tiny switches on the top that allow a lot of flexibility, more readable type would help. Second, I wish it came with a coiled stereo-mini to stereo-mini cable, so it was more compact in use and less likely to snag. I bought a BeachTek SC35 3.5mm to 3.5mm Stereo Output Cable for DXA Adapters for this.This device will also help other recording devices that need more gain to get clean signal, as long as they have an amateur stereo mini input. This includes many home camcorders and even the Zoom H4-N, which has both XLR and stereo-mini inputs.Bottom line: the audio delivered to the camera (or other devices down the line like an Atomos Ninja-2) will be as good as technically possible, regardless of the source you feed it, whether it's a line level signal, a lav, a phantom-powered shotgun or a low-power dynamic mic.

The sound quality is great, it's sturdy, and I really like the option to output one channel with padding in case something clips, but design is awful for actually attaching to a camera. The tripod screw is so far to the side you can't put a tripod plate on the bottom and maintain any kind of stability. If you mount it to a cage or hotshoe it's fine.

This is a great unit for powering a couple XLR mics and it works as advertised. However, my main gripe is that it fits very awkwardly beneath my camera and is a pain to remove and attach. I've already misplaced the allen key that came with it...

Great sound so far with my GH3/4, but be sure to carry lots of 9V batteries, as it eats them!

I am very happy with the audio quality with this product. This is my second JuicedLink product, and I don't know what I'd do without it. Had an issue and the seller promptly replied and made it right.

As of right now, I am going to give this product 2 stars... The main reason is because when connecting my NTG-3 to the XLR-R input, the sound is something terrible... It has 48V phantom power, the gain is on High, and the battery power is Good... The exact problem is that when the XLR male to female mate, the sound is VERY dirty and there is quite a bit of noise going through the system... When I connect to XLR-L (with the SAME settings that XLR-R uses) everything is great, except that when I hit 40% gain on the attenuator control dial I start getting dirty noise from both (however, XLR-R is the worst when comparing them...I guess I'll be stuck using the decent (but not great) pre-amp and phantom power from the Zoom H5 for now...To give juicedlink credit (the few filmmakers I follow on youtube have SWORN by JuicedLink) I honestly think I got that 1 in a million that was justnot made to standard...I contacted Robert from JL and have explained my situation to him (as of 16march2015). I hope to get my RM222 exchanged with another RM222. I'll give an update if and when this issue gets resolved.But I STILL would say that per the filmmakers that I know that use this Pre-amp, this is a good product, but I guess that it IS possible to be "that guy" that ended up with "that One"...

does as it says, just be mindful to not turn the pre-amp up to full. it distorts like crazy. and no, i don;t have a faulty one. i bought 2, and both do the exact same thing. even the -16dm padded channel distorts. so if you're using if for the BMPCC like i am, i've found the optimal settings (after hour upon hour of testing) to be: juicelinked 3 clicks from full on the dial, and the BMPCC input level at 35%. the BMPCC firmware gets better and better, so as much as it gets a pretty bad wrap re audio, one click above off (as suggested) is not the right approach. trust me, i've now got audio that's barely useable as a result. and yes, there is a very noticeable difference between audio straight into the camera (hissy) and audio via the juicelinked. it's worth the price, just get your settings right!

This is an extremely clean, powerful pre-amp that allows you to use phantom powered miss and avoid external recording and syncing. Includes convenience features like recording a safety track and powering down un-used channels. Small enough to easily incorporate into most rigs.My only dig on this piece of gear is having to change settings on fiddly recessed DIP switches.Note, this is the version for cameras that have audio monitors and headphone jacks. If your camera does not, you need to buy the slightly more expensive version that offers these features.