M3Portable Audio Mixer
PSC M3 MIXER FEATURE COMPARISONAS OF AUGUST 2003

Copyright 2003
Professional Sound Corporation
Printed in the U.S.A.

PSC M3 MIXER FEATURE COMPARISONAS OF AUGUST 2003
The PSC M3 Mixer offers the greatest, most flexible feature set in the 3-channel ENG
mixer market today. The chart below will allow you to compare the most importantfeatures of the top selling 3-channel ENG mixers on the market. Items shown in bold
offer a feature advantage over competing mixers. All specifications derived from productliterature, company websites, etc at time of comparison.

FP33302M3# OF INPUTS

3 XLR

3 XLR

3 XLR

MIC POWER

12T/48PH/12PH(*13)

12T/48PH/12PH(*13)

12T/48PH

INPUT CIRCUITTOPOLOGY (*1)

TRANSFORMER

TRANSFORMERHIGH QUALITY

TRANSFOMERHIGH QUALITY

LINE/MIC SWITCH

YES

YES

YES

CHANNEL LINK

YES

YES

YES

LOW CUTS (*2)

1 POSITION

2 POSITION

2 POSITION

PRE FADE LISTEN (*3)

NO

YES

YES

FP33302

M3

MIX BUSS

YES

YES

YES

TONE OSC

YES

YES

YES

SLATE MIC

YES

YES

YES

TAPE MONITOR (*4)

YES, 1 CAMERAYES, 1 CAMERAYES, 2 CAMERASHP SELECTIONSYESYESYESMETERS (*5)

ANALOG V.U.

LEDLCD

LIMITERS (*6)

OFF/LINK

OFF/LINK/SEP

OFF/LINK/SEP

HEADPHONE (*7)

3.5mm, ¼”

3.5mm

¼”

INPUT SECTION:

GENERAL:

FP33302

M3

MULTI-PIN (*8)

NONO

2 X HIROSE 10 PIN

TRANSFORMERS (*9)

YES,NO

YES, DUAL ISOLATEDSECONDARIES. THE
LARGEST, HIGHESTQUALITY IN THE
INDUSTRY!

MAIN OUTPUTS (*10)

XLR’S L, R

XLR’S L, R

XLR’S L, R, 2 X 10 PINSAUX OUTPUTS (*11)

ONE, MIC/LINEONE, LINETWO, MIC/LINE

FP33302

M3

NOT AVAILABLENOT AVAILABLEINCLUDED

NP-1 BATTERY (*13)
NOT AVAILABLE
POWER DISTRIBUTIONNOT AVAILABLEOPTIONALOUTPUTS:OTHER FEATURES:
BOOM REMOTE (*12)(*)NOTES:
1.

Your preamplifiers are only as good as the transformers you use! The M3 and 302 use highquality input transformers. The M3’s transformers are equipped with very heavy Mu Metal
shields. This better protects the M3’s input transformers from unwanted EMI and RFinterference.

2.

Multiple low cut positions offer greater flexibility in the field. The M3 mixer offers two lowcut settings for better control of un-wanted low frequencies such as wind noise.

3.

Pre-fade listens are useful in finding bad wireless and determining levels. The M3 and 302
mixers offer pre-fade listen capabilities on all three inputs.

4.

Today’s field production often involves two cameras, requiring two-camera support andtape monitoring. The M3 Mixer is the only three-channel mixer to offer this importantfeature. In addition, it offers two-camera support via two industry standard 10-pin
connections leaving the standard XLR’s free for other uses. Sound Devices offers one 10pin connector on their flagship 442 mixer, but have none on the their 302 mixer. PSC offers
two 10-pin connectors on both our M3 and AlphaMix mixers!

5.

Analog V.U.’s are nearly useless for digital recording. They react too slowly and do notproperly indicate peaks. Peak reading LED or LCD’s are a better choice for digitalrecording. LED and LCD’s each offer their own benefits. It’s mainly a user preference. TheM3 Mixer is equipped with LCD meters that were designed to emulate the meters found on
today’s cameras. If you are recording to the camera, why not emulate what the camera’s
meters are showing and what the camera is recording?

6.

Limiters need to be operated separately for split track recording and ganged for normal
stereo recording. The M3 mixer is are equipped with limiters that can be operated both
linked (ganged) and separate. In addition, the M3 limiters have been designed to have apleasant sound quality, yet provide effective limiting in the field without requiring user
adjustment in the field.

7.

Having both a 3.5mm and ¼” headphone jack is best. If you can have only one, then ¼” isbetter as it offers 4 to 5 times the reliability of a 3.5mm jack in the field. The M3 Mixer isequipped with a heavy duty ¼” headphone jack. The 302 is only equipped with a 3.5mm
jack.

8.

Multi-pins offer quick, easy, one connection camera support. They are more reliable thanusing three separate connectors and there is no need to worry about a non-locking 3.5mm
tape connector coming unplugged. Today’s ENG market demands two-camera support.
Adding a second 10 pin connector, the associated line/ mic switching, larger dual isolated
output transformers and taking up all the room in the mixer is both expensive and labor
intensive. At PSC we feel this feature is worth it and our customers agree!

9.

Output transformers help eliminate ground loops, Electromagnetic Interference, Radio
Frequency Interference and other problems. This is especially true when used in the fieldunder unknown and varying circumstances including long cable runs, various groundreferences, etc. Your signal is only as good as the quality of your output transformers. TheM3 Mixer is the only 3-channel mixer to offer dual isolated secondaries and ourtransformers are the biggest and the best quality in the industry, bar none! You can’t breakthe laws of physics! Dual outputs require twice the transformer size. Remember, when it
considering transformers, size does matter.

10.

Multiple outputs add flexibility for the operator in the field. Today’s sound mixers care more
about flexibility than anything else. Having multiple outputs and their inherent flexibility iswhat the M3 mixer is all about. It’s also about being able to tell a producer “YES” rather
than “NO” when asked to provide some special audio feed or second camera support.

11.

Auxiliary outputs on ENG mixers have typically been limited to a single output and at a fixed
level. This is not very flexible or user friendly in the field! The M3 Mixer comes equippedwith two auxiliary outputs and they are both independently line or mic level switchable. No
other 3-channel mixer offers this feature.

12.

Have you ever tried to hold a boom pole with one hand and mix with the other? Try it andyou will see why we included a boom pole mounted remote control with the M3 Mixer. Our
customers love it and constantly comment to us as to why no other manufacturer hasoffered this feature. Maybe its because we listen to our customer’s suggestions.

13.

Most ENG sound mixers use wireless nearly every day. Having your whole bag poweredfrom one NP-1 rechargeable battery is both convenient and provides cost savings over thelong run. Using the Optional NP-1 battery pack/power distribution box provides power tothree wireless units from one convenient source. And unlike other third party NP-1 battery
caps and adapters, our NP-1 pack surrounds the whole battery so it will not easily come off
during a shoot. In addition, the main power switch on the M3 mixer controls the power
outputs of the NP-1 pack thus allowing you to turn off one switch and shut down the power
to your entire bag. It’s a simple and convenient solution!

14.

While the FP33 and 302 mixers offer 12PH mic power, it must be selected globally. I.E. you
cannot use one 12ph mic and one 48PH mic at the same time.

We reserve the right to make changes to features and specifications
without notice to enable future product improvements.

Copyright 2003
Professional Sound Corporation
Printed in the U.S.A.