Sound Devices 833 User Manual

833

PORTABLE COMPACT MIXER-RECORDER

Legal Notices

Product specications and features are subject to change without
prior notication.

Copyright© 2019 Sound Devices, LLC. All rights reserved.
This product is subject to the terms and conditions of a
software license agreement provided with the product, and
may be used in accordance with the license agreement.
This document is protected under copyright law. An authorized
licensee of this product may reproduce this publication for the
licensee’s own personal use. This document may not be reproduced
or distributed, in whole or in part, for commercial purposes, such
as selling copies or providing educational services or support.
This document is supplied as a technical guide. Special care
has been taken in preparing the information for publication;
however, since product specications are subject to change,
this document might contain omissions and technical or
typographical inaccuracies. Sound Devices, LLC does not accept
responsibility for any losses due to the user of this guide.

Trademarks
The “wave” logo is a registered trademarks; Wave Agent ia
a trademark of Sound Devices, LLC. Windows and Microsoft
Excel are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks

Included Accessories

herein are the property of their respective owners.

WEEE Statement

If you wish to discard a Sound Devices product in Europe,

contact Sound Devices (Germany) for further information.

Warning! This device can drive headphones to potentially
dangerous levels. Do not listen at high volume levels for
long periods.

833 User Guide | Rev 1 | 09/12/19

This document is distributed by Sound Devices, LLC in online electronic (PDF)
format only. Published in the USA.

This table provides the revision history and cross-reference
links to “what’s new” in this guide.

REV # DATE VERSION DESCRIPTION

1-A

PART NUMBER DESCRIPTION

2479.000 Cordset 6’ AC cable

9623.001 XL-WPTA4 power supply TA4 Connector

9244.003 LCD cover

9772.000 Antenna, SMA connector

5529.000 Promo Sticker (white)

5537.000 Promo sticker (black)

1312.000 Dot: Red, Yellow, Blue,Green, Purple, White (8 each)

09/19 A v2.10 Initial Release

Read and fully understand this manual before operation.

Post Ofce Box 576
E7556 State Rd. 23 and 33
Reedsburg, Wisconsin 53959 USA

www.sounddevices.com

+1 608.524.0625 main
+1 608.524.0655 fax

800.505.0625 toll free

[e-mail]

Manual Conventions

SYMBOL DESCRIPTION

This symbol is used to show the order in which you select menu
commands and sub-options, such as: Main Menu > Outputs

>

indicates you press the Menu button for the Main Menu, then
scroll to and select Outputs by pushing the Encoder.

[ ] This symbol is used to convey selectable menu items.

* This symbol is used to convey factory default settings.

A plus sign is used to show button or keystroke combinations. For
instance, Ctrl+V means to hold the Control key down and press
the V key simultaneously. This also applies to other controls, such

+

as switches and encoders. For instance, MIC+HP turn means
to slide and hold the MIC/TONE switch left while turning the
Headphone (HP) encoder. METERS+SELECT means to hold the
METERS button down as you press the SELECT encoder.

A

note

*

*

provides recommendations and important related

information. The text for notes appears italicized.

A cautionary warning about a specic action that could cause
harm to you, the device, or cause you to lose data. Follow the
guidelines in this document or on the unit itself when handling
electrical equipment. The text for cautionary notes also appears
italicized and bold in a different color.

Welcome to the 833

FULLY ROUTABLE. ULTRA-PORTABLE.

The 833 is the professional’s tool for mobile and small productions. Like the popular Sound Devices 633, the 833 is small, lightweight, and com­pact. A tactile interface with dedicated faders, trim knobs, and PFL switches makes this mixer-recorder ideal for run-and-gun bag use.

The 833 has 6 mic/line preampliers, 8 channels, 12 tracks, 6 analog outputs, and ultra-accurate timecode. Many features have carried over
from the premium Sound Devices’ Scorpio, such as Sound Devices’ new preamplier design, 2 SD card slots, dual L-Mount battery charging and
powering, and an internal 256 GB SSD.

Additionally, the 833 shares the same processing architecture and multiple FPGAs as the Scorpio. This enables the 833 to be fully routable, and
any physical input can be routed to any track. The 833 features both digital and analog inputs and outputs, and has multiple powering options, so
it will t effortlessly into your existing kit.

A built-in three band EQ may be set to either pre- or post-fade for each channel to tackle any problems directly on-set. Enable Dugan Automixing to
automatically attenuate unused microphones in multi-microphone applications. Up to 8 channels can be automixed at a time, and two separate
groups can be mixed simultaneously.

Dedicated coms and slate allows for professional bi-directional communication with other crew members. Send customized mixes to the camera or
crew with multiple mix buses. With the ability to record to three media simultaneously, you can turn over SD cards to production at the end of the
day while keeping a backup on the internal 256 GB SSD.

The 833 may be controlled via the companion Android app, SD-Remote, which features transport controls, metering, and sound reports. For an
instant mobile workstation, choose from one of several supported USB control surfaces for remote fader and transport control.

We are honored to be part of your kit.

Sincerely,
Sound Devices

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Table of Contents

PANEL VIEWS 3

FRONT PANEL 3

LEFT SIDE PANEL 4

RIGHT SIDE PANEL 5

REAR PANEL 6

TOP PANEL 6

HOME SCREEN 7

CHANNEL SCREEN 8

MENUS 12

POWER MENU 13

CHANNEL SETUP 13

BUS MENU 14

OUTPUT MENU 15

AUTOMIXER 17

METERS 18

TIMECODE 18

RECORD/PLAY 20

FILES 21

SLATE/COMS/RETURNS 22

SYSTEM 25

CONTROLLERS 26

TOGGLE SWITCH SHORTCUTS 29

FRONT PANEL SHORTCUTS 29

USB KEYBOARD 32

QUICK SETUP 33

SD REMOTE 35

SPECIFICATIONS 38

GLOSSARY 42

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Panel Views

FRONT PANEL

Channel Trim

Channel Ring LED

PFL Switch

Channel Fader

Meter Button

CHANNEL TRIM Turns the channel on/off and sets the input gain
for the channel. To conserve power, turn off unused channels by
rotating channel trim fully counter-clockwise.

CHANNEL LED RING Provides visual indication of channel signal
condition, solo and mute, and whether a channel is on or off.

CHANNEL FADER Controls the audio level of the channel as it
contributes to the L/R mix and any destinations selected in routing as
“Post”.

PFL SWITCH Pre/Post Fade Listen selects the channel in the
headphones for Pre/Post Fade Listen while simultaneously entering
the channel screen. Also used for accessing virtual keyboard for
channel naming and various shortcuts.

TRANSPORT CONTROLS A joystick (with its illuminated LED
ring) on the front panel is used to perform various transport control
functions. (see table below). The ring LED will ash orange post roll
while writing to media.

Function Action

Record Push up the Transport control to begin recording a new le.

Stop Press in the Transport control to stop recording or playback.

Play Push down on the Transport control to begin playback of the

Rewind / Load
Previous Take

Fast Forward

/ Load Next

Take

Scrub While playing or paused, press the headphone knob to

The LED ring illuminates red while recording is underway.

While in standby, press and hold to display next take name.

last le recorded or le currently loaded. While in playback,
push down again to pause playback. The LED ring as well as
the active le in the display will ash to indicate that Pause
is active. Push down again to continue playback.

While in standby, push left to load the previous take. While
in playback, push and hold left to rewind.
When the 833 is playing back or paused, moving the joystick
to the left (<<) rewinds at 2x speed, then after holding for 5
seconds, it increases to 16x speed.

While in standby, push right to load the next take. While in
playback, push and hold right to rewind.
When the 833 is playing back or paused, moving the joystick
to the right (>>) fast forwards at 2x speed, then after holding
for 5 seconds, it increases to 16x speed.

enter Scrub mode. Then rotate clockwise for fast forward or
counter-clockwise for rewind speeds of 0x, 1/8x, 1/4x, 1/2x,
1x, 2x, 4x, 8x, and 16x. The audio may be heard in scrub
mode up to 2x speed.

Transport Control

Select Knob

LCD Display

*/** Switch

Mic/Tone Switch

Power Switch/LED Indicator

Menu Button

Headphone Knob

Rtn/Fav Switch

METER BUTTON Push to view and select various metering presets.
Used with Select knob. Push again to return to Home Screen.

SELECT KNOB

1. Push to view Outputs list, rotate and push to Select Output Screen.
Push Meter Button to return to Home Screen.

2. Rotate to select track in display, push both Meter and Select at
the same time to arm/disarm track. While holding the Meter Button,
multiple consecutive tracks may be armed by holding in the Select
knob and rotating.

3. Use with Meter Button to scroll through meter views then push to
Select.

4. Push with Channel Select switches 1-6 for shortcut to Bus 1-4, L,R
routing.

5. Menu navigation and push to Select.

MIC/TONE SWITCH Toggle slate mic and tone generator. Soft
button for menus.

*/** SWITCH User-programmable shortcut toggles.

POWER SWITCH/LED INDICATOR Turns the power on and off.

Switch LED ring indicates the following:

1. Power condition: green = good, orange = warning, red = shutdown
imminent.

2. Flashing blue = power is off and holding timecode.

3. Continuous blue = booting up.

4. Flashing yellow = unit is off and charging L-mount batteries.

5. Continuous yellow = unit is off and both L-mount batteries are fully
charged.

MENU BUTTON Push to enter the Main menu. Also used to exit
menus.

HEADPHONE KNOB

1. Rotate to control headphone volume.

2. Press to open headphone preset menu and select.

3. Menu navigation and push to select.

4. Press Menu and HP Encoder to enter Take List.

5. Press > 0.5s during playback to enter audio scrub mode.

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LEFT SIDE PANEL

Mic/Line Inputs 1-3 female XLR jacks
AES3/AES42 on XLR Input 1

Mic/Line Inputs 4-6
TA3 jacks

Com Rtn TA3 jack

INPUTS 1-3 FEMALE XLR JACKS Active-balanced analog
microphone or line-level inputs. Input 1 can also accept AES3 or
AES42 signal. [pin-1 = ground, pin-2 = hot (+), and pin-3 = cold (-)].

MIC/LINE INPUTS 4-6 TA3 JACKS Active-balanced analog
microphone or line-level inputs. [pin-1 = ground, pin-2 = hot (+), pin 3
= cold (-)].

COM RTN TA3 JACK Balanced connection for Com Return 1 audio
input. [pin-1 = Ground, pin-2 = hot (+), pin-3 = cold (-)].

Headphone 3.5mm jack

Headphone/
Headset/External Slate
Mic TA5 jack

HEADPHONE 3.5 MM JACK Unbalanced output and TRS
headphone output.

potentially dangerous levels.

Warning! This output can drive headphones to

Routing determined in the Outputs

menu. [Sleeve = ground, tip = left, ring = right].

HEADPHONE/HEADSET TA5 JACK Headphone and slate
microphone connections [pin-1 = HP right, pin-2 = HP left, pin-3 =
ground, pin-4 = mic -, pin-5 = mic+].

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RIGHT SIDE PANEL

Antenna RP-SMA
connector

LTC/Wordclock/5-pin
LEMO jack

SD Card slots 1 & 2

1/4” headphone jack

X1/X2

TA3 jacks

X3/X4

3.5 mm jack

Aux In 3.5 mm jack

ANTENNA RP-SMA-MALE CONNECTOR Connects to included
external antenna for Bluetooth LE.

SD 1 AND 2 CARD SLOTS Insert SD card media for recording.
Insert label side down.

USB C PORT

File transfer.

USB A PORT

1. USB keyboard.

2. USB to SD-Remote Android app.

3. USB to approved 3rd party fader controllers.

4. Supports USB hubs.

10-18V DC TA4 JACK Accepts DC voltages from 10–18 V for
powering. [pin-1- GND, pin-2- Smart Battery DATA, pin-3- Smart
Battery CLOCK, pin-4- +10-18 VDC].

LTC/WORDCLOCK/5-PIN LEMO JACK Timecode I/O, Wordclock.
[pin-1- GND, pin-2- LTC or WORDCLOCK IN, pin-5- LTC or WORDCLOCK
OUT (Pins 2 and 5 are software selectable)].

¼” HEADPHONE JACK 1/4-inch TRS headphone output. Warning!
This output can drive headphones to potentially dangerous levels.
[Sleeve = ground, tip = left, ring = right].

USB A port

USB C port

Main Outputs L (AES 1,2),
R (AES 3,4) Male XLR jacks

10-18 V DC TA4 jack

X3/X4 3.5MM JACK Unbalanced stereo 3.5 mm female connector.
Routing determined in the Outputs menu. [Sleeve = ground, tip = X3,
ring = X4].

X1/X2 TA3 JACKS Line, -10, or Mic level selected in Main menu
OUTPUTS section. Routing determined in the Outputs menu. [pin-1 =
Ground, pin-2 = hot (+), pin-3 = cold (-). Float pin-3 to un-balance].

AUX IN 3.5 MM JACK Auxilary input used for extra inputs or camera
return [Sleeve = ground, tip = left, ring = right].

MAIN OUTPUTS L (AES 1,2), R (AES 3,4) XLR JACKS Analog
outputs on standard 3-pin XLR-3M connectors. Analog Output levels
are selected between Line, -10, and Mic levels in Main menu >
OUTPUTS. Can be set to send AES3 digital signals (1,2 and 3,4 on L
and R respectively) in Main menu > OUTPUTS. Routing determined in
the Outputs menu. [pin-1 = Ground; pin-2 = hot (+); pin-3 = cold (-).
Unbalance by oating pin-3].

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REAR PANEL

Battery 1, Battery 2 Docking

BATTERY 1, BATTERY 2 DOCKING Sony L-Mount type batteries
may be used. When connected to an external DC source via DC the
L-Mount batteries can be charged if enabled in the Power menu.

TOP PANEL

TEST CONNECTOR Used during manufacturing.

833 User Guide

Test connector for manufacturing

6

Screen Views

HOME SCREEN

Current take name

LR mix bus meters

Media space

remaining indicators

Power icon

Individual channel

meters

File elapsed time

Timecode

Current frame rate Return meter

CURRENT TAKE NAME Shows the lename of the currently­selected take.

SSD, SD1, SD2 Indicates the amount of recording time available
based on current track count, sample rate, and media routing. The
internal SSD drive has a capacity of 256 GB.

POWER ICON Indicates approximate voltage condition and current
power source being used.

LR MIX BUS METERS WITH ARM/DISARM INDICATION

Indicates the peak and VU audio levels of the L/R mix. The L and R
indicators turn red to indicate that the tracks are armed for record.

INDIVIDUAL CHANNEL METERS WITH ARM/DISARM INDICATION

Indicates the peak and VU audio levels of the individual channel.
May be Pre- or Post- fade depending on Channel to Iso routing. The
isolated track indicators turn red to indicate that the tracks are armed
for record.

FILE ELAPSED/ REMAINING TIME Indicates in
Hours:Minutes:Seconds:1/10ths the elapsed time of the current le.
During playback, displays the elapsed and remaining time in hours,
minutes and seconds.

Selected

headphone preset

Current sample rate

TIMECODE Indicates current SMPTE timecode value in
HH:MM:SS:FF.

CURRENT SAMPLE RATE, FADER/TRIM LEVEL

1. Indicates current sample rate.

2. Temporarily indicates fader level of last moved fader (red text box).

3. Temporarily indicates trim level of last moved trim (green text box).

CURRENT TIMECODE FRAME RATE, FADER/TRIM LEVEL

1. Indicates current frame rate.

2. Temporarily indicates fader level of last moved fader (red text box).

3. Temporarily indicates trim level of last moved trim (green text box).

SELECTED HEADPHONE PRESET Indicates the currently-selected
headphone preset.

RETURN METER Indicates audio level for the return.

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CHANNEL SCREEN

Channel desgination

and user-dened name

Channel Meter view

Channel Trim value

Channel Input selection

Channel Linking

HPF (High Pass Filter) Polarity

Channel delay

Limiter

Slate Mic

Channel Mute

L C R pan select

CHANNEL DESIGNATION AND USER-DEFINED NAME Indicates
mixer channel and user-dened name. Both are overlaid onto the
channel audio meter. When in a Channel Screen, hold the PFL Switch
for about 0.5 s to enter the virtual keyboard and enter a user-dened
name for the channel.

CHANNEL METER VIEW Indicates the audio level of the channel.
Metering follows ISO Routing selection, Pre- or Post-fade.

CHANNEL TRIM VALUE Indicates the gain of the channel trim con­trol. The gain range depends on the type of input selected.
Mic: +12 to +76 dB
Line: -14 to +50 dB
AES3: -10 to +20 dB
AES42: 0 to +70 dB
Returns: -20 to +30 dB
Channels 1-6 trim is adjustable using the front panel trim controls.
Channels 7 & 8 trims are adjustable in the channel screen using the
Select knob.

CHANNEL FADER VALUE Indicates the level of the channel fader
control, continuously-variable from Off to +16dB.
Channels 1-6 fader is adjustable using the front panel fader controls.
Channels 7 & 8 faders are adjustable in the channel screen using the
Select knob.

CHANNEL INPUT SELECTION Indicates which physical audio input
is feeding the channel.

ISO (CHANNEL->ISO) ROUTING Indicates where the isolated
track’s audio is tapped from in the audio chain. Pre- or Post-fade.

CHANNEL LINKING Indicates the current linking status. The linking
options are Unlinked, adjacent channels (eg. 1,2) and adjacent chan­nels Mid Side (eg. 1-2MS). Linked parameters are: trims, faders, HPF,
delay, limiter, mute, ISO, Bus Send 1 and Bus Send 2. Stereo panning
is odd to L and even to R. For MS linking, the pan becomes a balance
control between M and S.

Channel Fader Value

Channel to ISO routing

Channel EQ

Channel to L, R, 1-4

HP Preset

Channel Arm

CHANNEL EQ Indicates the EQ position in the audio chain. Pre- or
Post-fade. Select to enter Channel EQ screen.

HPF (HIGH PASS FILTER) Indicates on/off status where green
icon and white value = ”On” and grey icon and value = “Off”. The HPF
frequency is variable in 10 Hz steps from 10 Hz to 320 Hz.

POLARITY REVERSE Indicates polarity status. Green icon = polarity
reversed, white icon = polarity normal.

CHANNEL INPUT DELAY Indicates input delay time. The input delay
is continuously-variable in milliseconds from 0-50 ms.

CHANNEL TO BUS ROUTING Determines the bus or buses channel
audio will be sent. When a channel is routed to a bus as a Send (bus
box highlighted blue), the Send Gain value is used. When a channel
is sent Pre-fade (green) or Post-fade (orange), the Send Gain value is
ignored.

CHANNEL LIMITER Indicates on/off status of channel limiter.

MUTE Indicates mute status of channel. Blue icon = muted. Toggle

mute on/off with the “Tone” switch.

L C R SELECT Indicates the stereo pan position of the channel’s
contribution to the L/R mix. Orange = selected. Use the */** switch
to select. Hold */** switch and rotate Select knob for continuous
panning positioning. Alternatively, press and hold Select knob, then
use */** switch to pan continuously.

ARM Toggle then Rtn/Fav switch to arm or disarm isolated track for
recording.

HP PRESET Pressing in the HP knob toggles between HP preset
and PFL.

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Virtual Keyboard

Action Function

Rotate HP Scrolls orange highlight through the keyboard

characters.

Press HP Inserts the highlighted character in text eld.

‘abc’ switch Quick ick toggles between A-Z and a-z in keyboard.

Hold ‘abc’
switch

Delete Deletes character to the left of ashing cursor.

Hold Delete Repeatedly deletes characters to the left of ashing

Space Inserts space at the ashing cursor position.

Hold Space Repeatedly inserts spaces.

Save switch Saves text and exits screen.

Rotate
Select

Quick Press

Select

Clear Clears text from the text edit eld.

End/Home Moves cursor to end/start of text.

Exit Exits screen without saving text edits.

Momentary selection of other case.

cursor.

Moves the cursor to the left or right in the text eld.

Switches to the Shifted functions: Clear, End, Home,
Exit. When shifted functions are active, their text
changes to white and the non-shifted functions
change to gray.

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Phrase Manager

CLEAR Clears all phrases

DELETE Deletes selected phrases

NEW Create new phrase

EDIT Edit selected phrase

INSERT Inserts selected phrase into text

REPLACE Replaces text with current selected phrase

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Channel EQ

1. EQ Selects channel EQ state. [Off*, On].

2. LOW FREQ Selects low frequency EQ lter parameters.

a. Type- Indicates Shelf or Peaking lter [Shelf, Peak].
b. Freq- Indicates frequency of the lter, continuously-variable from
20 Hz to 20 kHz (100Hz*).
c. Gain- Indicates gain of the lter, continuously-variable from -15 dB
to +15 dB in 1 dB increments (0 dB*).
d. Q- Indicates “Q” or bandwidth of the lter, continuously-variable
from .5 - 10 in .1 increments (1.0*).
e. Bypass- Indicates state of the lter [Bypass (orange ll)]*.

3. MID FREQ Selects mid frequency EQ lter parameters.
a. Freq- Indicates frequency of the lter, continuously-variable from
200-20 kHz in 10 Hz increments (5000Hz*).
b. Gain- Indicates gain of the lter, continuously-variable from -15 dB
to +15 dB in 1 dB increments (0 dB*).
c. Q- Indicates “Q” or bandwidth of the lter, continuously-variable
from .5-10 in .1 increments (1.0*).
d. Bypass- Indicates state of the lter [Bypass(orange ll)]*.

4. HI FREQ Selects high frequency EQ lter parameters.
a. Type- Indicates Shelf or Peaking lter [Peak, Shelf].
b. Freq- Indicates frequency of the lter, continuously-variable from
20 Hz to 20 kHz. (100 Hz*).
c. Gain- Indicates gain of the lter, continuously-variable from -15 dB
to +15 dB in 1 dB increments (0 dB*).
d. Q- Indicates “Q” or bandwidth of the lter, continuously-variable
from .5 - 10 in .1 increments (1.0*).
e. Bypass- Indicates state of the lter. [Bypass (orange ll)]*

5. PRE/POST-FADER Indicates where the EQ is inserted into the
audio chain. Pre-fade or Post-fade [Pre*, Post]

Note: EQ will apply to bus sends when applied Pre-fade on

ly.

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Menus

MAIN MENU

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