|
Post by StringStorm on Jan 16, 2017 15:56:03 GMT -8
I think I may have to ease in a new microphone into my favorites. Its a cheapo Chinese XLR condenser called the "BM-800". It feels sturdy, cheaper than my Samson C01U, came with a shockmount and a boom arm. The thing is cheaply made and the only thing that makes it seem heavy is its metal housing. The funny bit about it is that it came with an XLR to 3.5mm cable. The sound sucks when you just plug it straight into the PC but it still works. But when you introduce it to a 48v phantom power source by simply replacing its cable with a male-female XLR cable and hooking it up to your interface, it sounds goddamn good. When considering its price, it sounds too good for it. Here's a sample of me doing a quick sound test. Didn't bother doing anything other than rendering it right after recording it to preserve its "rawness". instaud.io/Iw2
|
|
|
Post by John A. on Jan 19, 2017 3:29:32 GMT -8
Is a Neumann TLM-103 considered Mid-grade? Maybe if you wildly stretched your interpretation of what that term means. hahaha It's what I'm using right now. But regardless, i also own an Aston Origin which is a great little mic, and i also own a Blue Baby Bottle which is also good. I've heard many good things about the CAD E100S, and there are good companies out there making great mics on a budget like Advanced Audio with their Neumann-esque models such as the CM87 (based on the U87).
There's also the 103's younger sibling, the TLM-102 that costs less while still being a good mic with that Neumann sound.
Audio-Technica's mics are usually pretty fantastic too.
|
|
|
Post by Jonathan on Jan 19, 2017 11:44:58 GMT -8
Dang...I have an MXL 990 which has served me well for a few years now...but after reading all this, I may have to look into another mic or two...or 6.
|
|
duffyweber
Member
Posts: 220
I Am A(n): Professional Voice Actor, Semi-Professional Voice Actor, Audio Engineer
Pronouns: Any OK
|
Post by duffyweber on Jan 29, 2017 20:27:03 GMT -8
Dang...I have an MXL 990 which has served me well for a few years now...but after reading all this, I may have to look into another mic or two...or 6. Don't get me started, man. I already have a few more mics than I can use, and there are a few that, if money were no object, I'd LOVE to get my hands on. For the most part, your MXL 990 is warm across the middle, which is going to give your voice some great depth. If you're going to add onto your mic locker, you might try one that's got the option of some high-end to give you some texture - you're in about the same "conversational" speaking range I am (depending on if I've been using low or high voices that day.) XD Then again, if you just want a higher-quality version of something you're used to working with (and comfy with) there's several really good choices for that, as well. = ) I.... have an unhealthy obsession with mics.
|
|
duffyweber
Member
Posts: 220
I Am A(n): Professional Voice Actor, Semi-Professional Voice Actor, Audio Engineer
Pronouns: Any OK
|
Post by duffyweber on Jan 29, 2017 20:30:47 GMT -8
Is a Neumann TLM-103 considered Mid-grade? Maybe if you wildly stretched your interpretation of what that term means. hahaha It's what I'm using right now. But regardless, i also own an Aston Origin which is a great little mic, and i also own a Blue Baby Bottle which is also good. I've heard many good things about the CAD E100S, and there are good companies out there making great mics on a budget like Advanced Audio with their Neumann-esque models such as the CM87 (based on the U87). There's also the 103's younger sibling, the TLM-102 that costs less while still being a good mic with that Neumann sound. Audio-Technica's mics are usually pretty fantastic too. Heheh, the 103 is on the border between mid-grade and bank-buster. You CAN get 'em for $500, but most of the time you're up to about $1000. And MAN do they have a lovely, suuuper flat response across the vocal ranges. *Drooool....* I love the budget clone mics. True, it's kinda a crapshoot, depending on who made it, but when you find a good one, it's like finding a diamond in the grass.
|
|
|
Post by Jonathan on Jan 30, 2017 7:10:34 GMT -8
Then again, if you just want a higher-quality version of something you're used to working with (and comfy with) there's several really good choices for that, as well. = ) Ooo...what would your recommendations be for that? Just so I know what to keep an eye out for.
|
|
duffyweber
Member
Posts: 220
I Am A(n): Professional Voice Actor, Semi-Professional Voice Actor, Audio Engineer
Pronouns: Any OK
|
Post by duffyweber on Jan 31, 2017 8:40:39 GMT -8
Then again, if you just want a higher-quality version of something you're used to working with (and comfy with) there's several really good choices for that, as well. = ) Ooo...what would your recommendations be for that? Just so I know what to keep an eye out for. An AKG C414 XL II has a good reputation and apparently good mid-boost (They've got the XLS model, which doesn't seem to have as much, so be careful which one you're looking at) - even the used ones are cashy, clocking in at $500 or so. T_T A CAD m179, maybe? Haven't personally played with that one. If you test one out, you'll have to let me know your thoughts. I'll add a few more as I think of them! ^_^
|
|
|
Post by Jonathan on Jan 31, 2017 9:32:50 GMT -8
Ooo...what would your recommendations be for that? Just so I know what to keep an eye out for. An AKG C414 XL II has a good reputation and apparently good mid-boost (They've got the XLS model, which doesn't seem to have as much, so be careful which one you're looking at) - even the used ones are cashy, clocking in at $500 or so. T_T A CAD m179, maybe? Haven't personally played with that one. If you test one out, you'll have to let me know your thoughts. I'll add a few more as I think of them! ^_^ Ah, groovy. Thanks heaps!
|
|
duffyweber
Member
Posts: 220
I Am A(n): Professional Voice Actor, Semi-Professional Voice Actor, Audio Engineer
Pronouns: Any OK
|
Post by duffyweber on Jan 31, 2017 9:44:23 GMT -8
An AKG C414 XL II has a good reputation and apparently good mid-boost (They've got the XLS model, which doesn't seem to have as much, so be careful which one you're looking at) - even the used ones are cashy, clocking in at $500 or so. T_T A CAD m179, maybe? Haven't personally played with that one. If you test one out, you'll have to let me know your thoughts. I'll add a few more as I think of them! ^_^ Ah, groovy. Thanks heaps! No probs! OH!!! Also, you might try an AT4047, a RODE NT1A (the A is different from the NT1,) and maybe a CAD e300s/E300 v2 - They'd all probably be a good fit for your voice. = )
|
|
|
Post by benedict on Apr 16, 2017 12:58:02 GMT -8
I think I may have to ease in a new microphone into my favorites. Its a cheapo Chinese XLR condenser called the "BM-800". It feels sturdy, cheaper than my Samson C01U, came with a shockmount and a boom arm. The thing is cheaply made and the only thing that makes it seem heavy is its metal housing. The funny bit about it is that it came with an XLR to 3.5mm cable. The sound sucks when you just plug it straight into the PC but it still works. But when you introduce it to a 48v phantom power source by simply replacing its cable with a male-female XLR cable and hooking it up to your interface, it sounds goddamn good. When considering its price, it sounds too good for it. Here's a sample of me doing a quick sound test. Didn't bother doing anything other than rendering it right after recording it to preserve its "rawness". instaud.io/Iw2This is cool to see someone else looking at the BM-800! Not all BM-800 mics are created the same. I'm pretty sure they all have the same basic circuit inside, but the capsules will vary from one re-seller to the next. I picked up a pair of Neewer NW-800 mics to use as donor bodies for a project and wasn't all that impressed with the sound. But I've seen photos of the insides of some other people's BM-800 mics that looked nothing like mine. I think you got a good one. I concur with you on the cable. Depending on the input you're plugged into, the plug-in-power on most 3.5mm inputs will typically be somewhat less than 5V - well under what the regulator inside the microphone is trying to clamp to. Swapping that out for a straight XLR cable and feeding it 48V improves matters a lot, just as you said. If you don't mind some soldering, this is what I did with one of my BM-800 mics: www.instructables.com/id/Modify-a-cheap-LDC-Condenser-microphone/It replaces the existing capsule with the one in the CAD E300S and replaces the electronics with a slightly stripped-down version of the Schoeps CMC-5. Mine is slightly modified because I found the high end too harsh for what I was doing, but there's a lot of flexibility in the design for tuning. My only real complaint with the microphone is that the head basket rings like a bell any time you handle the mic. (Simple solution: Don't touch it!)
|
|
The Uncertain Man
Member
Looking for some gentle feedback on how to improve my demo.
Posts: 164
|
Post by The Uncertain Man on May 11, 2017 5:41:56 GMT -8
|
|
|
Post by benedict on May 11, 2017 12:34:00 GMT -8
Don't kick yourself too hard. It leaves bruises and makes sitting down painful.
I don't have experience with either mic, so take all the rest of this with a huge grain of salt:
If the microphone capsule and amplifier electronics are the same between the two, and the only differences are the bit depth and sampling rate, the overall sound shouldn't change. So unless you're running into a specific problem with your AT2020 USB Plus mic that can be tied back to bit depth or sampling rate, I wouldn't sweat it too hard.
Here's a short bit about sampling rate and bit depth. It touches a little on sampling theory, so feel free to skip over this if it's not interesting:
In order to fully resolve a signal with a frequency X, you need to sample it at a rate of 2X. So if you've got a 20kHz source, a 40kHz sampling rate will fully resolve it. If you've got a 30kHz source, a 40kHz sampling rate won't fully resolve it, but a 60kHz sampling rate will. Going back to the specs on the two mics, the "+" should be able to fully resolve sources up to 24kHz, and the "i" should be able to fully resolve sources up to 48kHz.
To see if this affects you, try recording a track in your software and look at the spectrum. Try this with every voice you use. If you've got non-background sound up around the 24kHz range, you might benefit from the faster sampling rate. If not, it may not buy you much.
As a quick aside, nature recordists who record bats will often record at really high sampling rates (192kHz is typical, though specialty systems can exceed 300kHz) and then pitch-shift the tracks down into the human hearing range in software afterward. For this kind of work the high sample rates are a must.
Bit depth is a little trickier. Its importance will depend a lot on how you set your gain while recording and how you process the track afterward. Each bit of digital audio equates to a 3dB change in signal. Setting aside the characteristics of the microphone capsule and amplifier electronics, the bit depth will define the dynamic range of the system. A 16-bit system can't have a dynamic range greater than 48dB, and a 24-bit system can't have a dynamic range greater than 72dB.
Where this starts to matter is when you look at head space. To avoid clipping, it's common practice to set the gain on the preamp so that the signal never goes above some value, say -12dB. That's essentially four bits of head space. On a 16-bit system that means there's only 12 bits of information left in the signal. On a 24-bit system that means there's 20 bits of information left in the signal. Leaving large head space essentially compresses the dynamic range of the system.
Even if you boost the gain later during processing, you can't get those bits back. An extreme example of this is recording at some really low level, say -24dB, then boosting that to -3dB in software. It'll sound yucky no matter what your electronics are.
Having extra bit depth is always nice, but if you know your mic and you don't leave excessive head space when recording it may not have a huge effect on you.
And that's what it'll all boil down to: Are you happy with the sound you're getting out of the gear you have?
Just to throw a different wrench in the works here's another thought: The AT2020 USB+ retails for around $150 and the AT2020 USBi retails for around $200. A used AT2020 XLR is between $70-100 on Ebay (oooh! just found one listed for $50), and a 2nd generation Scarlett 2i2 interface on Ebay is around $120-$150. So for around the same cost as the AT2020 USBi you can make the jump into XLR mics, pick up the USB version of a mic you're used to, and still get the 24 bits and 96kHz sampling rate.
Having said all that, though, now I feel a little bad. As careful as I have to be with budgeting my own equipment costs, I hate telling other people how they can spend their money. (Now I'm kind of kicking myself...)
|
|
The Uncertain Man
Member
Looking for some gentle feedback on how to improve my demo.
Posts: 164
|
Post by The Uncertain Man on May 11, 2017 14:09:02 GMT -8
Thanks that was a really readable explanation of all of the specs!
Yeah it's a bit too late to really complain as I've had the AT2020USB+ since around Decemeber time. My next mic will be in the near future possibly, but I'm still inclined to stick with a USB version, as I have no knowledge of XLR and interfaces, and a lot of university work that will keep increasing as the months go by.
Thank you very much for the help!
|
|
|
Post by nomadicmaniac on May 14, 2017 11:42:13 GMT -8
I'm a bit of a newbie on these forums but i myself have a MXL Desktop Recording Kit with MXL microphone. It's been serviceable but i really don't have much of a place for comparison since it's the only mic i own. it's relatively cheap and i got it off amazon, however i have been looking into getting a better mic and a condenser mic sounds like the way to go but i love the other mic suggestions you guys have given. you're all amazing people.
|
|
|
Post by tomfreeman on May 20, 2017 5:54:59 GMT -8
The good old Neumann TLM103 for me
|
|