VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

DenaliDave · Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 7:33 pm Post subject: Four Way Blind Mic Shootout

Alright, so I did short clips of all four of my microphones running into the iD22. Now, this is a blind test -- I'll reveal what mics are what after we have a few trained ears give them a listen. I know I've shared some clips on here before, but I haven't ever done ALL of the mics in a test like this.

I ran all 4 mics into the iD22, recorded into TwistedWave at 96/24. I didn't do any digital processing, EQ, compression or de-essing. I tried to gain match each mic as I moved through them to eliminate the need to equalize, but in the end I did run Twisted Wave's RMS equalize function at -20dbs on each.

So, without further ado -- here's the DenaliDave 4-way Blind Microphone Deathmatch!

4-Way Microphone Shootout
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sdaeley17 · Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 12:24 am Post subject:

Good to hear your voice, Dave! My ears are much less experienced than most here, but this is what I hear:

Mic 1- some noise at the beginning and throughout, but sounds most natural to me. Also hear a little room reflection in there. My guess would be the CAD.

Mic 2- lots of high frequency action here, especially the upper-mids. It actually hurt my head to listen to. Mouth noises are very apparent with this one. Guessing the 102

Mic 3- sounds muted, but not unpleasant. I’m guessing this is the RE20.

Mic 4- This one emphasizes the low mids, and is a little lacking in the upper end, but I actually really like it on your voice. That leaves the D87 clone, I believe.

Thanks for this! It was fun, and good listening practice!
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"There's Magic all around us; you just have to see it. And the most wonderful Magic of all, is just bein' alive." -Uncle Montork, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

DenaliDave · Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 12:56 am Post subject:

Thanks Sean!

I'll let a few others chime in before I reveal the line up!

One thing I forgot to mention, and I'm slapping myself now is that mic #1 had a reflection filter behind it. One would think that if there were room reflections, you wouldn't hear them!

I've had mic #1 without it before, and I don't hear what you heard (I heard it too and it kind of baffled me). I'm thinking that the filter actually might have caused more room reflection! Yikes!

What's REALLY interesting is that I played around with some EQ and managed to make 3/4 of the mics sound pretty darn close to one another.

By knowing what the frequency response graphs are *supposed* to be, combined with watching the spectrum's live; I was able to attenuate or drop certain parts on each sample with either a high shelf or bell.

I'm doing this over the weekend as I have a surprise mystery mic appearing on my doorstep either Monday or Tuesday. *rubs hands together*
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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

My picks would be #1 and #4

DenaliDave · Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:07 pm Post subject:

~Elwood, those would be my picks as well after hearing them side-by-side. What's interesting is how #3 dramatically improved with EQ.

I didn't upload the EQ'ed track to my Dropbox, but I do have it on Soundcloud in an uncompressed format. So despite it streaming, it wasn't converted to AAC or MP3.

Interesting note: I did NOT EQ #2. Keep that in mind, #2 was not altered or EQ'ed:

Four Way Microphone Deathmatch With EQ!

I'm not sure if I'd EVER use those EQ settings for production purposes, but it's very surprising how I was able to alter the sound of #1, #3 and #4 to sound more like #2.
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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
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paulstefano · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 4:23 am Post subject:

I'm not going to guess on the models, but here are my thoughts.

1 and 4 sound the best, although 1 is a little crispy. I think 4 has the overall cleanest sound. 2 sounds sibilant and overly boomy. 3 sounds pretty good, but a little muted. Okay, I said I wouldn't but 3 must be the RE-20 right?

Overall, I'd probably use 4 on a daily basis. If 3 is the RE-20, then I'd use that for long form narration or audiobooks.
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yarg28 · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 8:54 am Post subject:

My initial reaction was mic 1 and 4 in that order. Then I just flipped 1 and for back and forth and I think I may actually like 4 for your voice the best (in that random read style!). 4 seems a bit smoother over all.

For me, i really didnt like listening to 2 and 3 at all.

DenaliDave · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 10:15 am Post subject:

Well, OK I can't stand it any longer...

Everyone's right -- Sean you were spot on! Paul, you too!

#1 CAD e100s

#2 Neumann TLM-102

#3 Electrovoice RE20 (bass tilt-down switch engaged for more balanced sound)

#4 D87 clone

I see a lot of love for the TLM-102 all over the place, but quite frankly, it has this horrible sizzle sound to it, like it's trying to artificially boost presence. I've read more positive things about the 102 than the 103 actually. A lot of people say the 103 is to "dark".

The I like the e100 (when it works). It was acting up again yesterday, but I just touched it a bunch of times and the hum went away. I swear it's building up static on/in/around it or something.

The RE20 should have sounded better -- I'm not sure what went on there, I usually use that for long-form and it sounds great.

Now the clone was a real shocker. I haven't really used it much at all. I think I finally managed to get it positioned in its "sweet spot". Does it live up to what the guy who makes them claim? Not sure. I do feel it was a fair price for how it performs though. I want to say its the only condenser I have with a transformer, as I do believe the e100s is transformer-less like the TLM-102.

To be honest? I'm not really happy with any of them, except the RE20 (which as I said really does sound better, not sure how I bungled that).

I'll be selling off the 102, and not sure if it's worth it to try to have the e100s repaired/looked at. I've heard horrible things about CAD's customer service.

That leaves me the clone and RE20.
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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
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paulstefano · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 11:08 am Post subject:

Awesome. Sounds like you have found your killer combination. The Clone for commercial, imaging, etc and the RE-20 for narration.
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Quicksilver · Been Here Awhile Joined: 29 Oct 2012 Posts: 217

I liked 1 and 4.

Listened before reading any comments, seems to be the consensus.

What's the U87 clone? Several mods advertising that these days.

sdaeley17 · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 4:14 pm Post subject:

I forgot to mention 1 and 4 were my favorites as well. Knowing your mics and situation really helped my choices, but it still feels good to be right. Smile

Speaking of CAD's horrible customer service, just got this lovely number after checking in with massdrop about my 3rd replacement e100s:

"I have been trying to source a replacement from the vendor, but they have informed me that they do not have the inventory available to send a replacement at this time. They also do not know when they will be getting more in stock, either.

Rather than keep you waiting for an undetermined amount of time, I had to refund your original payment method. We understand this is not ideal and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes. For your trouble, I have applied a $15 credit to your member account that you can use towards a future purchase. " Massdrop-3, CAD- 0
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"There's Magic all around us; you just have to see it. And the most wonderful Magic of all, is just bein' alive." -Uncle Montork, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

DenaliDave · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 4:48 pm Post subject:

Thanks Sean -- Massdrop has the CAD e100 back up right now I noticed...I was tempted, but that only lasted a second. There are a TON of other great mics out there, and life's to short to try them all!!! Laugh

What's funny is that the "clone" cost less than the TLM-102. It just goes to show you all how one mic might sound good on one (or a lot of people apparently) person, but not another. It just doesn't sound good on me.

One reason I did this shootout is because I wanted to narrow down the mic's to determine a clear "winner" ...

*cue pro-wrestling music and announcer voice*

BECAUSE THE WINNER OF THE DEATHMATCH GOES ON TO ROUND TWO -- TAKING ON A NEW MYSTERY MIC TOMORROW! TUESDAY, TUESDAY, TUESDAY! (okay, possibly Wednesday LOL).

Sorry, I had to... Sarcastic

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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
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sdaeley17 · Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:43 pm Post subject:

Funny they're doing another drop when they don't have any IN STOCK. Oh, well. Washing my hands of it.

You're absolutely right, so many mics and so little time and all that. I've got plenty on my list right now, better to be excited about the possibilities than whine about the past.

Speaking of which, I'm excited to hear about what you're trying out! (Also, where is all this money coming from? Just kidding, but but this rate, you should consider setting up shop as Alaska's only recording studio! Wink

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"There's Magic all around us; you just have to see it. And the most wonderful Magic of all, is just bein' alive." -Uncle Montork, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

DenaliDave · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:05 pm Post subject:

Okay, so here is the new "mystery mic" cool

Mysterious Mic...

Once again, there was no EQ, compression, de-essing, gating, limiting or anything. Just raw.

In fact, this was recorded literally as soon as I turned on the V48 phantom power to it for the first time, so I may adjust mic placement a bit. There's few sibilant "s" sounds that I can take care of easily with placement.

Oh and Sean -- I just did my taxes, and we Alaskans get what's called a "permanent dividend fund". The long and short is that the state leases and gets a percentage of profit from the oil produced here, and puts it into an investment fund. Each year, all the residents get a dividend from the fund. The last one was $2,017 -- and Sweetwater lets you split stuff into 3 payments.

I'll give a hint ... it's not a clone or modded mic this time!
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"The wise ones fashioned speech with their thought, sifting it as grain is sifted through a sieve." - Buddha
www.alaskamic.com

sdaeley17 · Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2016 8:42 pm Post subject:

I remember hearing about the state dividend for residents; glad to hear you're putting it to good use.

It'd be nice if Sweetwater did international shipping, sadly they do not. Will listen to the sample in a minute.
_________________
"There's Magic all around us; you just have to see it. And the most wonderful Magic of all, is just bein' alive." -Uncle Montork, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe