VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Don Hammock]

A Big Texas Howdy to everyone,

I have a very good friend who just purchased the below mike at Microcenter in Houston. Please give an HONEST critique-Good,Bad ,or Ugly.

Samson C01U
Thanks,

Don

[Frank F]

Pros

* good, uncolored sound
* convenient USB interface
* software phase and low-cut controls
* no apparent latency problems
* very reasonable price
* works well with MME drivers
* sample rates between 8 and 48kHz, with 16-bit resolution
* 19 mm diaphragm

Cons

* driver does not support stereo pairs
* does not offer 24-bit sampling
* no software uninstall option
* USB limits cable length
* needs practice to get best audio out of the microphone
* no perceptible proximity effect for a solid sound for VO
* difficult to run with ASIO (ASIO wants to see the In and Out
functions, the C01U is an input only device.)
* acoustically noisy (high gain need for best results, but the C01U picks
up a lot of noise due to the cardoid pattern

Aside from the ASIO issues (Samson is working with Steinberg to try and resolve the problem), the C01U/C0 is an overperforming, low priced microphone which is very useful for mobile audio applications.

The C03U - also available. is a multi-patterned USB condenser microphone which features features dual 19mm internal shock-mounted diaphragms with switchable omni, super-cardioid, and figure-8 pickup patterns and is a little more bang for the buck.

Toodles

F2
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com

[Yoda117]

I've had quality issues with the Samson stuff, particularly the USB mics. They just didn't seem to last longer than a year for me (had two of the CO1Us die on me; I now use a micport pro and a different mic instead).

With the amount of people using them now, I am hoping that such issues are rare.
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Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

[ccpetersen]

I use one and it is everything that Frank said. I did have one experience problems after a power surge/outage (along with several other things attached to my computer). It developed a buzz, and the guys at Samson were cool and fixed it at no charge (under warranty). We were never quite sure if the surge caused it or if it would have developed anyway.

No matter about that... I now have a UPS on the whole system -- the mic was plugged into a USB hub, which was powered from the wall, not the UPS that the rest of the system was plugged into. My bad.

Anyway, the issues of being very sensitive to ambient noise are SPOT-on. I have managed to quiet my room down quite a bit because of this, so that's good. I've also experimented quite a bit with how close to get so that I'm giving the mic a good feed without overdriving it (or courting the dreaded popped P and B events). It seems to me that you have a sweet spot of between 6-12 inches in that pattern around the mic for the optimal sound without consequences, however, this depends on your voice, etc. YMMV.

I've noticed NO latency and since I'm recording at the desk most of the time, the cord length isn't an issue.

I use the mic with Soundforge and between that and the onboard media control, I can control it pretty well. That being said, I'm using my Samson C01U mostly for podcast and vodcast as and not for things that require that fuller, stereo sound. For that, we have our studio and a couple of other mics, preamps, the whole schmear.

It's great for in the field -- travels well (better than the snowball) -- and the USB interface means I can do audio work with a laptop in a quiet room and turn out a serviceable product when I'm on the road.

Bottom line, it's never gonna be one 'o them "newman" mics, but I didn't expect it to be. For the buck and the utility, I like it.
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Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420

[Audiogal]

I had one as a travel mic for awhile. Surprisingly good sound for the price. I think it works well for female voices.
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Mary