VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

[Debbie]

I found this link at another forum (not a v/o forum) and thought you all might found it as interesting as I did .

http://www.transom.org/tools/recording_interviewing/200508.mic_shootout.html

Cheers,

[billelder]

Debbie,

Thanks for the link. When you live in "Festering Boil, Georgia" as I do, there is no place to compare, borrow, rent or return a Neumann or any other mic for that matter. So, it helps to compare this way. Much appreciated.

[Debbie]

Hi Bill,

Truly, I know that feeling! I live 50 kilometres from my nearest "city" (and not a big one at that).

While I love where I live, that part I could do without .

Have fun,

[Deirdre]

Thanks for posting this!

It's interesting to hear the nuances.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

[nick reed]

Wow, very interesting. I listened to "Male Voice 2" for my comparisons. I do have a bad cold right now so I cannot rely 100% on my perceptions but I just could not wait to try this. I tried to go through them quickly and jot down my immediate impressions, without over-analyzing. I used this type of quick notation...

"-" There is something that I don't like about it (generally, too bright or revealing).

"0" I am neutral on this one, if I listened more, I could change my mind

"+" There is something that I like about this one

"++" This one stands out, I really like it

Then, if I felt it warranted, I put a one or two word comment next to that.

I gave four mics a "++" rating: U87, AT4050, KSM32 and Oktava 319

My greatest compliment was a "NICE" in capital letters, put next to the U87. I did not put any additional comments next to the other ++ mics.

I gave four "-" minus ratings to: Senn 431, AKG 414, SM 58 and RE 27

I gave my own mic, TLM103 a "0" neutral rating and added the comment "congested". I also gave the SM7 a neutral rating.

If I did this again with less stuffiness in my ears, the results may change but they must be fairly accurate... I certainly nailed the U87 and I have always thought the my tlm103 did have a congested quality to it.

No doubt, I would have to give the Best-Bang-for-the-Buck Award to the Studio Projects B1 and I have read many other opinions which support this. I never believed it before... now, I do.

So, based on these shakey perceptions, I would say that my favorite mic was the U87 (no surprise there) and my second favorite was, sadly, not the TLM103, but the AT4050.

Please share your responses to your experiment.

Nick

[Spacegypsy]

Thank you! What a great resource to hear the differences in mic sound.

I only listened to the female voice.

I have just been thinking about buying a new mic, and this helps a lot.

D, F, O and R got my vote :

D: Neumann TLM 103 $900
F: Neumann U-87 $2,600
O: Shure KSM44 $700
R: Electrovoice RE-27 $450

One of each from Santa please!

[Frank F]

This is a good resource for future mic buying ideas. I use the U87 - and I like it. I also use several other mics listed. Each has it's own plus or minus.

Nick, listen again in a couple of days and see if your choices change. Each day we hear "differently". Then IF you have a chance - try some of the mics you favor. Day-to-day our voices and our "listening experiences" change, it is a very subtle change, but it does change. Also remember that the sound was in a "large" room, what the same microphone sounds like in a small booth or room may be different.

Cavaet: What you hear with YOUR voice day-after-day may be different with each experience on each mic. How YOU sound on the specific microphone of choice is what you are wanting to find. Not how someone else sounds on a specific microphone.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all - thanks for the sentiment Banksey.

Frank F

[nick reed]

[ryansbeal]

Thanks for the great site. I'll have to take some time and study the sounds.

Ryan

[Bill]

thanks for that. very interesting. :wink:

[kgenus]

Although not online, if you want to hear the Lynn Fuston's "The 3D Mic CD Listening Party" which contains recordings of microphones totalling $150,000, all bounced to cd for your ears. You'll also find an additional link for the "3d Pre CD" which is essentially the same thing with $75,000 in preamps.

If you're going to spend over $1000 on a mic or preamp, it's worth getting your hands on these to hear a potential combination you may be planning on purchasing.
_________________
Genus

[allensco]

What a surprise that was! I gave D (TLM103) the best rating of 'em all. I was surprised to see that a mic I use weekly on the air (Senn 421) did not rate at all with me...nor did the AKG c3000 (I use a c3000b in my booth). Others that got good marks from me were the Shure SM7, Rode NT1, Shure SM57, the Shure KSM27, the Shure KSM44, the Oktava 319 and the EV RE27. Those were the best sounding mics to my ears just listening off the cuff. I did not cheat and look at the key while listening. I just listened and wrote down the letter of the mic that sounded good.

Guess I need to go mic shopping.

[steeleman]

I was Impressed with the sound of the Rode vs the other mics....
I only listened to the male bass voice which is more my timbre...
I was real impressed... May have to buy one. Will check the other male
voice2 and see the difference....!!!

This was HUGE!! Thanks Debbie! I'd love to hear the diff. between
a RODE mic that was used on that test and a shotgun Sennheiser
MKH 416...!!!!

[Debbie]

I'm so glad everyone seemed to get so much out of the link I posted! I didn't realise how much other people like to compare other mics as much as I do.

My husband bought me an early Xmas present - a Neumann BCM705. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has any experience with this mic. It's Neumann's first dynamic mic and the specs are viewable at:

http://www.neumann.com/?lang=en&id=current_microphones&cid=bcm705_description

I'm new to the Neumanns, having only known Rode mics so far so I'd love to hear other opinions.

Have an excellent Holiday season everyone - stay very safe and happy.

Cheers Everyone,

[marko]

Debbie, I think you will love your BCM 705 and congrats on receiving it! Make sure that the roll off isn't engaged upon using it, unless you need that feature. It's a bit of a pain to get to, but not too bad. Mine was engaged and I couldn't figure out why I had to bump up the gain as high as I did! I finally figured out what was going on and love the microphone.

I have a Neumann BCM 104 & TLM 103 and am COMPLETELY satsified with both. I'm a Neumann fan for life!