Microphones, Podcast 3rd View
Concluding the conversation, started in the notes “Microphones, microphones and again microphones # 1” and “Microphones, view of podcaster # 2” , I approach the set of microphones that passed through natural selection in my studio survived, flourished and feels calm and confident . With time and experience, my microphone-mania gradually calmed down well, or at least stabilized. As it seems to me, the fact that I finally found that “my” microphone played a significant role here.
9. Shure SM7B Vocal Microphone is a dynamic microphone with a very flat, “flat” on the frequency response sound, which is the standard for many FM stations, mostly outside the US. The last 20-30 podcasts are my main studio microphone, replacing the RE20 in this post.
By the sum of the pros and cons, this is the best of all the microphones for home studios from those that passed through my hands. Of course, all this is in my subjective opinion, but in the first part of these notes we agreed on the very subjective subjectivity of my assessments. So, this microphone is just like Stirlitz - “carved out of stone and steel”. In the sense that it is strong, reliable, protected from all sorts of trouble and always ready to work. I speak both about the physical reliability of this very solidly made device, and its electrical security. This is one of the rare microphones that you can touch while recording. Structurally, the SM7B is equipped with an internal shock mount and does not require external suspensions. Anti-pop device in 2 copies (for varying degrees of proximity to the microphone) is included and copes with its task.
')
And this microphone sounds beautifully and with some warmth. I can not guarantee that your voice in it will be good, but all the voices that spoke to him in my studio were completely satisfied with their sound. Talking in the SM7B is also a pleasure, especially if you, like me, prefer to speak very close to the microphone. And away too, you can move away without any problems, everything will be clearly and vividly audible. Speaking in it, you can allow yourself to sit freely and not painfully try to maintain the only correct position in the "line of fire." In this sense, it is no less forgiving than the RE20.
With any gain that you can apply to it, the level of noise collected is very low. Recording a podcast in a rather noisy room, where a condenser microphone like AT3035 heard noise around -30 (this is a lot and bad for recording), with the same level (-3db) of the useful signal SM7B gave no more than -45db noise, which is quite decent and practically imperceptibly listeners.
However, one cannot keep silent about the serious problem with this microphone in home studios. Rather, this is not a problem but a specificity, but in real studios with a limited budget this can be a very tangible obstacle. This microphone needs at least 60db gain. These 60 - the very minimum, and most likely with such a gain to achieve a level in the region of -3 you will not succeed. Those. in practice, even more is needed, and this is not the way to give every amplifier and rare mixer And even if your amplifier / mixer can pull this level, there is no guarantee that you will not receive completely obscene noise from your amplifier in such an extreme mode for it.
I use SM7B via Aphex 230 microphone processor and there are no problems here. And the power and quality of this vocal strip with his head enough. I tried to connect this microphone to the Symetrix580 and did not notice any problems either. With processors simpler, such as the DBX286A, it is already more difficult to get a full signal level, but nevertheless it is also quite possible to live. However, connecting SM7B to simple mixers or audio interfaces is almost hopeless. And of course, directly without an amplifier, insert it into the microphone input of your computer in general is an unthinkable thing.
It is rumored that the new Mackie VLZ3 family of mixers is capable of adequately amplifying the signal from the SM7B, but I myself can’t not disprove them. What I can say for sure is that my old DFX6 absolutely does not pull it.
Summing up, I will say that in spite of everything, this is my favorite microphone for today with which I seem to be very long. Yes, and the price of this microphone is about $ 350.
10. AKG Acoustics HSC171 is not really a microphone, more precisely not only a microphone. This is a headset (headset) equipped with professional closed headphones AKG171 and a narrow-focus condenser microphone. Talking about the headphone part is beyond the scope of our reviews, but I can say a few words about the microphone in basic good and warm.
This headset is my main record for off-site and other out-of-podcasts. Connected to the PMD660 (portable recorder), this set is a completely complete version of the mini-studio, which provides a very decent level of sound "in the field." Of course, studio quality sitting in nature or recording in a car is impossible to achieve, however, quite an adequate noise level, good and practically undistorted voice transmission even when you speak very loudly (to overshadow the ambient noise) - this is all achievable.
The condenser nature of the microphone requires phantom power and causes a slightly higher sensitivity, especially for remote sounds than we would like. However, on the positive side, in contrast to its dynamic head-to-head counterparts, this microphone needs noticeably less gain and is easier to talk to. Those. it is not so necessary to maintain its correct position in the corner of the mouth, and it is not necessary to strain in order not to move it inadvertently. The built-in low frequency cutter, complete with a miniature wind filter, almost solves the problem of pop sounds. Unfortunately, to turn on this cutter is far from the simplest: to do this, you need to unwind the connector, carefully get the board and put a jumper there. And that much more troublesome, then the whole thing then assembled back into the connector.
I am personally not happy with the special beauty of the sound of this whole set, but for those conditions in which I use this result, it can be considered more than satisfactory. For my taste, the sound lacks some warmth and humanity, but the post-processing will help to fix this to some kind of quite listenable degree.
The price of this headset is about $ 400, which is certainly not cheap. However, in addition to the microphone, you get a pair of classic radio Nuashnikovs, however, also with your own problems, which I will not discuss here.
Here on this review can be closed. If you wait here at the end of the recommendation on the topic “what microphone should I buy now”, then, alas, I have to upset you. I said my opinion on this top ten, tried to show my experience with these microphones, but the conclusion is for you. In addition, we must remember that although the microphone is very important in our business of home podcasts, it is far from the only device in receiving and recording high-quality sound. I invite everyone interested in this matter to the website of the Prospecting and Information Technology Authority , where on such topics I sometimes have different conversations.
9. Shure SM7B Vocal Microphone is a dynamic microphone with a very flat, “flat” on the frequency response sound, which is the standard for many FM stations, mostly outside the US. The last 20-30 podcasts are my main studio microphone, replacing the RE20 in this post.
By the sum of the pros and cons, this is the best of all the microphones for home studios from those that passed through my hands. Of course, all this is in my subjective opinion, but in the first part of these notes we agreed on the very subjective subjectivity of my assessments. So, this microphone is just like Stirlitz - “carved out of stone and steel”. In the sense that it is strong, reliable, protected from all sorts of trouble and always ready to work. I speak both about the physical reliability of this very solidly made device, and its electrical security. This is one of the rare microphones that you can touch while recording. Structurally, the SM7B is equipped with an internal shock mount and does not require external suspensions. Anti-pop device in 2 copies (for varying degrees of proximity to the microphone) is included and copes with its task.
')
And this microphone sounds beautifully and with some warmth. I can not guarantee that your voice in it will be good, but all the voices that spoke to him in my studio were completely satisfied with their sound. Talking in the SM7B is also a pleasure, especially if you, like me, prefer to speak very close to the microphone. And away too, you can move away without any problems, everything will be clearly and vividly audible. Speaking in it, you can allow yourself to sit freely and not painfully try to maintain the only correct position in the "line of fire." In this sense, it is no less forgiving than the RE20.
With any gain that you can apply to it, the level of noise collected is very low. Recording a podcast in a rather noisy room, where a condenser microphone like AT3035 heard noise around -30 (this is a lot and bad for recording), with the same level (-3db) of the useful signal SM7B gave no more than -45db noise, which is quite decent and practically imperceptibly listeners.
However, one cannot keep silent about the serious problem with this microphone in home studios. Rather, this is not a problem but a specificity, but in real studios with a limited budget this can be a very tangible obstacle. This microphone needs at least 60db gain. These 60 - the very minimum, and most likely with such a gain to achieve a level in the region of -3 you will not succeed. Those. in practice, even more is needed, and this is not the way to give every amplifier and rare mixer And even if your amplifier / mixer can pull this level, there is no guarantee that you will not receive completely obscene noise from your amplifier in such an extreme mode for it.
I use SM7B via Aphex 230 microphone processor and there are no problems here. And the power and quality of this vocal strip with his head enough. I tried to connect this microphone to the Symetrix580 and did not notice any problems either. With processors simpler, such as the DBX286A, it is already more difficult to get a full signal level, but nevertheless it is also quite possible to live. However, connecting SM7B to simple mixers or audio interfaces is almost hopeless. And of course, directly without an amplifier, insert it into the microphone input of your computer in general is an unthinkable thing.
It is rumored that the new Mackie VLZ3 family of mixers is capable of adequately amplifying the signal from the SM7B, but I myself can’t not disprove them. What I can say for sure is that my old DFX6 absolutely does not pull it.
Summing up, I will say that in spite of everything, this is my favorite microphone for today with which I seem to be very long. Yes, and the price of this microphone is about $ 350.
10. AKG Acoustics HSC171 is not really a microphone, more precisely not only a microphone. This is a headset (headset) equipped with professional closed headphones AKG171 and a narrow-focus condenser microphone. Talking about the headphone part is beyond the scope of our reviews, but I can say a few words about the microphone in basic good and warm.
This headset is my main record for off-site and other out-of-podcasts. Connected to the PMD660 (portable recorder), this set is a completely complete version of the mini-studio, which provides a very decent level of sound "in the field." Of course, studio quality sitting in nature or recording in a car is impossible to achieve, however, quite an adequate noise level, good and practically undistorted voice transmission even when you speak very loudly (to overshadow the ambient noise) - this is all achievable.
The condenser nature of the microphone requires phantom power and causes a slightly higher sensitivity, especially for remote sounds than we would like. However, on the positive side, in contrast to its dynamic head-to-head counterparts, this microphone needs noticeably less gain and is easier to talk to. Those. it is not so necessary to maintain its correct position in the corner of the mouth, and it is not necessary to strain in order not to move it inadvertently. The built-in low frequency cutter, complete with a miniature wind filter, almost solves the problem of pop sounds. Unfortunately, to turn on this cutter is far from the simplest: to do this, you need to unwind the connector, carefully get the board and put a jumper there. And that much more troublesome, then the whole thing then assembled back into the connector.
I am personally not happy with the special beauty of the sound of this whole set, but for those conditions in which I use this result, it can be considered more than satisfactory. For my taste, the sound lacks some warmth and humanity, but the post-processing will help to fix this to some kind of quite listenable degree.
The price of this headset is about $ 400, which is certainly not cheap. However, in addition to the microphone, you get a pair of classic radio Nuashnikovs, however, also with your own problems, which I will not discuss here.
Here on this review can be closed. If you wait here at the end of the recommendation on the topic “what microphone should I buy now”, then, alas, I have to upset you. I said my opinion on this top ten, tried to show my experience with these microphones, but the conclusion is for you. In addition, we must remember that although the microphone is very important in our business of home podcasts, it is far from the only device in receiving and recording high-quality sound. I invite everyone interested in this matter to the website of the Prospecting and Information Technology Authority , where on such topics I sometimes have different conversations.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/30486/
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