looking for mic test sites at DVinfo.net

Frank Granovski · December 29th, 2003, 12:48 AM

I recall having hold of a good mic test site a while back, but I have since misplaced it. Do any of you fine members have any links? Bryan?

I'm kind of interested in the Azden 990 and similar mics. Thanks.

Bryan Beasleigh · December 29th, 2003, 01:54 AM

Dave Largent and i are presently comparing some tests. we're unsure of how to share our findings.

I know of no mic test site.

We'll let you know.

Frank Granovski · December 29th, 2003, 03:30 AM

Thanks. Bealecorner has some findings on a few mics---I'm also going to look around for some links. Let me know about that mic.

Dave Largent · December 29th, 2003, 03:56 AM

Bryan,
I've thought, also, that this information that we have
should be sharred. You know, the whole demo I had
was 10 MB but I think that a listner could get a good idea even if the files were converted to MP3 or some other condensed version.
You know, what we've already done, has never before
been done on the internet, anywhere. And people
should know what we've found out. We should
try to find a way to get it out.

Dave Largent · December 29th, 2003, 04:56 PM

Frank, I know of a test site: DV Info Net :-)

Bryan Beasleigh · December 29th, 2003, 11:33 PM

Yes if i could just get my wife to co operate without making jokes . Dave heard some of the milder tests that i did with my wife :)). Put a mic in front of her and I get a comedian.

I had tried some tests with the mic on axis and at 45 and 90 degrees with my very deep voice and my wifes voice followed by a harmonica cord. my way of setting the mics is adjusting the gain to -12 db and peaking just below 0. i know how sensitive the mic is by the amount of gain i have to add to bring it up.

If an interested party had any one of the mics that were tested, then they would have a comparison.

If i could work out a standardized test I can use my marantz flash recorder.

I'm tempted to try a THE 1/2" cardoid or hypercardoid. i'm also tempted to go buy that Gefell M300 i listened to the other day.

I listen best to others peoples voice. When i tried the oktava cardoid it was like someone opened a window and there was no mic at all. i got the same feeling with the gefell m300 but that one colored the voice slightly. It made it flow like honey. Big difference in price though. The Oktavasarte all over the map. The guitar center sells them at a $200 list yet has a $49 special. The Oktava rep claims they're seconds, who do you believe. My oktava's aren't silver but have a matte black finish. they're both kits and identical in their sound. I paid $530 canadian for the 2 kits.

The gefell is normally $750 US but the distributor is clearing out the line. I can get it for less than $450 US.

Bryan Beasleigh · December 29th, 2003, 11:42 PM

Can we come up with a reasonable MP2 or MP3 rate

Dave Largent · December 30th, 2003, 12:22 AM

You mean "rate" as far as compression for email?

I've started doing a little bit more controlled
testing. I've got the female spoken word half
done. Also half done is music with male and female
vocals. All of these I've set the gain for peaking
at -3 dB to 0 dB.
For this second round of testing, I've dropped the AT4071 out of the competition.

Dave Largent · December 30th, 2003, 04:14 AM

About the best *mono* recording I came across
in my NLE was 48 kHz, 44 kbps. I cut a 5 MB
spoken word file down to 350 KB with that compression. I didn't listen real closely, but it sounded okay.

Frank Granovski · December 30th, 2003, 04:27 AM

Thanks people. The Azden 990 is a "directional," made with metal and dirt cheap. Someone on the MX forum bought one for his MX350, and it seems to work well. Before dumping my pocket change, I was curious if there where other mics, perhaps better, at around the same price. The setup I really want I cannot afford at the moment.

Thanks for the tip, Bryan. I'll check out that mic you suggested in your e-mail.

Matt Gettemeier · December 30th, 2003, 09:55 AM

I wish one of you guys had a webpage that you could post this on.

I really need to kick it in high gear and get a good solid page up.

We have a member "Keith Loh" who has an EXCELLENT webpage and he is well versed in web design. I suggest you guys look him up. Perhaps he could even host your files for now?

Otherwise I'd be surprised if SOMEBODY on this board wouldn't be happy to have this test on their site. It really is amazing at how convincing it is to just hear the difference...

I IMMEDIATELY decided to hold off on some less important things in my pursuit of audio perfection... I'm very thankful to have been givin this information. I would never be upset to hear that one of my mics isn't really that good, instead of upsetting me you are saving me from producing inferior recordings!

Probably like a lot of guys I hear movies and audio that makes me think, "How do they get it to sound like that?"... all the while just thinking my mic is good 'cause people say it is.

Listening IS believing.

Frank Granovski · December 30th, 2003, 04:41 PM

How would the "Panasonic Stereo zoom mic VW-VMS1, w/adaptor" compare with the Azden 990?

Frank Granovski · December 30th, 2003, 08:51 PM

Bryan, I went to http://www.apexelectronics.com and got lost. Which Apex mic model did you mean?

Bryan Beasleigh · December 30th, 2003, 08:57 PM

the apex 191, it operates on an AA battery. let me record a couple of clips for you and get some prices. Apex has a shotgun, it's not the most expensive stuff but it's far better than the onboard mic.

Jan Roovers · December 30th, 2003, 09:23 PM

Have you seen this site?

http://testing.holmerup.biz/mic_pretest/index_en.html

December 29th, 2003, 12:48 AM	#1
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	looking for mic test sites I recall having hold of a good mic test site a while back, but I have since misplaced it. Do any of you fine members have any links? Bryan? I'm kind of interested in the Azden 990 and similar mics. Thanks.

December 30th, 2003, 09:23 PM	#15
Jan Roovers Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Amsterdam NL -Turnhout BE Posts: 158	Have you seen this site? http://testing.holmerup.biz/mic_pretest/index_en.html __________________ ___________ Jan Roovers www.jtv.be

December 29th, 2003, 01:54 AM	#2
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	Dave Largent and i are presently comparing some tests. we're unsure of how to share our findings. I know of no mic test site. We'll let you know.

December 29th, 2003, 03:30 AM	#3
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Thanks. Bealecorner has some findings on a few mics---I'm also going to look around for some links. Let me know about that mic.

December 29th, 2003, 03:56 AM	#4
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	Bryan, I've thought, also, that this information that we have should be sharred. You know, the whole demo I had was 10 MB but I think that a listner could get a good idea even if the files were converted to MP3 or some other condensed version. You know, what we've already done, has never before been done on the internet, anywhere. And people should know what we've found out. We should try to find a way to get it out.

December 29th, 2003, 04:56 PM	#5
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	Frank, I know of a test site: DV Info Net :-)

December 29th, 2003, 11:33 PM	#6
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	Yes if i could just get my wife to co operate without making jokes . Dave heard some of the milder tests that i did with my wife :)). Put a mic in front of her and I get a comedian. I had tried some tests with the mic on axis and at 45 and 90 degrees with my very deep voice and my wifes voice followed by a harmonica cord. my way of setting the mics is adjusting the gain to -12 db and peaking just below 0. i know how sensitive the mic is by the amount of gain i have to add to bring it up. If an interested party had any one of the mics that were tested, then they would have a comparison. If i could work out a standardized test I can use my marantz flash recorder. I'm tempted to try a THE 1/2" cardoid or hypercardoid. i'm also tempted to go buy that Gefell M300 i listened to the other day. I listen best to others peoples voice. When i tried the oktava cardoid it was like someone opened a window and there was no mic at all. i got the same feeling with the gefell m300 but that one colored the voice slightly. It made it flow like honey. Big difference in price though. The Oktavasarte all over the map. The guitar center sells them at a $200 list yet has a $49 special. The Oktava rep claims they're seconds, who do you believe. My oktava's aren't silver but have a matte black finish. they're both kits and identical in their sound. I paid $530 canadian for the 2 kits. The gefell is normally $750 US but the distributor is clearing out the line. I can get it for less than $450 US.

December 29th, 2003, 11:42 PM	#7
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	Can we come up with a reasonable MP2 or MP3 rate

December 30th, 2003, 12:22 AM	#8
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	You mean "rate" as far as compression for email? I've started doing a little bit more controlled testing. I've got the female spoken word half done. Also half done is music with male and female vocals. All of these I've set the gain for peaking at -3 dB to 0 dB. For this second round of testing, I've dropped the AT4071 out of the competition.

December 30th, 2003, 04:14 AM	#9
Dave Largent Trustee Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 1,483	About the best mono recording I came across in my NLE was 48 kHz, 44 kbps. I cut a 5 MB spoken word file down to 350 KB with that compression. I didn't listen real closely, but it sounded okay.

December 30th, 2003, 04:27 AM	#10
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Thanks people. The Azden 990 is a "directional," made with metal and dirt cheap. Someone on the MX forum bought one for his MX350, and it seems to work well. Before dumping my pocket change, I was curious if there where other mics, perhaps better, at around the same price. The setup I really want I cannot afford at the moment. Thanks for the tip, Bryan. I'll check out that mic you suggested in your e-mail.

December 30th, 2003, 09:55 AM	#11
Matt Gettemeier Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: St. Louis, Missouri Posts: 936	I wish one of you guys had a webpage that you could post this on. I really need to kick it in high gear and get a good solid page up. We have a member "Keith Loh" who has an EXCELLENT webpage and he is well versed in web design. I suggest you guys look him up. Perhaps he could even host your files for now? Otherwise I'd be surprised if SOMEBODY on this board wouldn't be happy to have this test on their site. It really is amazing at how convincing it is to just hear the difference... I IMMEDIATELY decided to hold off on some less important things in my pursuit of audio perfection... I'm very thankful to have been givin this information. I would never be upset to hear that one of my mics isn't really that good, instead of upsetting me you are saving me from producing inferior recordings! Probably like a lot of guys I hear movies and audio that makes me think, "How do they get it to sound like that?"... all the while just thinking my mic is good 'cause people say it is. Listening IS believing.

December 30th, 2003, 04:41 PM	#12
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	How would the "Panasonic Stereo zoom mic VW-VMS1, w/adaptor" compare with the Azden 990?

December 30th, 2003, 08:51 PM	#13
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Bryan, I went to http://www.apexelectronics.com and got lost. Which Apex mic model did you mean?

December 30th, 2003, 08:57 PM	#14
Bryan Beasleigh Trustee Join Date: May 2002 Location: Barrie, Ontario, Canada Posts: 1,922	the apex 191, it operates on an AA battery. let me record a couple of clips for you and get some prices. Apex has a shotgun, it's not the most expensive stuff but it's far better than the onboard mic.