VidPro XM-55 question

[Dave Zavetsky]

Anyone out there own the VidPro XM-55 shotgun mic kit?

Recently picked one up at a killer cost but seems that the phantom power doesnt work.....tons of white noise. B&H tells me that the mic doesnt do phantom even though it says phantom power right on the mic. I contacted VidPro and they got back to me and seem to indicate that it DOES. Still working on a solution.

Anyone using one of these mics that can verify for sure one way or the other?

Thanks in advance!

[Rick Reineke]

From the limited information available, "Power= 1 x AA alkaline battery". I would suspect Phantom Power is not an option, and can typically only be delivered via an XLR>XLR cable. Many folks confuse the term Phantom Pwr. with any kind of 'powered' mic. Nothing wrong with a AA battery powered mic, if that's the voltage it was designed for.

[Greg Miller]

Dave,

Rick is right, as far as he goes. To expand a little on his comments:

Unless we know what you are using to record the signal from the mic, what cables / connectors / adaptors you're using, etc., it's pretty hard to diagnose your problem.

[Richard Crowley]

There is ZERO credible evidence that microphone operates on ANYTHING other than an internal AA battery. Remember that most "descriptions" for such dirt-cheap mass-market consumer goods like that were written by copy-writers who were describing the details of sports shoes this morning, and motorcycle parts yesterday. And they were probably flipping hamburgers last week.

That is a re-branding of the infamous super-cheap "HTDZ HT-320A" "shotgun" microphone. They can be found currently on Ebay for $25. With the kit of accessories, etc. $100 isn't a terrible price, you could probably do better by careful shopping, but perhaps not as convenient as buying the kit already assembled.

That mic is probably better than the microphone built into most camcorders, but not much. At least it gets the microphone OFF the camera (if you don't use that silly shoe-mount). Of course ON THE CAMERA is quite possibly the WORST place for a microphone for most situations.

There are some "demonstrations" and "unboxings" and and even "reviews" of the HTDZ HT-320A on YouTube. But I couldn't give ANY of them a rating of more than 1 star (out of 10). They were done by individuals who appear to know nothing about microphones or audio in general, but have the chutzpah to demonstrate their complete ignorance to thousands of YouTube viewers..

If you actually want to see whether your mic works (and how good or bad) then PUT A BATTERY IN IT! If you are still getting no sound, then document exactly what the conditions are (what cables, adapters, recorder/camera etc. etc.) Without such pertinent details, we can offer only our sympathy.

Yes, I actually bought one just to see how good/bad it is. No it does NOT operate on phantom power. YES, it requires a battery.

[Greg Miller]

Indeed, the specs are amazingly uninformative. For example, they state that the connector is XLR, but do not state whether the output is balanced or unbalanced. Not knowing that, not knowing how their XLR adapter cables are wired, and not knowing what camera / recorder the OP is using, one can only guess what number of problems might be accumulating.

Having heard from Sir Crowley that it does NOT work with phantom is the most factual information we've seen to date. That should at least get the OP started in the right direction, even if it does not solve and the possible problems.

I must say that the HT-320A seems to be a very unique microphone. An eBay listing describes it as "uni-ulter-directional, high sensibility, and with good frequency respondency" Those are terms I've never even heard before ... I guess I'm just not up on the current technology.