The ultimate microphone test

[DutchRay]

This crazy guy Jim Lill does it again... What a great project, I love he's taking the time to dive into these niche subjects!

 

[Iguana]

I watched that one last night. It was great. I didn’t have the heart to point out that the diaphragms in all of those mics are different distances from the grill of each microphone. The difference in tone would be negligible but if we’re being scientific..... His tests were still very informative none the less. Love the can mic!

 

[GlassSnuff]

What conclusions can you draw from this video?

 

[Iguana]

Comparing condenser to condenser, dynamic to dynamic, ribbon to ribbon, the biggest difference is in the diaphragm itself. Vintage microphones are like vintage guitars, they’re all a little different even if it’s the same model.

 

[JASIII]

Every video of his I've watched has been very flawed, can't take him seriously. It's just shtick and clickbait. And in the comments so many people claim to hear exactly what he's trying to prove, it's a joke.

 

[J T]

Mirophones sound different.

Wow groundbreaking.

Write a paper and submit that to AES.

 

[DutchRay]

What conclusions can you draw from this video?

The capsule is the key component of a microphone and just like the guitar world there is a lot of snake oil.

 

[GlassSnuff]

The capsule is the key component of a microphone and just like the guitar world there is a lot of snake oil.

I might say, "just like the speaker world" as they are complimentary devices and studiomania is closer to audiophilia than GAS... but yes, that same insipid kow-towing to the past.

No one has come up with a better mic than the U-87? In 60 years? With all the advances in metallurgy and plastics, not to mention magnetics...

 

[Amp360]

I might say, "just like the speaker world" as they are complimentary devices and studiomania is closer to audiophilia than GAS... but yes, that same insipid kow-towing to the past.

No one has come up with a better mic than the U-87? In 60 years? With all the advances in metallurgy and plastics, not to mention magnetics...

I have a newer U-87 that is supposed to be junk, but it sounds great and I use it all the time. There are some great mics being made these days, and there are great old ones.

The big problem is the opinions out there are mostly from people who have never used what they're giving an opinion on. It's kind of like the people who will claim that their Agile is every bit as good as a vintage Gibson, but have never played the Gibson.

Plugins have made it worse. I read the 'I don't like API I only use Neve' type of comments all the time and most of these folks don't have a Neve or an API and have probably never been in the same room as one.

Confirmation bias is a strong thing online.

1k in a pawn shop

The same argument about metallurgy and magnetics could be made for the PAF, but some things just sound good.

Borrow or rent a U-87 new or old, and run it through a great preamp and see how easy it is to get good sounds. All of a sudden plugins and that sort of thing don't really matter that much. It's the same as when you plug a great old Gibson into a great old Fender. It's just there.

 

[DarySixsan]

Thanks for sharing this video! I'm definitely going to give it a watch, as I'm a huge fan of microphone reviews. I find them both useful and a lot of fun to watch. Speaking of microphones, I recently stumbled upon the world of ASMR microphones, and I've been amazed at the benefits they offer for getting that perfect sound. Since I create ASMR videos myself, I've been exploring the Best ASMR Microphones for all budgets to find the perfect one. They provide outstanding sound quality and transmission, making them ideal for my recording needs. I'm sure fellow sound enthusiasts will appreciate the difference they make in the audio quality!

 

[MarcB]

What conclusions can you draw from this video?

That everyone’s playback via speakers/system/ears are different.. and theoretically so are the results.

My tip for a great large diaphragm microphone would be any of the 2nd edition of sE Electronic range. ?

 

[rockabilly69]

The capsule is the key component of a microphone and just like the guitar world there is a lot of snake oil.

Not necessarily true, the capsule is important, but so are the electronics. Just ask anyone that has listened to all the variations of the Neumann U87 they will quickly point out how important the circuit is. And quality control in cheap capsule making is ridiculous, many of the same model capsules sound quite different in cheap microphones, but buy a quality microphone like an AKG, Neumann, Sennheiser, and you can pretty much be sure they will all sound alike.

As for the guy in the video all of his tests are seriously flawed.

 

[Amp360]

One thing to remember is Neumann doesn't match microphones. A 'matched pair' is simply consecutive serial numbers. I'm not saying Neumann hasn't made mics I don't care for (KM141), but the quality control is there.

Some of the cheaper mics are very good. The biggest problem is that the internet has made everyone and their sister an expert recording engineer. While the technology exists for anyone to make a great sounding record on a laptop exists the knowledge required to do so isn't built in, and many, dare I say most, of the resources out there are full of misinformation and group think.

 

[MarcB]

“When you capture a recording (on any microphone) and you haven’t used your desk eq, filters or plugins.. you’ll be a man my son” - George Washington

“The distance from the source and the microphone is the eq” - Mahatma Ghandi

 

[J T]

If you really want to rise above the level of that guys video and read some good reliable information about microphones go to Coutant

 

[garywright]

“When you capture a recording (on any microphone) and you haven’t used your desk eq, filters or plugins.. you’ll be a man my son” - George Washington

? I was just listening to his greatest hits album last nite

 

[MarcB]

? I was just listening to his greatest hits album last nite

I personally enjoy “gimme back my wig” .. great riffage..

Bonjour

 

[garywright]

or Smoke on the Delaware Water