AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

MattinSTL

MattinSTL

Sound Modulator
Hey gang... as promised here's another little mic show-down. I like doing this to see what the differences in mics are and it's a good education for your ears. Sometimes people spout whatever they believe without offering any real-world experience... Since I've owned a lot of these mics in the last few years I thought I'd offer this up as definitive proof of what I've been saying about them. (THANK YOU Joe K. and Diane for making this little test possible!)

Click HERE to listen to the differences in these mics.

What you'll hear is the 4073a has much better side/rear rejection as well as a more natural and detailed sound. If you have an me66 that's fine. Use it. I had one for years... but if you're about to BUY a new mic then I'd stongly suggest you consider the AT. ;)
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

I love doing comparative testing, it makes all the difference in the world.

But...

Is there something broken with that ME66? :o Man, that was the thinnest, tinniest sound I've heard in a while! The difference was startling. Did you accidentally have a bass rolloff filter enabled? ;) Sheesh... what a difference.

How about a 4073a vs. something like the MKH416 or MKH460? Or the Sankens? I've been thinking about upgrading my mic but I haven't been paying that much attention to the debate.
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

NO! Both mics FLAT.

We made EVERY effort to keep this test fair. We had both a dvx and a dvx "a" and what you're hearing here is the original dvx.

I have NOTHING against Sennheiser and I have no personal mission against the me66! I'm just sick of the posts I run into about how great the me66 is... also I'm pissed at Sennheiser for raising the price of this mic so much! Either the me66 simply isn't worth what they're charging or Audio Technica is doing some sort of charity by offering the 4073a so cheap.

I wanted to demonstrate that these two mics aren't in the same league... even though a lot of people mistakenly think they are.

Barry, I'll have a 4073a VS. 416 clip up later... You'll hear that I have no agenda... You'll think that I'm showing a bias against the 4073a, but I did it the same way... showing a split track of the same recording.

A friend of mine supplied the me66... and a Schoeps MK41 that you'll hear later! Anyway, he was standing there as I did these tests. They were done with two boom stands with the heads of the mics at equal distance from my mouth and identical runs of xlr going into the dvx.

It isn't until you hear A/B comparisons like this that you suddenly realize there's a HUGE difference in mics.
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

Hey Matt, just for the record, these tests are great. Thanks.

I've heard comparative recordings with the me66 before, in everyone I've heard they sounded like that. I guess in the end, the Senn's are not very good mics.
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

matt i love what you say about dos who clame that the me 66 is very good mike for the price ,when the euro would fall to half $ it would be wonderfull mike for that price(since the only other competition is azden :-).
sinece the euro rised to 1.3 over the $ the me 66 is the worst mike for the price right now .

this test is very good since the differense in quality recording for people who think that one mike is good enouth for all .
the outside preformers of the me would sound better , but inside you are in deep sh..t.
i would like if someone can do the 4073 against the akg 300 with the shotgun capsul since they are in thesame price rang
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

"I guess in the end, the Senn's are not very good mics."


:oWoah, don't make sweeping statements like THAT. I hope you mean to say that the me66 is "over-rated".

I didn't intend to bash Sennheiser. I've got a 416 that I positively LOVE, and what's more is that I can honestly say that Sennheiser is largely responsible for the development of my taste in audio.

Remember the Sennheiser headphones with the flat, bright yellow pads? They were popular about 20 years ago or more. Those headphones created a pursuit of perfection for me that I've never lost.

It just so happens that between THESE TWO MICS... Audio Technica has a FAR superior mic for just a little more money... and I'd like that to be common knowledge.

"the outside preformers of the me would sound better , but  inside  you are in deep sh..t."

Because of the 4073's superior rejection, sensitivity, and sound... the performance gap actually widens even more in favor of the AT outdoors. The 4073a has a lot more "reach".

The MUCH thinner sound of the me66 should be no surprise to anybody because the me66 steadily drops 8 db from 550 hz to 50 hz and at that point it doesn't even register. The 4073a on the other hand is +/- 1 db from 40 hz to 3.5 Khz and it's still going at 30 hz.
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

I hope you mean to say that the me66 is "over-rated"
Click to expand...

I meant exactly that. I didn't mean to bash on one of the top manufacturers of audio gear. Sennheiser is a great company, with a very good line of products. But the me66 is not to be praised. It's when you think of it, a cheap, poor sounding microphone. Of course they can get much worse, and that they are on par with some ENG specifications and standards, but those are not vey high standards considering... The point is, they are not such a good deal, but a fair deal. And over-rated.
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

[quote author=Matt in STL link=board=audio;num=1090565708;start=0#2 date=07/23/04 at 05:32:55]Barry, I'll have a 4073a VS. 416 clip up later... [/quote]

Excellent. I'm still running with an old AT835b that I bought five years ago. I know there are better mic's, but the AT continues to amaze me that it does such a decent job for such a tiny price, that I haven't bothered to upgrade. But I really feel like I should.

I've been leaning towards the Sennheiser 416, as that's been a standard in the movie industry. But the AT4073 has had such good reviews, and it's half the price...

Okay, if you could only buy ONE pro shotgun mic, which one would it be?
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

[quote author=Matt in STL link=board=audio;num=1090565708;start=0#5 date=07/23/04 at 06:22:57]"I guess in the end, the Senn's are not very good mics."


:oWoah, don't make sweeping statements like THAT. I hope you mean to say that the me66 is "over-rated".

I"the outside preformers of the me would sound better , but  inside  you are in deep sh..t."

Because of the 4073's superior rejection, sensitivity, and sound... the performance gap actually widens even more in favor of the AT outdoors. The 4073a has a lot more "reach". [/quote]
it alwais would be a big gap betwen those 2 but in not reverb
invierment ,the me -66 would give you much better performers it would soud much natural (;-)) , lets say that if you planning for only outside jobs and you need some disent sound -it can work -not good as others -but still it woudnt dameg your ears :-) -for interiars thats like JULIA sad ones 'big mistake"

Okay, if you could only buy ONE pro shotgun mic, which one would it be?

if you want peace of mind -the 416 , you can drop it ,you can work in 98% humidity , you can work with zaxcom wierless without hit by rf modulastion , you can sell it in the moment , you can live with wemen thin voices , you can go for the job with only one mike (no back up)

if you wont something that would save you in almost every invierment , would bring complitly natural sound ,would work well in reverb room, would cut almost all sh..t noice around , would blend with scoeps 41 , would give extra 2-3 feet of headroom , will give you chance to work from below the knees without here the acters steps -sanken cs-3 e

i keep them both , i am working only with the secend
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

I've never recommended the ME66 for interior work, but I have heard real world recordings done that sounded fine. I'm glad Matt qualified his opinion with a recommendation to not run out and sell your ME66. The ME66 is not the value it once was with the increase in price and competition. One alternative if you already own the ME66/K6 is to buy the ME64 cardioid capsule which eliminates the rear pointing lobe that gets the ME66 into reverb trouble in bright interiors.

One mic for you Barry? It all depends on how much you have in the budget. Of course when Matt posts his MKH-416/AT4073a comparison--the 416 is going to sound better. But you have to keep in mind that when not heard in direct comparison--a lot of mics will sound fine with good recording technique. Does your AT 835b stink? Of course not, but directly compare it to an MKH-416 and you might think so.

Glenn Trew's review of the CS-3.

http://www.trewaudio.com/sankencs3.htm
 
Re: AT-4073a tested along side ME66. Results.

[quote author=Matt in STL link=board=audio;num=1090565708;start=0#0 date=07/22/04 at 23:55:08]
What you'll hear is the 4073a has much better side/rear rejection as well as a more natural and detailed sound. If you have an me66 that's fine. Use it. I had one for years... but if you're about to BUY a new mic then I'd stongly suggest you consider the AT. ;)
[/quote]

Hi Matt,

Since you have a 4073a, would you be able to help me with the two issues that on this thread:

http://www.dvxuser.com/cgi-bin/DVX2/YaBB.pl?board=audio;action=display;num=1090785194

I would greatly appreciate any feedback. Thanks! :)
 
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