Best under $300 lav?

E

eco_bach

Well-known member
Can anyone share their recommendations as to their choice for an under $300 lav?


Following criteria
-low noise floor
-if battery powered, some sort of battery indicator
-wired OR wireless, though doubt any wireless lavs are available that inexpensive
 
Just to be clear, there is no such thing as a wireless lav, only a wireless transmitter/receiver system. All lav mics are wired, it's just whether they're terminated for a wireless transmitter or for XLR with phantom power or for some other connector with or without self-power.

$300 can get you a really nice lavaliere mic, but there is some missing information here. What is your primary application (narrative, ENG, etc.)? What kind of recording device are you using, and what kind of connector do you need for it?

There are several great links in the Audio 101 sticky about lav mics, including some samples and comparisons.

As for a wireless system, please read the sticky about that... no, you won't find a decent one for $300. (And the stickies have lost their yellow for the moment, so they're not as attention-grabbing.)
 
Lavalier OscarSoundTech TL-40 vs Sony 77B

Lavalier OscarSoundTech TL-40 vs Sony 77B

Hi
On the search for a great sounding lav under $350 to add to my kit. I was considering the Sony ECM-77B after using the lower end Sony ECM-55B recently.
Someone recommended the OscarSoundTech TL-40 which is a third the orice of the 77B, but I have had little luck finding comparisn reviews or sound samples.

Can anyone who has used either comment?
 
I think the Rode Lav mic is brilliant. User-replaceable cable, and interchangeable connectors for wired-XLR and wireless to fit most brands of transmitters.
 
Another vote for the Rode. Small, unobtrusive, sounds fine, but the most important thing is that I know the interchangeable cable will someday save my bacon on an important shoot. Being able to move them from wired to wireless operation with a simple adapter switch is icing on the cake. I have four of them now, usually leave two wired up to work with my G2 transmitters, and keep XLR adapters on the other two -- but I have adapters to wire all four with XLRs if needed.

Minor features I like include the supplied case that looks like it could survive an earthquake, and the furry windscreen that is just so darned cute (although it looks like a dead mouse is impaled on the talent's collar under some circumstances ... maybe that's a good thing, too).

- Greg
 
I am firmly of the opinion that there are very few poor mics on the market now - just ones that don't work for particular jobs. I did lots of theatre stuff and had a nice collection of all sorts if types from stupidly cheap to amazingly expensive, and discovered that on some people who were shall we say a bit unreliable, that I could swap the DPA for a cheap chinese brand and use just a touch of eq to dull the top end and it was an effective swap until the actor snapped yet another by constant fiddling with it. The difference was small in performance but huge in price. Equally, some popular ones I really didn't like at all. Sennheiser MKE-2 sounded 'normal' and were tough, but I found the Sonys just not quite right for my ears. Countryman B6s which sounded nice seemed to get clogged up with fluff. I'm not sure I have ever found an unusable one of any price. Condenser elements are all very good to start with. Cheaper ones tend to have more handling noise, and pick up noise through the cable more than some others. I don't think we should discount anything until we have heard it for ourselves. I did a two person shoot recently and discovered to my horror I'd packed one big brand lav, but the other box contained a $25 cheapie I bought just to play with - but the odd thing was the edit was fine. Gentle eq and a little low cut to stop the rumble from the cable let them blend pretty well.

I think if my total budget was $300, and it was to be my ONLY lag, I might be more inclined to buy one for a bit less and a spare, just in case.

I'm very lucky and my mic collection is pretty extensive, but I never seem to choose mics on price to buy, I select the ones that will do the job best - matching the mic with the person. We also are very biased to our own favourites selected by use and experience.

If you are unsure, consider hiring one in to see if it works for you? Never money wasted!
 
Here are some lavs to compare. I have and use all of these, but the Rode PinMic is my main choice right now because I like hiding the wires. It sounds exactly the same as their regular lav. They run on plug-in power found in most recorders, or 48v phantom of you are going wired. But you may want a straight-up lav if it's your only one. The PinMic isn't right for every situation. They go for 250.00 US.

 
Just remember one thing: if you're going to use it professionally, don't think "I'm going to buy cheap stuff so I can have more money to buy that new TV". Buy that TV next year...

If you buy cheap stuff (= not good, bad, trash) you'll be punished undirectly

But you can have good lavs for 300...
 
I know Azden isn't the best recomended brand around, but I had great results with the EX-503, for 19$ on B&H. Check my vimeo profile, there's a comparison video on it (can't access it from this computer...).
 
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