Buying a Lavalier Mic - ME 2 or Rode Lavalier

M

Meiereika

New member
I'm about to get a new lavalier mic.
I limited my choice down to the Sennheiser ME 2 and the Rode Lavalier.

Do you guys have any positive or negative experience/thoughts/comments on any of the two?

I'm looking for a decent SNR, high max. SPL and overall linear frequency response.

Cheers,
Daniel
 
Hi Daniel,

Here's a comparison of these two lavs, plus others, by Chad Johnson that you may not have seen - https://vimeo.com/15979250 - and related discussion with contributions by Chad on JWSound http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/6145-lav-with-lowest-self-noise/ . I have been using Rode lavs for some years, like the interchangeable connectors, and prefer the sound vs the other budget lavs: it certainly has a better SNR than the ME2. Here's another comparison: http://www.learningvideo.com/rode-lav-vs-pinmic/

Cheers,

Roland
 
It is just a low end stock lav. Nothing too special about it. As I said before, perhaps take a deeper look into getting an OST instead.

What wireless are you going to use it with? OST can supply it terminated for anything.
 
filmguy123 said:
Is the Senn ME 2 lav not considered a good buy?
Click to expand...
- NOT a good buy IMO. The ME2 is considered a POS by most audio pros... not to be confused with the Sennheiser MKE-2 which is highly regarded but much more expensive.
I concur, with IronFilm, the best bang-for-the-buck are the OST mics. A whole lot better sounding than an ME2 for less $ if your buying new. The (made in NJ USA) OST 801 and 802 are the (exact) same size and shape as the venerable Tram TR50.
 
In general, I like the sound of Rode's lavs. The interchangeable parts can save you money in the long run if you don't like soldering connectors. I dislike the sound of the ME2 and the sound starts to grate on my nerves pretty quickly. The big problem with the Rode mics is that they have a pretty low max spl. They won't take yelling or singing. Even if somebody just raises their voice, you can hear the sound get a bit brittle. At normal speaking volume they are fine.
 
The ME2 is pretty sucky, as others here have said. But if you got one bundled with Sennheiser G3 transmitters, keep the ME2 as a backup lav. Not really familiar with the Rode lav...they one they sell separately is supposed to be sort of OK and better than the one they bundle with their transmitters (others here can chime in about that).

OST lavs are decent, and the company provides good support. You could also look at Countryman EMW which are not much more expensive and I think superior and more reliable than OST and available in three different response curves (though shelved...not flat...is most common for dialog use). About $170 or a bit less with Sennheiser connector:
http://www.countryman.com/emw-omnidirectional-lavalier-microphone/

OST's lavs were under $100 with most standard transmitter connectors. But that was over 5 years ago. Now it looks like dealer prices have gone up. Contact OSC to ask about direct prices. They used to be, and I'd guess still are, pretty responsive to email:
http://www.oscarsoundtech.com/index.html

If you're using Sennheiser transmitters, maybe start with an OST OST-802
 
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