Electro Voice RE50B vs. RE50N/D-B

O

OwensDrumming

Member
Hey guys. I'm looking to purchase an RE50 mic and am unsure which model to get. I know the RE50N/D-B has a neodymium element and give approximately 6 db hotter gain. I see most people using the RE50B. Do you have any experience with the two? Is the N/D-B worth the extra money? Thanks!!


-Owen
 
I've owned both through the years and the N/D version is absolutely worth it in my opinion.
During press conference type situations where the mic can be numerous feet away from the speaker you are going to want as much gain
as you can get.

Absolutely a no brainer in my opinion.
 
I agree and get the latest one as it is far better to have the extra gain, only issues I have encountered are if the capsule gets very cold it doesn't sound as good, We use them on stand up's for soccer matches and the ambient temp can get very low so we keep them in our pockets to keep them warm!
 
I have used the Sennheiser and I love it. I haven't used the Rode. The only reason I'm saying go for the RE50 is because everyone and their brother uses it and it's an omni. It's tried and true. How is the Sennheiser MD42 (omni version of MD46)? As good as the RE50? It would be great if you did a similar video with the same tests but these mics I mentioned. Thanks.
 
That was an interesting comparison by Guy, but I wish he had included the RE50 series. The RE50 has some type of internal suspension and a noise suppressing wind screen-popfilter, so I suspect it would be better for both handling noise and wind in a straight up interview scenario. I have used mine with a foam ball in light wind and it does quite well. I believe Rycote makes some serious wind gear if more protection was needed. One thing to keep in mind when considering any of these dynamic mics is they aren't going to match up well with any of the weak preamp recorders like a H4n or DR100. My RE50-N/B is barely workable with a DR100. If you add a good mixer or preamp, you are golden and can get some very decent results.

Grant
 
ggrantly said:
That was an interesting comparison by Guy, but I wish he had included the RE50 series. The RE50 has some type of internal suspension and a noise suppressing wind screen-popfilter, so I suspect it would be better for both handling noise and wind in a straight up interview scenario. I have used mine with a foam ball in light wind and it does quite well. I believe Rycote makes some serious wind gear if more protection was needed. One thing to keep in mind when considering any of these dynamic mics is they aren't going to match up well with any of the weak preamp recorders like a H4n or DR100. My RE50-N/B is barely workable with a DR100. If you add a good mixer or preamp, you are golden and can get some very decent results.

Grant
Click to expand...

Do you have the DR100 MK-II??? I think they added higher gain pres. I have no problem using an SM57 or an Audix i5. Sometimes even too much gain LOL!! Have you tried an RE50B to see how it sounds compared to the N/D-B?
 
I am not very impressed with the handling noise on that rode reporter, the RE50 or RE50N/D-B and Beyer M58 are way better than that with virtually no handling noise.

Like the M58 it is very long bodied but will look even worse and too long and bulky with a plug in transmitter IMO.

Another review here but the mic flag just looks downright silly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCOBDXEsk44&feature=share&list=PLZXQp_XoNBBNNL2xnIlXLV0sG9w-R0e-4

still a fair bit of handling noise but I am sorry rode you don't tend to use hand held's when two people are sat four feet apart with one of them using the mic close and then struggling to get it near the interviewee!

as a side note a director would shoot or even worse sack me if I attempted to plonk all that rode video mic hardware in his shot as it looks so bloody ugly!
 
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I have edited video with both (the N/D and non N/D) and they sound very similar and i would venture to say the average person cannot tell the difference. there is a slight brighter tone to the N/D but not drastic.

Hope that answers the tonality question.

now go buy the one that you can afford and just get to working.. lol

Good luck
 
OwensDrumming said:
Do you have the DR100 MK-II??? I think they added higher gain pres. I have no problem using an SM57 or an Audix i5. Sometimes even too much gain LOL!! Have you tried an RE50B to see how it sounds compared to the N/D-B?
Click to expand...

No, I have the original DR100 so cannot comment on the mk2. If I record direct to cam (panasonic) in an interview situation, the gain structure is fine. If possible, I'll use a 302 in front. If going to a recorder, I'll use my 680 which is also fine.

Grant
 
I now have two of the RE50 N/D-B and they are by far the best out there at the moment with great sensitivity and response that is full and very useable, if anything I find the gain a bit much for sports pres where they are shouting in the crowd and stadia but the M58's and other mic's I have sound no where near as good for post match interviews so you get what you pay for.
 
Considering the price and the quality of the RE50 series, I'd be surprised if you could do better for the $$ and intended purpose. Pay the extra and get the N/B version; the extra gain is your friend. The OP never mentioned why he was buying an interview mic, but we can assume it is for the intended purpose While versatile, the RE50 isn't good for a lot of things due to its omni nature. It has great rejection when the speaker is eating the mic, but that advantage goes away quickly as the distance increases. When not using it for a mic, it can double duty as a hammer.

Grant
 
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