If you are considering a shotgun/cardioid...

Screw it. I give up on trying to understand.

What seems to work for me is setting my LU to -20dbFS, which usually gives maximums of about -12 dbFS. Then I have my limiters kicking in at -6 dbFS softknee, which leaves me a lot of head room. That also means I am working at the equivalent of 0 dbVU max which gives me a cross over to my analog gear, no problem. Maybe that is all wrong, but like I said, it seems to work well enough.
 
Well there is the technical and there is the practical. Maybe it's because, especially in theatre, I have often had to deal with a mix of professional, semi pro, and consumer gear but a lot of times one just has to figure what works best for the device chain you are working with. Trying to figure out the "spec.'s" is often futile because a lot of times they are not giving you apples and apples. And there are some weird unofficial "standards", like CD players line outs which are usually hotter than -10 but not up to +4 (if I remember correctly they are generally around -6 but it's been awhile). For me in post it mostly doesn't matter anymore. Other than calibrating speakers my chain has been all digital since DAT. I deal with analog mostly in theatre playback. Also recording but my system is pretty locked in so that is pretty straight forward.

The other thing with digital is that other than clipping or recording really low you are probably fine. I personally tend to record hot (with limiters) but at 24 bit you can go pretty low and still get a decent recording. And with virtually zero added noise (compared to tape). The "good" range on analog tape was actually a lot smaller.

The only real upside to going much deeper than "it works" is when it doesn't. Then it can help with troubleshooting if you kind of know what things should be at various places. But for playback anyway the simple rule of "the louder the problem the closer to the mic/source the problem is and the quieter the problem is the closer to the speakers it is" works about 90% of the time.
 
Hi Dan - I just wrote up a too-long article on comparing microphones, which at first was intended to be a post about the Deity S-Mic 2 but got a little out of control. Anyway, I credited your microphone review as the gold standard and I still go back to the article regularly. I hope Ken Stone sends you lots of wine every year for that gem of an article.

Cheers,
Slavik
 
Good article about the S Mic 2 slavikb! As many buyers of the S Mic 2 I'd imagine are pretty n00b, so having all that extra context and info beforehand will be useful for them I'm sure.
 
Always good to see a broader discussion in a review/post, although picking up on the value aspect, but from a purely UK perspective, I note that to find an actual dealer here selling the Deity S-Mic 2 you have to spend £433: this makes it almost the same price as Rode NTG3 (around £20 more). I know which of the two I would buy...!

Cheers,

Roland
 
You must be looking at the Deity S Mic 2 package deal, which makes it much better value! As you're getting a lot more with it than just the mic itself.
 
IronFilm said:
You must be looking at the Deity S Mic 2 package deal, which makes it much better value! As you're getting a lot more with it than just the mic itself.
Click to expand...

David,

You are right. But I can't find a UK dealer that sells just the mic itself. This is possible - with the same dealer (Rogitech) - for the earlier (cheaper) Mk 1 model, which is still £361. Obviously distribution in the UK at least is not well established, which of itself is not overly reassuring in terms of service etc. These posts just happen to have coincided with my need for another shotgun, and the (RF condenser) Rode NTG3 seems a more attractive proposition to me.

Cheers,

Roland
 
Throwback said:
Always good to see a broader discussion in a review/post, although picking up on the value aspect, but from a purely UK perspective, I note that to find an actual dealer here selling the Deity S-Mic 2 you have to spend £433: this makes it almost the same price as Rode NTG3 (around £20 more). I know which of the two I would buy...!

Cheers,

Roland
Click to expand...

Yeah, NTG 3 is a more established bet, and better resale if you decide to part with it.

What about amazon.co.uk ? There's a £299 listing from China, not sure what shipping will add though.

Cheers -
 
slavikb said:
Yeah, NTG 3 is a more established bet, and better resale if you decide to part with it.

What about amazon.co.uk ? There's a £299 listing from China, not sure what shipping will add though.

Cheers -
Click to expand...

Sure, but shipping is slow and, in terms of service/warranty, I'd prefer to buy a mic that is actually in the country (I would say EU, but those days are coming to a close!) and from a reputable dealer. Call me old fashioned! And, of course, I am able to listen to an NTG3 before purchase rather than buying a mic based on a few on-line videos! It is like the new fig 8 and double-fig 8 SDC mics by b9audio (the CM180 and CSM88): tempting, but no UK or EU dealers at all.

Cheers,

Roland
 
Throwback said:
David,

You are right. But I can't find a UK dealer that sells just the mic itself. This is possible - with the same dealer (Rogitech) - for the earlier (cheaper) Mk 1 model, which is still £361. Obviously distribution in the UK at least is not well established, which of itself is not overly reassuring in terms of service etc. These posts just happen to have coincided with my need for another shotgun, and the (RF condenser) Rode NTG3 seems a more attractive proposition to me.

Cheers,

Roland
Click to expand...

The S Mic 2 only just hit dealers recently ish, so no surprise if they're not stocking all the option just yet.

And if you buy a NTG3 then likely you'll need the shock mount and wind protection anyway, so don't totally ignore those extra costs.
 
IronFilm said:
The S Mic 2 only just hit dealers recently ish, so no surprise if they're not stocking all the option just yet.

And if you buy a NTG3 then likely you'll need the shock mount and wind protection anyway, so don't totally ignore those extra costs.
Click to expand...

David, I already have a variety of suitable Rycote shockmounts and blimps/windjammers, so a 'package' is not appealing. In fact, of the extras, I'll find the Rode bullet-proof tube the most useful! Anyway, I've gone for an NTG3: established reliability, established manufacturer and UK retailers, and known sound (not buying 'blind'). And RF bias, of course.

Cheers,

Roland
 
Sweet! The NTG3 is a fine purchase too, can't go wrong there either. (heck, I just ended up buying four recently! whoops)
 
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