Mic Sound Test

Great job Marlene! Thanks for adding this to the community. I'm impressed with the sound of that lav.
 
For the record... there is little point in getting the 500 series G2. I've spoken with Sennheiser techs several times about the differences in the 100 and 500... and they've given me some really stupid answers like, "the 500 series has telemetry between the receiver and transmitter" as if that technobabble is going to shut me up. So I say, "so does the 100"... and they say, "hmm... let me see here... uh yeah it does... um, hold on a minute."

I totally laid out the ACTUAL differences in one of these threads someplace on here... so I'm not going to redo all that research, but I do remember that the main differences are matters of convenience for a professional production house. The 100 can do 4 channels while the 500 does something like 10. The 500 has EQ choices right in the receiver to modify the recording on the set. The 500 plug-on supplies phantom power.

There's one other thing I'm forgetting, but I remember it was 4 "significant" differences. As for what matters; range, drop-outs, power output, total available frequencies... they are the same. I think the 500 series would be a total waste of money. If you can spend that much then you should look at a Lectro 100 with a 100mW output transmitter instead. (if not a used Lectro of higher lineage)

I actually own a 500 transmitter that I use with my full 100 G2 set... there is no difference other then the little "500" printed on it instead of "100"...

Oh jeez, I just remembered the fourth significant difference; charging contacts for drop-in charging on an optional charging unit.

So there you go. The 100 G2 is a good value. The 500 G2 is NOT and will not PERFORM any better then the 100 at all. Don't waste your money. If you want to supply phantom power to a mic wirelessly then use the extra cost of a 500 G2 to get a small mixer. This will gain you a VERY valuable tool instead of paying 3/4 as much to simply add phantom. (The mixer gives you phantom with no wired connection to the cam or recorder, gives somebody else the ability to monitor the sound AND gives them the ability to adjust levels as needed... and of course you can ALSO use it to mix multiple mics in a wired or wireless application!)
 
I just picked up the 100/500 G2 Series...which includes EK100 Receiver, SK100 Body-Pack Transmitter, ME2 Lavalier Microphone and SKP500 Plug-In Transmitter (the latter I believe supplies phantom power, converting non-wireless mics to wireless functionality). So with this package, you get the price advantage of the 100 series, and wireless phantom via the SKP500. I'll post another mic test in the audio forum...
 
This is my first test of the Octava MK-012. This was done in my kitchen which has the worst acoustics imaginable, plus, I have a workshop right outside my kitchen which was being used, so there is a noticable hum from the shop vac running. Other than the hum from the shop vac, the most noticable problem was the lack of volume. I either need to find out how to improve this without kicking in too much gain or learn to use this mic knowing it's limitations. Fortunatly for me, I bought this little guy to mic instruments, mostly acoustic guitar. If I can get it to work for quickie on camera stuff then so much the better. I have not run a second test yet as I have to MC an event tonight and I'm running short on time to get "cleaned up".

Anyway if I can get better sound out of this mic on further testing then I will post in a new thread.

http://www.stickypod.com/stickypod_upload/uploads/Octava_mic_test.mov

Marlene
 
tyreeford said:
The MK 012 can be had with three different capsules. Which ones did you get?

Ty
Click to expand...

Hi Ty...I think we might have been posting at the same time. See above comments and video, and I would certainly appreciate your opinion on the test.

Marlene
 
MattinSTL said:
For the record... there is little point in getting the 500 series G2. I've spoken with Sennheiser techs several times about the differences in the 100 and 500... and they've given me some really stupid answers like, "the 500 series has telemetry between the receiver and transmitter" as if that technobabble is going to shut me up. So I say, "so does the 100"... and they say, "hmm... let me see here... uh yeah it does... um, hold on a minute."

I totally laid out the ACTUAL differences in one of these threads someplace on here... so I'm not going to redo all that research, but I do remember that the main differences are matters of convenience for a professional production house. The 100 can do 4 channels while the 500 does something like 10. The 500 has EQ choices right in the receiver to modify the recording on the set. The 500 plug-on supplies phantom power.

There's one other thing I'm forgetting, but I remember it was 4 "significant" differences. As for what matters; range, drop-outs, power output, total available frequencies... they are the same. I think the 500 series would be a total waste of money. If you can spend that much then you should look at a Lectro 100 with a 100mW output transmitter instead. (if not a used Lectro of higher lineage)

I actually own a 500 transmitter that I use with my full 100 G2 set... there is no difference other then the little "500" printed on it instead of "100"...

Oh jeez, I just remembered the fourth significant difference; charging contacts for drop-in charging on an optional charging unit.

So there you go. The 100 G2 is a good value. The 500 G2 is NOT and will not PERFORM any better then the 100 at all. Don't waste your money. If you want to supply phantom power to a mic wirelessly then use the extra cost of a 500 G2 to get a small mixer. This will gain you a VERY valuable tool instead of paying 3/4 as much to simply add phantom. (The mixer gives you phantom with no wired connection to the cam or recorder, gives somebody else the ability to monitor the sound AND gives them the ability to adjust levels as needed... and of course you can ALSO use it to mix multiple mics in a wired or wireless application!)
Click to expand...

I perused the specs of the G2 100/500. It looks like Senn shot themselves in the foot. In the first generation (G1...if you will) the 500 had a number of significant spec differences including like 8db s2n improvement (if I am remember correctly), balanced output vs unbalanced on the 100, headphone monitoring, and only $200 difference between the two 100 vs 500. It appears they jacked up the price of the 500 vs 100 and deminished some of differences. Other then phantom on the 500 plug-on, there seems little reason left to get the 500.

Sennheiser has an opportunity to really get in the game here before Lectro and Zaxcom all but shut them down with the move to digital. It would be nice if they would at least threaten the Lectro market.

Best
 
hey marlene. two questions: you're using the oktava with the hyper cap right? and second, how big is that video (my bandwidth stinks)?
 
marlenedegrood said:
Hi Ty...I think we might have been posting at the same time. See above comments and video, and I would certainly appreciate your opinion on the test.

Marlene
Click to expand...

Hi Marlene,


The MC012 is not supposed to be used as an camera mounted mic. Hypers are typically used as boom mics and they are held right on the edge of the frame. They are pretty useless at any distance over 18". Shotguns get you a bit more distance outside, but you don't want to use them inside.

The 31MB Mic Tutorial the the Video folder of my online archive shows why.

Regards,

Ty
 
Call me nuts, but I think it sounds great. If that background noise is a shopvac or something (and not the cam transport) then what's not to like? As Ty says (and any soundguy will reiterate...) closer is always better, but the balance of your voice with the room acoustics is totally acceptable in my opinion... if this were part of a documentary then I'd have zero problems with it. If this were part of a dramatic piece then I'd get the mic in closer overhead... but once again... I really like what I'm hearing. I can't think of any criticism to offer for improvement other then what I just said.

The best part is that it's just mic > cam... correct?

EDIT: in the video you mention the other caps and wonder about the point of them. I think you'll find the cardioid to be the best cap for recording that acoustic guitar... and it's also a good choice when you want a wider pickup out front... but still need some acoustic control... like a stationary boom splitting the distance between two people (as long as they are each within 2-3' of the mic... so perhaps 6' apart at most).

Cardioid gains front spread and loses rear pickup over the hyper. There will be times when you want a larger front bubble OR need to eliminate the rear tail...

Regarding the omni? I think that will stay in the box for most of it's life.
 
Ty
I agree with you that the Octava would be better boomed but I was just doing a quick check and really will probably only use this mic for instruments. I do think that for close range interviews and being short a boom (I usually work alone) this little mic would work but what I need to do now is a direct comparison with it to my AT4073.

Matt
Yep....just mic > cam. Thanks for the advise on the cardioid, I will use that in my first test with the guitar. I also have a pair of AKG C1000S that I mount on a dual mic mount and with the X-Y pattern, to my native american flute, the sound is awesome, especially when moving it across the front on the mics.....very effective for getting that stereo sound moving through your head. I haven't used those with the DVX....only to the MicroTrack 24/96 and the sound is amazing!

Thanks!

Marlene
 
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