Micover vs. Rycote

Jim Brennan

Jim Brennan

VHS Member Old Skool
Okay, I have put off getting a softie for a long time. Mostly I shoot indoors, and more often than not I am on shoots where I am not responsible for audio gear.

But then I found Micover and I figured for 60 bucks it was worth a chance.

Well, I got it today and I have to say I am impressed. I did some preliminary tests and it seems to work as well as my experiences with a Softie. Of course I need to do a side by side to confirm that. But that means I have to borrow a Softie, which may take a while.

Anybody else do this comparison?
 
I'd be interested as well. I was looking for some wind protection for a schoeps and was looking at the Micover. Glad to here it performs well.
 
Borrowed a softie today. Still haven't done an audio comparison, but there are some differences in materials and construction.

The Puffin from Micover seems to have slightly longer hair, and it has a plastic ring on the receiving end which covers a rubber inner ring. The Rycote has a rubber receiver. This makes a slight difference in weight, with the Puffin being a little heavier. But the Rycote is also for a different mic, so it is about an inch shorter, which might make up some of the difference in the weight. But you can definitely feel the difference, especially if you hold them both by the furry end. The Rycote is better balanced. Whether that makes much of a difference on the end of a boom pole remains to be seen. I'll let you know when I do the audio tests.

The other difference is in the interior chamber that receives the mic. The open celled mesh appears to be the same (or very close) in both furries, but the opening is larger on the Rycote, relative to the hole on the ring, which leads me to believe that the Rycote relies more on the ring than the internal mesh to grip the mic. The opposite is true on the Puffin. The opening in the mesh is smaller than that on the ring, which (provided the contact between the mesh and mic has no adverse effect) means that the puffin may be able to be used on a wider variety of diameters.

I just got my new 8-Core Mac, so I'll be setting that up and testing it over the next few days, but once I get that done I'll record some samples and post them, as well as give my impression of both furries on the end of a pole.
 
Thanks for doing that.

I still haven't done a side by side to examine, but we had a windstorm the other day that ripped a branch off the tree in my yard. I grabbed the camera and did a quick test, switching the Puffin and the Softie. Alas, I had no tape, but there seemed to be no difference in the two regarding wind noise.
 
Okay, I did the side by side. I used an AT-897, first with the foam windscreen, then the Puffin, then the Softie, all at about 12 inches.

As you would expect, you lose a little of the high end with the Puffin, but to my ear, no more or less than with the Softie. At this point I can't see any reason to pay double for the Rycote name
 
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