Oscar SoundTech 801 or TL-40?

[Jim Feeley]

Does anyone know if the 801 is more sensitive than the 802?

Looks like they're within about a dB of each other. As Rick suggests, drop them a line and ask:
http://www.oscarsoundtech.com/contactus.html

About the different response curves, I agree with what others are saying. There's a bit of info on the Countryman site about the three curves available with their EMW mic (the OST 801/802 has a similar shape) that might be helpful for understanding that (but not related to how "loud" the mic is):



Some more info on that Mic: https://countryman.com/product/emw-omnidirectional-lavalier/

But ya, OST can best answer your question, I think...

 

[NorBro]

Research dBV/Pa sensitivity in a microphone's technical specifications.

IDK what the OSTs are off the top of my head, but some mics are around -30 which is very sensitive for lavs (less gain needed) while other popular options like the Sony ECM-77B is a whopping -52, which is a night and day sensitivity difference resulting in the addition of much more gain.

 

[Paul F]

Thanks. I'm looking for a lav that I don't have to drive the gain up too much, as I do with the 802 on my dr-10l and now the Rode WG II. My ME2s and the Tentacle lav are more sensitive but the acoustics aren't nearly as good as the Oscar mics. Any suggestions? With the e recorder the 802 works well because of the 32 bit float...

My TL-40's are about 8db hotter than my 801s. BUT they also seem to be noisier. I can't find anyone here or on JW willing to comment on the files I've posted. I also can't find anyone complaining about TL40 self noise. The two I have behave exactly the same way; noisier. So much so, I find them unacceptable compared to the 801, Tram TR-50, and COS-11D. I wish it weren't so. I really like their tiny size; better than a COS-11D size wise. They can be hid anywhere.

 

[puredrifting]

My TL-40's are about 8db hotter than my 801s. BUT they also seem to be noisier. I can't find anyone here or on JW willing to comment on the files I've posted. I also can't find anyone complaining about TL40 self noise. The two I have behave exactly the same way; noisier. So much so, I find them unacceptable compared to the 801, Tram TR-50, and COS-11D. I wish it weren't so. I really like their tiny size; better than a COS-11D size wise. They can be hid anywhere.

I have three of the 801s and like them a lot, especially for the money. But I also have a Countryman B6 that I love and our company has four COS11Ds. I find lavs are just like regular mics, it pays to have half a dozen ones laying around to try to problem solve
different situations. I hate the COS11s for mounting, hiding and their big, dorky cable is annoying. But they are the best sounding lavs we own. Countryman B6 is good, but thinner sounding and susceptible to microphonics from he hair thin cable. 801s sound pretty good, neutral but not nearly as detailed as the
other two. I never heard good things about the TL-40s so I didn't even consider getting one.

 

[Joshua_G]

Been using the OST lavs now for a while as one of my (many!) mics, and yes, they're great value lavs!

The new kid on the block, Deity has their low priced lavs too, that's going to be next on the list to see how OST compare up against Deity lavs.

Did you manage to make the comparison of the Oscar SoundTech mics with the Deity lav?
I heard a good report on the DEITY W.Lav Pro & Micro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-kM_xN5sPA .