Replacing Sony ECM-44 with AT899? Advice please!

X

xocomil

Well-known member
I was thinking of replacing my venerable Sony with the AT899 - more due to size and ease of concealing it.

I work as a video-journalist/filmaker and am often recording interviews in the field with little set up time.

I'm happy with the sound and build quality of the Sony (and the long cable) but it (and it's clip) does sometimes stand out when I review my clips. Sometimes I can hide the mic, but sometimes interviews are wearing T-shirts, etc.

Any words of wisdom? Is the audio from both mics similar (in terms of sensitivity, freq response, etc)? Is the Audio-Technica much easier to to hide?

Or if someone has advice on how to make the Sony less conspicuous I'd be happy not to make another purchase.

Many thanks!
 
After using several of those older-generation (and larger) lav microphones, I am quite pleased with my new Rode lav mic. The mic head is only around 4mm diameter, the cable is field-replaceable, and it comes with an amazing range of output connection options. Hard to beat, IMHO.
http://www.rodemic.com/mics/lavalier
 
I had a listen to the Rode's at the London Olympics as they were being used for some presentation and interviews for CH4, I was very impressed with them.
 
Thanks Gary and Gret.

Checked out a few reviews on the Rode. Some users said they were a little fragile. Your experiences fit with this?

I like the idea of being able to use the same mic on both my Senn wireless set and as a wired mic (with additional parts).

Thanks.
 
I don't know about that. The mic head itself is solid metal, no plastic, no embedded cable to break, etc. etc. The "microdot" connectors are quite solid and higher-quality than what you typically see on miniature audio equipment. The cable seems quite sturdy, to the point where I would like it to be a little less sturdy (i.e. a bit more flexible), but there is that tradeoff between flexibility and longevity. And since the cable is field-replaceable (and available in two different lengths), it seems like a slam-dunk compared to all those hard-wired alternatives with their very delicate transition between the miniature cable and the mic head (which is where they typically break and are NOT repairable). I disagree on "fragile".

The thing that seems "fragile" is the foam windscreen. it is nice that they have a little plastic "basket" that fits over the mic head, with the foam around it. But the "basket" is so small that the connection to the foam is very small and breaks easily. But replacement foam windscreens (the size of the tip of your finger) are cheap enough (from 3rd party sources) to be considered "consumables" IMHO.
 
I've had some success reattaching the windscreens to their plastic mounting rings with a spot of hot-melt glue. But I also bought a package of, I think, six spares for not a lot of change, and am not even close to running out of them yet. I also keep a couple of extra cables.

I would say the components of the Rode are small, but not fragile considering their size. Having field-replaceable cables gives me a lot of peace of mind; I used to spend a lot of time inside the guts of Sony lavs doing extremely delicate soldering when a cable would go bad (which was not all that uncommon).

- Greg
 
Will try out the Rode then. Thanks Greg and Richard for the additional input. Real world input is key!
 
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