You be the judge

G

ggrantly

Veteran
Hello Listers,

Attached are two audio files recorded on a a Tascam DR-100. Recorded with two different mics, the Oktava Mk012 w/hyper cap and a AT4053b, under identical circumstances. Note the AT is the new improved b model.

The AT4053b is a little hotter, so don't let that influence your opinion. I left the gain and trim unchanged so you could get an idea of the difference. Other than that, I won't comment until later in the thread.

If anyone is interested, I'll do the same test with a 302 in front of the DR-100.

Best Regards,
Grant
 

Attachments

To be honest I couldn't hear much, if any, difference. I listened to both samples repeatedly using AKG K272 earphones with no ambient household sound. Maybe I'm partially deaf.
 
They are closer than what I expected, but I did feel the 4053b did sound more full on the low end. Though the Oktava held up pretty well considering it is half the price.

Though I can't prove it, AT says the 4053b (new model) is very resistant to interference.

This test also shows (IMHO) that the DR100 does record pretty clean sound.

Grant
 
On Sennheiser HD600 cans I prefer the AT when doing my best critical evaluation. It sounds like it goes deeper in the bass with a slightly smoother over-all sound (although they both sound pretty good... if they were very close to the same cost it would be no contest for me).
 
To me the 4053 sounded more full. It was hard to hear any nuance due to heavy artifacts from the unnecessary compression. It's not a dial-up world any more. They sound like .wmv files from the 90s. After you record at full quality, you should make them into mono files - which will cut the size in half. (But don't blend the L-R tracks, as I could hear noise in the right channel) Or just recording mono from the start if possible. Then encode the mono files into 320kbps mp3 files. They will be very small, and sound very clear. I'm not sure if you did this, but never record as mp3, but if you do - do it at a bit rate no lower than 128kbps.


If all you have is a stereo file with one channel used try this: Put the file into an audio editor (Bias Peak, Wavelab, Soundforge) and select only the track with signal. Drag the selected part onto the workspace, and a new mono file will be made. Encode 320kbps mono mp3 using "Lame" encoding, and your golden. If you don't have an audio editor, try a multitrack, or video app. Turn off the channel with no signal, export as mono.

Even better - put both clips on the same track one after another, so it's easier to hear one after another.
 
Chad,

The DVX user upload dialogue will not upload the original aif files or mp3 files either for that matter, so they must be zipped.

The acceptable file size is very limiting, so the aif files even after zipping were still to large, so I converted to mp3. Even if I had done only one channel, the aif file zipped was still too large.

The files were recorded mono with one input recording to both channels. This was not done in post. I didn't notice noise on one channel, though my ears my not be as good as yours. If there was noise, an easy solution would be to turn the volume down on that channel.

The one after the other idea is ok but makes the file size issue worse. I probably should have done both mics left - right.

This was my first upload, so I would welcome your experience on how to upload to DVXuser more effectively. Possibly a better solution would be to link them somewhere else. Do you have a good suggestion?

Regards,
Grant
 
Dan,

I could do the same testing and include an AT897 and NTG3. Tell me more about what you would want to hear. I thought I would include some testing on the DR100 internal mics, and or put a 302 in front of the DR100. I can get to this sometime next week.

Grant
 
Hi Grant:

I am personally not enamored of the 897 but it would be interesting to hear the NTG-3, I really like that mic. No hurry, I am not buying any new gear but it would be nice to hear when you have time. It would also be interesting to hear the difference between putting the 302 on the front end. I take it you run line out from the 302 to the DR100 and don't use mic level?

Dan
 
Dan,

No doubt there is a huge difference between the AT897 and NTG3, though there is also a 2x difference in price. After getting the NTG3, I kept the 897 as a backup and it has the one advantage of being battery powered if needed. Think G2 butt-plug attached with no wires. I haven't used or heard the 875. What would the 875 offer by comparison?

Regarding the 302 in front of the DR100: there isn't a huge difference in audio between using the 302 or not when using the phantom powered test mics. The pre-amps in the DR100 provide enough gain that quiet recording can be done without the additional gain supplied by the 302. I'm not saying the 302 wouldn't provide a benefit, only that the pre-amps in the DR100 have enough gain to avoid hiss. That changes in a big way when a dynamic mic is plugged directly into the DR100. Gain must be cranked to get a good recording level and hiss ensues, in this case with a RE50B/N. Using a 302 in this situation makes a huge difference.

When I purchased the DR100, I got what I wanted which was much improved menus and controls compared to the H4 I had. I think the pre-amps are better also. The onboard mics are crap, and just like most econo-recorders, they have their limitations.

The mic test did show the 4053b was a good improvement over the Oktava for a price. I would love to hear a couple of high end mics compared to the 4053b. Unfortunately, I've busted my budget buying new gear for a while.

I'll post up more tests next week.

Best Regards,
Grant
 
Hi Grant

I haven't uploaded any audio on this sight, so I was unaware of the file size restrictions. Judging from the quality of the final file after complying with all the limits, I would venture to guess that you would have higher quality by putting the audio into a video and uploading that to youtube. Oetter yet Vimeo. I have no specific sights, but I bet there are places you can put full length audio files then in these threads you just pt the link. Wait! http://www.soundclick.com is a place where songwriters upload whole songs. It's maybe more work than it's worth, but it's a good way to put higher quality files up.

Ultimately it's up to you to decide what mic you like more. I do have this link that has nice studio recordings of shotguns:

http://www.dvcreators.net/shotgun-shootout/

It's got the 897, NTG-2 NTG-3, MKH-416, Me-66 etc.
 
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