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Re: Cheap stereo mic recommendations?

Subject: Re: Cheap stereo mic recommendations?
From: "bbystrek" <>
Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 17:48:21 -0000
I have been using an AT822 for a little short of two years now as my 
first and only mic.  I have mostly recorded natural soundscapes in 
Connecticut - amphibians, insects, birds, water, etc.  Successfully 
recorded to both minidisc and DAT.  While I don't have much 
experience with many other mics, self noise with the AT822 is always 
an issue when recording in quiet environments.  For this reason, I am 
currently in the process of upgrading my mic.  With that out of the 
way, I'm very satisfied with most of my final CDs produced for 
personal listening.  The mic works well for me with reasonably loud 
soundscapes and soundscapes containing content which blends with or 
masks the mic self noise (i.e. water, wind, background of frogs or 
insects, etc.).

Without noise reduction in the computer, most recordings made with 
the AT822 are intolerable to my ears.

Search the Naturerecordists archive for "AT822", we have had a number 
of conversations on this mic.  My personal impressions from the group 
is that this is a noisy mic when compared to Sennheiser's MKH and K6 
modular series mics and the Telinga products.  But it's probably 
better than most of the binaural setups and definitely better than 
the Radio Shack sort of thirty dollar mics.  Some of the group's 
members have given excellent advice to new recordists in the past - 
for most people, it's probably better to try and borrow equipment or 
purchase an inexpensive setup to start to see how much they enjoy it 
before spending large $$$ on gear.  The "hiss" from the mic is one 
variable that can be reduced to a degree for a price.  It's important 
to consider your subject matter, quality needs and budget when 
sorting out the gear dilemma.  Be cautious before drawing conclusions 
on mic recommendations.  There is no such thing as a "best mic" for 
nature recording.  "Best" is a matter of application and many people 
on this list have multiple "best" mics in their arsenal depending on 
the recording situation.  Also be aware that most of the general mic 
experience out there is based on music recording where the sound 
sources are loud, close and indoors - nature recording introduce a 
whole different set of challenges and equipment demands. 

If your not already familiar, check the web for stereo recording 
techniques.  There is a lot of information out there describing some 
eight or ten different methods of mic placement and coverage.  As you 
noted that your coming from mono, pay particular attention to the 
difference between stereo based on "difference in amplitude" 
and "difference in time of arrival".  The AT822 being an XY mic is 
completely compatible for later conversion to mono as it only 
generates difference in amplitude signals between the two channels.

The AT822's credits are it's relatively low cost of around $230, and 
it's ease use as it's quick and easy to setup being a Stereo XY mic.  
It yields very natural sounding results.  It's limitation in the 
context of my subject matter, is solely it's performance in terms of 
self noise and sensitivity.  Be conscious of the fact that some of 
the mics favored amongst this group require phantom power (typically 
48VDC) which requires an external power supply when used with the 
typical consumer portable minidisc recorders.  Many people in this 
group use pro-minidisc recorders with both phantom power and digital 
audio outputs - neither of which are ever found on the $100 recorders.

Finally, how I'm satisfied with my final results...  Post recording 
processing in the computer is always required.  From what I 
understand, a better mic translates to less need for noise 
reduction.  I must confess, I'm a obsessive perfectionist.  I'm 
trying to produce a listening experience void of "the hand of man" 
including the mic itself.  While I don't artificially "create" an 
environment by mixing (at least not yet), I readily cut or filter to 
remove segments of things like aircraft and barking dogs.  Hence, my 
final result is not a "perfect" scientific representation of the 
environment.  It's sometimes noted, that as soon as you select and 
position your mic, you have already "edited" what the listener will 
later hear.  It takes some time to learn the basics of computer sound 
editing, but I have found it can make a huge difference in the final 
result.

BTW, I also use the AT822 with a homemade parabola with decent 
results.  I find expanding the image width (stereo separation) during 
the editing process enhances the feeling of space.  A benefit of the 
parabola is that the impact of mic noise is measurably reduced by 
improving the signal to noise of the overall system through 
mechanical amplification.

Brian Bystrek




--- In  Brian McWilliams 
<> wrote:
> 
> It's time to move from mono recordings to stereo for
> strictly outdoor field recording but I'm hesitating
> because I'm not quite sure which way to go. I have no
> experience with a soldering iron, so that may shape
> your answer.
> 
> Has anyone had any experience with the Rode NT4 or
> Audio Technica AT822 in the field? If so, what were
> your experiences?
> 
> Would you recommend either as a "cheap" stereo mic for
> field recording?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Brian
> 
> 
> __________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
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