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Re: The CAD 179 - Best buy?

Subject: Re: The CAD 179 - Best buy?
From: Walter Knapp <>
Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 21:53:47 -0400
From: Klas Strandberg <>
> 
> 
> 
> Preliminary, after only a few days test, and with a questionmark for 
> reliability - I claim that the CAD 179 is the "best buy" under 200 dollars.
> 
> A bit heavy and ugly, with a linearity which is "average" - it's still a 
> lot of microphone for the price. Stepless directivity from omni to eight 
> and very low self noise. Good handling noise.
> 
> Two of them will make an good stereo pair, making both XY, Blumline and M/S 
> possible.
> 
> You need phantom power, though.

This mic passed through my hands on the way to Klas. Not a good time for 
much to record, but I did a few tests.

It stood up to recording on a misty night with nothing but a baby sock 
for protection.

As all the time I had it tended on the windy side, I got to see how well 
it handled in wind. It will need wind protection, but is not 
oversensitive to wind. Often a baby sock could handle the lighter breezes.

I paired it with a MKH-80 in X/Y stereo at the cardioid settings. The 
sound off it was quite comparable to that from the MKH-80. Anyway a 
surprisingly balanced stereo for such a odd pair. It appears to be as 
quiet a mic as it's specs would imply. Though I never got a quiet enough 
time to really test it completely on that. It seemed more sensitive than 
it's rating would imply.

I was particularly interested in it at the figure 8 setting. Not a lot 
of quality figure 8's to choose from for M/S setups. For those wanting 
to try M/S without going broke, it's definitely one to look at. The 
figure 8 was quite good.

It's a larger diaphragm (1.1"), something I want to try more.

For the spec happy:
Frequency Response:  10Hz-20kHz
Output:  15.9 mV/Pascal
Equivalent Noise Level: 11dBA
Dynamic Range: 133 dB
Requires 24 or 48 volt phantom power 8mA
Stepless polar pattern setting from Omni-wide 
cardioid-cardioid-hypercardioid-figure 8
2.25"x7.00"
Weight: 17.8oz
Uses a op-amp circuit rather than a fet.
Has a 6dB/Octave @ 100Hz switchable high pass filter
also a 20 dB pad

I agree with Klas, this is a lot of mic for the money.

Klas, how about showing that photo of it mounted in a Telinga? That's a 
pretty setup.

Walt




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