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Re: Avlex M-S mic

Subject: Re: Avlex M-S mic
From: "Keith Smith" keithahsmith
Date: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:11 pm ((PST))
Heh, It's probably my bad Karma, Max.

I did notice the 25 DB?, so I haven't been in a hurry  ;)
When I bought the Sony mic it was a few years before I became at all
serious about recording. It was an improvement over something even cheaper.
I was making casual recordings of gigs I played, so much of the self-noise
would have been masked by cymbals and the background noise of the crowd.

As I think back, I have to admit I'm a wimp. Although my first recordings
go back to a Webcor wire recorder, it wasn't until half decent audio
interfaces for computers became affordable that I could get results that I
could stand, and thereafter develop more than a cursory interest in
recording.

Some of the most useful material I've seen on comparing mic specs came on
links I found in this group. It was a great help to get a feel for how the
relationship between sensitivity and self-noise affect noise performance of
a mic/pre combination.

http://www.avisoft.com/tutorial_mic_recorder.htm  (Raimund is a major
contributor here.)
http://www.rane.com/note148.html

I also find this site very useful:
http://www.microphone-data.com/
You need to set up an account (free), but I haven't received any new, or
more spam than usual after signing up.

Take a look at the sensitivity vs self-noise of some of the >$2K
Sennheiser's that get mentioned on this list. Then take a Valium & lay down
for a while.


A little OT:
One source of inexpensive and quiet mics that seldom gets mentioned here is
CAD. I have 3 M-179's and a Pair of e300=B2's. One caveat with these is tha=
t
they're pretty greedy on phantom power, drawing around 8ma/ea, which will
probably exceed what your portable recorder will supply. They are
multi-pattern though (179's are inf variable), and great for MS recording.
I got some decent MS stuff with a pair of 179's on my Tascam HDP2, before I
realized I might be toasting the phantom supply. Now I'm a bit timid about
trying it again.

Rode is in the same league for noise, and probably less greedy but on some
models they seem a little queasy about actually stating current draw (just
listing as P48).

I think my next move is to get some Primo EM172's (lots of stuff here on
these) and warm up the soldering iron.

Cheers,
Keith


On Mon, Nov 12, 2012 at 7:25 PM, Max <> wrote:

> **
>
>
> I've emailed you privately Keith
>
>
> --- In  "Max" <> wrote:
> >
> > Very strange!!! I added my reply to Keith on the end of my previous
> post, but once again it wouldn't send. So I deleted it, and off it went??=
??
> I'll try adding it here, but I'm not hopeful.
> > No, it won't go!?
> > I'll try posting under a new title
> > Max
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In  "Max" <maxcatterwell@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi David,
> > > I'm having great difficulty posting this evening; I've been trying to
> reply to Keith for hours without success. I'll post my reply to him on th=
e
> end of this, just in case.
> > > OK, I appreciate your reply and the extra input you've given. One
> thing I'm assuming about this mic, is that the decoding is done internall=
y.
> At this point in time my technical knowledge is limited, but as there's n=
o
> mention of having to decode, I'm guessing it won't need to be done. In a
> way I hope it DOES have to be done, because it would be something to lear=
n
> and play with in Audition! But as I've said already, I'm not really
> expecting much for such a dirt cheap mic, but it was the m/s spec that
> rather intrigued me. Time will tell.
> > > Cheers
> > > Max
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In  "Avocet" <brini@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > What do YOU make of the specs? It's so cheap that I'm tempted to
> buy
> > > > > one whatever, to try with my LS-10.
> > > >
> > > > Max,
> > > >
> > > > It is likely to be value for money, take that as you will. :-) As a
> > > > kickabout mic or for putting on idents, fine, but don't expect much
> > > > with those specs.
> > > >
> > > > The stated noise level is high, whatever weighting is used but I
> would
> > > > have thought that they would have stated A-weighting if that is wha=
t
> > > > they mean. Witn no info, I'd expect a "best case" test. They are
> > > > unlikely to publish a "worst case" test.
> > > >
> > > > The output worries me at 5.6mV/Pa which is low for any mic. With
> quiet
> > > > sounds like nature recording, the input noise of any affordable
> > > > recorder will probably be audible, even over the 25dB mic spec.
> > > >
> > > > As a music mic, the max SPL of 110 dB rules it out for close miking
> of
> > > > instruments or even voices. It may be bad for handling noise and
> prone
> > > > to wind as well due to the fig-8 reponse.
> > > >
> > > > You can't easily separate out the M cardioid capsule so you will
> > > > always have an all-round pickup from the fig-8.
> > > >
> > > > David
> > > >
> > > > David Brinicombe
> > > > North Devon, UK
> > > > Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum - Ambrose Bierce
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
>
>



--
Keith Smith

Keith Smith Trio, Northern Lights =96 Altai Khangai - www.keithsmith.ca
Photography - www.mymountains.ca









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