Topic: So, are Naiant mics any good? [Naiant X-X SAMPLES HERE]

[acidjack]

Let me spare you the suspense, my answer is a resounding yes.  I grabbed some $109 Naiant X-X's MSH-10s for an install at a festival I'm currently traveling to (looking forward to seeing you NC guys!).  I tested the mics out last night in NYC to be sure they "worked".  Ran them onstage in a NOLA split omni kwonbar about 1ft back from stage lip. See pic.

First sample: http://soundcloud.com/jonaslblank/deathblues2012-09-04glasslands

I fully grant that these were fairly optimum conditions, and many mics will perform well.  But that said, I think these sound REALLY nice, especially for the price.  The next few samples I post will have more other instruments in them to give a better sense of accuracy, but this is the first set I mixed down.

Opinions?  BTW at $109, that makes these virtually THE least expensive mic offered for what we do... Just saying.

All of these are raw exports - no amplification, no EQ, nothing.

[acidjack]

second sample: http://soundcloud.com/jonaslblank/loom2012-09-04glasslands-msh10

Oh, the gear chain was just: Naiant X-X>R-44 [OCM]

[bryonsos]

Wow, those samples sound great. Smooth across the entire range. Minor but pleasant hype on the highs. Great "attack" on the lows, especially the tom hits, with a nice rumble that follows. I won't be hanging up the Avensons as my go to omni, but I can't say they're ~3x (price difference) better than the Naiants based on this optimal sample. If I was in the market for a dedicated omni, I'd definitely consider these.

[Massive Dynamic]

When you posted your iso several days ago, I was tempted to send you my set of Naiant mics. My only complaint with my set (rated @122db) is that they overloaded when recording too close to the stage. The high SPLs you were expecting is why I didn't contact you about borrowing mine. Glad they worked out for you, and yes, they do sound very nice for the price.

[chinariderstl]

Jesus, those sound good!

Thanks for sharing.

[Chuck]

When Jon says $22 for the MSH-1O's... I think he means $22/pair shipped!

I know I didn't pay much more than that for my pair.

They are really good sounding mics.

[Chuck]

Maybe it was the MSH-1A's that were twenty something $ per pair?
I know I had a pair that were very, very inexpensive. I wondered how you made any money selling them at the time.

[twatts (pants are so over-rated...)]

Jon,

I bought a pair of these from you years ago, but can't remember which ones they were...  I don't think they are labelled either...  Is there a way to tell which ones are which???  If I post a picture, could you identify it???

Thanks,

Terry

[hoppedup]

Yes.

I don't like labels 

'Was it Kierkegaard or Dick Van Patten who said, "If you label me, you negate me."?'

[Smokey]

I very recently ordered a pair of Naiant X-S to use while my other mics were in the shop- still waiting for them to arrive! With the U-T cable I can connect directly to the 6-pin mini XLR input on my Tinybox running 16v phantom. I'm also getting a U-P cable which will allow them to be used with plug-in power or a battery box. Jon advised I should power them with at least 5v so I'll be pushing the limits if I run them directly into the M10.

Since the Nevatons will be returned in time for my next outing, I'll be able to pair the X-S with my extra recorder and see what they can handle running PIP, without the risk of losing a show. I'll also be testing them with my Canon Vixia HF M50- hopefully the 3.5mm mic input is powered on that model. If not I'll probably be in the market for a small 9v battery box. Looking forward to trying these out!

[acidjack]

I don't think you have MSH-1Os, or if you do you paid too much for them!  1Os were $22 and discontinued in 2007.

I think you have X-Xs; those are $109 for the pair, so more like 1/5 the price of STO-2s.  These are lapel mics though; I have a sort-of-comparable 6mm omni to the STO-2 in a stand-mounted mic with the U series, but not for much longer!  I am simplifying the mic series to fewer products soon (see my Retail thread).

These days I push the X-O, which is a much lower noise 10mm omni with a mellower high end.  Although I ran out of capsules for the moment   The X-X is great if you're looking for a phantom-powered binaural setup though.

Jon, you are of course correct. Mine are the X-X.  Post corrected.  They are great!

[acidjack]

Couple more things to add:

The X-X basically are an XLR connector, a short cable, and then what appears to be a Neutrix RCA cable housing that holds the actual microphone.  Pretty little thing and Jon includes windscreens.

The bands in these samples were recorded onstage, and Death Blues is, as you can guess from the name, very loud.

[taperj]

My first pair of mics was a pair of Naiant X-Q, always thought they sounded great, I still pull them out occasionally to run next to my Neumanns.

Here's a sample tape using a single X-Q (I'd start listening on song two, the sound guy took a minute to settle in and hit the mix):

http://archive.org/details/crnml2008-07-20.flac16

[ArchivalAudio]

I've got some of these:
2007:

MSH-2: first 10mm version, with first all-metal case.

have not used them in a while...
I'll need to get them running again!

--Ian

[rjp]

Well, in answer to the question in this thread, I'd unequivocally say "YES!" 

I haven't had a chance to record any music yet, but tonight I decided to try a rather difficult audio capture, namely, a train passing at about 70 MPH:

http://archive.org/details/metra-rock-island-20120921

I ran the X-X's into the Littlebox, input transformers engaged and pots turned to the minimum, and the LS-10 level control set to about 1.5/10. The mics were clipped to my baseball cap.

An earlier capture attempt (two trains stopping at the station) failed; the horns were loud enough to brickwall at higher gain settings.