Topic: Review of 2 deadkittens for Sony PCM D-50

[nolonemo]

I found out that the Rode deadkitten for the Rode Stereo Videomic ($25 at B&H) will fit well on the D-50.  Not realizing that, I had ordered a windscreen from "hearley" on ebay for $20.  The ebay windscreen has shorter "hair" (about 1/2" vs 1")  than the Rode.  The ebay windscreen is just fake fur, the Rode is fake fur with an additional fabric lining.  Both have elastic and fit well on the D-50.  Because the Rode's fur is longer, it tends to obscure the -12db and clip LEDs on the D-50.  You could trim the fur there if needed, I guess.

Crude testing indicates the Rode is the better product.  A wind gust (me blowing on the deadcat) that produces a peak of around -24db with the ebay deadcat will produce a peak of around -40db with the Rode.  So my advice is to spend the extra 5 bucks for the Rode.  I have not tested the sonic characteristics of the two deadkittens.

I was amazed that I was still getting wind noise with the Rode when blowing gently on it.  I reckon that if you are in any real breeze outdoors you're going to get wind noise unless you blimp the recorder.  I'll try the Rode in real wind eventually and update this post, so if you're interested, check back periodically.

I have no experience with the $50 Sony windscreen, so can't comment on that.  However, I can't really see how it could be superior to the Rode unless it's made of some kind of magic unobtanium fur.

[Edit - see later in thread for controlled tests using a fan]

[digifish_music]

Thanks for the review.

Dead Kittens? Bah! You need dead-mittens

These are car-wash mittens

[cybergaloot]

Dead Kittens? Dead Mittens? HA! Dead Teddy's!!!!
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,101340.75.html

[digifish_music]

Dead Kittens? Dead Mittens? HA! Dead Teddy's!!!!
http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,101340.75.html

I found your dead teddys lower in the thread +T

[Humbug]

Do the dead mittens / dead teddies appendages work OK in wind?

I ask 'cos the one's I made from fake fur were furry all the way round, and it looks like you have a large area without fur coverage.

+t on the dead teddies, this made me laugh (again) this afternoon.

[cybergaloot]

I actually haven't tried the Dead Teddies yet. I record mostly indoors.

[John Willett]

Rycote do a special mini Windjammer for the Sony PCM-D50 - they also do these for the Nagra ARES-P and the new Olympus LS-10 as well.

[digifish_music]

Rycote do a special mini Windjammer for the Sony PCM-D50 - they also do these for the Nagra ARES-P and the new Olympus LS-10 as well.

The Rode Stereo Video Mic Dead Kitten will fit over the Edirol R09/HR's too...

digifish.

[detroitblues]

Sorry to hear that nolenemo was unhappy with the windscreen that he purchased from us. We have sold upwards of a hundred or more of these furry little windscreens. They have been sold all over the world and this is the first complaint that we have received. Professional in all areas of the recording industry have purchased and left nothing but possitive feedbacks on ebay. Nolenemo did say if the version with the longer fur caused a problem with reception you could trim it. I found this strange. Signed "hearley"

[digifish_music]

Sorry to hear that nolenemo was unhappy with the windscreen that he purchased from us. We have sold upwards of a hundred or more of these furry little windscreens. They have been sold all over the world and this is the first complaint that we have received. Professional in all areas of the recording industry have purchased and left nothing but possitive feedbacks on ebay. Nolenemo did say if the version with the longer fur caused a problem with reception you could trim it. I found this strange. Signed "hearley"

Looking at your design,




It should significantly improve the wind performance of any hand-held with top-mounted mics. As to how it compares to the Rode I can't say. I think part of the issue may be the "crude test"

A wind gust (me blowing on the deadcat) that produces a peak of around -24db with the ebay deadcat will produce a peak of around -40db with the Rode.

I have found in my own testing of wind protection that blowing with the mouth tends not to correlate well with real wind, that is less focused (a fan is a better simulation, moving the mic quickly in/out of the breeze simulates gusts quite well). However I am not surprised if the Rode functions better, given the longer hairs and larger size.

digifish

[nolonemo]

OK, I don't want to be accused of trashing anyone's product unfairly.  I will run some comparisons between the hearley deadkitten, rode deadkitten, and the Zoom H2 form windscreen (which will fit on the D50) using a fan to simulate a gentle breeze and post back.

Also, I am not "complaining" about hearley's deadkitten, I am merely comparing it to another deadkitten in roughly the same price range.  I decided that for me the extra cost of the Rode is worth it.  Someone else might reach a different conclusion.

[digifish_music]

OK, I don't want to be accused of trashing anyone's product unfairly.  I will run some comparisons between the hearley deadkitten, rode deadkitten, and the Zoom H2 form windscreen (which will fit on the D50) using a fan to simulate a gentle breeze and post back.

Also, I am not "complaining" about hearley's deadkitten, I am merely comparing it to another deadkitten in roughly the same price range.  I decided that for me the extra cost of the Rode is worth it.  Someone else might reach a different conclusion.

+T for more rigorous testing

No accusations from me, just noting the mouth test isn't quite the same as real wind. BTW: Looking at the two the Rode should be better, but a 20 dB difference does seem a lot.

[nolonemo]

This weekend I followed up with controlled tests using a continuously variable speed fan to provide the "wind."  I also added the foam windscreen from the Zoom H2, which fits over the D50.  The first test, I turned up the fan so that the D50 was continuously clipping.  For the second test, I turned the fan speed down to the point that it never clipped.  I got a "wind free" noise level by putting a 30"x40" sheet of foam core in front of the D50 to completely block the fan wind.  Here are results:

Sony D50 with breeze from fan, gain set at 4.75 with mics at 90 degrees
RMS levels of segments were measured in Sony Sound Forge 8

Higher breeze:
Uprotected mics:  0dB (continuous clipping)
Foam core barrier:  -96dB RMS
Rode deadkitten:  -96dB RMS
eBay deadkitten:  -48dB RMS
Zoom H2 foam windscreen:  -37.7dB RMS

Lower breeze, entire file normalized to peak of -0dB (peaks were intermittent spikes):
Uprotected mics:  -14dB RMS
Foam core barrier:  -96dB RMS
Rode deadkitten:  -96dB RMS
eBay deadkitten:  -96dB RMS
Zoom H2 foam windscreen:  -96dB RMS

High quality MP3 files, each containing the entire test run can be downloaded at:

www.nolonemo.com/files/High breeze.mp3
www.nolonemo.com/files/Light breeze.mp3

[link fixed]
 

[digifish_music]

This weekend I followed up with controlled tests using a continuously variable speed fan to provide the "wind."  I also added the foam windscreen from the Zoom H2, which fits over the D50.  The first test, I turned up the fan so that the D50 was continuously clipping.  For the second test, I turned the fan speed down to the point that it never clipped.  I got a "wind free" noise level by putting a 30"x40" sheet of foam core in front of the D50 to completely block the fan wind.  Here are results:

Sony D50 with breeze from fan, gain set at 4.75 with mics at 90 degrees
RMS levels of segments were measured in Sony Sound Forge 8

Higher breeze:
Uprotected mics:  0dB (continuous clipping)
Foam core barrier:  -96dB RMS
Rode deadkitten:  -96dB RMS
eBay deadkitten:  -48dB RMS
Zoom H2 foam windscreen:  -37.7dB RMS

Lower breeze, entire file normalized to peak of -0dB (peaks were intermittent spikes):
Uprotected mics:  -14dB RMS
Foam core barrier:  -96dB RMS
Rode deadkitten:  -96dB RMS
eBay deadkitten:  -96dB RMS
Zoom H2 foam windscreen:  -96dB RMS

High quality MP3 files, each containing the entire test run can be downloaded at:

www.nolonemo.com/files/High breeze.mp3
www.nolonemo.com/files/Light breeze.mp3
 

+T, I think we have an editing error, at the moment the Light breeze points to http://www.nolonemo.com/files/High breeze.mp3

I tried http://www.nolonemo.com/files/Light%20breeze.mp3 but the file didn't exist

OK, looking at the spectrograph (with waveform overlay), the results appear to be Foam barrier > Rode > eBay > Zoom > None in the high-wind simulation, thanks for this!



Listening to the light test I think the Rode may be blocking slightly more mid/high frequencies.

Have a listen to the light breeze test file, cut as sown below -> >>>Here<<<



digifish

[nolonemo]

File name fixed for Light Breeze.

Truth be told, the difference between the different screens doesn't jump out at you, even with headphones.  That said, even the higher breeze is not that high.  I'm going to run another series tonight to simulate the kind of gusts you'd get outside on a windy day, and post that.  Watch this post for an edit.

[Edit]

Additional test added to end of thread