Topic: CA-11 Omnis Series II

[jagraham]

This will be a dedicated thread to the CA-11 Omnis Series II that Chris announced back in the winter in his retail thread.

I have come across a pair of these (Thanks Adrianf!) and will report back after use in the field.

[swordfish]

For me the main question is .....Who has ordered a pair and received it in the meantime.. I am sure you can read between the lines....isn't it almost June???

SF 

[kisspep]

For me the main question is .....Who has ordered a pair and received it in the meantime.. I am sure you can read between the lines....isn't it almost June???

SF

I got them since April.... still don't check them on a concert. I'll let you know...

[Marshall7]

For me the main question is .....Who has ordered a pair and received it in the meantime.. I am sure you can read between the lines....isn't it almost June???

SF

No...it IS June.

[adrianf74]

For me the main question is .....Who has ordered a pair and received it in the meantime.. I am sure you can read between the lines....isn't it almost June???

SF

No...it IS June.

 

I think you said it Dennis.

[jagraham]

From what I understand in the retail thread, the CA-11 Omnis mark 2 are better than the CA-14 Omnis, but the CA-14 Cards are better than the CA-11 Cards. So in theory, if I have CA-14 cards and the new CA-11 omnis, I wouldn't really have any need for CA-11 Card caps would I? I only ask because it seems like it would be nice to have switchable caps, but if the CA-14s are going to sound better anyway I'll probably already be running those in most cases.

For anyone who has used the CA-11 Omnis Series/Mark II, will they generally work the same as my CA-14 Omnis? I run different combinations of CA-14s Omnis, CA-14s Cards, CA-CAFs Omnis > STC-9000(+15db) > DR-2d(LineIn, Vol 98) and the same mics > CA-UBB > DR-2d(MicIn, Vol 69). I have seen it stated that +30db > LineIn is universally OK but in my experience that is not always the case, especially with omnis. I had instant clipping one time when the show started with CA-14s Omnis > STC-9000(+10db) > DR-05. On the other hand, I have ran the Church mics > UBB > DR-2d(Mic In,Power Off, Gain Low) and had to amplify 22db in post. When I tried the same setup with gain on medium the recording sounded OK but looked clipped. Anything I could be doing differently? I want to make sure I get the best pull possible with these new omnis.

[taper666]

oh this seems to be for me... I ordered the CA11/2 with both omni and card caps in January and received them about 3 weeks ago! Ran them as a backup rig yesterday at a loud concert for the first time. My rig was CA11/2 omni - 9200 preamp (+40dB) - Tascam DR-2d (line in). Seems to be a too hot signal for the Tascam as I got much distortion, after recognizing this I changed gain to +30dB and still had lots of clipping in the louder parts. So I wouldn't recommed going +30dB again with these mics. I don't know if they are an upgrade to the CA14 series. Had only a CA14 card mic which is simply amazing!

[Marshall7]

Just wondering for what you admit was a "loud" concert you would ever even think about running at +40, or even +30?  Those settings are suited for quieter acoustic shows.

[jagraham]

Here are my first recordings with the CA-11 Omnis v2:
http://archive.org/details/sambush2013-06-07.ca11s.omnis.16bit
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/357afxt9wi7xszg/PY3Dbf3BSe
http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=564733
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u515f5zz8jcsbhc/ku-VH99d-6

Compare to the CA-14 Cards of the same shows, same locations, same order:
http://archive.org/details/sambush2013-06-07.ca14s.cards.16bit
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f4wsolfgnz0x8em/qM8brOqGlN
http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=564734

[swordfish]

at least IMO the ca 11 II sound better, more bass, more treble...could be that it is due to my PC speaker system dunno

[jagraham]

^ Agreed, but keep in mind the lineages are much different. The samples are all CA-11 Omnis > STC-9200 > DR-2d Line In and CA-14 Cards > UBB > DR-2d Mic In. The mic in levels were way lower, I had to amplify some of those recordings over 20db while the line in sources only had to be bumped up 5-10db. They might both sound way different if the lineage and settings were to be changed.

As a side note, it always seems like running the omnis with a preamp and line in results in much higher levels versus running cards.

[pillowman]

at least IMO the ca 11 II sound better, more bass, more treble...could be that it is due to my PC speaker system dunno

1+
pillowman

[kisspep]

Audio taped with: CA11(omni II) + UBB + Tascam DR07

http://youtu.be/BxbEhS6kqwk

[Church-Audio]

The ca-11 omni are the flattest mics I make right now. And in some situations thats what you want. these capsules do not remove from the body. I can under special request make a set that will work with cards and omni caps but they must be ordered at the same time. The threads are slightly different on these capsules.

The ca-14 omni are not as flat but still sound good. They seem to have slightly less bottom end than the ca-11 omni II does. In some situations thats a good thing.

The ca-14 card is not a very flat mic but sounds good for super close stack taping but its slightly harder to aim. If you are in a very loud situation where the sound feild is all around you. The ca-14 card is a good choice.

The ca-11 card II is slightly flatter not quite as flat on the bottom end as the ca-14 card but the top end is slightly sweeter sounding on the ca-11 card.
The ca-11 is a good choice when you have the ability to aim at the sound source like for croakie mounts.. I really like these when they are on ether side of the head.

When I posted and said the ca-11 II omni was my best mic I was speaking of the flatness for me being a audio geek I have always been trying to get a flatter sounding mic. But again every single situation is different. I usually recommend mics based on what my customers are doing at the time they place an order. I just have alot of experience with my own mics obviously I make them. So If anyone has any doubts always send me a quick email and I will be glad to answer questions about my gear and where and when would be the best time to use it.

I cant obviously answer questions about what recorder setting to use.. Or what gain settings to use. I can only speak in general terms because I don't know how loud your concert is.. But I can give you good advice on placement on the body. Like any mics the higher on your body the better they will sound all of my mics have been designed to sound better with a boundary * your head * between them. The bigger the boundary the better your left right stereo separation will be.

[aaronji]

 ^^^ Excellent news for macrocephalic tapers everwhere...