Gear / Technical Help > Microphones & Setup
Blind Listening Test of Two Popular Microphones
jes1982:
In the tradition of the Downbeat blindfold test, and if y'all are interested, I invite your thoughts on these two mics. Here, the tapers were sitting directly next to each other in a theater with microphones at a nearly identical height. I've provided samples of Microphone A and Microphone B capturing the same performance of two different groups, and I tried to keep the levels approximately the same.
I'll confess that my ears aren't trained enough to pick up on the nuances I'm sure people here can identify (hence the idea to share this "test"). I'm in the market for new microphones, so call this research. I'd love to hear what you like and don't like about each mic.
Thank you!
(Below links are to the identical folder; just posting two links in case anyone has a problem with one of the sites.)
WeTransfer (expires on March 13):
https://we.tl/t-FdCAa1zIOy
DropBox:
https://bit.ly/3Tqcm6r
voltronic:
Piano Trio:
Piano and bass are quite muffled in both captures so they don't give me much info for the comp. But focusing on the drums, Mic A is far superior. It's not close at all. The ride cymbal told me a lot right away, but the drum solo starting at 8:45 confirmed what I was hearing: HUGE difference in clarity of treble, and overall transparency through the full range. I find it interesting that both mic pairs were next to each other. Mic A sounds like it was fairly close to the stage, whereas B sounds like it was distant and underneath thick clothing, with an odd stereo image. I have to ask, were these stealth recordings, and if so, were there significant differences in clothing material covering the mics?
//
Vocals:
The vocals and piano don't tell me much, but the mandolin definitely does, so 4:00 onwards is what I focused on. I strongly suspect that Mic B here is the same as Mic A in the first example, and I'll be quite shocked if I'm wrong because I'm hearing the same things as before. Again, a huge difference to my ears.
//
I have a suspicion about what mics Piano Trio A / Vocal B mics are, but I'll sit on that for now until we get some more responses. Thanks for posting this comp!
jes1982:
--- Quote from: voltronic on March 06, 2024, 09:05:47 PM ---I have to ask, were these stealth recordings, and if so, were there significant differences in clothing material covering the mics?
--- End quote ---
Thanks for your feedback! I'll say more later, but, yes, both recordings are stealth, and, no, I didn't think there was a significant difference in obstructions to the mics.
jes1982:
--- Quote from: voltronic on March 06, 2024, 09:05:47 PM ---I have a suspicion about what mics Piano Trio A / Vocal B mics are, but I'll sit on that for now until we get some more responses. Thanks for posting this comp!
--- End quote ---
I'll identify the microphones on Sunday, so feel free to post your suspicion.
jes1982:
--- Quote from: voltronic on March 06, 2024, 09:05:47 PM ---I strongly suspect that Mic B here is the same as Mic A in the first example, and I'll be quite shocked if I'm wrong because I'm hearing the same things as before. Again, a huge difference to my ears.
--- End quote ---
And the reveal: Microphone A is Microphone A in both samples. For both the Piano Trio and the Vocals samples, here are the sources:
Microphone A = Schoeps MK5 (cardioid)
Microphone B = DPA 4061
Regarding stealth technique, the DPA mics were not under anything. I won't comment on the exact location of the Schoeps mics, but the taper is well known and I never thought his recordings were hindered by any mic obstruction.
What I didn't account for before posting: I'm not certain what post-processing was done on the Schoeps recording. I assumed just a gain boost, but I could be wrong. So that's a variable that could affect the comparison.
If you want a visual, the tapers were seated next to each other in the dead center of the 8th row.
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