Topic: Advice on mics to go with iRiver H340

[symfan]

Hi tapers,

I'm new on this forum and I'm hoping for some advice.
I've been taping for a year now and I'm kind of getting the hang of it. So the time comes that I'm thinking about new microphones. And I'm getting hopelessly lost. Can't see the wood for the trees. My question: can someone give me advice which mics I could buy. I'm looking for a pair of stereo microphones to make stealth recordings of rock concerts. And I'm keeping my iRiver H340, for I love it.

My present gear
My gear at this time: iRiver H340, rockboxed. Microphone: Sony ECM CS10 stereo microphone. The results I'm getting with this set are not bad. But I always need to 'master' my recording because the base is recorded very low. After mastering the result is quite satisfactory, but I know I can do better.
Here's a sample of a recent recording (this is MP3, low res, but gives an idea of what I can do at this time). If you're interested: this is the Australian Pink Floyd from Nijmegen and it's up at Yeeshkull and dimeadozen.

http://members.home.nl/m.van.dommelen/symfan/Sample3-numb.mp3

I can't help wondering what this one could have sounded with other mics.

My research so far
I've been looking at Core Sound Binaurals, but I read different reviews on service etc. I've also checked out the site of soundprofessionals. I see SOUND PROFESSIONALS - DELUXE AUDIO TECHNICA MINIATURE BINAURAL MICROPHONES WITH CLIPS. I also see so called 'in ear' sets and I wonder if that works well. I now have a single mike attached to my shirt. Do 'in ear' mics give you some freedom of movement or does it cause phasing if you can't keep still?

Budget
My budget is not that high. I wonder what I can get for 100 dollar. Would it be better than what I have now? Is it worth it? And since I know it's an investment, I wonder... Would it make a big difference if I can spend say 200 dollars? But that is really the limit for now.

A lot of words to ask for advice, I know. But I hope it helps to point out what I'm looking for. If I need to give more info then please tell me so. Thank you kindly.

Symfan

[lordbelial]

First of all, I suggest you to take a look into the yard sale.

for example: http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,97365.0.html and you can get a nice preamp with binaural mics.

Here you could find what you're looking for at a fair price.

My suggestions would be:

Mics: Church Audio or Audio Technica (Sound professionals) cards or omni's, that's your choice.
Battery Box / Preamp: Church ST-9100

That combo should be in that 100-200 USD range.

[DaveG73]

I run a Rockbox H320 with the Church Audio Mics/preamp and have made some fantastic recordings with that set up. (I have also made some awful recordings but that is my fault not the mics  ).

I think that would fit into your budget.

I have had no dealings with Core Sounds or SP but I have noticed that one company seems to have a much better reputation on here than the other.

Good Luck.

Dave.

[Liquid Drum]

Church Cards and a Church battery box should set you up nicely. If you can afford it, go with the pre-amp but a battery box should be fine.

Great set of mics, only just over $100 too, so within your budget.

[symfan]

Thanks for the help. I'll go and check that out.

BTW: does anyone know it if a batterybox is really needed for Church? It seems that iRiver H340 can handle the input well.
Or is it that the battery box gives more detail and range?

Marcel

[sunjan]

Thanks for the help. I'll go and check that out.

BTW: does anyone know it if a batterybox is really needed for Church? It seems that iRiver H340 can handle the input well.
Or is it that the battery box gives more detail and range?

Marcel

Another vote for the Church combo. You will want a pre, otherwise the signal will not be hot enough at acoustic/moderate shows, and you'll end up adding too much gain in Rockbox.

Search for "gain + iriver" here in the forum, there are discussions that you should never add more than +20-something dB during recording with Iriver, otherwise it'll end up int the digital domain and starting to sound crap.

/J

[symfan]

Thanks for the advice. After checking out the options I decided to go for the church combo, including the pre-amp. Expecting much of it. Counting the days for arrival now.