Topic: Cardioid Move... from the CA-14's to...

[Walstib62]

I've been hoping Chris Church might make something that would be an improvement over the CA-14's. *fingers crossed*

I promise by the end of the year I will have a new mic that will be better than the ca-14 but it will be bigger. And not stealth. Well seeing what some people stealth with I guess I should not say you cant stealth with them. They are going to be like a ca-14 on steroids.

Any specs you can share?

[F.O.Bean]

I've been hoping Chris Church might make something that would be an improvement over the CA-14's. *fingers crossed*

I promise by the end of the year I will have a new mic that will be better than the ca-14 but it will be bigger. And not stealth. Well seeing what some people stealth with I guess I should not say you cant stealth with them. They are going to be like a ca-14 on steroids.

Any specs you can share?

AWESOME!

[daspyknows]

Well, I bought MK4's 20 years ago as part of a development effort that lead to the original RBox design which led to the NBox.   If I amortize the cost it is under $20 per show which is quite reasonable.  I have not felt an overwhelming desire to upgrade except possibly another pair of capsules.  I just purchased a set of ca-14's for my 12 year old son as a starter rig.  There is a noticable difference between recordings but not 10X better.  In my opinion I'd say stick with what you have unless you are going to really go for it.  Otherwise you will still have the urge to upgrade but you will have a second set of mics to sell and potentially take a loss on.  Again, just my opinion.

[adrianf74]

Well, I bought MK4's 20 years ago as part of a development effort that lead to the original RBox design which led to the NBox.   If I amortize the cost it is under $20 per show which is quite reasonable.  I have not felt an overwhelming desire to upgrade except possibly another pair of capsules.  I just purchased a set of ca-14's for my 12 year old son as a starter rig.  There is a noticable difference between recordings but not 10X better.  In my opinion I'd say stick with what you have unless you are going to really go for it.  Otherwise you will still have the urge to upgrade but you will have a second set of mics to sell and potentially take a loss on.  Again, just my opinion.

Thanks for the input.  I'm sitting on the fence as I'm considering the BeyerDynamics but keep leaning towards my "first pick."   If I can get a good enough deal on the Beyer's that selling them down the road won't be a "real" loss (when funds are more available), then I might make the jump (for about a year or two). My issue is that I prefer the more natural sound of my 4061's and lean towards those as my "first pick" even in situations where the CA-14 cardioids might have served me better.  When I think back to my DPA conundrum, it doesn't make sense to buy something "for now" when I'll just have to make the jump again down the road.  Lucky for me, I didn't take a real hit on the mic sales to get the DPAs but it could've been ugly and I'm willing to bet I won't be able to make the jump this time without the loss.

[fleish]

Well, I bought MK4's 20 years ago as part of a development effort that lead to the original RBox design which led to the NBox.   If I amortize the cost it is under $20 per show which is quite reasonable.  I have not felt an overwhelming desire to upgrade except possibly another pair of capsules.  I just purchased a set of ca-14's for my 12 year old son as a starter rig.  There is a noticable difference between recordings but not 10X better.  In my opinion I'd say stick with what you have unless you are going to really go for it.  Otherwise you will still have the urge to upgrade but you will have a second set of mics to sell and potentially take a loss on.  Again, just my opinion.

Thanks for the input.  I'm sitting on the fence as I'm considering the BeyerDynamics but keep leaning towards my "first pick."   If I can get a good enough deal on the Beyer's that selling them down the road won't be a "real" loss (when funds are more available), then I might make the jump (for about a year or two). My issue is that I prefer the more natural sound of my 4061's and lean towards those as my "first pick" even in situations where the CA-14 cardioids might have served me better.  When I think back to my DPA conundrum, it doesn't make sense to buy something "for now" when I'll just have to make the jump again down the road.  Lucky for me, I didn't take a real hit on the mic sales to get the DPAs but it could've been ugly and I'm willing to bet I won't be able to make the jump this time without the loss.

FWIW, the MC930 (full bodied version of the CK930) was my first serious mic upgrade from the smaller AT853 and I fell in love with it at first sound. I wish it got more use, but I've since become a full blown slut and have a stable of mics - plus I usually opt for the AK40's b/c of the smaller footprint they take up which is often crucial in some venus.

But ultimately I'd say go with your gut. Everyone's ears are different and you should pick the mic that has the sound yours like the best IMO.

[Belexes]

I've been hoping Chris Church might make something that would be an improvement over the CA-14's. *fingers crossed*

I promise by the end of the year I will have a new mic that will be better than the ca-14 but it will be bigger. And not stealth. Well seeing what some people stealth with I guess I should not say you cant stealth with them. They are going to be like a ca-14 on steroids.

Great to hear Chris! All mics are  .

[newplanet7]

The bodies on the Milab VM-44's are small and more along the lines of the KM100 for size.
They are modular also, offering omni, supercadioid, and cardioid. You can get into a NEW pair for around $1500
I don't think the Beyers ck series are modular. At least there was talk of not being able to buy caps separate.
Correct?
EDIT:
Meaning you can't just buy the caps without buying the cables like every other true modular set.

Page?

[page]

The bodies on the Milab VM-44's are small and more along the lines of the KM100 for size.
They are modular also, offering omni, supercadioid, and cardioid. You can get into a NEW pair for around $1500
I don't think the Beyers ck series are modular. At least there was talk of not being able to buy caps separate.
Correct?
EDIT:
Meaning you can't just buy the caps without buying the cables like every other true modular set.

Page?

Sorry, I thought I'd replied, must have closed the window that day.

1) Yes the caps are physically modular in that they can disconnect from all cables and all cables can also disconnect from the bodies (and the caps can be run without the bodies provided you talk to Jon about a special tinybox).
2) No they are not modular in that you don't buy them separately from the bodies (or "sets" as they are sold in). I've seen individual pieces (but no caps listed publicly) for sale from an American vendor and they barely retailed for $150 a pop when I last looked so you're spending almost 80% of your cash on each cap anyway.
3) They only did cardioids and hypers, I asked once about an omni in the pipeline and they said no.

[newplanet7]

Thanks bud.

[Church-Audio]

I've been hoping Chris Church might make something that would be an improvement over the CA-14's. *fingers crossed*

I promise by the end of the year I will have a new mic that will be better than the ca-14 but it will be bigger. And not stealth. Well seeing what some people stealth with I guess I should not say you cant stealth with them. They are going to be like a ca-14 on steroids.

Any specs you can share?

I am actively auditioning capsules as we speak. They will most likely be 16 to 20 mm diaphragms. And be built like the ca-14 but with a bigger windscreen and bigger body there will be a phantom power option for them.

[adrianf74]

I promise by the end of the year I will have a new mic that will be better than the ca-14 but it will be bigger. And not stealth. Well seeing what some people stealth with I guess I should not say you cant stealth with them. They are going to be like a ca-14 on steroids.

I am actively auditioning capsules as we speak. They will most likely be 16 to 20 mm diaphragms. And be built like the ca-14 but with a bigger windscreen and bigger body there will be a phantom power option for them.

Interesting news, Chris.  Looks like we all have something to look forward to.

[fandelive]

SP-CMC-9 ? Recently heard a very nice recording made by those 

[adrianf74]

SP-CMC-9 ? Recently heard a very nice recording made by those 

Nah... again, similar in class to the AT-933/943 and I owned the 933's (SP-CMC-8's) back in the day.  There was a thread while back about CMC-8 vs CMC-9 and most people said to go with the 8 or even the 853.  The 853 is a good little mic but, again, not a worthy move from the CA-14's.   

I know Chris has said he plans to release a larger capsule mic later in the year.   I'm thinking I might stick around to see what this is gonna be like.   I'd love nothing more than to run some MK4/22 Schoeps via a TinyBox and CMR but I can't justify a $2500 jump for the number of times a year I run my cardioids.  Out of the last 20 shows I've rolled on, I've used the cards twice.  One was at an arena show from the lower bowl.  The other show was in a hockey arena (smaller 2000 capacity "bowl" setting).   And, those are two of my least favourite sounding shows.   That being said, the 4061's never disappoint (save for the people who can't STFU but I'd still be hearing them on the cards as well).

[jbou]

I am actively auditioning capsules as we speak. They will most likely be 16 to 20 mm diaphragms. And be built like the ca-14 but with a bigger windscreen and bigger body there will be a phantom power option for them.

Keep up the good work Chris! I'm looking forward to see what you come up with

[F.O.Bean]

So, what have you decided on If you *LOVE* the sound of the mk4/mk41/etc then I say GO FOR IT. You only live once and can resell for what you put into them. I also LOVE my Busman BSCS mics. Very sweet sound thru my LB w/ Output Transformers