Topic: Line Audio CM4

[Pieteker]

I have the opportunity to purchase two Line Audio CM4s for €240. Are they considered an upgrade over the AT853s? And would they be suitable for stealthing inside a Kangol hat?

[Pieteker]

And which cable do I need to hook them up to my Zoom F3?

[Craig T]

Yes, they are an upgrade over AT853 (IMO), but they are larger and not as easy to stealth inside a hat.  XLR>XLR cables to connect to the F3.  Chopped/low pro XLRs snaked might make it possible to rig something in a hat, but I've not tried it.

[SMsound]

New I hope, as that is approximately the new price

[gambra]

They're great mics but will be difficult to stealth despite how small they are. Unless you manage to build an entire get up around mounting them on yourself they'll be sticking out of somewhere. I've contemplated getting them myself as I've a couple of shows that sound incredible with them but they've all been taped using a stand or clamps.

[Twenty8]

Two things, if I may:

Stealth talk, expressly made in the first post, should be made in Taper Chat as a courtesy.  That thread is for registered members.  I mention that because you are new and might not be aware.

There is a member that uses those mics for that purpose.  Use the search function or PM me and I will point you to them.  They aren't that small.  I say that because you don't have those mics in your sig so you, again, might not be totally aware.  I use those mics, stealth, don't use those mics for stealth, don't use the exact setup mentioned here, and I wouldn't even consider those mics as an option for low pro... reasons being size, bulk, cabling I currently use, etc.  Great mics, but there are a lot of experienced tapers here who have shared already.  Most of their setups are mentioned in their sigs.

[Pieteker]

Thanks everyone!

[Pieteker]

Yes, they are an upgrade over AT853 (IMO), but they are larger and not as easy to stealth inside a hat.  XLR>XLR cables to connect to the F3.  Chopped/low pro XLRs snaked might make it possible to rig something in a hat, but I've not tried it.

Like these? https://micbooster.com/clippy-and-pluggy-microphones/376-xlr-to-xlr-thin-cable-male-to-female.html

[grawk]

those look reasonable

[mrfender]

Or some of these from Cable Techniques.  Just takes basic soldering skills, I've made 3 sets myself.

https://www.cabletechniques.com/lopro-xlr-mini-xlr

[robeti]

Yes, they are an upgrade over AT853 (IMO), but they are larger and not as easy to stealth inside a hat.  XLR>XLR cables to connect to the F3.  Chopped/low pro XLRs snaked might make it possible to rig something in a hat, but I've not tried it.

I stealth cmbi's in a hat all the time.
Can be done, certainly in Europe.

[fanofjam]

These mics are stealth-able...lots of people are used to really small mics so they aren't as comfortable with these.  They aren't particularly tiny, but they're stealth-able.  The problem is getting them through a metal detector.  If you put them in a hat, make sure you use a style of hat that gives you some extra room up top, like maybe a stocking cap or some sort of beret.  I haven't tried my Kangol worn backwards, but that would probably work.  A trucker hat or baseball hat doesn't work too well, but I just did with them a few weeks ago.  If you mount them under your shirt collar or on your shoulders under your shirt, easy peasy.

To those of you that worry about stealth talk being stealth, I worried about that at one time as well.  In over 25 years on ts.com, I've only known once where someone used the discussion here to learn enough about tapers to shut anyone down...and that happened at least ten years ago over the course of a few months when a douch-y club owner engaged ts.com for a post or two.  Everyone has an opinion, but I say don't worry about it.  I'm certainly not.

[Todd]

I'm a stealth shirt collar taper.   The CM4's at 3" without xlr's feel like they'd fit in a shirt collar for stealth.   My bigger question is would they trip metal detectors as current smaller mics with xlr connectors don't at all.  Still learning if a Zoom H1 XLR can get thru metal detectors.  Want to try with batteries removed but haven't had the opportunity yet.   CM4's look interesting for the price if they can get thru metal detectors.    Currently using micbooster Clippy xlr mics with no issues but always looking to improve.