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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: crims on May 18, 2022, 03:25:29 PM
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My CA-14s have crapped out with static and dropouts so it's time to upgrade. I'll be using a Roland R-07 and CA Ugly box although can always add/replace the battery box if needed. I'm looking for something that has clip-ons preferably for collar/hat mounts so relatively small with short cables. Budget of $300-$1000 for the pair. Thanks and looking forward to summer concerts again.
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AT-853s are pretty much an exact comparable for the CA-14s in terms of sound and (more or less) size, and have the advantage of a sturdier build and swappable caps.
That said, neutrino on this board does outstanding and affordable work repairing CA-14s with staticky cables, which is to say all CA-14s eventually. Drop him a line if you would prefer to have your CA-14s back in working order.
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I saw that I can get the CA-14s repaired. I just figured that now would be a good time to step up in quality to something new (to me).
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I saw that I can get the CA-14s repaired. I just figured that now would be a good time to step up in quality to something new (to me).
The AT 853s are more a lateral move, so I'll leave it to others to suggest upgrades.
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DPA 4061s seem to be the next logical upgrade point.
Never mind, I see that you said cardiod.
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IMHO, your surest bet to have those mics ready for summer (just around the corner) is ask Neutrino to repair those CA14s for $60 and/or order a set of low sensitivity AT 853, aka SP-CMC-4U mics (https://soundprofessionals.com/product/SP-CMC-4U/) for $250-280. Best you ask Neutrino for his current turnaround time. SP is usually pretty fast and their communication is great. FWIW, I find the CA-14s lighter and the clips more reliable, but YMMV. Those CA14s punch well above their weight and working used sets are bound to get rarer and more in demand over time, given that Chris appears to be slowly phasing out Church Audio (just my surmise). I concur with nulldogmas that getting AT853s would be a lateral move. My impression--and it is just that--is that you would have pay a lot more to get a significant quality improvement over CA-14s and SP-CMC-4Us in microphones of that size. If I am wrong, I am all ears and happy to learn of other options from the experts on this board.
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My $.02 would be to see if neutrino can turn around a pair for this summer then save for a significant upgrade for next summer when you can pass the current mics to someone else. Use the next year to listen to other types of mics for the type of shows you record to see what you like.
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Ok, thanks for all the suggestions, I've reached out to Neutrino about getting them repaired. I'm relatively a newby when it comes to recordings and am jealous of the great recordings out there. I'd like to add mine to the mix in the future if I can figure out how to be more consistent with my gear, and the bane of my existence, dead batteries.
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If you do rechargeables, but top of the line and charge and check religiously, if using disposable buy quality i.e. energizer lithium or duracell or duracell procells and check before and after use. Know how long they are supposed to last and go 50% to 75% then use in remote controllers, toys, etc. Batteries cost less than tickets.
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If you do rechargeables, but top of the line and charge and check religiously, if using disposable buy quality i.e. energizer lithium or duracell or duracell procells and check before and after use. Know how long they are supposed to last and go 50% to 75% then use in remote controllers, toys, etc. Batteries cost less than tickets.
Believe me, you'd think I would be able to figure it out a simple battery but I've messed up an insane percentage of concerts, both with rechargables and "new" batteries only for them to die half way through. I think my R-09-HR sucked them dry in a crazy rate so it's been retired for a new R-07 that theoretically doesn't eat batteries as fast. We'll see. I'll order some Duracell NiMH and hope they do the trick.
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If you do rechargeables, but top of the line and charge and check religiously, if using disposable buy quality i.e. energizer lithium or duracell or duracell procells and check before and after use. Know how long they are supposed to last and go 50% to 75% then use in remote controllers, toys, etc. Batteries cost less than tickets.
Believe me, you'd think I would be able to figure it out a simple battery but I've messed up an insane percentage of concerts, both with rechargables and "new" batteries only for them to die half way through. I think my R-09-HR sucked them dry in a crazy rate so it's been retired for a new R-07 that theoretically doesn't eat batteries as fast. We'll see. I'll order some Duracell NiMH and hope they do the trick.
Seek out and buy a good used Sony PCM-M10. Battery life in one of those cannot be beat.
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Seek out and buy a good used Sony PCM-10. Battery life in one of those cannot be beat.
Seconded, assuming you mean PCM-M10 here. (Though the A10 has great battery life as well.) I've had no trouble running an M10 for ~20 hours.
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Oops - forgot that second "M" in PCM-M10. Absolutely-thanks for the clarification! And, while I have never used an A10, I like the fact that the M10 uses AA batteries that can quickly replaced with fresh batteries in a pinch (unlike the A-10 with its built-in rechargeable battery).