Topic: Soundman OKMII Mics - Comments?

[aamefford]

Search does not seem to turn anything up on these mics.

Soundman's site:  http://www.soundman.de/en

A photographer's blog about them: http://stanmeyer.com/blog/2670/becoming-binaural/

I am curious about the Soundman mics, and  Iwould greatly welcome comments on these and other usual suspects regarding making both binaural and regular recordings.  In particular, how others have used (mounted) the CA-14 or CA-11's to make binaural recordings.

The eventual rig will be Sony PCM-M10 (seems to be best bang for the buck by far) and a set(s) of external mics.  I know the Church mics are well loved here.  Looking for comments on the Church mics as well as others.  Price range would hopefully be well under $300 for mic, bat. box or preamp.  Ideally a set of cards and omnis plus pre or bat. box at that price.

I expect to tape outdoor acoustic, jazz and blues shows, moderate to loud spl.  Also lectures / meetings / classes in  lecture hall or meeting room setting.  Last, grade school and high school plays, concerts, other performances.

I truly appreciate the help.  As I read here, I am reminded of the greeting often extended to new posters on a headphone forum I frequent, modified for TS - "Welcome to TS, Sorry about your wallet."

[Ziggz]

I use the OKM II rock studio omnis quite a lot. I've upped a bunch of samples from various shows: http://www.mediafire.com/?4fml4k44u07aj

Outdoors: OKM II rs DD.mp3; OKM II rs Billy TK jr.mp3 <- windy
see videos for rough idea of location: http://youtu.be/FA5iV0KD0R0  http://youtu.be/DXI1yuBYDbI

Indoors: OKM II rs CC.mp3 http://youtu.be/PhUqR5muP7s

Small cafe: OKM II rs PJ.mp3
(ran mic-in, slightly hot)

Theatre: OKM II rs Dragon.mp3
http://youtu.be/W6XsIyzGpmo


The A3 is nice and small. Cables on the OKMs not very long, but fine for shirt pocket. I can run line-in with the M10 cranked up to 10 and rarely get near clipping.
They look like earphones, so no problem 

[fmaderjr]

I use the OKM II rock studio omnis quite a lot.

I had no idea they were so expensive (398 Euros or almost $500 US).

It's hard to imagine they give you more bang for the buck than CA-14 omnis.

[acidjack]

Those OKM mics are more popular in Europe than they are here, presumably because distribution in the U.S. is more limited(?). 

I like the recordings I've heard with them quite a bit.  They seem a bit more low profile than the CA mics, especially than the CA-14. 

[eric66]

The OKM-R's sound great, especially for stack taping and outdoor as they are omni's. It's better to compare them with the Countryman B3 omni's than with the
Church mics.

[aaronji]

The Rock version, at least, is probably not a good choice for some of the OP's intended uses.  Low sensitivity and low SNR.  Not a great combination for acoustic music, plays, or lectures...

[anr]

These are comments from the perspective of being asked to edit many recordings.

The OKM IIs are, by far, the best in-ears I've heard.  They are usually perfectly matched.  However, all the users I know have issues with them falling out occasionally. 

By contrast, the Sound Pro equivalents have an excellent retention system and are said to be comfortable but, and it is a huge BUT, they are usually horribly mismatched.  Typically, this is a HUGE dip in response of one mic, from about 3Khz-upwards.  Without major surgery, the recordings are impossible to listen to on phones.  I'm afraid, having seen this a number of times, I would not recommend them to anyone without a cast iron guarantee they are matched within specified limits.  The customer service is good, and they will replace, but shipping to N. America and back is a real pain, which is one reason OKMs are more popular over here. 

Church doesn't do in-ears, but the quality of his mics are very high.  I have a set of CAFS and love them.  But, as stated above, you're not comparing like with like.

[aamefford]

Thank you for all the comments.  I contacted Soundman and got an email back the next day.  US pricing is basically the same price shown in Euros, but in dollars.  The VAT can be deducted before the conversion.  For instance, I am looking at the OKMII Studio with A3, which is 248 Euro, and it is $248 US dollars shipped to the US.

I am curious and fascinated with the binaural concept, and playing back on headphones.  That said, how do binaural recordings sound on speakers.

Regarding the Church mike comparison - they do appear to be apples and oranges.  Is it possible to do a real binaural recording with the larger Church CA-11 or CA14?  Chris gave me a vague "yes the will work" type answer.  I can see where one could clip them to a pair of glasses or hat just ahead of one's ears.  Would this result in a true binaural recording, or does the mic really have to be at the ear opening to capture the effect?  Would clipping the hurch mics to one's glasses/hat/head result in excessive rubbing noise contaminating the recording?

The countryman B3 is tiny!  I would expect the B3 and the soundman mics to be a bit shy on lower frequency response.  Is this correct?  If so, can this be adjusted in post processing?  Also, is there an ear mount for the B3, or does one fabricate their own, or do the croakie type set-up?

I appreciate the help with all the new guy questions.  I'm just trying to gear up sensibly for a start in this hobby.

[acidjack]

Thank you for all the comments.  I contacted Soundman and got an email back the next day.  US pricing is basically the same price shown in Euros, but in dollars.  The VAT can be deducted before the conversion.  For instance, I am looking at the OKMII Studio with A3, which is 248 Euro, and it is $248 US dollars shipped to the US.

I am curious and fascinated with the binaural concept, and playing back on headphones.  That said, how do binaural recordings sound on speakers.

Regarding the Church mike comparison - they do appear to be apples and oranges.  Is it possible to do a real binaural recording with the larger Church CA-11 or CA14?  Chris gave me a vague "yes the will work" type answer.  I can see where one could clip them to a pair of glasses or hat just ahead of one's ears.  Would this result in a true binaural recording, or does the mic really have to be at the ear opening to capture the effect?  Would clipping the hurch mics to one's glasses/hat/head result in excessive rubbing noise contaminating the recording?

The countryman B3 is tiny!  I would expect the B3 and the soundman mics to be a bit shy on lower frequency response.  Is this correct?  If so, can this be adjusted in post processing?  Also, is there an ear mount for the B3, or does one fabricate their own, or do the croakie type set-up?

I appreciate the help with all the new guy questions.  I'm just trying to gear up sensibly for a start in this hobby.

As Jon said, I wouldn't worry about diaphragm size as it relates to LF response. The Countrymans have plenty of bass.  From what I have heard the soundman do too.

[MJ]

A friend of mine taped a UK show with OKM Rock version and just uploaded it at DIME. 
http://www.dimeadozen.org/torrents-details.php?id=410918&page=0#startcomments

He will upload .a UK show of another date and it sounds even better than the uploaded one.  These tiny tiny mics really rock.

Koichi

[aamefford]

^^^
Thank you all again. Does your friend use them as in-ears when taping concerts? For that matter, is there any other way to mount them? I do see the boundary mic set up, but I am unfamiliar with when one would use this set up. I've listened to a couple of binaural recordings on headphones, and they sounded very realistic. A couple of them were ambient sounds, walk through the city and walk through woods type stuff. Feels like I was doing the walking.

I think I see a set of these in my future.

[Ziggz]

They come with a pair of clips, can't say I've used them though. Mine are mounted in some clothing.

[Sebastian]

When I taped with these mics, I usually had them in a hat. Worked perfectly, especially for stack taping. I have also seen people wear them on their jackets and the mics looked like buttons

I also have a few recordings I did with these mics on the LMA. The link is in my signature.

*cough* I do currently have a set of OKM-II mics for sale in the yard sale *cough*

[aamefford]

Sebastian - PM will be sent regarding your cough...  Assuming I can send one.  Being a newbie, I'm never sure if I've made it to the PM's allowed threshold.