Topic: Naiant X-X with miniplug--anyone tried them?

[earmonger]

At $69 they seem incredibly affordable given Jon's high audiogeek standards.

I'd be using them with a 9V or 12V battery box into the PCM-M10 (probably Line-in per habit).  Wondering how they'd compare to my CA-14 or AT MT830 pairs.

Has anybody tried them, or can someone direct me to a recording?

[Marshall7]

I've only used them a couple of times, but liked them a lot.

[backwhereubelong]

I have used Naiants for about two years and I love them.  I recorded the band KANSAS at the Chastain Amphitheater which is an outdoor venue with a very strict noise ordinance limitation due to it being in a residential neighborhood.  To make matters worse it was raining up a storm (actually a tornado was spotted about 30 miles away) ... I was sitting about 75 yards from the stage.  I wasn't expecting much, if anything, when I got home to listen to it, but under the conditions it turned out very nice.

The setup I used was/is very basic :  Naiant U-C Cardioid (Matched) Capsules > Naiant U-Series U-PP 3' Adaptor Cable > Sony PCM-M10 Recorder > 24-BIT, 48 Mhz WAV.

[Marshall7]

Except you didn't use the mics he was asking about...

[backwhereubelong]

I didn't claim to have used them.  I was replying about Naiants in general.

[earmonger]

I am happy that you are happy with those recordings.  I listened to them before your link disappeared. Maybe you can re-post it in the X-O thread.

But I wouldn't be.  Guitars/keyboards/vocals were all nice and crisp and lifelike. But last I heard, Kansas also has bass and drums, which barely came through.

That's because the Naiant U-C  has a frequency response that tapers off very sharply below 100 Hz. 

http://www.naiant.com/naiant/microphones.html

Which means the U-C are doing exactly what they are supposed to do. But it's irrelevant to the X-X which goes 20Hz-20,000 Hz.

[Massive Dynamic]

Here is a sample from last weekend. Venue is a small pub, meager sound system with a single ceiling-mounted PA to the right of the stage, and lots of exuberant fans. Vocals didn't come through so well this night. I was standing about ten feet from the stage, slightly to the left of the PA.
Lineage was Naiant X-X > SP SP-SPSB-1 (roll-off -6db@31Hz*) > Sony M10 (line in) with rec level about 4. I added 4.5db of gain in post to bring up the levels. https://soundcloud.com/rkyver/naiant-x-x-miniplug-sp-spsb-1

I hope to record a metal show in a few days at a venue new to me. I'll try to post a sample of that for comparison.

*This was the 69Hz setting, but with the M10's 22k-ohm input, this equates to 31Hz.

[earmonger]

Thanks for posting that (and the Wovenhand sample from last year too). Mic sounds very clear and neutral, which I like. Hope for the metal blast soon

[chinariderstl]

I placed an order for a miniplug terminated pair earlier this week.  Anxious to get out with them. 
 

[Massive Dynamic]

Hope for the metal blast soon

Here's the link to a track by one of the bands. https://soundcloud.com/rkyver/naiant-x-x-miniplug-venue-2
Lineage was Naiant X-X > SP SP-SPSB-1 (roll-off -6db@31Hz*) > Sony M10 (line in) with rec level about 4.5. Added +7.5 db to bring up the peaks.
*This was the 69Hz setting, but with the M10's 22k-ohm input, this equates to 31Hz.

Here's the link to a track by another one of the bands. https://soundcloud.com/rkyver/naiant-x-x-miniplug-venue-2-1
Lineage was Naiant X-X > SP SP-SPSB-1 (roll-off -6db@31Hz*) > Sony M10 (line in) with rec level about 4.5. Added +8.0 db to bring up the peaks.
*This was the 69Hz setting, but with the M10's 22k-ohm input, this equates to 31Hz.

Here's the link to a track by a third band. https://soundcloud.com/rkyver/naiant-x-x-miniplug-venue-2-2
Lineage was Naiant X-X > SP SP-SPSB-1 (roll-off -6db@31Hz*) > Sony M10 (line in) with rec level about 4.5. Added +8.0 db to bring up the peaks.
*This was the 69Hz setting, but with the M10's 22k-ohm input, this equates to 31Hz.

This new venue was squarish, had carpeted floors but cinder block walls, and insulation in the ceiling typical of a metal building. Stage was set up in the left corner at an angle and the PA setup was odd. One pair of speakers was hung from the ceiling left and right, and even with the front of the stage. For the second pair, the right speaker was set up far to the right of the stage from the ceiling, and the left was set up on the opposite (back) wall (facing toward the band) over the audience's left shoulder. Imagining a line drawn from the front to back speaker, I stood on that line and centered between the front two speakers. Sound was good, but not as loud or as much bass as I would expect at a metal show. I'll probably run the battery box without the roll-off at this venue in the future.

Thanks for posting that (and the Wovenhand sample from last year too). Mic sounds very clear and neutral, which I like.

Glad you like the track, but I do want to make sure anyone who hears the Wovenhand track knows the lineage. These were the XLR version of the X-X > Fostex FR-2le, and they had a first-order bass roll-off built-in (-1dB at 80Hz, -3dB at 40Hz, -7dB at 20Hz), so there isn't as much bass as the miniplug version would have had (you can't insert that roll-off circuit on the miniplug version). So, aside from the bass response, the XLR and miniplug versions are going to sound very similar. Typically on the bright end of the spectrum (more than Sonic Studios DSM mics) since they are meant for far-field recording. They are not harsh, but natural sounding and not at all dull.