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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: jbell on April 17, 2010, 11:46:16 PM
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I am trying to find actives that won't break the bank. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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beyerdynamic CK930's (or CK950 if you want hyper instead of cardioid) are very reasonably priced, and might be the least expensive pair of condenser mics with "active" cables ("active" in quotes because the cable between the mic capsule and mic body isn't "active" in any sense of the word. more accurately, it's a "remote extension" cable, or something like that).
Then there are the milab VM44 link's. I believe that those are also a good deal cheaper than the offerings from Neumann and Schoeps that a lot of people use.
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Thanks Jason! I have looked at the beyerdynamic CK930's and they look sweet. Also though about Audix 1200's with church cables.
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used mbho "actives" are also in that price range, but the cheapest would be the 1200s
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Milab VM-44 Links
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AKG 300 line with the H98+MK90/3 cables fits the bill too.
JAson
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AKG 300 line with the H98+MK90/3 cables fits the bill too.
JAson
But the MK90 cable is no longer produced to the best of my knowledge.....
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beyerdynamic CK930's (or CK950 if you want hyper instead of cardioid) are very reasonably priced, and might be the least expensive pair of condenser mics with "active" cables ("active" in quotes because the cable between the mic capsule and mic body isn't "active" in any sense of the word. more accurately, it's a "remote extension" cable, or something like that).
Then there are the milab VM44 link's. I believe that those are also a good deal cheaper than the offerings from Neumann and Schoeps that a lot of people use.
A pair of CK930 T-set for sale, if you wanna go the used route...
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=118800.0
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I think I might grab the Audix 1200, they seem to be more in my price range!
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Welcome to the audix team, love mine, that's for sure.
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Don't forget about AT853's. They don't have much snob factor, but I'm constantly amazed how good they sound. I have all this exotic gear, and then on a rainy day I'll put it all away and bring out the AT853's. Then I'll listen to that tape and say "Damn... those are good... why don't I run those all the time?" The answer is simply because I'm a gear slut and I have all this other stuff which is more fun to play with. Yeah, I'm and idiot, and I know it.
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I've run the Audix CPS-MICRO (cardioid caps) with Church bodies and they sound pretty good.
I prefer my Countryman B3 (omnis), but if I needed cardioids, I'd give the Audix a try. Pretty good detail, and not as "colored" as the AT853. Nothing against the AT853, but these are better IMO. I'd probably rate them better (more detailed) than AKG blue line (ck9x series) as well.
I don't these would be as good from far back, but for a wearable rig up close, I think they are very good...
Richard
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I've run the Audix CPS-MICRO (cardioid caps) with Church bodies and they sound pretty good.
I prefer my Countryman B3 (omnis), but if I needed cardioids, I'd give the Audix a try. Pretty good detail, and not as "colored" as the AT853. Nothing against the AT853, but these are better IMO. I'd probably rate them better (more detailed) than AKG blue line (ck9x series) as well.
I don't these would be as good from far back, but for a wearable rig up close, I think they are very good...
Richard
The Audix with the Church cable is what I am thinking about buying! I recently sold my 9100, so I might hold off on new mics until summer. Thanks for everyones feed back.
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I've used "CA-Audix" with plug in power on the Sony PCM-M10 and the D50. I've not tried it on crazy loud shows, but for both amplified and acoustic music this setup works great!
You could try these mics directly into the Edirol R09, but IMO the Audix caps are about 6dB less sensitive than the CA-11 version, so you may have a bit of self noise on that setup.
Richard
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AT853 are great low priced color
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Don't forget about AT853's. They don't have much snob factor, but I'm constantly amazed how good they sound.
Agree, I'm running the same mics. Though I guess we're talking about AT853Rx, so it's not technically an active setup, right?! Just small mics with phantom adapters, no more no less.
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Don't forget about AT853's. They don't have much snob factor, but I'm constantly amazed how good they sound. I
Haha...funny but true. Alot of people get excited when they see I'm running something that at 1st glance could be some high dollar active setup...then there's the letdown (for them) when I tell them Audio Technica...
I've been running my 853's into the SD MP-2 for the better part of 5 years now and I am constantly amazed what these mics can do. At some point I would like to try a different preamp but I'm in no hurry to change really....never will get rid of the MP-2! The only thing I feel lacking about is the mounting options and the fact that there is nothing comparable to the Shure A81WS for them. I still haven't been able to find something I'm 100% satisfied with.
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Why not the AT8418 with a larger windscreen stuck on top of that?
That looks way too cumbersome for me. I'm currently brainstorming on a solution that I think alot of people would like...just got to make it happen somehow.
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Im pretty new here and have been reading around a lot. I'm sure this is a very simple question, but what exactly are "active" setups/"active" cables?
Thanks in advance for any clarification on this.
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Generally, when people say "actives" or "active cables" or "active setups" on TS they mean the ability to run the mic caps remotely from the mic bodies. The primary reasons most do so: it provides for easy/fast set up and a low profile (i.e. doesn't block sightlines as much, may be worn on-body, etc.).
Technically, there's more to it, and not all systems providing the ability to run the caps remotely from the bodies are "active" systems. There's a DSatz post around here (maybe a few) explaining this in greater detail if you want to try to find it via Search (and if you can't, lemme know and I'll try to dig it up.)
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Im pretty new here and have been reading around a lot. I'm sure this is a very simple question, but what exactly are "active" setups/"active" cables?
IIUC, "active cables" is a bit of a misnomer.
Some microphone capsules contains active circuitry, that enables them to be separated from the body, and driven remotely via cables. The capsules are called active capsules, hence: "active" cables.
Neumann explains this pretty well:
http://www.neumann.com/?lang=en&id=current_microphones&cid=km100_description
The KM 100 is phantom powered (48 V) and uses transformerless output circuitry. This has several advantages. It features high output capability and extremely low self noise. It provides exceptionally clean sound, free of any coloration. As with traditional transformers, this circuit approach ensures good common mode rejection. The balanced output signal is protected against interference.
The construction is extremely compact. The entire microphone circuitry is on a single hybrid module measuring only 2 cm² in area. It is built into the microphone capsule, therefore the term “active capsules”.
All sensitive components are protected within the capsule. As a result, the quality of the audio signal is never compromised through the use of accessories, for example, when the capsule is detached from the output stage and mounted on a cable or a gooseneck.
Even with a long cable between active capsule and output stage, the signal is immune to external interference.
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The active capsule itself is only 35 or 47 mm resp. long. The KM 100 output stage and the active microphone capsule may be separated by up to 50 m of interconnecting cable. These cables are 3 mm in diameter, and therefore very inconspicuous.
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Im pretty new here and have been reading around a lot. I'm sure this is a very simple question, but what exactly are "active" setups/"active" cables?
IIUC, "active cables" is a bit of a misnomer.
Some microphone capsules contains active circuitry, that enables them to be separated from the body, and driven remotely via cables. The capsules are called active capsules, hence: "active" cables.
not in all cases. With Neumann (and MBHO and beyerdynamic, and maybe other as well), the circuitry needed to separate the mic capsule from the mic body with a length of wire is included with the capsule (aka "active capsule"), and thus the cables are just "remote" cables or "extension" cables and not "active cables". With Schoeps, however, the circuits that are needed to separate the cap from the mic body are indeed contained on the capsule end of the cable, and not on the capsule itself. So with Schoeps mics, the term "active cable" is accurate.
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That helps a lot. Thanks for the info.