Audix SCX1- experiences anyone?

[paulbaptiste]

I've been eyeballing these mics for awhile and curious if anybody out there is running them for what we do, or any other audix condensers with interchangeable caps/patterns that have worked well

[jbell]

There is a thread about these mics!  The caps are made by MBHO

[hi and lo]

They've been discussed, but I don't know anyone that has ever run them or done a comp between mbhos.

That said, I am going strongly urge you to avoid them. You will save very little versus genuine mbhos and sacrifice a lifetime warranty. As good as mbhos sound (in many situations, I prefer the ka200n capsule over anything else), the build quality is subpar and they will need to go back to the factory for servicing at some point.  I have personally witnessed a pair of 603s and two! pairs of ka200n's that have demonstrated serious issues. Luckily, all you have to pay for is shipping to the factory in Germany and be willing to wait while they are repaired.

[adrianf74]

What Hi and Lo said.  I was thinking about going the SCX1 route but decided against that simply because of the shorter warranty.  To save $200 upfront isn't worth it if your repairs are gonna set you back $300-plus down the road.

[paulbaptiste]

Good advice all-  Thank you very much.  Im not familiar with MBHO models-  what preamp model # (603? ) and caps (ka 200n, ? , ? , ?)  I heard praises of the brand but have never checked out specific models.  And these are the series that are gonna work with the new active cables we have going around?  That being said would the the audix caps fit too and would that be a price saving measure, but as you mentioned about warranties, you've had troubles and needed repair for both bodies and capsules at some point if i'm following correctly?

[hi and lo]

If you want to run them in an active configuration, you'll either need to buy the 603a bodies (link here) or buy the capsule cartridge adapters (link here), have pair of 4-pin mini-xlr cables made, and use them with Naiant PFAs or a Tinybox. If you just want to run them with straight bodies, I would get the 604's (link here).

[paulbaptiste]

Thanks for the links!! +T

[OOK]

They've been discussed, but I don't know anyone that has ever run them or done a comp between mbhos.

That said, I am going strongly urge you to avoid them. You will save very little versus genuine mbhos and sacrifice a lifetime warranty. As good as mbhos sound (in many situations, I prefer the ka200n capsule over anything else), the build quality is subpar and they will need to go back to the factory for servicing at some point.  I have personally witnessed a pair of 603s and two! pairs of ka200n's that have demonstrated serious issues. Luckily, all you have to pay for is shipping to the factory in Germany and be willing to wait while they are repaired.

I have run mbho for years and have never had a problem.  they have been rock solid and have never let me down.  As for the Audix version I have never heard a bad thing about them.  I do believe the preamp body is a little different from mbho but the capsule from my understanding are made by mbho and are identical.  It is possible the tolerances aren't as tight as mbho but again I have never heard a bad thing about them.  I would consider them a American version of mbho... 

OOK

[dbindc]

I'll second that.  Not sure where the alleged reputation for unreliability comes from but in my experience they've been rock solid.

I've been using them since 1999 and have 2 pairs of 603A's, a pair of 648's and 17 MB or MBHO capsules most of which I've bought used.  The only problem I've had with any of my MBHO gear is the threads got semi stripped on one of collettes for the remote capsules which was probably user error.  Even that still works just balky so I bought a new one and pretty much leave that one attached to my KA 800 (figure eight).

[hi and lo]

I'll second that.  Not sure where the alleged reputation for unreliability comes from but in my experience they've been rock solid.

I've been using them since 1999 and have 2 pairs of 603A's, a pair of 648's and 17 MB or MBHO capsules most of which I've bought used.  The only problem I've had with any of my MBHO gear is the threads got semi stripped on one of collettes for the remote capsules which was probably user error.  Even that still works just balky so I bought a new one and pretty much leave that one attached to my KA 800 (figure eight).

Personal experience. Between me and a friend, we've had a a 603 go bad, a ka200n capsule that's mysteriously dropped 10db, and presumably another capsule that might also have had a sensitivity drop. Also, simply doing a search of this forum will bring up quite a number of historical posts where people have had to send their gear back to the factory (and also having to deal with long delays in having their gear returned). That's not to say they aren't high quality microphones, just that the lifetime warranty is important. You could not pay me to trade that in that lifetime warranty for a minor cost savings on the audix version.

Luckily, our most recent experience with having sent gear back to the factory has been a much smoother experience than some of the horror stories found on this board and gearslutz.

[acidjack]

I'll second that.  Not sure where the alleged reputation for unreliability comes from but in my experience they've been rock solid.

I've been using them since 1999 and have 2 pairs of 603A's, a pair of 648's and 17 MB or MBHO capsules most of which I've bought used.  The only problem I've had with any of my MBHO gear is the threads got semi stripped on one of collettes for the remote capsules which was probably user error.  Even that still works just balky so I bought a new one and pretty much leave that one attached to my KA 800 (figure eight).

Personal experience. Between me and a friend, we've had a a 603 go bad, a ka200n capsule that's mysteriously dropped 10db, and presumably another capsule that might also have had a sensitivity drop. Also, simply doing a search of this forum will bring up quite a number of historical posts where people have had to send their gear back to the factory (and also having to deal with long delays in having their gear returned). That's not to say they aren't high quality microphones, just that the lifetime warranty is important. You could not pay me to trade that in that lifetime warranty for a minor cost savings on the audix version.

Luckily, our most recent experience with having sent gear back to the factory has been a much smoother experience than some of the horror stories found on this board and gearslutz.

The friend in question is me, btw.  In fairness, I got my 603s and card/omni caps used. When they arrived the bodies were outputting different and insufficient signals.  MBHO repaired them and they now work fine.  I bought a pair of new hyper caps and they have never had an issue. hi and lo notes he's also had issues with his gear. In fairness, neither of us can vouch for how the gear was treated before we bought it.  Since my repairs to the bodies I have had no other issues and the caps sound great.

The other issue is that the actual cap to body coupling is an inferior design. I think other brands use it as well (maybe Milab?) but having the connection be a single pin just screams, to me, for something to go wrong with that pin.  It wouldn't be hard, I don't think, to bend it or snap it off trying to change caps on the fly in the dark or something.

The HOs are great microphones and I would recommend them to anyone, but I agree 100% that I'd rather pay a couple hundred more or whatever the difference is if I were buying new and get the real thing with a lifetime warranty.

[hi and lo]

...Since my repairs to the bodies I have had no other issues and the caps sound great.

The HOs are great microphones and I would recommend them to anyone, but I agree 100% that I'd rather pay a couple hundred more or whatever the difference is if I were buying new and get the real thing with a lifetime warranty.

Unsurprisingly, you always manage to put things into words far better than I can. I don't want to over emphasis any problems that we've had and absolutely love MBHO microphones, especially the KA200n. Heck, I prefer them over Schoeps MK5s or MK41s in more than a few situations and have gone out of my way over the last year to convince AJ that he needed to buy a pair as well as fluffing them to others on the boards.

That said, I don't think they compare to Schoeps in terms of build quality and strongly value the lifetime warranty to the point where if they didn't have that, I probably couldn't recommend them to others. That's why I'm against the thought of buying Audix, even if they are exactly the same capsules.

[acidjack]

^^ And I should add, the lifetime warranty appears to apply even if you aren't the first owner.  Other than paying shipping to Germany one way, the cost of my MBHO repairs was zero.