Topic: Please post opinions on AT831's

[raddygast]

I just bought TWO AT831b's.  The actual Audio Technica versions; they come with a battery box with a switch for flat or bass roll-off.

These are unidirectional cardioid lavaliers.

I am beginning to regret the crap out of my decision. Well, it was sort of an urgent necessity to get a pair of mics over the weekend (for a Monday interview) and the only decent (not consumer grade) mics I could find in the city were AT831b's at Steve's Music store.

But now I am seriously regretting it. I need them only to pick up voice (not singing) in an interview type setting. With as much clarity and fidelity as possible, of course, but I'm not doing acoustic analysis on the recordings -- just using my ear on them. They're for accent reduction lessons /voice coaching.

I thought cardioid would be smart because the subject's mic wouldn't pick up my voice, and vice versa, and ambient room noises wouldn't be picked up very much.

Then again, I'm usually in a very quiet room, and having the subject pick up my voice would probably make the recording a bit more natural. I'm going to mix Left and Right channels together in post anyway.

So I am kind of bummed because everywhere I look on the net (now, after 48 hours of searching... it took some doing) it seems that the audio professionals for film and television and broadcast production use OMNIS almost universally.

The Sanken COS-11, the Countryman B6 and EMW, the Tram TR5, Sony ECM77, etc. etc.    they're all omnis.  AT899's are also sometimes used (omnis).

I'm beginning to think I just blew 400 bucks Canadian on a retarded decision. Is the situation really that bad?

I notice that with extreme head tilting (to the left or right) the volume and "fullness" of the voice goes down, and I imagine that wouldn't be the case with omnis. But then again, my subjects shouldn't be throwing their head around too severely, and they're certainly not acting or walking around or anything.

So what does everyone think? Maybe I should try to sell these mics to tapers? Do tapers use cardioids or omnis for stealthing?

Any thoughts appreciated. I posted here because it seems people on this forum actually know something about AT831b's. Whereas on all the production forums, it's all about Countryman and Tram and Sanken.

[poorlyconditioned]

I just bought TWO AT831b's.  The actual Audio Technica versions; they come with a battery box with a switch for flat or bass roll-off.

These are unidirectional cardioid lavaliers.

I am beginning to regret the crap out of my decision. Well, it was sort of an urgent necessity to get a pair of mics over the weekend (for a Monday interview) and the only decent (not consumer grade) mics I could find in the city were AT831b's at Steve's Music store.

But now I am seriously regretting it. I need them only to pick up voice (not singing) in an interview type setting. With as much clarity and fidelity as possible, of course, but I'm not doing acoustic analysis on the recordings -- just using my ear on them. They're for accent reduction lessons /voice coaching.

I thought cardioid would be smart because the subject's mic wouldn't pick up my voice, and vice versa, and ambient room noises wouldn't be picked up very much.

Then again, I'm usually in a very quiet room, and having the subject pick up my voice would probably make the recording a bit more natural. I'm going to mix Left and Right channels together in post anyway.

So I am kind of bummed because everywhere I look on the net (now, after 48 hours of searching... it took some doing) it seems that the audio professionals for film and television and broadcast production use OMNIS almost universally.

The Sanken COS-11, the Countryman B6 and EMW, the Tram TR5, Sony ECM77, etc. etc.    they're all omnis.  AT899's are also sometimes used (omnis).

I'm beginning to think I just blew 400 bucks Canadian on a retarded decision. Is the situation really that bad?

I notice that with extreme head tilting (to the left or right) the volume and "fullness" of the voice goes down, and I imagine that wouldn't be the case with omnis. But then again, my subjects shouldn't be throwing their head around too severely, and they're certainly not acting or walking around or anything.

So what does everyone think? Maybe I should try to sell these mics to tapers? Do tapers use cardioids or omnis for stealthing?

Any thoughts appreciated. I posted here because it seems people on this forum actually know something about AT831b's. Whereas on all the production forums, it's all about Countryman and Tram and Sanken.

Can you return (even for credit?).  Ideally you should be able to try them out, then return them if they don't work for you.  Now not all stores are the flexible, but many are.  Just try to keep everything in pristine condition.

Now, that said, you should be able to get these mics cheaper on Ebay.  What are you recording to?  If you're using a portable recorder (minidisc, Edirol R1, microtrack, etc), you should be able to use "plug in power".  So all you need is two AT831s wired to a miniplug.  You don't need the phantom adapters.  If you're recording to a mixing console (or with very long cable runs, like on stage use), you should use phantom power.

As far as omni vs cardioid, I think both are used.   But omni is more common.  Another idea is to get a single "boundary mic" and sit it on a tabletop between you.

  Richard

[raddygast]

Thanks for the advice. However, the store's policy is pretty much no-return, or at the least return for store credit only. And the problem with that is that they don't have any other types of lavs, since they're a music store and the mics they have there are basically for instrument pickup.

I guess my question will have to remain: are the AT831's (the mic capsule itself) any good? Audio Technica is supposed to be a decent brand, but it seems like these lavs aren't too popular anymore. Is it just because there are smaller mics out there, or because the sound quality isn't considered that great?

I know they're not in the same league as those high-end DPA 4060's and so forth, but are they at least "entry level prosumer" quality?

[poorlyconditioned]

Thanks for the advice. However, the store's policy is pretty much no-return, or at the least return for store credit only. And the problem with that is that they don't have any other types of lavs, since they're a music store and the mics they have there are basically for instrument pickup.

I guess my question will have to remain: are the AT831's (the mic capsule itself) any good? Audio Technica is supposed to be a decent brand, but it seems like these lavs aren't too popular anymore. Is it just because there are smaller mics out there, or because the sound quality isn't considered that great?

I know they're not in the same league as those high-end DPA 4060's and so forth, but are they at least "entry level prosumer" quality?

The mics are just fine.  In fact, they are well respected as clip on guitar mics and as lav mics.  But I agree, the trend is to omnis.

  Richard

[divamum]

These were my first "real" mics and I was very very happy with them (still keep them as a "backup" set of mics, and use them when I run 2 rigs simultaneously as well).  I will defer to others more knowledgeable than myself, but for the kind of recording you're describing I can't see where them being cards would be a "problem" as such.  I did indeed jump to omnis when I upgraded to CMC8s, but that was for many many different reasons all of which added up to that being a better choice for me.

[hitch]

I have the Sound Pro's version of the AT831s and I really like 'em. Richard has mentioned on the boards that the 831s can be used with the AT853 capsules, so if you can find an 853 omni capsule (discontinued?), it should work with the AT831 bodies.

I use my mics at live shows mostly rock/indie music. Tapers use what their ears like.. some love the sound of omins, like the dpa's, some love cards.

If I was recording quieter stuff, like lectures or jazz and classical music, I'd probably go with an omni/binaural. The 831s are decent mics all thing considered... Tho- $400 Canadian is kinda steep IMO 

Toni

[raddygast]

400 bucks was for two of them, not one.

How does one switch capsules? Does it involve soldering (I'm not averse to soldering, I'm just not great at it)?

Anyway, I will probably stick with these unless I get a lot of head-turning audio dropout problems.

By the way, I'm confused by that sound pro site. What does it mean that they have their own version of AT831's? Do they take some core of the mic and repackage it in their own electronics?

[Humbug]

How does one switch capsules? Does it involve soldering (I'm not averse to soldering, I'm just not great at it)?

I have AT831s (CMC2s) and the caps look pretty firmly attached; never really tried to force them off as don't want to damage them.

By the way, I'm confused by that sound pro site. What does it mean that they have their own version of AT831's? Do they take some core of the mic and repackage it in their own electronics?

The CMC2As are confusingly not based on Audio Technica mics. I have heard a number of recordings made with them (another UK based stealther uses them exclusively), and the sound is pretty close to CMC2s. As with the CMC2s, they are nice sounding budget mics.

[hitch]

How does one switch capsules? Does it involve soldering (I'm not averse to soldering, I'm just not great at it)?

I have AT831s (CMC2s) and the caps look pretty firmly attached; never really tried to force them off as don't want to damage them.

By the way, I'm confused by that sound pro site. What does it mean that they have their own version of AT831's? Do they take some core of the mic and repackage it in their own electronics?

The CMC2As are confusingly not based on Audio Technica mics. I have heard a number of recordings made with them (another UK based stealther uses them exclusively), and the sound is pretty close to CMC2s. As with the CMC2s, they are nice sounding budget mics.

My SP 831 capsules screw on/off. I don't know if the official AT ones have that capability??? I was a bit sceptical at first, but I did take one of the capsules off gingerly (not much force was needed), and then screwed it back on.

I'm still waiting for my new 853 hypercard caps to come (from a friend)... so I haven't personally tested the swap out yet.

[Aaron41]

I like my AT831s. I'd imagine they would be good for just voices. If you can't return them for credit or exchange them, don't sweat it too much. They should still be solid for you.