Experience with Milab VM-44 Link?

[TNJazz]

Gotcha.  So size does matter, but full body is OK as long as the mics are stealthable?

KM184 is probably one of the shortest full body mics out there, but no way would I pay $1700 for a pair of them.

[ArchivalAudio]

Gotcha.  So size does matter, but full body is OK as long as the mics are stealthable?

KM184 is probably one of the shortest full body mics out there, but no way would I pay $1700 for a pair of them.

well Yes!
I am more leaning toward these sweet
VM-44 links - I like the card/omni option

however
I see at Sweetwater the 184's
are
ItemID: KM184Pair   Retail Price: $2,298.00
SAVE $598.03 (26%) WHEN YOU BUY TODAY!
SALE PRICE:
$1,699.97


+ another $25 off
+ 1 year no payments /no interest
which gives me plenty of time to pay them off and not accrue interest



anyway
I am hearing that there a number of folks who think there are nicer smoother sounding mics that the 184's or 140's


So far the think I have heard on archive with the VM-44 links
sound very awesome!
I may just hold off and get those

another thought on the VM-44 links?
I've seen them lower... but I'd have to put them on a credit card that already carries a balance 

but
It seems like I should may be wait till the spring after I gat my tax return to fund new mics

[stevetoney]

KM184s are great sounding mics.  Trust your ears and decide based on what you like.  I know others disagree, but I like the Neumann's better than MC930's.  I think the Beyer's have a nice crunch for a mic in that price range, but they're just too stale or lifeless for my taste.  Believe me, I've tried to make myself like them because the price range is right up my alley for the market that I'm at right now.

Anyway, here are the comps I promised.  This show was the Nighthawks at Moondog's in Blawnox, PA...you'll see the downloaded file titles if you're interested in the date.  The first sample is a song from the first set with the milabs and the second song is the km140's for the second set.  Everything the same except the mics...same location, same recorder, etc.  Mics were DIN about 6 feet up (low ceiling).

Milab VM44link
http://www.sendspace.com/file/c2yxqb

Neumann KM140
http://www.sendspace.com/file/7rh8vc

Edit to add:  I'd NEVER pay $1700 for a new pair of 184s.  The most I'd go is $1200 or so on ebay for a pair...and they're ALWAYS listed there for that price or less...$1300 tops.  If you're gonna go that high, then yeah go for the Milabs new instead.

[Todd R]

another thought on the VM-44 links?
I've seen them lower... but I'd have to put them on a credit card that already carries a balance 

Great to hear you're thinking about the milabs!  I love to see these great mics get more use in our circles.

On the price -- could you drop me a line where you've seen them lower than midi-classics.com?  I'm still tossing around the idea of getting omni caps, and would like to know about other retailers to consider.

[bobsmith19]

hey, all shows recorded when i had a pair of milab vm44 links:

these were vm44 cards -> denecke ps-2 -> denecke ad-20 -> rockbox iriver h120

http://mcchrislive.com/media/aud/atlanta/bobsmith/01oct2007.html

http://mcchrislive.com/media/aud/birmingham/bobsmith/12nov2007.html

http://mcchrislive.com/media/aud/mtpleasant/bobsmith/15jul2007.html

the 01oct2007 show at the roxy in atlanta is one of my favorite tapes.  bob.

[grider]

to ArchivalAudio, if you think you are going to get any kind of consensus from members here, of any type at all, as to which mics are best for your needs, you are mistaken; every member here will have his own opinions about makers, applications, cost to benefit ratios, so much so that you will end up confused and frustrated by canvassing members here for their opinions; I'd say pick a transparent (DPA, Sennheiser, AKG) or colored sounding microphone (most everything else), active (DPA, Schoeps, Milab, Neumann, or MBHO, Sennheiser) or non-active format (everything else), and what's available in your price range, andthen narrow the list down, listen to them critically on archive.org, and they buy and start using your mics; if you do not like the sound, try other preamps, if you still do not like the sound, then replace the mics and start all over again

[stirinthesauce]

I'd say pick a transparent (DPA, Sennheiser, AKG) or colored sounding microphone (most everything else),

I'll take just a little exception to this.  For quite sometime, myself along with others here have been trying other mic manufacturers' (less heard of, foreign with only foreign distributors, hand made, boutique, etc.) products and comparing them to what tapers have always used (before the internet when the only mics heard of were neumann, senns, schoeps, akg) and trying to broaden the horizons of what we as a community can use.  There are many other mics that are quite transparent, others not so.  But the options are vast.  All of the mics listed above have a unique sonic characteristic and as a consequence are not truely "transparent".  I certainly can tell a difference between them in an a-b test.  They won't sound identical.  All mics are going to sound a bit different. 

Certainly you are correct about opinions though.  The archive is a great place to listen to different mics.  Other ways are just to try them out and see what your ears like. 

I am very biased however about some mic choices, for reasons of what my ears like, even though I may no longer own certain mics.  Others are very biased towards there own preference.  However, we (tapers, recordists, archivists, field recordist, etc) are no longer limited to just a few options of akg, dpa, neumann, sennheiser, and schoeps.  TONS of very competive if not better and less expensive options available for us to utilize.

[ArchivalAudio]

Hey
thanx for all this input
I do realize that we all have opinions
from  my experience in recording for the last 22+ years
I generally know I don't always like the AKG sound... not to say there arn't some recordings or mics  that dont' sound good
that  to me & my ears  I prefer others
same generally about Schoeps, vs Neumanns - if there is  a choice I'd go for the Neumanns
I'd say the same for Cards vs Hypers - I find  (to me) cards sound more natural
hypers
sound thin hollow and tinny - but that is just my ears

I borrowed CQbert's Sennheiser MKH8040's and they sound great!, perhaps a bit boomy, but I think that was just where I was in the venue- but very Phat!

I like the old B&K 4011's too


I know many folks would disagree with me
that's fine
I am not bashing them - sound is all a perception
we all have personal tastes

I value everyones opinion

glad to hear them

More specfic replies later on

for the Price Point - I am leaning toward the VM - 44 links

I do like  what I hear
I am curious to hear the comp with the 140's

more soon

-- Ian

[stirinthesauce]

- sound is all a perception
we all have personal tastes

"plustee"

[dmonkey]

Damn you people. After reading this thread and listening to the VM-44 samples I'm really liking what I'm hearing. I've wanted to get "actives" for a while now, and have been lusting after the 140s...until now. The VM-44 samples sound really nice to my ears, and the price is right. This is an addicting and expensive hobby, dammit.   

Anyone know how much just the caps are for these VM-44s? It'd be nice to have both card and omni caps.

[stirinthesauce]

here is one I did a couple weeks ago

http://www.archive.org/details/rre2008-11-01.flac

[ArchivalAudio]

hmmmm
as I listen to the comp
VM-44's
and
KM140's
I think I may tend to like the VM-44's a bit better
but it could be the different song
but
dunno yet
I'll give them a few more listens
thanx
-- Ian

[illconditioned]

Hey
thanx for all this input
I do realize that we all have opinions
from  my experience in recording for the last 22+ years
I generally know I don't always like the AKG sound... not to say there arn't some recordings or mics  that dont' sound good
that  to me & my ears  I prefer others
same generally about Schoeps, vs Neumanns - if there is  a choice I'd go for the Neumanns
I'd say the same for Cards vs Hypers - I find  (to me) cards sound more natural
hypers
sound thin hollow and tinny - but that is just my ears

I borrowed CQbert's Sennheiser MKH8040's and they sound great!, perhaps a bit boomy, but I think that was just where I was in the venue- but very Phat!

I like the old B&K 4011's too


I know many folks would disagree with me
that's fine
I am not bashing them - sound is all a perception
we all have personal tastes

I value everyones opinion

glad to hear them

More specfic replies later on

for the Price Point - I am leaning toward the VM - 44 links

I do like  what I hear
I am curious to hear the comp with the 140's

more soon

-- Ian

Which AKG did you try?  The ck61,62,63 caps sound pretty good.

As for the B&K 4011, those are probably the best mics you can get IMO.  They are metal diaphragm instrument quality.  They're also more than $5000 a pair!

Richard

[Jamos]

here is one I did a couple weeks ago

http://www.archive.org/details/rre2008-11-01.flac

/\/\/\/\/\

This recording sounds really nice.

So when you buy a VM-44 Link, do you get a mic body as well?
Or does the link (cable) work in place of the mic body?

I can't find that info anywhere on the milab site.

thanks.

[stirinthesauce]

It is a body, with ~9' of cable, a collette of sorts with a removable capsule.  The cable does not come undone from the body (well it does, but requires some decent soldering skills).  The caps do unscrew from the collette, hence to interchange with the omni capsules.  Then it comes with it's own nifty mounts.  Won't work with a kwon bar though.

edit to add:
another one of mine from this summer
http://www.archive.org/details/ymsb2008-06-15..flac

everything else I have is 4 channel with nevatons.  Of course I have the archived 2 channel, but......


Tomorrow night I will be running these side by side with schoeps and dpa's so there should be some good sources to comp with on the archive.  I will be running a different pre with these as well (cooper csp1a)