Topic: Nevaton Microphone Production Halted - I need a replacement

[roman79]

Recently, I purchased some Nevaton MCE400's to link with a Naiant tinybox.  My unit was flawed so I had to return it, and now I have been told:

"Nevaton has some internal problems related to reorganization of its facility and also an economic situation in Russia. At that point Nevaton's microphone production is stopped and it's not clear when it's going to be up and running."

Hence I need to get an alternative unit. Originally I got the Nevaton's because they cost less than the DPA4060s and their peformance was judged to be pretty close.

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=147689.msg1898780

I asked Jon at Naiant if there was any microphone I could swap for the Nevaton's that would run on the tinybox.

"I can't think of anything as small as the Nevatons that run on phantom power (other than my stuff).  At the higher end you have the Schoeps CCM series.  Most of the AT stuff has phantom-power adaptors, and of course I also make the PFA adaptor for low-volt mics.  You could also return the tinybox to be reconfigured.  Maybe ask on TS as I may have forgotten about some other models.

There are a lot of full-size mics that will run on low-volt phantom, including Shure, Schoeps, Beyer, AT 30 series, some of the AKGs . . "


Any suggestions at to what you would do in my position? Any advice would be appreciated. I need the microphones for stealth recording.

Note : I also have I the  Core Sound Cards and Core Sound Binuarals.

[newplanet7]

TNJAZZ on here is a Nevaton dealer/rep. Not sure if Dirk can help the situation but it can't hurt.

[acidjack]

Uggggh, that sucks.  I guess this is one reason why sometimes less-recognized brands are, well, less recognized.  The MCE400s sound great. Hope this works out for you and that they come back into production.

[WiFiJeff]

Sanken makes an even smaller phantom-powered mic, the COS 11D.

Jeff

[ArchivalAudio]

weird?

talk to Dirk
 or try
some countryman B3's
with or w/o your LB

or maybe some B6's

[OOK]

I would go the Countryman B3 route.  They can be had for phantm power for about 400 for the pair.  Illconditioned states they are excellent omnis and sound very natural....  Was thinking about trying a pair myself.. 

ook

[Fried Chicken Boy]

That's a real shame to hear about the Nevatons going out of production.  If the MCE400 situation can't get sorted out, I'd have to agree with the previous suggestions about giving the Countryman B3's a spin.  With your budget and the fact that you want them for stealth, it's probably your best option.  The B3's can run on as little as 9v so you could power them for a long time off the Tinybox.  Have the pair of mics terminated into a Binder connector into the TB (see hi and lo's Schoeps setup) and you have a tough, customized and nearly idiot-proof rig.

[roman79]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

I contacted Dirk and he confirmed that the Nevaton MCE400 has been halted indefinitely while Nevaton concentrate on other production.

I'll look into getting the Countryman B3s instead.

[TNJazz]

OK, just to clarify things a little - Nevaton is definitely not going out of business or anything, and they have only halted production temporarily while they get a few logistics sorted out.  They have also slowed things down because right now no one is buying much of anything (everywhere - not just Nevaton!) and a lot of their funding comes from places other than the sale of microphones I'm told so they are concentrating on other efforts rather than building more microphones.

The bottom line is, people need to order more!  Look at it this way - it's a small boutique operation that makes every microphone by hand, the sound is phenomenal and the prices are not sky high (yet).  Who wouldn't want to support a company like that for this hobby?

There are some excellent deals available right now on MC49 and MC51 so if anyone is interested please get in touch.  If you have any inclination towards LDCs at all you owe it to yourself to consider the MC51.

[SmokinJoe]

What is the configuration of your Tinybox?  From the original post I'm guessing XLR's but not 48V, just 12V phantom?

It sounds like you will get your replacement Nevaton eventually, but you are looking for something to use until then, maybe something you can buy and sell again afterward without loosing too much money in the process.

[Smokey]

What is the configuration of your Tinybox?  From the original post I'm guessing XLR's but not 48V, just 12V phantom?



Not to answer for roman79, but I recently had a Tinybox configured for my MCE400s and requested 16V phantom, though I believe they will work with 12V as well. They do require an XLR connection- in my case it's a dual XLR>6 pin mini-XLR<3.5mm cable from Naiant.

I must have gotten one of the last pairs of the Nevatons as they arrived in early October. My first time out I had the Tinybox set on high gain (+32db) and had the R09 backed down to 2 to prevent clipping. As I subsequently learned this is not the ideal setup, so the next time out I set the preamp on medium (+18db) and the R09 on 12 which left plenty of headroom. I've posted a few short 16bit .wav samples:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1NDB708V

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JDW90TF7

Loving these mics so far! I hope they go back in production soon.

[aysvideo]

Just to add my 2 cents, I have 4 Nevaton MC49s.  They are indeed wonderful mics, and Dirk sells them at great prices (and provides great service).  I was shocked when I saw this thread, but as long as they are in business, I wouldn't hesitate to order more if I had the need. 

OK, just to clarify things a little - Nevaton is definitely not going out of business or anything, and they have only halted production temporarily while they get a few logistics sorted out.  They have also slowed things down because right now no one is buying much of anything (everywhere - not just Nevaton!) and a lot of their funding comes from places other than the sale of microphones I'm told so they are concentrating on other efforts rather than building more microphones.

The bottom line is, people need to order more!  Look at it this way - it's a small boutique operation that makes every microphone by hand, the sound is phenomenal and the prices are not sky high (yet).  Who wouldn't want to support a company like that for this hobby?

There are some excellent deals available right now on MC49 and MC51 so if anyone is interested please get in touch.  If you have any inclination towards LDCs at all you owe it to yourself to consider the MC51.

[tcf]

I own the 49s as well and have owned the mce400s. I would have loved to keep the 400s, I just couldn't due to the small need for lavs.  I was hesitant when I saw this thread as well, however am glad dirk was able to get the straight story for us.

I sure hope the original poster gets a refund or the bad mic repaired. 

[roman79]

What is the configuration of your Tinybox?  From the original post I'm guessing XLR's but not 48V, just 12V phantom?

It sounds like you will get your replacement Nevaton eventually, but you are looking for something to use until then, maybe something you can buy and sell again afterward without loosing too much money in the process.

Apologies for the ambiguous title of the post, to a taper who only use microphones to record live concerts (i.e shoves them down my pants to get through security) ;  lavalier microphones being halted = all applicable microphones being halted.

My tinybox is definitely phantom which I assume is 12V. So I have confirmed the Countryman B3s will run off it without issue if I get the XLR version.

The company through which I bought the MCE400 has refunded all money - including postage so I am most gracious. One of the key reasons I was attracted to the MCE400 was it stated it was a matched stereo pair.
All websites I've looked at sell the countryman B3 as a single item.  Is there always a risk in buying 2x single microphones and not finding them matched? Would it be prudent to buy 3x countryman B3?

[Fried Chicken Boy]

Unless you've already checked with Jon at Naiant, and not having a TB myself, I would definitely confirm with Jon that the phantom on your Tinybox is 12v.  I could be wrong but I was under the impression that they could be made with several different voltage options.  Measure twice and cut once, as they say.

With the B3's, therein lies one of the biggest drawbacks with those mics: they don't offer a pair matching service.  Sure, they most likely will not be near-perfectly matched (like a set of DPA 4061's) but from what I understand the single mics are usually fairly close.  Member illconditioned on these boards has considerable experience with B3's and has contributed a lot of information here regarding them.  To the best of my memory, I don't recall him (or anyone else) mentioning a set of B3's so far off from each other that he couldn't get a good recording with them.  That said, purchasing 3 single mics and coupling the closest two might be a prudent idea provided the dealer you got them from will accept returns.