Topic: Best, super small, but super sensitive mic's on the market?

[ifthir]

Looking for something very small, but very good at picking up quiet sounds, as I will be using them to tape some acoustic shows from a distance.

Any thoughts on some that people have had success with?

[acidjack]

DPA 4060 is probably the best for quiet stuff.  You'll probably get some votes for the countryman B3 as well.

[bryonsos]

DPA 4060 is probably the best for quiet stuff.  You'll probably get some votes for the countryman B3 as well.

Yep. B3s are great. So are the DPAs, but not ~2.5X better which is the difference in cost.

[beatkilla]

You say acoustic shows from a distance so im thinking omnis are not the right choice for that application.Are you looking nature sound recording as well or just live music?

[Gutbucket]

4060 is both quieter and more sensitive than standard sensitivity B3 and is an excellent mic for acoustic instruments.  Relative value is a subjective thing and hard to quantify, but to me they are well worth the cost premium over the B3s for recording real acoustic sources in good sounding rooms. They just sound better, others feel differently and that's fine, as sound quality is ultimatley a personal subjective impressison, but noise & sensitivity differences are measured specifications.

'At a distance' problems are unlikely to be corrected by using a different pickup pattern, expecially non-PA amplified accoustic music.  Generally omnis will sound more natrural, but directional patterns can be used to somewhat compensate for bad room accoustics or unwanted noise behind the recording location.  The way to correct distance issues is to move closer.  A PA system can change that dynamic to some extent, but it still generally holds true.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Define: "from a distance"

How far do you plan on being from the source of the sound?

Ideally you're going to want to be about 75-100% away from the WIDTH of the PA speakers. So if the speakers are 100 feet apart you'd want to be 75-100 feet away.

[adrianf74]

My vote here will be (if money is no object), the 4060's.    I've used the 4061's and they're quite noisy especially during quieter passages (as are most of the small mics).  I've also run CA-14's and currently run the B3's.   

Keep in mind the 4060's might not be the best mic choice at a rock show (some people here have used them) but they're not intended for such high SPL's.

Overall value (and sound) is the B3's although they're a touch less noisy compared to the 4061's.   

I've posted before that the CA-14 omnis are a great value and that I don't see the added value for the B3's (about 2.5-3.5x the cost) or the DPA 4061's (about 10x the cost).  The only reason I went with the B3's is that I find they're a "flatter" sounding mic compared to the 4061 (406x's are known for that bump/"colouring") and because they're very small and easy to hide (for when I need to run small mics).

When I run cards (as per my sig), I'm running AT-853's.

[rastasean]

What's the going rate for the 4060s anyway?

[adrianf74]

@Rastasean: Is that new or used?  New: about $1k before termination.   Used: it varies depending on whether they were ex-broadway beaters or used delicately.

[TSNéa]

What's the going rate for the 4060s anyway?

http://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.html?sw=DPA+4060

http://www.thomann.de/gb/search_dir.html?sw=countryman&gk=MI

[Gutbucket]

In the USA, you should be able to pickup new 4060s for under $400 ea.  B3s are about half that, somewhat less if unterminated.

[DigiGal]

Looking for something very small, but very good at picking up quiet sounds, as I will be using them to tape some acoustic shows from a distance.

Any thoughts on some that people have had success with?

For future reference this question actually belongs under [Microphones & Setup] instead of [Recording Gear] surprised it hasn't been moved by a moderator already.

[emcdos]

For that porpouse Soundman OKMII (Classic) could be an interesting candidate as well....

[DSatz]

ifthir, just as a note of advice, "sensitive" doesn't quite express what's needed in your situation. What you need is microphones with a combination of high sensitivity and (more importantly) low noise.

This is because "sensitivity" as defined for microphones is a measure of efficiency in converting sound to electricity. And that, by itself, says nothing about the microphone's ability to respond well (or at all!) to low-level sounds. It only says that if a given sound is registered by the microphone, the resulting voltage will be higher than a less sensitive microphone would deliver.

But the output of any microphone includes a certain amount of electrical noise as part of the signal. The amount and kind of this noise is largely independent of the microphone's sensitivity. So even more important than high sensitivity is that the inherent noise (a/k/a "self noise") of the microphones be as low as possible. Unfortunately, "super small" microphones as a class have the highest inherent noise relative to the signal levels they put out. If you can possibly compromise on the size issue, you can get a better ratio of useful signal to the inherent noise of your microphones.

--best regards

[rastasean]

The voice of reason is often brought in by DSatz.

Are you able to speak specifically on the self noise the DPA 4060s provide, DSatz?