Topic: Enhanced Audio M600?

[Teen Wolf Blitzer]

Anyone here use one of these?  Was thinking of getting one.   

http://www.enhancedaudio.ie/enhancedaudioproducts.htm

Not so worried about the no shock thing.  I'm usually really close to the sound sources.  Any experiences with this appreciated.

[DSatz]

Mark, you and I have corresponded privately about this, so what I'm saying here will be no news to you: This is not only "not a shock mount," but is actually the exact opposite of a shock mount. If for some insane reason I had to design a device to conduct shock and vibrations from a mike stand or boom arm into a microphone, I could hardly think of a better way to do it. So I'm not suprised when people who try this device hear it having an effect, nor am I surprised that some people say they like the effect--at least on some recordings.

Of course it would be very difficult to make identical recordings both with and without the device so that you could really compare, and I don't know of anyone who's ever done that--which would be kind of mandatory, if you really wanted to know rather than guess. Apparently a lot of people are perfectly well satisfied with just guessing and hypothesizing (nothing new there ...).

But it's definitely not in the class of audiophile items that have zero real effect--even though plenty of folks have strong opinions about the supposed sonic character of many audiophile tweaks that have zero real effect. In this case there's a perfectly clear reason for it to have a sonic effect, and of course anyone has the perfect right to prefer that effect or not prefer it. But it's certainly not a step toward cleaner or more accurate recordings.

--best regards

[macdaddy]

really..?

i have been using it with my c422. i dig it, but like you said, it is hard to compare. i am not sure about your "sending vibrations into the mic" assertion. i t seems to me that the thing is solid, but by being solid, reduces the vibration, 'cos it holds the mic tighter and more securely. i am not sure how, but i think the metal of the frame absorbs vibration, and the screws isolate the mic from the frame. i know this - when using the stock mount with c422, when some putz would hit the stand, you would hear it on the recording; i have seen people bump the stand with the ea mount, and i have not been able to find it on the recording...

[DSatz]

macdaddy, that's extremely interesting--and quite unexpected. Now I will have to borrow and try this ... thing. Unfortunately I can't get to it very soon.

Could you possibly repeat that "experiment" with someone bumping your mike stand? Obviously, not while music that you want to record is actually playing. If it really isolates the microphone substantially from vibration, I'd gladly take back my criticism of the device--but then the manufacturer isn't describing it accurately, either.

--best regards

[WiFiJeff]

I think DSatz has it right.  I was very happy using the Enhanced Audio M600s, it definitely had a sonic impact.  However, I rarely use them now, because the venue I record for is set up so that the mic stand I use has to be on stage, and any footfalls on the stage are clearly transmitted to the stand and thence to the mics.  If I am taping a string quartet that likes to tap its feet, it inserts that rhythmic bass thomp all too clearly.  So I now use a Sabre-Som shock, which is about the loosest wired shock I can find that won't drop an AKG426.

Jeff

[macdaddy]

well, i guess a test of some sort is in order, though i am not sure how to do it...

as for wifijeff's comments - i dont know what to say, 'cos i have never heard more noise, or enhanced noise, due to use of the mount.

+t's for the conversation.

[RebelRebel]

I have several of them, and will say without any inkling of doubt that they do offer a noticeable sonic improvement over standard mounts(bass extension in particular is an area of great improvement). I have even used them with great success in venues with a fair amount of vibration. << in this situation, I have created some sorbothane feet for my microphone stands to help offset any shortcomings in "shockmounting". If you can swing it, go for it. The difference was like night and day to me. The designer is a class A gentleman and the product is fantastic.



. 

Anyone here use one of these?  Was thinking of getting one.   

http://www.enhancedaudio.ie/enhancedaudioproducts.htm

Not so worried about the no shock thing.  I'm usually really close to the sound sources.  Any experiences with this appreciated.

[macdaddy]

hey teddy! glad to see you again, and i am happy you chimed in on this thread

for the record, i use an air-cushioned stand that has neoprene feet, or the clamp thing tj has that is a flexible, but sturdy extension arm... my point is, i dont have just a straight stand with no cushioning, so maybe that helps...

i am still open for some ideas of how to test this thing...

a round of Ts for the discussion.

[WiFiJeff]

My stand is a Manfretto, no special cushioning.

The foot-thumping problem, it should be said, is mic-dependant.  It is not such an issue with omnis, but a major problem with the AKG C426B running Blumlein.  Not at all minor, it hits you in the jaw (and goes away with the Sabra-Som mount).

Jeff

[DSatz]

WiFiJeff, exactly. A single-diaphragm omni condenser microphone is a pressure transducer. Pressure transducers are relatively insensitive to vibration, solid-borne sound, wind, breath noise and proximity effect.

All those problems are characteristic of the other type of transducer, which are called either "velocity" or "pressure gradient" transducers depending on who's calling. Directional microphones always include some degree of this kind of functioning, and the farther you swing toward figure-8sville, the more these problems manifest. All other things being equal (though they rarely are), a figure-8 will have more sensitivity to wind, popping on close-miked vocals, solid-borne sound, proximity effect and whatever else was on that list.

It's a spectrum--wide cardioids are the least affected because they're the closest to being pressure transducers (they might be 60/40 or 70/30). Then cardioids, then super- and hypercardioids. Finally figure-8s, which are pure pressure gradient transducers.

The omni setting of a variable-pattern dual-diaphragm microphone is actually two back-to-back cardioids added together, so it acts more or less like a cardioid in these respects. The proximity effect may cancel out to some extent but there is still some.

--best regards

[macdaddy]

interesting - dsatz, thanks for all the info. the curious thing: i have been running blumlein alot, so i would expect (based on what you state above) to hear the bumps on the stand ('cos blumlein = 2x fig 8s)...

another round of T's for the discussion...

[thepassionofyonder]

hey mark.
i always wondered about that mic mount, and not having any elastic or rubber.
i forgot how it clamps onto the stand.
maybe we can figure out some large o-rings or something to put between the mount and stand someplace.
still holding the mic tight in the clamp, but something to absorb the vibes.
any ideas?

[macdaddy]

see, i think it works fine. in fact, better than fine - i got more noise and thumps and irregularities using the mount that came with the c422. but once i started using the ea mount, i have heard none of that crap, and i have seen people bump up against the stand. i know what all those noises can sound like, and i hear none of it in my recordings with the ea mount. what i would like to do, somehow, is run some tests, but i just cant figure how to do it - and when you throw in the various patterns, i mean, that is a major operation to do it right (much more difficult than comparing pres or something). i am gonna keep using it as is, but i also wanna keep investigating the thing here (in this thread..?) and try and come up with some conclusive, subjective findings - not just my claim of "i like it better."

[thepassionofyonder]

if it aint broke dont fix it!
I dont think anything is wrong with it, i think its a badass mount.
with a badass mic inside.
I do see an area where it could be improved, but it might not be practical.
i was just adding my thoughts.
back to your regularly scheduled programming.