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DPA Boom Mics - 4017 and 4018 with MMP-B and MMP-C Preamps

September 7, 2015, 10:13 am
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DPA manufactures a wide variety of microphones for live sound, studio recording and location audio. I had seen some recent comments about the DPA 4017 short shotgun and 4018 supercardioid for location audio. I reached out to the US office in Longmont, CO, just north of Denver, and arranged to have them sent in for a look and listen. 

These are part of a modular system of electret mics. Don’t be scared off by the word “electret.” Science and technology have proven that electret mics with internal polarization, can be designed to sound as good as externally polarized “true condenser” mics. I think the term “true condenser” was created by a marketing department to differentiate its own externally polarized mics and cast a bit of shade on the competition. if you're not a true condenser, what are you? A false condenser?

DPA stands for Danish Professional Audio. According to James Capparelle, DPA Marketing Coordinator and Product Specialist for the US office, "In 1992 two employees took the Brüel & Kjær measurement technology and started DPA to make microphones. B&K still exists. DPA still orders the original omnidirectional 4006 and 4007 "German Silver" membrane capsules from B&K." Both the 4006 and 4007 capsules can use any of the modular preamplifiers.

Mikkel Nymand
James Capparelle
"German Silver" actually contains no silver at all. According to DPA tonmeister Mikkel Nymand, "We have a few other capsules in our portfolio using an alloy called “German Silver”, consisting of copper, nickel and zinc. These are used in the legendary recording mics 4006 and 4007. The diaphragms in the 4017 and 4018 mics you have for test are mylar material with a gold layer. This design is used in the majority of our mics." 

Nymand says other differences in DPA designs help to differentiate their mics from others. "Higher polarization voltage means higher sensitivity, lower self-noise and also higher distance between diaphragm and backplate, resulting in bigger dispersion of the diaphragm, and that equals higher SPL handling. You can’t achieve all this with a regular external P48V phantom power supply! The pre-polarization voltage is more than you have in your power outlet in the wall, it’s a company secret exactly how much, but I can say we are talking several hundreds volts."

The DPA modular system is comprised of three “preamps.” If you’re new to the field, these preamps do not replace the preamps in mixers or consoles you need to get the signal to line level for mixing. In this case, the preamp converts the very high impedance of the capsule into something a mic preamp wants to deal with. 
The DPA MMP-A, which I was not sent, is a .75” x 5.8” tube containing a transformerless preamp with a switchable 20 dB pad that requires 48 V DC Phantom Power and a power consumption of 2.8 mA. It has an 5 V RMS output voltage. It has a fixed -3dB cut at 8 Hz. 138 dB of dynamic range. The specs also mention that operation is stable up to 90% humidity. 

DPA MMP-B Preamp
The DPA MMP-B is a .75” x 3.9” tube containing a transformerless preamp that requires 48 V DC Phantom Power and a power consumption of 4.5 mA. It has a 1.8 V RMS output voltage. It has a nicely designed low cut and a high boost EQ. The low cut is a first order filter at 120 Hz and a fixed -3 dB filter at 50Hz. The high boost is a +4 dB with a corner at 8 kHz. 128 dB of dynamic range. It has the same humidity figure as the MMP-A.

DPA MMP-C Preamp
The DPA MMP-C is a .75” x 1.6” tube containing a transformerless preamp. At just over an inch and a half long and only 1.4 oz in weight, it’s perfectly suited for long boom extensions where weight quickly multiplies. It requires 48 V DC Phantom Power and draws 2.8 mA. It has a 4 V RMS output voltage and a fixed 3dB cut at 15Hz. 136 dB dynamic range. It has the same humidity figure as the MMP-A. DPA says the MMP-C has a slightly softer or warmer character than the other preamps. I could hear a slight difference. Having read the data sheet that describes the difference as "softer", I'll go with warmer, but subtly so.

Please note that all of these mics require 48 V DC Phantom Power. There are some mixers that only provide 12 or 24 V DC Phantom Power. They will struggle to power these mics and the downside is typically distortion because the mics are starved for power. Some mixers' specs indicate that they provide 48 V DC Phantom Power, but their total amperage capability may not be sufficient to properly power more than one or two mics. A setup consisting of a dozen MMP-B preamps (@ 4.5 mA each), for example, would draw considerably more current than a dozen MMP-C preamps (@ 2.8 mA each). So, Phantom Power is about voltage and current, not just voltage.

Most of us have probably heard stories of how high humidity causes noise to be generated by condenser mics. Sometimes, but not always, this is due to moisture that condenses on the microphone diaphragm, either due to very high humidity, or by moving the mic from a very hot and humid area into a much cooler area where moisture condenses on the diaphragm and creates a path for voltage to leak across the diaphragm. 

Noise can also result when dirt builds up on the contacts between the capsule and the preamp. Summer gets pretty humid in the Mid-Atlantic US. I found that leaving the capsules connected to the preamps instead of unscrewing them and storing them separately pretty much eliminated the noise problems on my Schoeps modular mic system. 

There are also the DPA MMP-ER (rear cable) and MMP-ES (side cable) Modular Active Cables. They are for hanging mics or low-profile table or instrument mics. Both use the same circuitry as the C preamp and feature a split into a 12mm housing and a 3-pin XLR connector. These components attach the capsule to a cable at a length of 3 meters or optionally up to 30 meters. 
IN THE STUDIO
Please check out the videos and subscribe to my YouTube Channel. I made these videos so you could hear what these mics and features sound like and compare them. As you watch and listen to the clips, remember that this is compressed Youtube audio, not full 24-bit, 48 kHz audio. Also, lap top or smart phone speakers aren’t a great way to make judgements about audio. To better understand what's going on, please use good headphones or studio monitors.

My studio is quiet and well damped. That means that any mic sounds as good as it can because of fewer reflections. It does however allow a very good environment to hear what each mic and combination sounds like. With the MMP-B, MMP-C, 4017 short shotgun capsule and 4018 supercardioid capsule in my studio, I was very happy with the sound of all the combinations. With all of my switching and swapping, the resultant combinations still sounded like they all came from the same family. 
I particularly like the design of the EQ controls on the MMP-B  The low cut and high boost EQ are well designed, easy to read and somewhat subtle, but effective. The MMP-C has no controls and neither do the 4017 short shotgun and 4018 supercardioid capsules. 


IN THE GREEN ROOM
For the comparison between the 4018C and CMC641, I chose a more typical location with some room reflection. 



To my ears, the MMP-C preamp and 4018 supercardioid capsule, seen online as the DPA 4018C sounds very similar to the Schoeps CMC641 and at this moment, it’s priced slightly higher than the CMC641. $1,710 for the DPA versus $1,622 for the Schoeps.

Making a supercardioid capsule is easier than making one that has as small a back lobe as possible and that has uniform frequency response as the sound source moves off axis. These changes in frequency response can be heard as slight irregularities or beaminess of certain frequencies. My Schoeps CMC641 is very good. As a person speaking moves off axis, it sounds like someone turned the pot down. Their voice fades away very evenly. The DPA 4018 supercardioid responds similarly. 

I asked Nymand about the axial response of the 4018 supercardioid capsule. "The tighter you want the side response, the more you move towards the figure-of-eight characteristic (including that the rear lobe will be in opposite phase). But exactly how much this rear lobe is present is where the R&D hours are spent. The secrets lie within the physical/acoustic design within the capsule and the rear entrance port. Do remember, any cardioid/supercardioid may not be cardioid/supercardioid at all frequencies. it’s very easy for manufacturers not paying the attention to detail as we do to claim they have a certain type, but it’s not always the case."



DPA 4018 Supercardioid Capsule


Next is the DPA 4017 short shotgun. Like the 4018, the capsules and preamps are light weight, making booming a lot easier. As demonstrated in the video, the 4017 holds it's own among the other shotgun mics and the CMC641.

With interference tube mic, you have to balance the increased distance from the sound source due to the sheer length of the interference tube against what benefit it might provide. The interference tube and capsule of the DPA4017C  account for only 4.5 inches of the total 6.1 inch length. 

While that's short enough to mount on many DSLR cameras, please don't expect great results with any camera-mounted microphones. Shotgun mics do not allow you to crop out the noise the way a zoom lens allows you to zoom in. When using microphones, getting as close as possible to the intended sound source is always your best strategy. 

Interference tube mics are great in controlled sound environments, (Think QUIET ON THE SET!) especially when that controlled environment also limits or covers hard, flat, reflective surfaces. As directional as interference tube mics are for high frequencies, they are not so directional at middle and low frequencies. If, for example, you have ambient noise such as traffic, a busy retail space, a kitchen with cabinet doors and counter tops with a lot of hard flat surfaces like pavement, buildings, walls, ceilings, counters or windows, the better choice may be the supercardioid 4018.

DPA 4017 Shotgun capsule
Another thing I like about these capsules is that there's just enough lift in the high frequencies to add clarity and intelligibility, but not enough to cause that irritating "skritch" heard so frequently with cheaper mics.

All combinations of preamps and capsules combine well and produce very high quality results. In addition they are very light weight. If you do a lot of booming for location audio work, you'll appreciate this immediately and at the end of the day.

Technique, Inc. © Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved.
www.tyford.com

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AES NYC 2015 A Journeyman's Wandering #01

November 2, 2015, 12:23 pm
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Jacob Javits Convention Center
We arrived in NYC at Penn Station Friday around mid-day to attend the Audio Engineers Association 2015 Convention at the Javits Center on 11th Avenue. I wanted to stop by the B&H Superstore first. They are not open on Saturdays due to religious observances.

Having been tipped off by PR Maven Howard Sherman that "The Microphone Room" at B&H's NYC store had been designed by Walters Storyk Design Group, I was more than a little interested in seeing the space and what was in it. John and Beth have done many spectacular projects over the years. How would they approach a mic room in a retail establishment?

Note: B&H help make this blog possible, but most people who know me at all are aware that I don't blow smoke. Someone had mentioned to me in the past that B&H's 9th Ave. store was pretty amazing. It was on my way to the Javits Center. OK, fine, Show me.  

In most big box stores, the audio department takes a back seat to the other gear. I entered the store and asked for the audio department was. I can't tell you how many square feet is deployed for audio, but it's SIZABLE. Aisles and aisles of glittering glass cases with mixers, headphones, recorders, mics, adapters, wind filters - all things audio, all JUST THERE in plain sight.

Impressive, but what about the microphone room? I was directed to it. Through the window I could see there were already people inside. You need to swipe a card to get into the room. I waited until the customers and B&H associate came out. I introduced myself and asked to see the room and was swiped in.


The space was a lot smaller than I expected, but the design was obvious - no parallel walls. Thick walls to keep the "walla" from the rest of the store out and windows to allow the mics to be seen and to keep those in the room from becoming claustrophobic. As the heavy door "smffed" closed, the room was very quiet.

I was flanked on both sides by double arrays of microphones - two long brackets ran the length of each wall and the mics were attached on their various mic clips and suspension mounts to the brackets. Not under glass, behind a counter, but nekkid and staring you in the face where you can touch them, fondle them or handle them to see which have controls and what the controls are. 


B&H Microphone Room Wall #1

Large, medium and small condensers, shotguns, dynamics, ribbons. OK, a massive display, but what about hearing them? As you can see from the shot below, there seems to be some rack mounted gear under the array on wall #2.

B&H Microphone Room Wall #2
And a closer look reveals a credenza full of preamps and a patchbay that lets you hear and compare each to these mics. You can click on each photo to see the gear in greater detail.



I suppose there might be another retail showroom that has this sort of display, but I've never seen or heard of one. Kudos to B&H for putting it out there like this for gear slutting audio people. If you are within traveling distance from NYC and are trying to make choices about microphones, it's hard to beat the idea of a road trip to this "oasis or microphones." Bring your favorite set of headphones so you can make good comparative decisions.

Oh, by the way, the audio monitor room was the next one over. Here's a peek.



I'll be posting info from booth visits on the AES Display Floor. Stay tuned!Copyright 2015 © Technique, Inc. All Rights Reserved
More at www.tyford.com




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AES NYC 2015 A Journeyman's Wandering #02

November 7, 2015, 10:39 am
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Javits Center
Nothing like a crisp and clear Fall day in NYC. Too bad I had to spend most of it inside the Javits Center for the 2015 Audio Engineers Association Convention.

Good news for future conventions at the Javits, NYC has just opened an extension of the 7 Train that runs from Main Street in Flushing, Queens on the East Side across Manhattan to 34th Street – Hudson Yards in Chelsea, a short block from the Javits Center. 

The 7 Train crosses Manhattan near 42nd Street on its way West stopping at Grand Central Station and Times Square before turning South down to 34th Street just before 11th Avenue, where the Javits is. 

Foot sore AES attendees or anyone attending a conference at the Javits who is staying in mid town can now jump the 7 train and get back to their hotels for a nice foot soak before heading out on the town. 


7 Train Station, 34th & the Yards, Chelsea
I suspect it won't take long before that part of Chelsea gets a series of facelifts, including shops, more places to stay and more restaurants. How much you'll pay for that convenience remains to be seen, but a two nights stay in the lowly, grimy  Pennsylvania Hotel (booked in advance) was over $800. REALLY! Oh, yeah, that's right we're in NYC.

Mark Fouxman - Samar Audio Design - VL37A

What's Old Is New
My first stop was Mark Fouxman at the Samar Audio Design booth. Mark began his work by modifying microphones. His modification of the AKG C1000S is pretty stellar and economical. It makes the C1000S very useful in the studio. Check the link for audio samples.

Microphone modification soon led to inspiration and he began making his own microphones. I have been talking to Mark about his VL37 classic, bi-directional, passive ribbon mic which now at my studio for review. He's done some very inventive things to squeeze as much signal and as many high frequencies as possible while lowering the noise by fine tuning an old design. 

He brought the next phase of the VL37 to this AES show; the VL37A, an active version. About 10dB more sensitive and quieter than you would expect, the active version also has that uniquely extended high frequency response. By adding the active stage, Fouxman provides a more consistent termination for the ribbon. This means that a variety of preamps will not vary the sound of the mic as much because the loading of the ribbon is achieved by the active circuitry.


Rupert Neve Designs for 500 Racks
Rupert Neve
AES isn't much without checking in with Rupert, who is now 89. The first thing to catch my eye was the Dante sign. Dante, patented by Audinate, stands for Digital Audio Network Through Ethernet. This is no time to stick your head in the sand. Dante is here and shows no signs of going away. Here's a list of recent Dante enabled products. Careful, it's a rabbit hole!

Rupert Neve Design 5060 Centerpiece
Not far away was a Rupert Neve Design 5060 Centerpiece Desktop Mixer. No, it's not new, but it sure looks nice. It's an up to 24-input line mixer with the mix buss from the 5088 console, including a multimode insertable “Silk” circuit. The center section has three monitor outputs, mono and dim, three external inputs, and talkback to two separate outputs including a headphone amp.

The mixer section has four 100mm mono/stereo faders, each fader having insert and mute, for inputs 1-8. At the top left of the panel are 8 stereo rotary faders for stereo inputs 9-16. On the right is a Master fader. A pair of large VU meters with peak flashers indicate output level There's a USB / MIDI transport controller with a Shuttle/Jog wheel. Yum!

AnaMod ATS-1 Analog Tape Simulator
ANA MOD
If your world is too digital, perhaps you need to return to your analog roots. AnaMod's ATS-1 analog tape simulator is a two channel box. You can see it here in the top slot of the rack with the light faceplate and dual analog meters. You can choose 7.5, 15 and 30 i.p.s.. The modes have the corresponding head bumps built in. There are four types of tape machine and four different tape formulations. You can add hiss in stereo. (how quaint.) There is also bias control and hi and low EQ. There is nothing digital in this unit.

The ATS-1 models up to four types of tape machine and up to four types of analog recording tape. Machine and tape formula changes are done by SIMM cards. The unit ships with Quantegy GP9 and Ampex 456.  

Applications include tracking in front of A/D converters and mastering to achieve a more analog sound. 



Pendulum Audio
Not far away was Greg Gualtieri's Pendulum Audio with racks of analog and tube-based gear. Shown here from top to bottom are:

The Class A OCL-2, Electro-Optical, Vacuum Tube Compressor Limiter. 

The Class A ES-8 Remote Cutoff Tube Limiter.

The Class A 6386 Remote Cutoff Tube Limiter.

The PL-2 JFET/MOSFET Two-Channel Brickwall Peak limiter.

DS-500
Several other Pendulum pieces caught my eye. Gualtieri has broken out the De-esser from his Quartet Tube Recording Channel and made it available in the API 500 format as the DS-500.
Pendulum SPS-1
There are many ways to record acoustic instruments with pickups. The Pendulum SPS-1 is a two-channel rack unit that offers an impressive array of controls. 

I've been very happy with the K&K Pure Western Mini in my D-28S Martin and my Martin Grand J-28LSE baritone with D-TAR Wavelength pickup and mic, using vintage Groove Tube Brick and Ditto, tube direct boxes, or the instrument input of my Millennia Media STT-1, but this gear does spark my interest. That's all for now, but there's a lot more to come. Please stay tuned and subscribe to this blog.
Technique, Inc. © Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved
More at www.tyford.com

BTW, to anyone contemplating Blogger as a platform. I find it is very unreliable, buggy and a royal PITA. 
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AES NYC 2015 A Journeyman's Wandering #03

November 23, 2015, 6:21 am
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Gateway to the AES Show Floor
The 2015 Audio Engineers Society Convention in NYC comes to the Javits Center every other year. It bounces from the East Coast to the West Coast every Fall.

The display floor is part of the show. There are also suites in which closer listens to particular gear are available, and a healthy collection of papers and presentations are made. If you're in pro audio, keeping track by being a member of AES can be helpful.
Doug Fearn AES 2015

D. W. Fearn
I got in mid-day friday and spent the remains of that day on the left side of the hall, seeing old faces and meeting some new ones. Doug Fearn is one of the old faces. He's has been making hand-crafted analog mic preamps, compressors and EQ for about fifty years. His web site has a lot of deep, useful information about acoustics, building control rooms and sessions. You'll also find very useful information on every piece of his gear and how the circuits work. Sure, you can just plug something in and give it a whirl, but getting the inside track on how a circuit works and how best to work it from the designer makes a big difference.

D. W. Fearn VT-2
While he has a line of about a dozen pieces of high quality gear, Doug says his VT-2, two channel vacuum tube microphone preamp remains his top seller. Based on the sound  of classic designs of the 1960s but updated as technology allows, the VT-2 bridges the gap between history and the present. Click here for the VT-2 video that explains the VT-2 and what makes it special.

In every studio, my own included, you need a few great preamps to help make a difference. I don't have any of Doug's here at my studio, but many do and they will take your audio to another level. If two channels is more than you need, you can scale back to a one channel preamp; the D. W. Fearn VT-1, seen directly below. Doug also makes an eight channel version.

D. W. Fearn VT-1
BAE
Want a smaller footprint? Like 500 Rack or a portable shoebox with handle? Not far away, the BAE 1073 DMP Desktop Mic Pre (left) caught my eye. A balanced XLR microphone in with Phantom Power, a 1/4" Direct in with a bass DI transformer, two 1/4" Thru jacks. Check out the specs and video for more information. The 1073 DMP can be ordered with Jensen or Carnhill (St Ives) transformers.

Gordon Audio's Grant Carpenter
Gordon
Nashville's Grant Carpenter (and Gordon Microphone Preamps) were at the next booth. I hear Gordon preamps at Producers Video, an audio-video post house here in Baltimore, while doing some VO work with Producers Video engineer Bob Bragg. Bob's ears are some of the best in town. 

What may differentiate the Gordon solid state circuitry, is the Soft Signal Path. "Each stage and the path itself are variable, optimized automatically for the selected gain and output load. 

Gain in the signal path is variable, equal to the actual settings of the gain control with no feedback, no attenuators. 

Automatic output load compensation couples and output load sensing circuit to a variable-parameter output stage. The output signal is monitored to determine the load while the output stage parameters are adjusted accordingly to minimize distortion."

If you're looking for a "color box", I don't think this box is what you want. The unit accepts mic, line or DI sources. 

The Gordon Model 4 is a single channel preamp. the Gordon Model 5 is a two channel version. There are also remote control chassis available to eliminate those long, signal-robbing runs between microphone and input stage. 

I still remember the article in MIX years ago in which one live sound engineer was amazed at the difference that putting preamps on stage and running short mic cables to them made over snaking from the stage to FOH.

DPA
OK, now for something completely different. In reviewing the DPA 4017 and 4018 capsules and MMP-C and MMP-C, recently, I caught wind of a new omni lavaliere mic with a special holder that allows the mic to be positioned in a shirt button hole. This side-address lav is available as the Low Sensitivity SLIM 4061 and the High Sensitivity SLIM 4060, two different sensitivities. I was not able to find sensitivity figures, but I'm guessing the low sensitivity version is for screaming actors and musicals where the mic may be hair-mounted. Look for them, the Button Hole Mount and the Concealer Mount at the end of the year

DPA SLIM 4060 (or SLIM 4061) side-address, omni lav


DPA SLIM 4060 (or SLIM 4061) with button hole holder
DPA has an online video that explains some of the tricks to successful lav mounting, including use of the DPA Concealer. If you regularly work with actors and find getting lavs mounted so you don't get clothing or body noise, you're going to like this video!

That'll do it for the #3 installment of my Journeyman's wanderings at AES NYC 2015. As the sun set on Manhattan, I was off on a walk back to the very sad Hotel Pennsylvania to meet my wife, Bette. She scored big at Bloomingdale's and we had a great dinner at Niles Bar & Restaurant a block south of the hotel.

If you're an audio zealot, please consider subscribing to my blog. More from me at www.tyford.com.

And as I always like to say, Blogger makes my layouts a living Hell. Try ANYTHING other than Blogger. - Technique, Inc. © Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved.


Manhattan as seen reflected in the Javits Center East Front
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AES NYC 2015 A Journeyman's Wandering #04

December 8, 2015, 3:18 pm
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This fourth report from AES/NYC 2015 moves on to cover more of the booth visits I made over a day and a half. I took a small Olympus Stylus TOUGH TG-4 Digital camera with me so I didn't have to take notes and because "reality video" catches a bit of what it feels like on the floor. It's has a 16MP BSI CMOS with a top sensitivity of ISO 6400 and a 5 fps shooting rate at full resolution. 

I got it over the hundreds of others on the market because it's built to withstand underwater dives to 50 feet, falls from as high as seven feet onto what I don't know), temperatures as low as 14 degrees fahrenheit and pressure up to 220 lbf. I wasn't expecting to operate the camera at any of those extremes, but thought being prepared might come in handy later.

I used it in auto mode most of the time and, while not perfect due to operator error and the whims of the camera itself, I was and remain happy with it. The "stereo mics" are mounted exactly where my left hand wants to hold the camera, so I had to learn to hold it somewhere else our all you could hear was mmmfmmmmfmfmmfmfmmff.

Zaxcom
Glen Sanders is relentless in his efforts to improve location audio gear. First in many things, the Zaxcom "firsts" that stand out for me are a small, digital body pack transmitter that has a built in audio recorder and also records time code to a mini-SD card, NeverClip, a system that prevents overloading of the transmitter by unexpectedly loud sounds and the ZaxNet systematic approach that, among many other things, allows an operator to adjust the sensitivity of a transmitter from a Zaxcom console without ever touching the transmitter itself. Click on the Zaxnet link to find out more.



Join Glen above as he talks about the new Nomad Touch Remote control. If you're doing location audio from a bag or on a cart, the Nomad Touch can let you take care of business very easily; metadata, changing output busses, record enable tracks. So it's a Deva-style touch screen for a Nomad recorder. Nice!

Rycote
Scott Boland was at the Redding audio stand and among other things was showing the new Rycote Cyclone windshield kit. The system is different in that the windscreen itself is attached via a suspension system to the base. That reduces vibrations from making their way to the microphone. Scott is showing a medium sized vernon in the video. It works with a Sennheiser 416, Schoeps CMIT, Rode NTG1, NTG2 or NTG4 or 4+. As of 12/7/15, the only size available in the USA is large. That would be the right size for long shotgun mics like a Sennheiser 816 (If you still have one), Audio-Technica 4071L, or a Rode NTG8. Shorter versions are expected in 2016. Check out Scott's demo below.




Earthworks 
Eric Blackmer was just across the aisle at Earthworks. It had been some time since I had talked to him and we did some catchup, especially on an ingenious invention called a KP1 KICKPAD, an inline device that allows almost any XLR terminated mic to be used as a kick drum mic. $99.

It comes with the Earthworks DK25/L Live Performance Drum Mics that also includes three SR25 cardioid mics and a windscreen for the kick drum for a simple but effective three mic drum PA setup. 

There is also the Earthworks DK25/R Recording kit that includes two TC25 omni mics for overhead, a SR25 cardioid for kick, a KP1 KICKPAD and a windscreen.


Finding solutions for situations is vitally important for any company. The Earthworks FW730 FlexWand mics and stands are good example of this approach. Preachers, drummer and choir directors take note as Blackmer details the applications and why the FW730 works so well. I like the fact that it has an XLR plug built-in to the stand itself and the cord runs internally all the way up to the microphone. And as Eric demonstrates below, it's very stable.


Finally, Blackmer showed me the Earthworks SR20 handheld cardioid condenser for live work that can withstand 145 dB SPL. I was struck by the ingenuity of Earthworks designers to come up with the screw on headgrille that allows one of his typical designs to be repurposed for a totally different application. Very cool! $599 is certainly out of the reach of anyone with an SM58 budget. It's up there past an Audio-Technica AE5400 and equal to a Neumann KMS 105, but mics are sometimes something you don't know you want until you hear what they do. Then you want one! See what Eric has to say about the Earthworks SR20 below.


Coming up in the next edition, the RME BabyFace Pro, a long list of Radial Engineering gear, a new Tascam plug on recorder plug on for dynamic mics, a Tascam 64 track recorder with removable hard drives, a new soft, silicon surfaced Roli music keyboard, a gaggle of Shure in ear monitors and more! Keep an eye out! Subscribe to the Blog!!!

Copyright © 2015 Technique, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

More at www.tyford.com




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AES NYC 2015 A Journeyman's Wandering #05 & Finale

December 19, 2015, 8:50 am
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Photo by Tom O'Connor
The AES/NYC show at the Javits Center (or in California on even years) is always an eye and an ear opener. Each time I attend I come in the door thinking I've pretty much seen everything. I'm always wrong.

From the white papers in sessions where engineers talk about what may be around the corner to the floor where you can see what's shipping or what's about to ship, my coverage continues with this 5th and last episode. 

Read on, there may be surprises for you. This last report features RME, Radial Engineering, TASCAM, Lewitt Microphones, Zoom Recorders, Cloud Microphones and from Shure, in-ear monitors and MOTIV, which offers digital microphones and new ways of recording. 
RME
I have been an RME user for about eight years. I bought one of their A/D D/A converters because I wanted to improve the audio quality going into my Digidesign 003r, rack mounted I/O box that I operate using Pro Tools. I still use the original RME ADI-8 DS for that job, even though RME has upgraded it to the RME ADI-8 DS Mk iii. If I needed that same sort of quality functionality today, the Mk iii would definitely be a contender. I reviewed the new unit in February of 2015 and you can find that review here. The combination of my room, mics, preamps and the RME ADI-8 DS, are responsible for the quality of the sound I get.

I was looking for a piece that would be attractive to small studios and also for actors who are called upon to do their own engineering when asked by producers for voice auditions. The audio book market continues to grow and the tech-savvy actor can open an account at www.acx.com and make at least a partial living by recordings book in the privacy of their own homes. 


The RME Babyface Pro (above) is one way to get there. Its small footprint belies its abilities. As I watched Jeff Petersen explain the ins and outs, it occurred to me that there was a lot going on inside this box. I'm sure you'll agree!

Radial Engineering
I have always enjoyed the thinking at Radial Engineering. They make a large number of audio boxes that do lots of different things - call them "problem solvers" if you like. You'll understand as you watch Jay Porter explain some of these boxes, like the BT-Pro, the first BlueTooth enabled stereo receiver direct box. The DI Net, direct boxes for DANTE systems that either input or output from a DANTE network. The JDX Direct-Drive a small instrument amp simulator that lets you feed a small house system or a small powered speaker, but the processing in the box supposedly makes it sounds like a Marshall 412……except at a much lower volume and without having to lug the amp in and out. Check them all out in the video below.



Radial bought Jensen a few years ago. John Hardy has been making the one rack space Jensen twin 990 servo preamp for some time and it's a truly great sounding preamp. I've had one here in my studio and also took it around to other music studios to the delight and amazement of others. For more details, here's a rabbit hole to my online archive and one of the reviews I wrote about the Night preamp and the Jensen twin 990. The Jensen twin servo mic preamps built into the 500 Series format caught my eye and ear.  

Jay also had a nice USB-Pro Stereo USB Laptop DI box (below) that can solve a lot of problems. 

TASCAM
TASCAM's Jeff Laity had a great little plug on recorder for dynamic mics, the DR-10X Plug-On Micro Linear PCM Recorder (below). If you're doing on the street reporting with a dynamic mic, you can now safely leave the cassette deck behind. This would probably be useful for singer-songwriters or anyone who want to quickly capture a mono file of a thought or musical performance. Keep one by the bed for those wake-up moments when you have a great idea that you'll never remember in the morning.



On the top end, TASCAM's DA-6400 is a 64-track recorder (below) for live sound, FOH or live broadcast recording and playback. Timceode, Gigabit Ethernet, Serial RS-422 and parallel control.



TASCAM has speced and engineered their own SSD hard drives and have hot-swappable enclosures for them. There are two I/O slots for optional audio interface cards: IF-MA64/EX 64-channel redundant (in/out/thru) MADI optical/coaxial interface card, IF-MA64/BN 64-channel MADI coaxial interface card, IF-DA64 64-channel Dante interface card and an IF-AE16 16-channel AES/EBU interface card.

Lewitt Audio
To be honest, I had never heard of Lewitt microphones. They started after Roman Perschon left his job as Project Manager for AKG, best I can tell, around 2009. Lewitt makes a line of dynamic and condenser mics. I wish them luck. It's a crowded market. The glowing vacuum tube in the Lewitt LCT940 (below) caught my eye and the power supply and pattern adjustment box it was attached to looked interesting, so I spent a few minutes with Dean Downey to learn more. It's a mic that combines both FET and tube and allows you to vary the mix of the two and choose among all the patterns from Omni to Figure Of Eight.



ZOOM
I've been a fan of Zoom for a while. They have made inroads into the pro audio and pro video markets with low cost gear that has some limitations, but gets the job done. I have reviewed both the Zoom Q4 and Zoom Q8 video cameras and am amazed that they can bring the technology they do at the price points they do.



I saw the Zoom F8 (above) come out earlier this year and have heard that it's selling very well. There are some cautions. The knobs are pretty difficult to mix with because they're so small. Also the gain knobs turn down, but not completely off. So the ideal use for the F8 is for a multi-track ISO recorder that you'll use to record audio and then mix the ISO tracks in post. Check out the new iPad control that Charlie Lederer demonstrates. Very Cool.

Cloud Microphones
I've known Roger for about five years. I reached out to him when the Cloud  JRS34 bi-directional ribbon mic came out. I worked with Cloud to make a few changes in the JRS34 as they were getting it ready for market. 

Somewhere along the line they put out a small amp stage called the Cloud Lifter. Then the Cloud Lifter CL-Z variable impedance mic activator. It's a truly neat device, especially if you have passive ribbon or dynamic mics, even a Shure SM57 or SM58. (Non-linear thought: If you're micing a snare with an SM57, try a Granelli G5790. It's an SM57 with a 90 degree angle that's a lot easier to position on a drum kit. These are local Baltimore guys.) The Cloud Lifter CL-Z allows you to continuously vary the impedance load the mic sees. That, of course, changes the sound of the mic; more flavors, more colors.



Shure
I've never seen so many in-ear phones! I asked Shure's Thomas Banks to run down the list and explain the differences. The Shure booth was very, very busy. I was concerned that all of the chatter around us would cover our comments. It's a little tough, but work with me here!



The Shure line (above) was very impressive. From the SE112 ($49), SE215 ($138.99), SE315 ($242.99), SE425 ($342.99), SE535 ($499), SE846 ($999), SHA900 listening amplifier ($999), and KSE1500 electrostatic earphones ($2,999.00) - there's a price point and feature set for everyone. (really? $3k? What must that sound like?)

My first thought was that one of these many in-ear drivers would be perfect for videographers who are also responsible for grabbing sound. Their problem is that even the small-ish Sony MDR 7506 headphones stick out too much and bang into the side of the camera when it's shoulder-mounted. NOT HELPFUL!! I hope to get around to trying some of these later to find out which model delivers sound similar enough to the MDR7506 to be useful in the location audio work I do. 

If you think Shure has been sitting on its laurels and watching the world go by, THINK AGAIN! This became apparent when Banks gave me a whirlwind (pun intended) tour of the Shure Motiv line of digital mics and new recording solutions. Please excuse the couple of places my camera decided to go soft focus. I may have had my finger over a focus sensor. I need to look into that. 



Banks showed me the Shure MVL lav, MV5, MV51, A free Motiv App, (a 24/48 recording software - check the App store), the MVi, MV88 Mid/Side stereo condenser with an amazing amount of control via the App in the above video. With these, Shure has definitely demonstrated that it's listening to "what the kids are saying."

That was my last stop of the second day and as the sun set over Manhattan, I walked back to the once grand (but not any more) Hotel Pennsylvania. OTOH, the Niles Restaurant a block south on 7th Avenue in the Affinia Hotel, was a great place to eat and drink.

The next day, as we trained from NYC back to Baltimore, I could only say that the AES Convention was, once again, great and showed me more than I expected. 
  
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Audio-Technica BP40 Large Diameter Dynamic Mic

December 30, 2015, 6:07 am
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Audio-Technica BP40 Dynamic Microphone
When I first saw the new Audio-Technica BP40 dynamic mic, I thought, "Hmm, looks like the love child of a Shure SM7 and an Electro-Voice RE20. A little longer than an SM7, but with a grille more like an RE20 or RE27N/D.

Large diaphragm (1.47") , hypercardioid pattern, humbucking coil, 6 dB/octave 100 Hz low frequency cut, integral pop filter, relatively high sensitivity - –48dB (3.9mV) re1V at 1 Pa, 450 Ohm impedance, 50-16,000 Hz frequency response, less than 1.5 pounds.

BP40 Capsule
Got it;
- diaphragm bigger than most LD condenser mics
- tight pattern

Looks like an on-air mic with kick drum possibilities. $349 on the street, which is about $100 less than an RE20.

On-air microphones have to handle close talking announcers, so stopping pops is essential. The BP40 has a 3/4" thick, replaceable foam pop stopper seen in the photo below. I unscrewed the headgrille and shot the below photo aimed back up towards the back of the foam.

Inside the BP40 Headgrille
Having a replaceable foam pop stopper is very useful and healthy, especially in radio stations where a cold can be quickly passed from person to person as they nuzzle the mic and change shifts. The BP40 headgrille simply unscrews, allowing you to change the foam and disinfect the headgrille. The headgrille also serves another purpose, it keeps the talent at least a specific distance from the diaphragm to prevent closer and more proximity effect from overwhelming the almost inch and a half diaphragm.

Radio DJs frequently like to "eat the mic" to take advantage of the bass building proximity effect that getting close to a directional mic produces. Working close also reduces bad room acoustics and noisy HVAC systems. Let's move to video for a comparison between the BP40 and RE27N/D.


In the above video shot in my studio, you can hear that the the pattern is tight as the graph below left indicates. There's a slight tail at 5kHz, but when you listen to the above video, while you might be able to hear it a little more than with the RE27N/D, I don't consider it a problem.

The BP40 has a humbucking coil to reduce the pickup of stray AC fields. I have an "AC Hum Hell Hole" in one spot here in the house. It's really tough on mics. especially ribbons and dynamics. There's a 200 amp AC service cable that runs down the outside of the house to the main panel in the basement. Inside, in my den, some mics begin to pick up the hum as far away as three feet from that wall. I got the BP40 all the way to the wall before I heard the faintest hum.

BP40 Polar Pattern
BP40 Frequency Response














My first career was 17 years in radio as an on-air talent and Production Director. That's a lot of time on mic; a five hour air shift and at least three hours of production, five days a week. Different stations have different mics. Your voice becomes a test tone. You learn a lot about mics. If you're still in radio production and have somehow missed Radio And Production magazine, check it out. Editor Jerry Vigil has been working hard for quite a few years to make RAP an oasis for radio production people.

Depending on the voice and delivery, you learn to use the variable frequency response caused by working the proximity effect of the mic. Above right, the frequency response graph of the BP40 works well for voice; the frequency response graph shows a nice little peak at just below 4 kHz. The 6 dB per octave bass cut shows the roll off begins at 200Hz. Again, in the above video, you can hear the effect. You may well need the Low Cut for big voice performers who like to eat the mic. Not a big voice? Then leave the Low Cut off and move in.

WTMD
WTMD Ops and Tech Manager Donnie Carlo
In order to get a wider scope on what the BP40 sounds like, I reached out to Operations and Technology Manager, Donnie Carlo, at WTMD. Carlo arranged to have me come in to the WTMD studios and also mentioned that one of their female air talent could help me by cutting some tracks. Carlo had an ElectoVoice RE27N/D and a Shure SM7 lined up for me. These are typical on-air mics. Perfect!

WTMD is a college station, attached to Towson University, but it's no ordinary "college radio station." Their programming and listener outreach is the best I've heard and seen. We're very fortunate to have them here in Baltimore. It's a Class B1 FM at 89.7 MHz with a power of 3 kW. Several years ago they received a grant that allowed them to move from the basement of one of the older university buildings to a new facility at 1 Olympic Plaza in Towson, MD. It's a beautiful facility with updated gear. I know many professional radio people who have never worked in a station as sweet as this.

She who will not be named @WTMD
We spent about an hour in Studio C using my voice and the voice of "the female talent who preferred to be unnamed" - how's that for mystery!? We recorded with the Audio-Technica BP40, Shure SM7 and ElectroVoice RE27N/D with the top EQ roll-off. I also recorded my voice back here at my studio using GML preamps and an RME ADI-8 DS A/D converter interface.

I found that, as with the RE20's Variable D design that minimizes proximity, the BP40 proximity effect didn't really kick in on my voice until I was two inches or closer.

Peavey International II kick and BP40
Drums
I had a music session here and used the BP40 on kick drum. I wasn't sure how the ten year old Peavy International II kit would sound. The kick is a 22" x 14", 9-ply basswood drum. (to the right.) I was very pleased by the the entire kit and the kick drum. The extra barrel with yellow label is a Shure A15AS variable pad set to -15 dB. The kick drum track below says more than my words can. See what you think.

Here are some files to check out. I think the BP40 holds up very well against these mics.

Ty Ford Voice BP40 w/GML preamp

Ty Ford Voice BP40 at WTMD

Ty Ford Voice RE27ND (with peak cut)

Ty Ford SM7 at WTMD (cover removed)

Female VO talent BP40 at WTMD

Female VO talent RE27ND at WTMD

Female VO talent on SM7 (cover removed)

Peavey International II Kick drum

In Conclusion
Like most Audio-Technica mics, the build of the BP40 is very solid. Having a quality, directional hypercardioid like the BP40 in your mic locker will serve you well. Based on my use of it, I'm guessing that it would work or horns, hand percussion and guitar amps as well. It would also probably tame banjos and fiddles.

Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved

Contact Ty Ford at www.tyford.com

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Samson XP106w Battery-Powered PA with 2.4 GHz Wireless and Bluetooth

January 19, 2016, 8:09 pm
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Reach Tom Blair at tb.blair51@gmail.com
Tom Blair, a good friend and client near Baltimore, called asking for some live sound/audio help.

In addition to writing, directing and producing a wide range of theater and video projects for his own clients, Tom spends most of the 4th quarter of every year playing Santa Claus at shopping centers, malls, gatherings and private parties. He may not traverse the globe in a sleigh, but he's become the local "go to guy" for Holiday Cheer.

That's a real beard and his costume is very upscale. 

Tom told me that recently he's been addressing groups of 100-200 people. Some of these venues may not have a full-time media wizard on hand to provide a mic or operate a PA. What Tom wanted was a self-contained system that would allow him to roll in, set up and go, without even using an AC outlet. I had seen some enterprising street musicians with small battery-powered speaker systems, but really hadn't had time to check any of them out.

Samson XP106W System w/Handheld Wireless Mic
I went to the B&H web site and searched for Portable PA System. The Samson XP106w looked promising and as a B&H Affiliate, I had one forwarded here. There were several things that appealed to me. 

It's sparse but also full featured
It weighs only 21 pounds
It has a two-way speaker system
The amp is 100 watts
It has four inputs
It has a 2.4Ghz USB dongle
It has Bluetooth
There's a balanced Aux out



Samson Stage XPD1Headset USB Digital Wireless System
Tom wanted hands free operation so even though the XP106w comes with a wireless hand-held mic, I also ordered the Samson XPD1 2.4 GHz wireless USB headset It's designed to work with the XP106w. 

It's a very simple system. To pair the transmitter with the USB stick receiver, you plug the USB stick into the USB connector at the third input on the back of the amp, power the amp up and push the pair button on the USB stick until it blinks. Then press and hold the on button on the wireless mic pack until the light stops blinking. 

Technophobes Pay Attention: You only need to do the above once. You can turn the system off, take the batteries out of the transmitter and when you put them back in and power up the amp and mic, the connection is restored. When the mic is turned on, it works.


Tom mentioned that he was working on a new character for a one man show. As he envisioned it, he might have some pre-show music and maybe a show starter to announce him before he came on stage. I hadn't really thought about that, but looking at the back of the XP106w, I noticed that the fourth input was for Bluetooth. 

There's a pair button on the top of the amp by the handle. Press the button. It blinks. I started Bluetooth on my MacBook Pro and it found the XP106w. I selected that and in about five seconds the audio from iTunes on the Mac was playing from the XP106w. I had to reduce the output of the laptop a little to get the best sound and to be able to turn the XP106w pot up more than "barely open." I was very impressed that the system operated so easily.

Input 1 has a combo XLR-1/4" connector, no Phantom Power. 
Input 2 has a mini 1/8" TRS jack and a 1/4" jack. 
Input 3 has the USB 2.4 GHz digital input.
Input 4 has the Bluetooth input. 

There's a push button for music/speech. In the speech position some of the low end is rolled off. 

The battery is a rechargeable Lead-Acid battery that claims up to 20 hours of use on a charge. There's a plug in power supply/charger. You can run on AC power or charge the battery but not both at the same time. With the power off, if you plug in the power supply a red LED lights on the back panel to indicate the battery is charging. When the battery is fully charged, the LED goes green. This is not a quick charging system. Plan ahead and you'll be fine. The manual also says, after use, charge the battery fully before you store the XP106w. The battery will slowly discharge, so you will probably want to recharge it again before using it.
Auray SS-4420 Steel Speaker Stand

I suggested to Tom that he get a good support stand. I found a sturdy tripod on the B&H site, the Auray SS-4420 Steel Speaker Stand, that holds up to 100 pounds. Maybe overkill for a 21 pound amp, but I hate wobbly support systems. You're only asking for trouble. The XP106w has a mounting hole in the bottom that slips right over the mast. There's a steel pin that goes through holes drilled in the mast to keep the mast from collapsing into the base.

IN CONCLUSION
As I was working with the XP106w, I thought about my imaginary life as a street musician and how much better it would be if I had this rig to be out there busking. Or for impromptu political rallies for the upcoming election. You could easily plug a guitar or any other instrument in and go for it. Wish my original Pignose was so well equipped.

© Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved
Reach out to Ty Ford at www.tyford.com

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Radial JDV MK5 (VERY) Active Direct Box

February 20, 2016, 8:38 am
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Peter Janis
I have been a distant fan of Radial for years. I've never used any of their gear, but seeing it, reading about it and holding the occasional piece in my hands left me with one impression - very solid stuff. 

I saw the JDV MK5, read the cut sheet and asked Peter Janis if he'd forward one for this review. Peter was my "go to" guy when he was working with Gefell Microphones. I had heard that there was something special about the nickle-membraned Gefell M294, M295 and M296 condenser mics. Indeed there was. If you want to read that review, you can download it here.

Vintage imp-2
DIRECT BOXES
There are hundreds of them out there, ranging from my vintage Whirlwind imp-2 passive direct box, from the early 1970s, which consists of a couple of 1/4" jacks on one end, an XLR on the other and a small transformer inside. Direct boxes are used to convert a high impedance, unbalanced guitar or other instrument into a a low impedance, balanced mic signal. A transformer is used to correct the impedance mismatch. It also balances the line and sends it out as a three conductor connection; either on XLR or TRS. A balanced, low impedance mic level signal can run over longer lengths* (see notes at the end of this review). For the high impedance output of a guitar or keyboard, best practices says cables shouldn't be longer than twenty feet.

You still might run into problems even if you do stay within twenty feet. There are small mixers that say you can plug a high impedance instrument right into them. Yes, in some cases, but in other cases, the circuits are very unforgiving and the gain structure is wonky and you end up with "TCS", total crap sound!
Radial JDV Mk 5 front and back panels

Radial JDV MK5 
At $449, the Radial JDV MK5 is not passive nor is it your average active direct box. The 14-gauge steel used in the chassis and outer shell let you know this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The JDV MK5has two channels, each with discrete, single-ended, Class A input circuitry, for electric or acoustic instruments. It is decidedly not a stomp box unless you get  the JR-2 footswitch. 

Seen below, the two switches are for MUTE on the left and A/B select on the right. The JR-2 ($99) connects to the device using a standard balanced audio cable with choice of ¼" TRS or XLR connections. The JR-2 is unique in that it derives its power from the device being controlled which in turn illuminates the on-board LED indicators to show the remote.
Radial JR-2 Remote Control

According to Paul Blake, in the support department at Radial, these switches allow you to switch an instrument plugged into input one to either input A or input B, should you want to change the sound of your instrument for different parts of a song. The JDV MK5 would sit on an amp or somewhere nearby; close enough to plug in your instrument(s). You would not normally need to adjust anything on it during a performance.

The front/back image of the JDV MK5 above indicates that this is a busy box. There are two separate 1/4" TS unbalanced jacks, one for each input. Each input has its own input level control. Each channel also has a variable high-pass filter. The PHAZER knob and switch on the right allow you to time-align the two inputs. This would be for situations in which youhad two pickups on the same instrument or a pickup and a strapped-on mic on the same instrument. The small switch below the knob lets you choose 0 to 180 degrees or 180 to 360 degrees. You then use the knob to align the two signals before the mono balanced XLR and other outputs.The other front panel adjustments are for compensating for different kinds of pickups. 

JDV MK5 Front Panel
Front Panel
Input A has a switch that changes the input impedance from 10 M Ohm for piezo systems to continuously variable DRAG for magnetic pickups. The continuously variable resistive DRAG control allows you to compensate for the load from 22K Ohm to 500K Ohm for passive pickups. Input B can be switched from 10 M Ohms for piezos to 220 Ohms, typically for magnetic pickups. 

I have a K&K Pure Western Mini (now called a Pure Mini) piezoelectric passive pickup installed in my D28S Martin, thanks to the gentle and intelligent hands of John Thurston before he abandoned Baltimore for an obviously better way of life at Guitar Tex, in San Antonio, TX. This is a great pickup choice for that guitar, especially for finger-style playing, because there's little if any quack. 

The Pure Mini isthree electronically paralleled piezo pickups mounted inside on the bridge plate. According to K&K, it wants to be plugged into a 1 Meg Ohm or higher input. Straight into my Fishman SoloAmp, it sounds better than I thought it would. I was curious about the Fishman SoloAmp 1/4" instrument input so I reached out to Derek Alves in the support department at Fishman. Alves confirmed that the input impedance of the 1/4" input is 5 Meg Ohm, so good to go for plugging straight in, but what about through the JDV MK5 and out its XLR to the Fishman SoloAmp?

I plugged the Martin into input A of the JDV MK5 and began to turn the drag control which requires a screw diver. The thought being that once you get it set, you don't want to accidentally change it. The D28S isn't as boomy as a regular D28, but it's still quite full. I found a position fully clockwise with the DRAG control - so, 500K Ohm, and about mid-point in the rotation with the high-pass filter thattucked in the bass a bit and the sound was more"finished", with a broader, flatter frequency response. At this point I was coming out of the JDV MK5's XLR out and into the SoloAmp XLR input. Nice!  

I expected more of a difference with tonality when adjusting the DRAG and other impedance switches. With my guitars the effects were very subtle. Regardless, the difference was mostly about gain. Full clockwise (500K Ohms) on the DRAG control was best; YMMV with different pickups. Turns out, if you have piezo pickups, you should stick with the 10 M Ohm input positions on the JDV MK5. The DRAG control was designed more for magnetic pickups. 

The effect of the high-pass filters were more noticeable. None of my guitars, the Martin D28s, Fender Thinline with humbuckers or Martin Grand J28-LSE Baritone with active electronics ever got close to exceeding the input level and I had any guitar and JDV MK5 gains turned all the way up; so plenty of head room.

JDV MK5 Back Panel
AROUND BACK
The back of the JDV MK5 is no less busy. There's a four pin locking XLR to bring power to the unit from the external power supply. 

The next connection is abalanced 3-pin XLR fed from a Jensen JT-11-YMPC transformer, designed to feed a live sound board or recorder. 

The next four controls grouped together under the Radial logo offer some savvy help.The first one flips the polarity 180 degrees. The second one lifts the ground on pin 1 of the XLR output. The third one inserts a Jensen JT-11-YMPC transformer to isolate the XLR output signal path. These two may help you deal with your good friends Hum and Buzz. The fourth bumps the JDV MK5 output up to +20 line level. 

Continuing across the back panel are the jack for the footswitch that allows muting and switching between the two channels and an always-on 1/4" unbalanced, high-impedance out that can feed a tuner, amp or other device. There are two 1/4" unbalanced instrument inputs, one for each of the two inputs. There's a separate 1/4" unbalanced THRU output normally used to feed a stage amp anda separate 1/4"balanced TRS jack for microphone inputs. 

PHANTOM POWER
The 1/4" TRS microphone input jack is only routed through the input A. It has 48 V Phantom Power. According to Blake at Radial, "With phantom power, the two 6.8K ohm resistors limit the current to phantom powered devices to 10mA." That's more than enough for the hungriest condenser mic.

An LED under the DRAG control on the front panel lights when Phantom Power is active. As a safety precaution, the Phantom Power turns off when the JDV MK5 is powered down and has to be re-engaged by the small push switch in the side panel upon power up.

Both my Neumann TLM 103 (23 mV/Pa) and Audio-Technica AE5400 (10.0 mV/Pa) condenser mics overpowered the mic input when worked any closer than a foot, lighting the O/D lights on the front panel. Engaging the 10 dB pad on the AE5400 dropped the signal below clipping. I really like the Audio-Technica AE5400 for live vocals. I reviewed it back in 2003 when it came out. It uses one half the capsule of an AT4050 and has a 10 dB pad and high-pass filter. I'd put it up there with a Neumann KMS 104 and KMS 105. If all you have is high-sensitivity condensers with no on-board pads, I guess you could add a pad to the mic cable. My Shure SM86 (3.15 mV/Pa) hand-held condenser worked just fine with no pad, requiring the input trim to be about halfway up at 12 o'clock. My vintage dynamic Sennheiser MD421 (2.0 mV/Pa) also did well, also at about 12 o'clock. 

I was easily able to plug a mic into input A and my guitar into input B, control the levels with input trim and alter the frequency response with the separate high-pass filters. Everything sounded just fine at mic level going into my Fishman 220 SoloAmp. I could have also chosen the +20 output on the side of the JDV MK5 and gone line level for recording or to a FOH console. 

DEEP INSIDE
Drilling down a bit more into the guts of this beast. It's very common to use negative feedback in a circuit to improve fidelity. Negative feedback is not the only way to go, but it's a very common way. The Radial JDV MK5 does not use negative feedback and achieves its performance with single-ended Class A circuitry. Class A circuits are usually less efficient,generate more heat and exhibit better high frequency performance and fewer higher-order harmonic problems.Here's a great rabbit hole about amplifier modes.

Radial bought Jensen in mid 2014, so they now own one of the best makers of audio transformers in the business. Bill Whitlock, the former President, said Radial was their biggest client and in as much as he was turning 70, he wanted to ensure that Jensen's good name would continue. Quality transformers may not seem to be that essential, but they are a very big deal. A little bit of finely-crafted iron can really smooth the edges of your audio. 
 
John Hardy

John Hardy makes high-quality mic preamps, including one of my all time favorites, the Jensen Twin Servo, and knows quite a bit about Jensen transformers and circuit design. "Most traditional audio transformers use core material that is 97% iron. Most of the Jensen transformers use core material that is 80% nickel. I know that "iron" is a commonly used term when referring to transformers generically, but I like to make the distinction that the best transformers use the 80% nickel core material. Nickel is much more expensive than iron, but it performs better." (and there we are, back at the magical properties of nickel. More about nickel here)

Being able to consistently and accurately turn out great transformers is very important. Hardy says. "EarlyJensen transformers were wound by Reichenbach engineering. They were good, but Jensen is now winding in-house withmore precisewinders, so the piece to piece consistency is even better."

IN CONCLUSION
I found the JDV MK5 to be a very well-made and versatile piece of gear. It does a lot of different things and could be expected to become the hub of a performing musician's cluster of gear. The solo performer could use it to simply control one vocal and a mono instrument to one mono output, or other more complex configurations. Please continue to scroll below the specs for more information.


Addenda

2/20/16: Just before I returned the JDV MK5, I noticed a strange little noise on the ring out of notes on input B. I sent word and an audio file to Ryan Juchnowski, Custom Shop Manager / Trade Show / Radial Technical Support. He said this was unusual and would get back to me. Keep an eye on this space for an update!

3/1/2016: This is what they had to say; “We had engineering test a few of the units off the shelf and found that sometimes, when the signal LED begins to dim/discharge, that the strange noise becomes present. Luckily this is an easy fix and we have changed the resistor values in all new units so that this intermittent problem has been eliminated. Should users find that this issue is present in units which they already own, all they need to do is contact customerservice@radialeng.com and in typical Radial fashion, they will be taken care of immediately.”


JDV MK5 SPECIFICATIONS




SIDEBAR
Hold on a minute! There is documented evidence that even running long mic level signals back to FOH mixers also results in signal degradation. Fortunately, the JDV MK5 can also run +20 line level. 

Years ago, I spoke with John Hardy for a review in MIX magazine. He recounted events at which Randy Ezratty's Effanel remote recording rig was used to record major concerts. They found that they got a better signal in the truck if racks of mic preamps were put on stage. Makes sense, right? Shorter mic to preamp runs sounded better than long mic runs. (Yes, they had to have an extra tech stage-side to oversee the mic pre levels.) The take away lesson was that if you're running long lines, it's better to have them at line level than mic level. 

Even if you do this in live sound, your mixer and speakers may not be good enough to let you hear the difference. I walked into a singer-songwriter event here in Baltimore one night and noticed an AKG C1000S set up for acoustic guitar. I thought the sound would surely suck, but to my great surprise it didn't!

I'm guessing that the PA company owner hadn't had his C1000S modified. It must have been the compromises of the PA system that scraped the edge off of the C1000S. If you have one, try it in the studio and for live PA and see for yourself. If you have an AKG C1000S and are in search of a mod, try Mark Fouxman at Samar Audio. Last time I checked, he was charging $169 USD for the mod. 

Hey, please subscribe to this blog. There are links up top on the right side for that. If you have questions......ASK!

Technique, Inc. © Copyright 2016 
Reach Ty Ford at www.tyford.com


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Audio Ltd. 1010 Digital Wireless Microphone

March 28, 2016, 9:10 am
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Audio Ltd. TX1010 xmitter
Some years back, as I was beginning to do more serious location audio work, I heard that Audio Ltd. made the best sounding analog wireless with the greatest range in the market; in particular their 2020 and then their 2040 series. I had been writing professional audio gear reviews for MIX, Radio World, Pro Audio Review, Pro Sound News and a few other trade magazines before the Internet caused the big trade magazine meltdown. What caused it? The immediacy of information and the loss of classified ads. I know, hard to believe, but those classified pages in the back of a magazine were solid gold. Anyway.......

I was very pleased by the 2040. Here's my 2040 review from back in 2007, they had the best sound and distance of any wireless I could find. Here are some 24-bit WAV files I recorded to a Sound Devices 744T.

The Audio Ltd. gear was not cheap; about $5K USD for a transmitter and receiver. They're made in the UK and had the reputation of needing a tweek now and then. That tweek usually meant a trip back to England; not all that convenient. By the time the Audio Ltd. slightly less expensive Envoy series was released they had redesigned the pieces so they could have circuit boards replaced here in the USA, and with minor adjustments, be returned to the owners a lot more quickly.

Audio Ltd. TX1010 xmitter with green slot for card.
Time passes and we find that the 
Audio Ltd. Skunk Works have been busy developing a new system. The Audio Ltd. 1010. The build on both transmitter and receiver are good. Solid metal - not plastic.

The Audio Ltd. 1010 is a digital wireless system, with an end-to-end latency of just two milliseconds. It covers 90 MHz of spectrum, from 470 MHz to 548 MHz or 518 MHz to 608 MHz, in banks, channels and fine tuned in 25 kHz steps to help you dodge the increasingly cluttered landscape, with a neat scanner in the receiver to help you find the empty spots. 

There is also a 594 MHz to 694 MHz range, but it will not be available in the US or Canada. One caution, a spot on a scanner may be empty one moment and quite busy the next. My only trivial complaint with the transmitter was that the battery clips are so "springy" that they would sometimes pop the batteries out when the door was open. 


Redding Audio's Scott Boland
When I mentioned that to Scott Boland at Redding Audio, distributors for Schoeps, Rycote, Voice Technologies, Cable Techniques, Peter Engh, Ambient Recording and Audio Ltd. in the USA, he reminded me that AA cells do vary in length, "Seems to be like the old 9V thing where Energizers and Duracell’s are a smidge different in length. I could get your alkalines that were left in the chamber when you returned the gear to pop out, but none of the other Lithium batteries I have here from all the pop brands did. It seemed that your battery + tip was a slice of a mm shorter."

The Audio Ltd. 1010 has been designed so that up to twenty systems can be operated within one TV channel. That, in itself, is somewhat remarkable. I was not sent enough systems to test this. Boland adds, "In the UK where their broadcast channels are 8 MHz wide, there's more room to fit more wireless. In the US we only have 6 MHz for a TV channel, so we can fit (15) 1010 systems in a US channel."

Audio Ltd. uses a proprietary codec to compress the audio and proprietary digital modulation scheme. It also provides selectable, four number encryption. Once the encryption is set at the transmitter, the receiver also needs to be manually set. The TX1010 transmitter, which comes with a snug neoprene case and mounting strap, runs on two AA batteries and can be set for 5 mW, 20 mW or 50 mW output. There's a ten step audio input gain control that ranges from 0 to -40dB. The high-pass filter can be set flat, 50Hz, 80Hz, 120Hz or 200Hz. Audio input is via a three-pin LEMO. I was told it's wired the same way as some Sennheiser three-pin LEMOS. The input will handle mic or line level signals and provides bias voltage for lavs and special bias for Schoeps CMR cables.

The data sheet says the transmitter can be operated up to five hours on two AA lithium batteries. I operated the transmitter at the highest output power, 50 mW, using Alkaline batteries and got two hours before the warning light began to blink and another twenty minutes before the transmitter shut down. Boland says, *Welcome to the world of digital wireless. Due to current drain, we don’t recommend Alkalines. When using any brand of digital wireless you must use NiMH as a minimum. Lithium are preferred. The reports back from the field so far is 4.5 hours with NiMH and anywhere from 5.5 to 7 hours with Lithium at 50 mW."

The OLEDs (Organic LED) are visible in the sun. The TX1010 display shows the block number and frequency simultaneously. You can easily switch between the US and EU block numbers.

The TX1010 has one feature guaranteed to catch the eye and ear of every sound location person. It records to a micro SD card in the transmitter, with "timecode capabilities", but I'm not exactly sure what those timecode capabilities are. If the signal doesn't make it to the receiver, you can pull the recording off the card in the transmitter. Brilliant! and a hat tip to Glenn Sanders at Zaxcom. (At present, there's a Zaxcom patent that may prevent the record feature from being enabled on any Audio Ltd. 1010 from sold in the USA.) That slot is also used for firmware updates.

No word yet on whether or not there are never-clip-like features in the wings for the 1010 although it does have a limiter, and the 1010 does not generate or transmit timecode. Engaging the limiter brought up the noise floor on the preproduction model I was sent, but I was also sent a - 9dB Sanken red band COS11 (for screaming opera singers and South American soccer announcers.) That meant I had to increase the sensitivity at the transmitter which brought up the noise floor. Enough so that when my soundie friend Bernie Ozol brought his bag out for a comparison, his Lectro Sm and SRb with a regular COS 11 were noticeably quieter. 

I reached out to Sanken, (Thanks, Sara at Plus24.net, actually) and she sent along another regular COS11 with a 3-pin Lemo to fit the Audio Ltd. 1010 transmitter. Once we got them lined up, the noise floor was identical in level. The spectra of the noise in the 1010 was a little higher in frequency; more of a "sssssss." The Lectro Sm was more "shhhhhh." Apart from that, both lavs were basically interchangeable for in terms of sound quality. 

DX1010 Receiver
Audio Ltd. DX101 Receiver
The DX1010 receiver is fully digital and is fully dual diversity with dual antennas and dual switching receivers. In addition, there is another layer of technology at work; Maximum Ratio Combining Diversity. So, in addition to choosing the stronger signal, the circuitry further amplifies the stronger signal and decreases gain on the weaker signal.

The Audio Ltd. DX1010 receiver also has digitally controlled front-end tracking filters. Its output can be switched from AES3 digital to line level analog. The analog output (+10 dBu max) can be reduced from 0 dB to -12dB, -24dB or -36dB as needed. 

Pressing and holding the outside two buttons flips the display which may be useful when bag mounting. The DX1010 receiver does not have a battery compartment. The receiver power spec is 6-18 V DC. Its outputs is a 25-pin D-sub Superset, Sound Devices, Panasonic/Ikegami adapter, with external DC input and audio output cables. 

The receiver displays the TX1010 transmitter battery status. You can scan the entire 100 MHz bandwidth of the unit or chop the scanner bandwidth into fourths to save time. The scanner continues to scan until you depress the central button on the three-button controls. There are a number of small LEDs on the DX1010 that must have something to do with the receiver; probably the dual diversity, but I didn't have documentation for them. 

IN USE
I had distance problems with reception at first with the 1010, but I write that off to how tricky the remaining spectrum can be in a metropolitan area; even in its suburbs. I remembered that a 300 kHz shift made all the difference when I was range testing the Audio Ltd. 2040. Eventually, my "standard walk test track", other wise known as a walk around the block in my neighborhood, equalled and exceeded the range I was getting with Bernie's 100mW Lectros, even though the 1010 transmitter was only putting out 50mW. As most experienced people will tell you, raw RF power may help you maintain a more solid workable RF field up close, but twice the power will not double your range. That's more the job of a well designed receiver and Audio Ltd. has a reputation for very well designed receivers.

Using the full 50 mW, I was able to get 130 yards in the clear, and with a hop over a neighbors solid wooden fence, out to 150 yards before the signal began breaking up.

I found one curiosity with the TX1010 transmitter. During my testing, we set it down on a folding chair and the audio began to misbehave. Under the padded seat of the chair was a sturdy metal pan bottom. It became apparent that the TX1010 transmitter does not like being placed on flat metal surfaces. Bernie's Lectrosonics SM worked fine on those same surfaces. 

REMOTE CONTROL
The TX1010 transmitter may be controlled wirelessly via Bluetooth, using the 1010TX app. I had problems at first with my iPad 3, but they were quickly solved with an update. After starting up the app, my iPad screen tells you its searching for transmitters. It will list them if Bluetooth is enabled in any TX1010 transmitters. You can name each transmitter with the app and that name is also transmitted to the receiver. You can put the transmitter in and out of standby to save battery power. You can also adjust transmitter input sensitivity and adjust the high-pass filter.

There were other icons in the menu bar of the 1010TX app. Some of them were active, but there was no explanation of their use or purpose. 

IN CONCLUSION
Audio Ltd. has been to enough rodeos with proven results. They understand how to make a product that is designed to work well. I think they've showed that with the 1010. It will be interesting to see how the firmware updates continue to evolve.

List price for the TX1010 transmitter is about $2,000 USD and $2,300 USD with the Voice Technologies VT500 omni wav. The DX1010 receiver is $2849 USD with adaptor.

Technique, Inc. © Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved.
Contact Ty Ford at www.tyford.com

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The CEDAR DNS 2 Portable Dialog Noise Suppressor --- The Sound Of Silence

August 17, 2016, 8:18 pm
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There were a few “Wows!” and even a few fluttering hearts at NAB 2016 when Independent Audio debuted the new CEDAR DNS 2 portable dialog noise suppressor. It was followed by a stinging sensation as a result of the $4K USD price tag. CEDAR has the well-earned reputation for making expensive ($10K to $50K, USD) but effective audio restoration and forensic noise reduction software and hardware devices and winning awards for them since 1989. 

Fraser Jones and Independent Audio Staff
Fraser Jones, head of Independent Audio, a distribution company here in the USA, has always had a keen eye and ear for audio gear, (and recently some video gear) as demonstrated by the names on the Independent Audio line card; Audessence, Audio & Design, Audio Developments, Coles, DACS, Merging Technologies, Pearl, Sonifex and Thermionic Culture.  Not what you might consider mainstream, but slightly boutiquey. It was no surprise to see CEDAR on that list. 

Eric Toline
Professional Sound Services
A CEDAR DNS 2 was making its way back up the east coast from Eric Toline at the Fort Lauderdale office of Professional Sound Services to Independent Audio in Portland, Maine and landed here for a few days. I quickly put together an ad hoc gathering of Washington and Baltimore Location Sound pros; Bernie Ozol, Jim Gilchrist, Len Schmitz and Jonathan Cohen answered back quickly and the date was set. 

Len Schmitz
These are four top shelf mixers with many years of experience and incomparable ears. Some of us, myself included, had watched a YouTube video demonstrating the CEDAR DNS 2 and were concerned that either YouTube encoding had compromised the audio or that better adjustments on the mic or DNS 2 would yield better results.

Bernie Ozol brought a 12 V DC battery, cup and female, four-pin XLR powering rig, so we wouldn’t be tethered by the wall wart that is included in the DNS 2. The two-channel DNS 2 has identical controls for each of its two channels.

Jim Gilchrist and Jonathan Cohen listen to playback.
The DNS 2 XLR inputs can be easily hard switched for Mic, Mic with 48 V Phantom Power or Line Level. The DNS 2 operates in 48 Khz, 24-bit mode, however, with external AES sync, it will lock to 44.1kHz, 48khz or 96khz, The DNS 2 also has an AES3/AES11 digital input and AES3 XLR connections.

Analog output from the DNS 2 via XLRs, is at line level only. That means the DNS 2 has a pair of preamps. Our first concern was the mic pres in the DNS 2. All five of us judged that the preamps were as good as the Sound Devices MixPre D we were using during these tests. Although we liked the sound of the preamps, we liked the idea of having a mixer for better control between the DNS 2 and the camera. Again, we’re location sound guys; of course we want more control. Several folks thought a headphone jack would have been nice, but we got along just fine with the headphone jack on the camera and on the MixPre D.

CEDAR DNS 2 Analog In and AES/EBU I/O
Gain range on the DNS 2 preamps is +18dB - +78dB. Dynamic range: >102dB (at 36dB gain). Each channel has its own independently switchable Phantom Power supply. The line input nominal level is +4dBu with 20dB headroom. 

Gain range is a very wide -6dB to +54dB with a dynamic range of > 102dB. The DNS 2 runs on 8VDC to 17.5V DC (nominal 12V) and consumes 4.0 to 6.0 watts. The DNS 2 is about the size of a Cracker Jacks box and weighs just over a pound. It has strap poles on the face that allow it to be  connected to other gear or a sound bag. 

CEDAR 4-pin XLR Power and Line Level Analog Output
TEST RANGE
Our first chain was CMC641>DNS 2>MixPre D>JVC HM650. We later went CMC641>MixPre D>DNS 2>JVC HM650 but heard no appreciable difference. 

The analog input level was already set very well for the Schoeps CMC641, so we didn’t have to touch that. The input sensitivity level can be easily adjusted by depressing the SetUp button and spinning the control knob.



CEDAR DNS 2 Front Panel
I live in Baltimore Country. An arc of the I-695 beltway semi-surrounds me from about a mile away. As a result, I can easily hear a constant low level pad of distant internal combustion machines. More locally, the cicadas were singing nicely the morning we did our tests. The Light Rail was running and we also had the occasional car-by and flights to and from BWI Airport. We also ran a test with an umbrella sprinkled by water from a hose while micing from below. 

The “Learn”  procedure is very simple. Hit the “Learn” button. It can be turned off or left on. We chose to leave it on most of the time. The Noise Reduction control is variable from 0 to -20. After SetUp and Learn, you simply engage the filter and use the rotary control to vary the amount of noise reduction.

I couldn’t find latency figures for the DNS 2, but Cedar’s DNS1500 sports a latency figure of Ten Samples; not milliseconds, but samples. My guess is that this short a latency figure is due to the zippy SHARC processors and Cedar’s algorithm. The DNS 2 is designed with 24-bit A/D and D/A conversion with 40 bit processing resolution and 1.2 GFlops (Floating Point Operations Per Second). That may not be a lot given where computer power has gone and continues to go these days, but it’s pretty damn fast. The result; a very powerful tool.

A Schoeps CMC641 with Schoeps B5D and Rode Dead Kitty was set on a locked down boom. We shot to SD cards in my JVC HM650 HD camcorder and did a few playbacks. We didn’t have enough headphone outputs to go around, so we share shared a pair of Sony MDR 7506 and Audio-Technica ATH-M50 as we shot and took the card down to my studio to listen for more detail over my Event Opal monitors.

Our first test was determining how much cicada noise we could reduce. Even before that, engaging the noise reduction dropped the distant mostly low frequency beltway noise right out. In most of our tests, the best results were when the noise reduction knob was midscale, somewhere between three and seven. Any more than seven and we could hear artifacts or the background would drop out so completely that the voice sounded like we were recording inside. That was eerie and surprising, At some point, when reduced to excess, the voice sounded like the person was talking through a tube.



While one of us was on-camera, talking for the test, the rest of us were making side comments off mic. Those comments were louder than the background noise, but not by much. As we increased the amount of noise reduction, those voices began sounding “watery.” If you were shooting a scene in a noisy location and wanted human “walla” in the background, this would be a problem. The “walla” didn’t sound right.

There was a general consensus among the five of us that use of any noise reduction required extremely astute listening. Astuteness that might not be easy on location and being close enough to the talent to have their voice “in air” adding to what we were hearing even with the closed back Sony and Audio-Technica headphones.

Jim Gilchrist came up with a good solution if you’re recording double sound. Use a spare track on your mixer/recorder and feed the noise reduced audio to that track and perhaps feed that to the camera as well. Also record a track without the noise reduction in case post has a problem with the processed track.

We all felt that putting both unprocessed and processed tracks on a camera was asking for trouble because of the opportunity for post to simply mix them together. That not only can happen, it has happened. If you’re doing all of the work yourself, then have at it!

Next was the “Umbrella Test.” Since it was not raining, I used a garden hose. We repositioned the boom to below the talent, aimed up at the umbrella. As such the CMC641 was hearing the talent and all of the umbrella above the talent’s head quite well. Again, we were all very impressed by how well the DNS 2 pulled the low frequency background noise as well as the voice out of the rain noise. And, again, moderate settings seemed the best. 



These two tests demonstrated the ability of the CEDAR DNS 2 to learn a fairly complex but consistent noise pattern and cancel it so well without the “underwater” artifacts most noise reduction devices create when pushed too far.

In some cases, when more Noise Reduction was applied, there was a spooky kind of feeling. We knew we were outside, but the audio was so quiet that it sounded as though we were inside. Just past that there was point there was a slightly phased “tubular” sound, as though the voice was speaking through a cardboard or plastic tube in between the voice and the microphone. 

Bernie Ozol (L) and Len Schmitz (R) set up an interior shot
Our indoor test was less dramatic. We set up in my living room, the room with the most echo in the house and positioned the mic first a proper distance and then purposely two feet away to get some room ring. While not a miracle worker, we were impressed by how much room the DNS 2 could wring out of the audio. I didn’t have time to test the DNS 2 in a really large hall to see how well it might extract large room sound.


Jonathan Cohen echoed Jim Gilchrists thoughts, "This gear raises the question of how much we, as sound mixers/recordists, should be effecting the audio we record. I broached this same question many years ago to a CAS forum; where do we draw the line on 'artistic license?' Is it our job simply to record the cleanest audio tracks possible and let Post do the boosting and cutting and effecting? Lastly, and I only thought about this today, I would like to have heard how it handled clothing noise on hidden lavs. Does this magic box work well on this too?"

As we wrapped, we talked about using the CEDAR DNS 2 on the set. At $4k USD, close to the price of one high-end wireless system, how would we charge a producer for that? If we brought it along and found it got us out of a jam, we could let the producer hear the before and after. If the producer approved the noise reduction, we thought a $100 USD charge would be nominal. Would they be prepared to pay the extra hundred? If so, it would take forty uses to pay for it. If the producer already had noise reduction capabilities in post, then he/she might not want us to use it in the field, for the extra cost and that we might use it too aggressively. Our final thought was that in the right hands and in the right situations, the CEDAR DNS 2 would be a winner, even if it was in post. In the wrong hands with the wrong ears, not so much.

Incidentally, there is an eight channel, CEDAR DNS 8. The DNS 8 was originally an AC powered device, but now also has four-pin,12 V DC powering. The DNS 8 costs $10K, USD.

CEDAR DNS 8 Live Hardware Dialogue Noise Suppression

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Audio-Technica AT8024 - Good Things In Little Packages

July 18, 2017, 4:52 pm
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Audio-Technica AT8024 on a JVC HM 650
The landscape is littered with little “shoe mics”; those mics designed to slip into the hot or cold shoe of a DSLR or other digital camera. 

Each time I see one, I look for improvements in sound, suspension mount and ease of use. Today I’m looking at the Audio-Technica AT8024, which comes complete with separate foam and very effective furry wind covers and lists foronly $249.

The stereo signal from the AT8024 is derived from a set of electret condenser Mid/Side capsules; a front-facing mono capsule and a side-facing figure of eight capsule behind it. That bulge at the base of the interference tube is where the two side-facing capsules sit. 

AT8024 Body and Switches
One of the switches on the AT8024 has three positions; Off, Stereo and Mono. In Mono, the mic employs the Mid capsule only. In stereo, the mic uses both Mid and Side capsules and has a internal matrix that provides a fairly narrow stereo pattern to the 1/8” TRS plug.

These features allow the AT8024 to be used with cameras with either a 1/8” mono or stereo input jack. This is a real problem solver because some DSLR cameras have a mono input and some have a stereo input. Pugging a standard mono mic into a stereo input often results in the audio going only to one channel in the camera. No problem, just switch to Stereo. Switching to Mono puts the center capsule audio on both the tip and ring and results in Mono.

AT8024 Pop-out Battery Sled

The mic is powered by one AA cell that lasts for 80 hours. The pop-out sled is very well designed and easy to use. The green LED indicates that the mic has been switched on. When the LED turns red, it’s time to change the battery. 

In every audio forum I participate in, including the Creative Cow Audio forum I lead, are warnings about camera-mounted microphones. As a professional location sound practitioner, I know that the best spoken word audio recordings happens with the microphone within 18” of the person talking, with the right boom mic, a boom operator and a mixer to feed the camera or record separately. Once you get more than two feet away from the talent, most of the quality of the even the best mics begin to fade. I was, therefore, impressed by how well the AT8024 fared.

Built-in, on-camera mics have two additional problems. First, they conduct even the most casual handling noise and that noise becomes part of the recording. My JVC HM 650 camera, which uses SD cards, has a very distracting fan motor noise that is conducted through the body to the built-in mic. In addition, if the camera operator talks or makes noise, the mic will pick up those noises. Second, I don’t know many camera manufacturers who use really good capsules for an on-camera mic.

To reduce handling noise, you need a separate mic with a suspension mount that isolates the mic from the camera body. The AT8024 has that and it’s sturdy and simple. As my video demonstrates, while there is some hand noise transfer, it’s extremely small compared to the built-in camera mic. 


There’s a switchable, 12 dB/octave, 80 Hz low frequency roll off to reduce low frequency noise. There are also a 10 and 20 dB pad. These pads are very useful for run and gun shooting in wildly varying volume levels. Yes, you do have to figure out the best gain staging for camera and mic levels, but being able to knock 20 dB off at the mic should let you get in front of some pretty loud machinery or a rock band without clipping.

HOUSE CONCERT HELPER
I recorded a set by “The Old Part of Town” at Edith May’s Paradise, a house concert venue in Jessup, Maryland. I was about 20 feet from the stage, used the 10 dB pad and had no problems capturing sound from the amps, acoustic instruments and PA. The AT8024 has a very pleasant sound with music. If you find it a bit too organic, running the audio through a limiter in post and just catching the peaks can put a nice polish on the track. I didn’t do that for this particular clip.


A 20 dB LIFE SAVER
My good friend Brian Glock helped me test the AT8024 during the Towson, Maryland July 4th Parade. He had the AT8024 set at -20 dB and the camera audio input set to Auto for this clip. He was doing lots of run and gun that day and didn't have time to manually adjust the camera audio. Drum and bugle corps by their very nature are VERY LOUD and the horns are frequently "blatty." The Auto feature on Brian's camera cranked the volume up and I think I can hear some of its processing, butwhen I pulled the waveform up, I only saw one flat top.


OUT & ABOUT
We also tested the AT8024 at Atwater’s, a local soup and sandwich shop. At a distance of 18 inches, you can hear that the ambient noise is distracting against a normal speaking voice, so, as always, there are limitations. 


IN STUDIO
Meanwhile, down in my acoustically treated studio, the AT8024 surprised me by how well it sounded at distances of three feet or more.

WIND PROTECTION
I could talk all day about how good or bad the custom made AT8024, wind protection accessories are. In a word, they are invaluable. Here’s some outside footage that confirms how well the foam and especially the fuzzy work.



Capsule frequency response is smooth and the the mono and stereo patterns behave nicely.

                         



IN CONCLUSION
Down to the small hook at the base of the mic that allows the cable to be snugged close to the body to keep it from flapping around, the AT8024 is an example of thoughtful design. If you do need a camera-mounted mic, look hard at this one for the above reasons. And at $249 for mic, foam and fuzzy, what’s not to like?

Technique, Inc. © 2017 All Rights Reserved


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Aston Origin Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone

October 11, 2017, 7:04 pm
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Aston Origin and Spirit
Both the Aston Origin ($299) and the Aston Spirit ($449) have been out a while. My life intervened and demanded that I do other things. I’m back, I think, and thanks for your patience. The first Origins and Spirits, delivered just before my life left the road for parts unimaginable, were pre-production models. They arrived Pin 3 High. When I alerted the company, they told me that these were just pre-production models and the production models were Pin 2 High.

I was then sent production models, an Origin and a Spirit, both Pin 2 High. This time the Spirit worked with my Sound Devices 442 and 664 Mixers and my GML 8304 Classic preamps, but not with the mic input on my JVC HM650 camera. There the signal would waft in, stay for a few seconds and then waft out for a few seconds and repeat. It’s the only time my camera has shown such a problem. I reported it to Aston and they were very interested to find out what THAT was about. Perhaps it was something in the input topology of the camera preamp, but the Origin worked fine, so it had to be something to do with that particular Spirit. A new Spirit was sent and works quite nicely with the camera. Maybe the current requirements in the Phantom circuitry of the wafting Spirit were somehow on the hairy edge. Aston said 4mA was a good feed for the Spirit, which the JVC is capable of. My Schoeps CMC641 need 4 mA and they work quite well into my JVC HM650 camera. Go figure.

Both the Origin and Spirit are large diaphragm, externally polarized, studio condenser microphones. I’m a member of the “Brighter Is Not Better” club. These mics are not over the top bright. They’re just, well, solid. More on the Spirit later. In this review I want to focus on the Origin.

Moving On
SMT on Origin Circuit Board
It’s obvious that Aston has taken great care to do a bang up job on this mic. Per Aston’s website, they did a notable amount of listening research with double blind testing on capsules and associated PCB boards. After the larger group vetting, five final capsules were chosen after more vetting, and then they narrowed the combination down to one for each model. The Origin is solidly built and has some nice features. The Origin circuit board uses state of the art SMT (Surface Mount Technology) and everything looks quite tidy under the hood. 


Rubber-Lined Shell
The inside of the body shell is lined with a section of black rubber sheeting to reduce body resonance. A clever steel mesh and inner screen sit inside the wavy outer headgrille, providing RF and pop protection. The mesh continues across the top of the mic. 


Double Mesh Headgrille
Origin Capsule Front
The Origin features a one inch, center-terminated, large diameter diaphragm with a transformerless output. Lots has been written about how edge-termination and center-termination affect the sound of a mic. Because of the other design differences in play, the decision as to which one is better is far from clear. Aston seems to have gotten it right in how they implement the center-terminated capsule.

The Origin capsule sits on a flexible yoke. (Note the cable tie at the base of the flexible capsule post.) It's supposed to help in isolating the capsule from the frame. My Neumann U 89 i “boinked” louder than both the Origin and Spirit when directly tapped. The base of the capsule is flat and metallic. That would normally be a reflective surface, yet I don't hear any obvious reflections. Perhaps the mesh provides enough diffusion to prevent that.

Origin & Spirit w/Triad-Orbit M1-R Adapters
Both the Origin and Spirit bodies are made with a standard 5/8” threaded socket in the base to allow for mounting to a boom arm or mic stand. Unless you have adapters on your stands, boom arms with adapters, or something like a Rycote Lyre suspension mount, this limits the ease of placement for these mics. The Rycote Lyre suspension mounts are very functional, but I find they take up a lot of space and are a bit fussy for positioning LD studio condenser microphones. Placement is, well, EVERYTHING, so, what do you do? 

Triad-Orbit M1-R
Atlas Swivel Mount
I have several Atlas Sound SB 36W mic stands with triangular bases on wheels. At the end of the boom there’s a swivel mount knuckle with a four inch stub and a standard 5/8” thread. This allows mics to be positioned very precisely. 

Atlas used to make 5/8” to 5/8” knuckle adapters for smaller boom arms that have a 5/8" thread, but unfortunately quit making them some time ago. I found some very nice adapters at Triad-Orbit, a US company in Kingston, Washington. They make a wide variety of stands, arms and associated hardware. The Triad-Orbit M1-R was perfect for the Aston microphones, allowing me to attach them to my smaller DR Pro mic stand boom arms that have the standard 5/8" stub. The MR-1 provide an excellent way to position these mics so you can get them exactly where you want them.

The Origin’s 23.7 mV/Pa Sensitivity is .7 dB hotter than the Neumann TLM 103. That makes them two of the hottest mics on the planet. The Origin has a selfnoise of 18 dB-A weighted versus 7 dB-A for the TLM 103. Comparing the Origin and TLM 103 in the quiet of my studio, I could hear the difference in selfnoise, but it didn’t sound as great as 11 dB. Yes the .7 dB extra sensitivity mitigates some of the selfnoise difference, but not 11 dB worth. The shape of the selfnoise of the two mics is also slightly different. The Origin has a bit more high frequency content than does the TLM 103; a SSSS as compared to a SHHH.

I have a AA battery-powered wall clock in the studio. It ticks very quietly every two seconds. The selfnoise of the Origin almost masked the ticking. The lower selfnoise of the TLM 103 revealed the ticking quite plainly. This begs the question of how quiet a mic has to be. If you’re recording rock and roll with amps turned up to eleven, I don’t think you’ll notice the selfnoise. How did the "back-in-the-day" masters deal with a 17 dB-A selfnoise? Analog tape hiss did a great job of masking the selfnoise.

If you check out the polar response of the TLM 103, you’ll see that the front lobe stays very constant from 125 Hz to 8 kHz. I’d call it a “generously wide and uniform” cardioid pattern. Both mics getting more narrow over 8 kHz. A simple Hiss Test reveals that the TLM 103 pattern is wider around 6kHz than the Origin. Past about 25 degrees each side of center, the HF response of the Origin begins to roll off. The TLM 103 goes wider, almost to about 70 degrees with very soft shoulders. There are no awkward lobes of noise or phase anomalies at the shoulder of the Origin pattern; the highs just go away. 


As the diagrams below indicate, on the low end, the Origin begins to roll off at about 125 Hz. The TLM 103 at 70 Hz. Both mics begin to rise at about 3 kHz. The TLM 103 gets up a bit faster, hitting +4 at 6 kHz. The Origin gets to +4 at about 10 kHz. I've had more than one vocalist with excessive energy at 6 kHz when they bear down on a note for emphasis – enough so that I need to pull that energy out with parametric EQ to keep them from sounding harsh. I didn't have them here to test the Origin, but I'm guessing that I'd have to pull down a bit less.

The TLM 103 hangs on to 15 kHz before dropping to -4 dB at 20 kHz. The Origin begins to fade at about 11 kHz and drifts down at a less severe angle to 20 kHz. At the end of the day, the TLM 103 should be brighter and will have more bass. In the Hiss Test, the differences in high frequency response were negligible, perhaps because the low end of the TLM 103 was filling in more of the lower frequencies.

TLM 103 Frequency Response
Aston Origin Frequency Response
Because the Origin has a center hot spot for high frequencies, you may be able to take advantage of it by turning the mic directly toward or slightly away from the source to increase or decrease the high frequencies it picks up.

Aston Origin Polar Response

You can hear that in the video below as I check out the polar pattern and frequency response of the mic and compare it to a Neumann TLM 103.


I’ve spent over thirty years doing voicework for radio and for numerous freelance projects with a lot of critical listening. As a result, I can tell a lot about a mic using just my voice. The voice doesn’t have those upper frequencies, though, and because of that, I turn to my acoustic guitars. In this case, I used my D28s Martin. The standard D28 has a huge bottom. The D28s is much more balanced across the strings. You can hear that as I try different positions with the Aston Origin in the above video. On my MacBook Pro speakers, the low end sounds slightly overdriven due to the limitations of the speakers. As more and more work is done for small speaker playback, we need to be more careful about EQ. 

Josh Polak With The Grand J-28 LSE Martin
Josh Polak has been here recording a CD project. I was comfortable enough with my experience with both the Origin and Spirit to use them to record Josh. I had Josh play as I moved the two mics around while listening to a pair of Sony MDR 7506 until I got the right stereo image. I had the Spirit in cardioid. He used my now discontinued Grand J-28 LSE baritone Martin for several pieces. Its strings are 17-70 and I keep it tuned at least four semitones below standard E-e guitar tuning. As such, it has a huge sound. I had to pull the mics a bit farther back than with a standard acoustic six-strings to capture it properly. As shown in the picture, here's Josh playing the Martin with both Origin and Spirit mics deployed for a stereo capture. 

In The End
What we have here is an underpriced mic. The Origin is a mic that’s performing above its retail price and is well-designed enough to be used on a variety of sources. This doesn’t happen that often! Thanks again for your patience and please subscribe to this blog and my YouTube channel. Keep an eye out for my review of the Aston three-pattern Spirit. 

Copyright 2017 © All Rights Reserved
More information at www.tyford.com
Thanks to Kathy Phelps for her editing help. We are still not in agreement with one sentence. Find it and win a nickel!
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AES - NYC 2017 Part 1

November 3, 2017, 11:21 am
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Big Time Building on NYC/s West Side
Autumn in New York City. Great weather for walking the 11 blocks to the Javitz. We stayed at the Stewart Hotel on 7th Avenue which was on the AES short list and enjoyed the Niles restaurant within the hotel.
Stewart Hotel Lobby

Even from our 17th floor room overlooking 7th Avenue, the noise of New York was plainly audible. I had my own ear plugs with me, but noticed that the hotel had provided two pair in the desk drawer. The Stewart Hotel web site gave an "enhanced" impression of what the rooms were like. They were clean and well maintained but a lot smaller than those rooms shown on their web site. 

The Javits Center is perched on the west side of town overlooking the Hudson River. Until 2015, that part of town has been somewhat isolated because there was no subway service. Clearly, if you build it (the mass transit system) they will come. At AES 2015, I reported the opening of the 7 Train stop, a block south of the Javits. As I walked the 7 Train stop and on to the Javits this year, I was taken by the large scale and very tall developments being built. 

The sight reminded me of flying into Las Vegas one year for NAB and seeing the recently completed Luxor Hotel languishing in the middle of nowhere. One year later, it was completely surrounded by other buildings that ran all the way to the ever-expanding Las Vegas metropolis. BOOM!

AES Show Floor
Next year, October 2018, the AES will NOT be in LA or SF. It will be back at the Javits. This breaks a long standing tradition of AES shows bouncing from coast to coast each year. Why? I think the Internet has finally begun taking its toll on trade shows.

NAB Show Floor
This was also the first year for the NYC NAB show at the Javits at exactly the same time as the AES show. The show floors were right next to each other with a connecting concourse. One ticket got you into both show floors. Huddling together for warmth?

Per the shots to the left taken Thursday afternoon, the AES floor was a lot busier than the NAB floor. Did bridge, tunnel and parking fees keep local and regional people away? Hard to say. I heard the Friday attendance figures were much higher. Maybe there was too much work during the week and some took an early weekend on Friday.
AES and NAB join forces

Some folks said the NAMM show is now the big west coast audio show and that pro audio has combined with the more MI (Musical Instrument) market segment that NAMM used to attract. BTW, going forward, AES will fold into NAMM on the west coast. The January 25-28, 2018 NAMM show at the Anaheim Convention Center will include the AES. And the AES will join NAB again in 2018 at the Javitz Center October 17-20.

AES Exhibit Entrance
WHAT ABOUT
THE TOYS?
Sorry for the preamble, but it's all part of the experience for me.  Yes, the AES exhibit hall was buzzing with new circuits, hardware and software. As I entered, the first booth I walked into was Avid's. I'm a Pro Tools user, always looking for something new to help me in my workflow. I saw a lot of plugins dealing with mastering and surround. I'm not so much interested in them at the moment, but something else caught my eye.

Audionamix @ AES
Audionamix. They make a line of software that allow you to change the vocal and music levels in mixed audio. It lets you change the level of melody instruments in a mix. I don't have a need for this technology at the moment but maybe you do. There are six versions of the ADX software; ADX TRAX, ADX TRAX PRO, ADX TRAX SP, ADX TRAX PRO SP,ADX VVC and ADX SVC. Here are their online demos. They sound pretty impressive, but I always wonder how long it took them to find the perfect material to make the demo shine, and how long it took for them to do the work to make the demo sound as good as these do.

Stepping out of the Avid booth, my next destination was the Manley booth where I ran into EveAnna Manley and her new $3,780.00 Manley Silver Reference studio mic. I'll let EveAnna tell you about it. If everything works out, I may be reviewing this one.


My next stop was Mark Fouxman at the Samar booth. Mark makes special ribbon mics and transformers. This year he also came to the show with two new mics and mic isolation gear that aren't even on his web site yet; one for a mic, one for a mic that includes acoustic decoupling of the XLR connector and one called Omni Puck that can be used to isolate mic stands from the floor or as a very nifty drum head absorber. Check out our conversation for the details!



David Bock's booth was not far. I had reached out to him earlier this Fall and he told me about the Bock 67, his newest studio condenser. Again not even on his web site yet!! Here's what he had to say about it.


Anyone who uses professional mics is aware of Lundahl transformers. I was surprised to see Per Lundahl himself at a booth and stopped by to ask him a question about toroidal transformers that I've been researching this year. If you're a designer or manufacturer, check out the Lundahl web site for more information.


One of the things I like best about AES is that you just never know what or who you'll run into. I've managed to encounter Les Paul and his son, George Massenburg and folks I meet online in the many forums in which I participate.

It's not always about main stream pro audio. Paul Ackel of Ampridge was showing an intriguing small shotgun mic that can be matched with a smartphone. There are film festivals for films shot only on cell phones. Here's a very incomplete list

https://filmfreeway.com/InternationalMobileFilmFestival

http://ifcpc.com

https://momofilmfest.com

http://www.lcifilmfest.com/72hour-cell-phone-film-contest/

Here's Paul to show you how this little sucker works,



Paul also had a nifty little Blue Tooth clip on omni mic; The Mighty Mic W+. I can see that being useful for many things, including SAG-AFTRA members who sometimes do selfies to audition for film roles. Mics with cords don't work because the cords are cumbersome and sometimes too short. You link to your phone, clip the mic on yourself, start an app and hit the record button. Check it out.


More next time from Alan Hyatt at Trident Audio Developments who has a new console. A brand new mic from Eric Blackmer at Earthworks. An 8 channel 3D mic array from Schoeps' Helmut Wittek. A digital wireless hand-held mic and a mini wireless body mic from Glenn Sanders at Zaxcom. A new console from Todd Humora at API. David Jones from RackFM with a new way to rent your outboard effects gear to anyone anywhere in the world that's very ingenious. More wireless technology from Karl Winkler at Lectrosonics. A variable impedance front end from Roger Cloud at Cloud Mics. Innovations in mic stands and mounting hardware from Ryan Kallas at Triad-Orbit. Next time.

Please consider subscribing to my blog and youtube channel. And please let me know if there's something out there that you'd like to see me review.

© Copyright 2017 Technique, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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AES - NYC 2017 Part 2

November 16, 2017, 6:01 pm
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Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!
By thursday, day two of the AES show, crowds were lining up at the on site Starbucks to prepare for another assault on the AES Exhibit Hall at the Javitz Center.

As I mentioned in the first of this series, NAB - NYC was in the space adjacent to the AES Exhibit Floor. Plenty to see. Next October, AES will be back at the Javitz, and will not be on the West Coast until the January NAMM show.

This year I was pleased to find a greater number of "so new we haven't even priced it yet" gear. The Triad-Orbit Starbird mic stand was one. This is a reversioning of the original George Starbird stand from the 1960s. Updated parts, new well-implemented ideas, bringing this stand into this millennium, not only for microphones but also for lights and cameras.

As demonstrated in the video below, this stand is designed with a pneumatic lift, so when you have heavier mics or other gear at the end of the boom, you just twist the clutch open on the mast and it slowly rises as a result of pneumatic pressure. Very useful and very cool.


Next is an accessory piece from Cloud Microphones. I reviewed and had some helpful design comments with their JRS34 a few years ago. Roger has a box that I'd heard about but hadn't had my hands on yet; The Cloud Lifter Zi. The Cloudlifter Zi is a phantom-powered box that incorporates variable impedance control into an active DI for low output balanced mics, guitar players, bass players, keyboard players. The Zi provides up to +25dB of gain for XLR microphones and lo-z sources and up to +15dB for 1/4” instruments and other hi-z sources, via the Neutrik combination dual-input connector and Hi-Z to Lo-Z CineMag instrument transformer. I'll let Roger tell you more about it.


Lectrosonics has been a major player in location sound for many years. Leave it to them to respond vigorously to the changes in technology and the market. One of their new systems is the M2R and M2T wireless in-ear monitor or IFB. Here's Lectro's Karl Winkler to tell you more about it. 



Now for something completely different. Still in Beta testing as of October 2017,  RackFX empowers you to hook up with a studio somewhere across the Internet and send them files to be processed by their equipment, then the files are sent back to you. This includes the idea of using a certain mic and a certain amplifier AND being able to move the mic in front of the amp to get the sound that makes your "happy light" turn on. Watch as David Jones of RackFx.Com walks me though this new concept.



Not for the faint of heart or shallow of pocket, The API Legacy AXS console begins at $200k. It's obviously for "grown up" recording facilities, or kids with way too much money. Listen, though, as Todd Humora walks us through the "High Cotton" of this great console.



From the "Ain't seen nothing quite like that" department, Here's Zaxcom's Glenn Sanders with the Zaxcom ZMT3-HH hard-wired, wireless mic that even has its own recorder. What!? A wireless hand-held mic with an XLR connector for hardwiring? Then, Glenn gives us a tour of what's new with the Zaxcom DEVA 24.  Glenn's mic was feeding a small amp and speaker in his booth and, unfortunately, you can hear some of the cancellation depending on where we were standing. (Sorry)




Zaxcom takes first and second place in the ASNQLT department with the new ZMT recording body mic. (below) So amazingly small, yet so feature packed.


Schoeps MiniCMIT
As I wrap up this report I need to mention a few items I saw that you should know about.

First is the Schoeps MiniCMIT miniature shotgun microphone. It runs on 12, 24 or 48 V DC Phantom Power. I haven't heard it yet but hope to soon. At $2K USD, you probably won't see many of them out there, but they may be just the ticket for some discriminating buyers with discriminating ears.

TASCAM DR-701D
The TASCAM DR-701D is a four track recorder that also has two additional internal mix tracks plus SMPTE Time Code in and out.

It has four XLR/TRS inputs with Phantom Power, dual built-in omni mics, brackets on top and bottom for DSLR mounting. It records to SD, SDHC, or SDXC cards up to 128 GB and can be recorded at resolutions of up to 24-bit, 192kHz. 

In addition to the four XLR/TRS inputs, a 3.5mm stereo mini-jack input with optional plug-in power is provided for connecting an external stereo mic. DR-701D audio signal can be output to an external camera or recorder from the HDMI OUT or line output all for a ridiculous $449.99 USD!

sE RNR1 Ribbon Microphone
The sE booth was very interesting. This RNR1 ribbon microphone caught my eye. (How could it not!)

It's the first mic Rupert Neve has designed and will be part of the sE Rupert Neve Signature Series. It's a straightforward figure of eight pattern with a high-pass filter. It's touted as having a frequency response approximately 3 times wider than competing ribbon mics, giving it a performance similar to a condenser mic. Again, I did not hear this mic but would very much like to. By comparison, The Audio-Technica AT4080 ribbon microphone that came out several years ago has the sensitivity of an AKG C414 condenser microphone.

Taytrix Stackable Gobos

You don't think of Gobos until your ears tell you that you need them. Stackable Gobos by Taytrix just seemed to make a lot of sense. Every studio should have a few of these around to make your life easier and make your sound tighter. 

Taytrix Stackable Gobos
That's about it for me for AES 2017. As usual, it was a great show and I enjoyed meeting old friends, making new ones and learning once again that there's ALWAYS something new out there.

Please subscribe to my Blog and YouTube channel to keep up with the changes. Thanks for continuing to read me and do let me know if there's something out there you'd like to see reviewed.

© Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved
www.tyford.com

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Thoughts On Recording Music Instruments At Home

December 7, 2017, 8:17 am
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My Home Studio
I was recently asked about how to approach home recording of acoustic guitar. How much does the quality of the gear matter? How much does the space matter?

While all of that is important, your most powerful tool is how well you understand what you hear and how you work with that to get a good recording.

People with a lot of critical listening experience will do better with gear that's not so good. You can have the bridge of the Starship Enterprise at your finger tips, but it you don't know where the SUCK BUTTON is, your recordings will suck.
Sony MDR7506

For me, the process normally starts with a good set of headphones that you can come to terms with. I like Sony MDR 7506. Are they flat? No, they are a little bright and the low end is a little big, but I understand them. They make sense in my head. 

I move mics and players around accordingly until I hear what I want to hear. Do a rehearsal of sorts until I'm happy. Provide a good headphone feed for the players and singers and then hit the red button. When I listen to playback, yes, that's what I wanted to hear!

Recording Blumlein with Mike, Dave and Van 
Jazz recording engineers used to make great recordings with the group all playing together in a relatively small space. Yes, there was bleed, but it didn't matter. That's because they understood the sacred geometrical relationship of multiple mics (mostly figure of eight ribbons) placed properly among the players.

Rudy Van Gelder from Hackensack, NJ was one of these guys. He died last year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Van_Gelder

Reading about him taught me a lot. I had the opportunity to do some Blumlein recording with a pair of AT4080 ribbon mics a few years back. In one session, with Mike White (guitar & vocals), Dave Mattheiss (guitar) and Van Ertel (pedal steel). I had a pedal steel speaker cabinet, two acoustic guitars and a vocalist all going at the same time to two tracks – a stereo master if you will.

As you can see from the picture, I positioned the players, paying particular attention first to their guitars. Mike, the singer/player was a right hander, so the body of his guitar was a bit to the right. I put Dave, the other guitar player to the left to balance that – so their guitars were physically and electronically "panned" prior to recording. I had to do some experimentation with the right height for the pair of mics to get the voice to guitar balance level right. I also had to deal with relative loudness and had each player move in or out a half step till I got that balance right.

I put Van's Pedal Steel speaker at 180 degrees, directly opposite to Mike's vocal, so it was centered, but on the back side of the mics. I then moved it closer or farther until I got the right level. I recorded each mic to a separate track. Afterwards, I panned each track fully and added some 10k shelf and a little reverb. You can hear the clacking of the pedal steel pedals in the first few moments of the recording. Here.

Additional thoughts:

Square rooms are bad. I think there's data to prove that rooms with a 3:4:5 ratio also suck, but I can't find it right now.

Where you sit in any room makes a difference.

Windows normally are bad unless you are clever with mic placement. And even then noise from the outside can get though most single pane. Even then, enough glass can make otherwise well thought out equipment and placement a futile effort.

Your space should have the right balance of absorptive and diffusive surfaces. I'm not in your space, so I can't really tell you what to do about that here, but simple stuff like where you put a couch, what art and book cases are on the walls and what's on the ceiling all combine to make up the sound of yor space.

Please consider subscribing to this blog.

Technique, Inc. © Copyright 2017 All Rights Reserved
www.tyford.com
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Schoeps MiniCMIT - Small, Light, Superior Sound

December 21, 2017, 1:17 pm
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Schoeps miniCMIT
At 5 7/8" (14.922 cm) and weighing 2.75 oz (78g) the Schoeps miniCMIT ($1,999) is proof that good things do come in small packages and my hands, although bigger than the President's, are not THAT big.

The longer Schoeps CMIT 5U comes in at $2,200. Not a lot of difference in the the big game of life. Schoeps says CMIT5 and miniCMIT sound basically identical. That's because the business end of the two mics, the interference tube and capsule, are basically the same.

miniCMIT Specs
There are, however, differences. According to the Schoeps Spec sheet above, the miniCMIT runs on 12-48 V DC Phantom Power at half the current drain of the CMIT 5. That's nice for battery consumption, but the miniCMIT pays for that with lower SPL handling when the miniCMIT uses 12 V DC Phantom Power. I'm going to guess that the EIN may also be higher during 12 and 24 V DC operation.

The miniCMIT has a fixed 70Hz, 24 dB/octave low cut. That may make you want to think twice before using it for live music recording unless your intended playback system doesn't have much low end response anyway. Frankly, after hearing the miniCMIT, I wouldn't worry unless you're after the ultimate tympani or organ pedal.

CMIT Polar Response
The Polar Response chart on the left shows that as frequencies rise from 8 kHz to 16 kHz the pattern continues to narrow. If you've been using a Schoeps CMC641 on a boom for a while, you'll have to "game up" with your boom work to keep your dialog from slipping off the shoulders of the pattern.  Two shots will require more attention.

But wait! The human voice centers around 1 kHz to 3 kHz; most of it extending down to about 80 Hz and up to 5 kHz to 7 kHz. What's the mic hearing between 0 degrees and 30 degrees each side of center that tells our ears that we've got the mic in the right spot? Upper harmonics of the voice, where parts of the consonants live. That frail feature we sometimes call intelligibility. It's also where the sibilance lives. Too much sibilance is a bad thing, but just the right about allows the voice to cut through any mud and be more easily understood.

Reach?
MK41 Polar Response
Now we enter that discussion point called, "Is there really such a thing as 'reach' or did some marketing guy make that up?" Reach suggests that one mic may pull dialog and other things out of the distance better than another.

It has been said that the CMIT or miniCMIT has more reach than a CMC641. Why? Because it has a tighter high frequency response pattern? Those mid and low frequencies are still there and the lower you go, the wider the pattern. They begin to resemble the response (to the right) of the supercardioid CMC641 at those frequencies. If you were recording dialog on a hard, flat surface like a parking lot and a car or truck started up 90 degrees off-axis, the shotgun would definitely pickup the engine and exhaust mids and lows very well.

So, yes, you can use an interference tube mic – a shotgun mic – and it may have a very nice beam sometimes called a presence peak that a supercardioid doesn't have. The Sennheiser MKH 416 has an impressive presence peak. It's also a lot more sensitive than a CMC641. If you're trying to "reach" with a CMC641 and switch to a 416, the first thing you notice is how much louder (more sensitive) the 416 is. If your mixer's preamps aren't all that great, you may hear system noise (hiss) when you crank up a CMC641 to get a better level for a distant or very quiet source. I've been in a situation where the only mic I had was a CMC641. I had it running though a Sound Devices 442 on the East steps of the Capitol in Washington, D. C.. I cranked up the 442 and got great sound from over four feet away because of the 442's low noise preamps and performance.

Having introduced the beaminess of a pattern, you have to make a judgement as to whether a beam is good or bad. I have heard some nasty beams; very irregular and unpredictable. I don't hear that with the miniCMIT. Schoeps goes so far as to tell you that their shotgun pattern has a rotationally symmetrical polar pattern. That means if you could rotate the mic while using it, actually spin it in your hand, the frequencies of what you were aiming the mic at won't be changed because the capsule response is symmetrical. I have heard asymmetrical capsules and you do have to be very careful when positioning them.

What Does It Sound Like?
Words to describe sound only take you so far. Here's a short video I shot here in my studio that should give you a good idea of what the miniCMIT sounds like.




Bernie Ozol
Anecdotal Notes with Bernie Ozol
I asked soundie friend Bernie Ozol (BO) to lend his ears for a play date here at my studio. Here's what we came up with.

-At 6", the CMC641 sounded brighter than the miniCMIT.
-At 4' we heard more lows around 125 Hz from the miniCMIT.
-The CMC641 had more mids, the miniCMIT had more lows.
-Bernie's Sanken CS3e sounded more similar to the CMC641.

We both agreed that the mics were of a class that probably only other sound sensitive folks and ourselves would care which these mics mic we chose to use.

Wind Noise
The miniCMIT, like any sensitive condenser mic, needs protection from wind and boom swings. I typically leave the Schoeps B5D on my CMC641 all the time, even in the studio, just in case it slips out of my hand or the mic clip and does a dive to the floor. Here's a Rycote video to fill you in on wind gear that they say are Perfect for the miniCMIT.

My studio is very quiet. It's not unusual for me to hear things in the studio that you'll never hear on location or possibly on sound stages. I compared boom swing noise and found that my CMC641 with B5D picked up less wind noise from simply swinging the mic as you might need to do for quick dialog. I was using a common foam filter on the miniCMIT. Most of the miniCMIT noise was low frequency swishes. Not with the B5D, but that a very special piece of gear.

Gold-plated shield plate
RFI Shield
The Schoeps specs refer to the special RF shield construction and RF bypass circuitry. I wasn't in any severe RF environments during my testing and had no problems. Because there are no surface switches on the body of the miniCMIT, there are no holes in the body that might allow RFI to enter. That's a good thing. I don't have a CMIT 5U here to help me make the point, but I do wonder if Schoeps did anything in particular to shield the switch holes on the CMIT 5.

In addition to the gold-plated shield (above), Schoeps also uses RFI shunting circuitry (below) to  block RFI.

Capacitor network across the signal leads
Has Schoeps finally put to bed the old problems encountered in high humidity environments? I'm not sure. In the 20+ years I've had a CMC641, I have only had 3 incidents of noise possibly due to humidity. That stopped when I stopped taking the capsules and bodies apart for storage after shoots. I was putting them back into those cute little containers. Exposing the gold-plated power supply/body and capsule contacts to air allows schmutz to collect on the connection rings is a BAD IDEA. That schmutz eventually prevents a solid connection between the body and capsule resulting in sputtering/futzing noise problems.

What happens when you're in a rain forest for eight weeks? I don't know, but, here, the Baltimore/DC area is pretty darn humid in the Summer. The additional problem is that when schmutz accumulates on the diaphragm in a highly humid atmosphere, conduction across the moisturized schmutz can occur. That conduction over such a sensitive place creates noise. When that happens, it's time to send the mic back to the manufacturer to have the capsule and diaphragm cleaned. Anything you can do to keep the capsule clean is a good thing. Maybe leave the capsule and power supply connected and cover the capsule with a plastic baggie for storage. I wonder if, in the future, Schoeps might consider powering the capsule with an RF voltage as Sennheiser and Rode do.

In Conclusion
If you budget is tight, you need to stretch your money, and you don't need all of the features of the CMIT 5U, then the miniCMIT deserves a hard look. Oh and if the blue color is a problem, the miniCMIT can be had in grey or chroma green.

Technique, Inc. © 2017 All Rights Reserved – Please consider subscribing to this blog and my YouTube Channel. If there's a piece of gear you'd like to hear, please let me know.

www.tyford,com
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RODELink Performer Kit - Digital Wireless Condenser Mic.

February 10, 2018, 11:21 am
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RODELink Performer RS-DESK Receiver
As the RF spectrum gets increasingly devoured by big money, going wireless becomes increasingly more difficult. Many manufacturers, in addition to RØDE, have been mining the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi band for the last three or four years.

Wi-Fi is a pretty busy space these days and 2.4 GHz is a lot higher than the 500 MHz to 600 MHz UHF band where so many traditional wireless mic systems operate.

Remarkably, most of these new 2.4 GHz systems work pretty well, but as with all gear, they do have limitations. Most, manufacturers, including RØDE, use some sort of redundancy circuitry to make sure the audio makes the trip. I have not encountered any of the dire reports of drop outs if someone walks between the mic and receiver. In this case, the RØDELink Performer was able to go through at least one 1954 plasterboard wall between rooms and also from the basement to the first floor without dropout.

The Audio-Technica System 10 gear I have used will also go through a wall and a floor, but perhaps not for a long walk-and-talk with the mic and receiver at great distances. So far, I've gotten at least 200 feet in clear open space. In a metal-reinforced, concrete, underground parking lot filled with cars (which might be a reflected RF nightmare), I got 120 feet.

ENCRYPTION & REDUNDANCY
Rode's Series II 2.4GHz encrypted digital transmission is sent on two channels simultaneously, RØDELink automatically selects the strongest signal for best reliability. If that frequency gets too busy, a look ahead circuit has already chosen another frequency and inaudibly switches both the mic and the receiver to the new frequency. After doing that, it then keeps an eye out for the next new frequency to go to if the new one goes bad. Note to some techs; this is a one-to-one 2.4 GHz encrypted system. You can't run two receivers to pickup the sound of one microphone.

The RØDELink Performer Kit includes a RØDE TX-M2 handheld wireless mic, mic clip, AC powered RØDE RS-DESK receiver, a RØDE LB-1 rechargeable lithium-ion battery, an AC power supply for the receiver and a micro USB charging cable for the RØDE TX-M2. I'm not in favor of rechargeable mics or receivers with "locked in" batteries you can't swap out on the job. Rode sidesteps the issue completely by allowing access to the battery compartment and allowing standard AA batteries to be used in case you forgot to charge the RØDE LB-1 in time for the gig. Yay RØDE!

Front Panel Display
There's a lot going on with the RS-DESK receiver. Pictured on the left, here, the front panel display shows which of the eight channels is being used. In this case, channel 5. Below that, the transmitter (TX) battery display shows a full charge. In the center is a level indicator that shows the incoming level from the mic. On the right, the receiver shows that it has a lock with the mic and that the output level of the receiver is set to 0 dB, The two small buttons to the right of the display allow you to bump the output of the receiver from -20, -10, 0, +10 and +20. The power switch is on the far right corner of the front.

Rear Panel
Around back from left to right, there's an AC jack that accepts the secure, screw-on power supply cable, a micro USB port for future firmware upgrades, a mic/line output mini switch, balanced XLR and unbalanced 1/4" TS jacks. What you don't see here are the two screw-on antennae jacks at the edges of the chassis.

ON THE JOB
I made arrangements with Mike Scarinzi, owner of AAPS Productions in Baltimore, MD. Mike has been in the trenches doing live sound since the mid 80s and now runs multiple live sound systems for hire; anything from a simple EON on a stick to large scale concert systems. His latest band in which he plays bass, Chubby Hoo Hoo, was playing at The Stables; a half and hour or so northwest of Baltimore in Westminster, MD. Ian Burke, one of Mike's guys, was mixing. The Stables is a typical restaurant/bar venue with a raised stage and a dance floor. I got there at 8PM. The music starts at 9PM. That night, Mike was running an Allen & Heath GL3300 console, EAW tops and KSI folded horn subs and JBL MR (15" and 1") monitors. Shure SM58s were up for all vocals except the lead vocal. For that they had a Shure PGX4 with an SM 58 head.

RODELink Performer Digital Wireless Mic and Receiver
I checked in with Ian and we swapped out the Shure wireless for the RØDELink Performer. We placed the receiver on the edge of the stage next to the snake. That put it about 12 feet from the mic. No problems with dropout. Ian did a quick check, including dipping the RØDE TX-M2 mic into the monitors to see how readily it might feedback. All good. He handed the mic to Steve Myers, the band's front man, lead vocalist and guitar player for a quick mic check before the show started. During the first break, Steve commented that he was impressed, saying it was a "good, strong mic." Ian also liked it and mentioned that he could even hear Steve's hand claps as he moved around the mic during songs.

Out in the audience, I quickly noticed the edge on all of the SM58 mics used by the other musicians. If you do live sound, you know what I mean. God bless the SM58, but they can be scratchy if you listen close enough and the mains are of high enough quality. Steve's sound on the RØDELink Performer was very clear and clean. I could hear the scratch every time the background vocals kicked in on the SM58s. Steve's voice is loud enough to crush some mics, but that was not a problem with the Rode TX-M2.

AMAZON COUNTERFEIT!!!
Important information about purchasing from Amazon in the USA.
RØDE Microphones does not authorize "Fulfilled By Amazon." RØDE has purchased counterfeit RØDE products using Fulfilled by Amazon and highly recommend that you only purchase RØDE products from authorized dealers. If you purchase any RØDE microphone from an unauthorized dealer via Fulfilled By Amazon you will not receive any US warranty or technical support.
You can view a full list of authorized US dealers here.

IN CONCLUSION
Even in a busy Wi-Fi environment we had no reception problems with the receiver at the stage and the audio coming back at mic level through the snake. I wish we had had time to run the receiver back by the console, about 50-60 feet away just to see, but it was showtime. The lead vocalist felt very comfortable with the sound he was getting back through the monitors. There was no feedback. The sound man liked the clarity of the TX-M2. All Good!

Technique, Inc. © Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

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NAB 2018 Las Vegas, (Baby)

April 24, 2018, 1:49 pm
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Main Entrance of the LVCC
Nothing says "big" like Las Vegas and NAB 2018 was no exception. I hadn't been in more than a few years due to work. I could either go to NAB and spend about $1500 for three days or stay home, work and make $2000. It was an easy choice.

This year turned out differently so off I went. I picked up my press pass at the Paris Hotel, where I was staying, a new and appreciated feature, and headed for N247, the press room at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It was Monday morning and the Press Room was buzzing with about 100 people sucking down coffee, working online or on their own computers and fiddling with camera and audio gear. Any snacks put out had already been devoured, but the coffee was hot and in good supply. Thank you NAB!

Where are all the press kits?
Where were the press kits? There used to be a substantial corner of the big room set aside with a number of alphabetized bins in which you could find all of the current press releases; some paper, some CDs, DVDs and USB sticks. I was surprised to see that it was a shadow of its former self; one small table with a dish of USB sticks and a few papers.

A day or so later there were a few more, but nothing like in years past. Now, to get press kits, you had to go to the individual booths and ask. That meant more walking and finding for the press, or you just didn't bother. That meant some vendors just got lost.

My self-imposed assignment was to concentrate mostly on audio and wait for other gear to catch my eye or ear. The Exhibitor Program lists vendors alphabetically and also has a floor plan layout to help you find them. For some reason, the booth numbers never follow a linear sequence. This year, squishing the floor chart for an entire hall into a two page spread meant that I could just make out the booth numbers if I took my glasses off and used them as a magnifying glass.

I sat amidst multiple foreign language chatter (people from 160+ countries attended this show) as I  checked off the obvious vendors and keeping an eye out for new ones. Fortunately, most of the audio vendors were in the Central Hall, but that's still a very big space.

There are four halls, each larger than a football field including sidelines and end zones. This year that meant over 1700 exhibitors and just over a million of the two million square feet offered by the LVCC. After scanning the alphabetic list and jotting down booth numbers, I headed to the floor.

One of many aisles that go on forever at the LVCC
Even though the aisles I worked though were busy, I read reports that attendance was down from last year, by 5000 to 8000 people, coming in somewhere around 96,000 people. I recall one year in the past in which attendance hit 113, 000.

ATSC 3.0 and 4K video were the main technical drivers, combining to create the future Next-generation TV. Both are tweaked create a better TV experience for the consumer. Content also seemed to be important, but was it just lip service? But even as these pressures push forward, losses in spectrum for production audio continue to cause concern. One mixer I spoke with said ESPN is now heavily requesting that audio use less wireless and more hard-wired gear. A sign of the times?

From the "Expect Good Things" Department, Sound Devices' purchase of Audio Ltd. in February of this year brought a smile to many US faces. Audio Ltd. who has long been held as makers of some of the best sounding analog wireless mics in the industry, is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sound Devices and will be distributed by Sound Devices in North America.

The debut of the Audio Ltd. digital 1010 systems several years ago was good. Here's my review.  Their new offering, the Audio Ltd. A10, is expected to be even better due to the collaboration between the two companies. Having heard the Audio Ltd analog 2040 and digital 1010, I'm excited to hear the new A10, if for no other reason than to hear the 2 mS latency, new unclippable analog limiter, the time code generator and the recorder built into the A10-TX transmitter. At the moment, these last two features will not be available in the USA due to patent issues.

Sound Devices acquires Audio Ltd and distributes in North America

Sound Devices MixPre-10T

In addition, Sound Devices caught a Cinema Audio Society (C.A.S.) award for their 32-bit MixPre-10T, a ten-track mixer/recorder with stereo master mix file that can also double as a USB audio interface. Using that as a strong base, Sound Devices retooled the Mix-Pre-10T for the MI market and now offers the MixPre-10M for musicians. The MixPre-10M's eight preamps are virtually unclippable.
Sound Devices MixPre-10M right side
Sound Devices MixPre-10M left side

The MixPre-10M lets you record to an SD card, playback, mix, monitor, layer and overdub up to 12 track and includes pans, solos, reverbs, EQ and more. The unit can also be used as a very high quality 12in/4out USB audio interface. In fact, you can record to the internal USB card and simultaneously stream via USB. Battery or AC-powered, the MixPre-10T and 10M are extremely portable and have a professional feel and heft.

Sennheiser Memory Mic
Companies like Sennheiser dominate the pro sound market, even more so since AKG left the game, but they are also aware of the consumer and prosumer markets and to be truthful, many pros also use consumer gear it the situation warrants it. In white, as it is to the left here, the Sennheiser Memory Mic could be clipped onto some bride's dresses. to solve that perennial problem. Sennheiser's Memory Mic, due out later this year. Sennheiser's Tobias Von Allwoerden explains below.




Sennheiser also showed their new G4 wireless rigs, built upon the success of their ubiquitous G2 and G3 series. The EW 500P Film includes the EK 500 camera mountable or bag receiver, SK 500 bodypack transmitter, MKE 2 omni lav, SKP 500 (G4 500P) plug-on transmitter with Phantom Power, cables, camera adaptor and four AA batteries and can transmit at 10/30/50 mW. The G4 uses the Sennheiser HDX compander. I contacted Sennheiser to ask about battery life with a Phantom Powered mic at 50 mW. They figure five hours or less depending on how much current the mic requires, so YMMV. Without the drain of Phantom Power, 8-10 hours. The G4 100P series Plug-on does not provide Phantom Power.

The EK 500 receiver offers a maximum of 3520 receiving frequencies, adjustable in 25 kHz steps, 20 frequency banks, each with up to 32 factory-preset channels, no intermodulation, 6 frequency banks with up to 32 programmable channels.

Here's a list of frequency ranges for the different G4 models:
AS: 520 - 558 MHz, K+: 925 - 937.5 MHz, JB: 806 - 810 MHz,
GBw: 606 - 678 MHz, Gw: 558 - 626 MHz, Bw: 626 - 698 MHz, Cw: 718 - 790 MHz, Dw: 790 - 865 MHz, Aw+: 470 - 558 MHz, Gw1: 558 - 608 MHz

All ew 100-p and ew 500-p components are also available separately, so that users can build their best evolution camera system. For example, they can choose their favorite handheld to go with the EK 500 G4 camera receiver – or they can add the new SKP 500 G4 plug-on transmitter to their existing ew 100-p system, benefitting from the compatibility between the different Evolution wireless series.

Sennheiser EM 100 G4 receiver
The EM 100 G4 AC-powered receiver is also part of the new G4 line. It's a metal chassis, half-rack unit with up to 20 compatible channels and 1680 frequencies and is a true diversity receiver with two rod antennas, rackmount, power supply and RJ 10 linking cable.

Countryman is known for their incredibly small B6 mic, perfect for hidden mounting for film projects where mics can not be seen. While I visited their booth, I was also taken by one of their long time stock pieces, the Type 10 S Direct Box. I was struck by the self-explanatory, hard-working simplicity of this perennial problem solver. 
Countryman 10S Front Panel
Countryman 10S Rear Panel

It's a pad and an isolation box. The front panel quickly shows that this is a stereo device that accepts unbalanced 1/4", RCA or 1/8" inputs. It has 1/4" through jacks for each channel and is capable of handling -30 (mic), -15 (consumer line) or 0 dB (pro line) inputs. You can pad down a line level signal to semi-pro or to mic with the flip of a switch.

The output side on the back panel shows ground lifters for each channel. The Type 10 S runs for about 130 hours on one nine volt battery or from any Phantom Supply that's 1.5 mA or more. The Power Test Switch checks the battery power or condition of the incoming Phantom Power.

Got a nagging ground loop buzz between your computer and audio monitors? Chances are this will get rid of it. Out on a shoot and getting gnarly audio from the house mixer? The Type 10 S could make that audio quite usable and it's built like a tank.

A few years ago, KLOVER PRODUCTS redid the math and came up with new designs for Parabolic Collector Microphones. I stopped by their booth and met Paul Terpstera to get a better idea of how these discoveries may have changed the way parabolic mics sound.

On the floor of the LVCC, with the demo din coming in from all sides, there was a slightly distracting "under water" edge to the sound. Not so much on the voice, but on the background. Paul suggested that I step outside and since the doors were right across the aisle, out we went. In the Spring air outside, the bubbly underwater background went away. I don't recall which dish we had out, but KLOVER has them in 26", 16" and 9" versions; the smaller ones targeting DSLR shooters. Paul says that the range for the 26" collector is 500'-600'. That caught my attention. Keep an eye out on this blog for a more thurough, hands-on review of KLOVER parabolic collector microphones.

Steve Oakley operating his custom 26" sandwich KLOVER
Handling noise can be an issue with parabolic collectors. the KLOVER collectors are designed with isolation bushings to damp that noise. I ran into long time audio recordist/mixer Steve Oakley at the show and he mentioned that he made a custom collector to deal with the relatively loud ambient sounds at an airshow; specifically getting rid of the sounds of some of the planes that he did not want to record and the sound of the announcer over the PA. Steve found that using two dishes and putting a layer of foam between them reduced the sound originating behind the collector from exciting the main collector. Brilliant!

Stand by, I'm trying to set up a sound person's get together to see how well these collectors do against long-time , long shotgun mics like the Sennheiser MKH 70, Neumann KM82 and Sennheiser 816.

The Audio-Technica booth is always worth a visit. And with AKG sadly gone, Audio-Technica has more than filled the spot. They span the market, offering entry, mid level and high end audio mics and headphones. Their AT 5000 series mics are amazing microphones. I reviewed the AT5040 when it first came out. Here's that review. The cardioid-only AT5047 came out last year. it was as mind-altering as the AT5040.

Audio-Technica bayonnette mount headphone plug
Audio-Technica ATH-M60x on-ear headphones
One of the things I like about Audio-Technica is that they listen. That's led to features like three sets of cords with some headphones; (1.2 m - 3.0 m coiled, 3.0 m straight, and 1.2 m straight). They have also invented bayonnette-style locking plugs that plug into the ear cup. Snap a cable? No worries, just get another cord. 

This year Audio-Technica showed new headphones. Don't like the ear-covering ATH 50 series? How about the new on-ear ATH-M60x? They use the same 45 mm large aperture drivers as the ATH-M50, but have a lower profile and a closed back. Although they look smaller than the M50, I had no problem with them on my larger than average head. They come with the three cables, 1/8" to 1/4" adapter and storage pouch. 

Audio-Technica ATH-R70x
And for the rest of us, there's the new Audio-Technica ATH-R70x Open-Back Reference Headphones. These are the flagship headphones and they come with a two-year limited warranty. They are supported by the two pads you see in the picture instead of a headband. The earpads are covered with a breathable material to allow for longer sessions. I'm often asked what headphones to use for mixing. I normally recommend that headphones not be used except to check for how whatever effects I'm using stand out. Maybe the ATH-R70x will find a spot able be usable for "real mixing."

Audio -Technica ATW-T6001S Body-pack transmitter
Adding to their 6000 Series High-Density Wireless Systems, Audio-Technica showed its ATW-6001S body-pack transmitter with advanced intermod suppression that enables 31 simultaneous channels within a 4 MHz bandwidth, remote transmitter setup with IR sync, headphone jack (for the receiver), ethernet connection for remote monitoring and configuration, switchable 2 mW, 10 mw and 50 mW transmitter power, rugged cH-style connectors and easy to read displays. The battery fuel gauge can be set to Alkaline or NiMH batteries. 

This system runs in the 944 MHz to 952 MHz band. This band is used in the Aural Broadcast Auxiliary Service, the Fixed Microwave Service, the Low Power Auxiliary Service, and the Multiple Address Service (MAS). Operation of unlicensed Part 15 Devices is permitted between 944 and 960 MHz.

There are no bag-mount receivers for the 6000 system yet. The new ATW-R6200S full-rack, AC-powered receiver houses two receivers per unit. Each receiver has a balanced XLR male connector, Ethernet port for computer monitoring, 1/4" headphone jack with volume control for monitoring and full rack metal chassis with reinforced mounting ears. A 470-99 MHz UHF antenna distribution system is optional. There are Two 1:4 active splitters; two 1:2 passive splitters/2:1 passive combiners; +12V DC power switch for antenna input jacks.

The ATW-T6002xS handheld transmitter supports six different capsules.
ATW-C510 cardioid dynamic microphone capsule (ATM510 equivalent)
ATW-C710 cardioid condenser microphone capsule (ATM710 equivalent)
ATW-C4100 cardioid dynamic microphone capsule (AE4100 equivalent)
ATW-C6100 hypercardioid dynamic microphone capsule (AE6100 equivalent)
ATW-C3300 cardioid condenser microphone capsule (AE3300 equivalent)
ATW-C5400 cardioid condenser microphone capsule (AE5400 equivalent)

This is one of the reasons I like going to NAB. Seeing a company respond to the market like this is quite a charge. You can pick something up and ask questions. It's hard to do that from home. It's also about the people you meet. While strolling the aisles, I encountered Marty Pietz and Randy Strong of CNK Engineering in Mesa, AZ. With spectrum issues mounting, they have created a nationwide company that offers an RF scanning service and a lot of FCC Part 74 help.

Are RF and wireless mic management not in your wheelhouse? CNK Engineering provide spectrum survey and frequency planning, licensing your frequencies, identifying and avoiding interfering signal sources, properly maintaining and servicing your equipment and help with upgrading antennas, cables, filters and distribution equipment for better performance. Once set up, they can monitor your area remotely and provide assistance. Check them out on Facebook.

Q5X Wireless Mics for sports
I first heard of Q5X out of London, Ontario, Canada about eight years ago. Wireless mics used by the NBA. The word was that the transmitters could take a beating and still work. They were slightly off the beaten path at NAB this year. By dumb luck I turned a corner and there they were. 

Here's a quick look at some of their products, by Nathan Schurmans, one of their engineers and co-worker Nancy Mathis.









Looking to work for the CIA or some other organization whose members talk up their sleeves and wander around taking orders from earplugs? The N-ear  STEALTH360
promises the "most covert earpiece on the market." Direct from Denmark, you too can play spy for real or for sport and look genuine while doing it.  It's also positioned for IFB users.

N-ear is going after an earpiece you can wear all day and not suffer ear rash or any other downside. Maybe you're a shooter who also has to pay attention to audio. Headphones are clumsy and bang into your camera body when you've got your camera on your shoulder. I have not heard this device yet, so I can't really say how linear the sound is. if you're using one, why not pop on the web and let me know.

Last year I met Andrew Jones from Aputure. A lighting company that was also putting out  a shotgun mic aimed pretty squarely at the Sennheiser MKH 416, the Aputure Deity One. He sent me one, I listened. We talked. Yes, it was priced substantially less than an MKH 416, but there were issues; higher selfnoise, lacking low frequency response and DC polarization rather than RF polarization.

The Aputure Audio booth at NAB 2018
I didn't expect to hear from Aputure after that. I thought they'd realize that making great mics was a bit more involved than a lighting company wanted to pursue. I expected them to fade and die. Not only did this not happen, Aputure brought in more audio gear designers and not only corrected the problems, but thought outside the box to do so. They epoxy-coated the circuit boards and wrapped the parts internally allowing the Deity 2 to be completely submerged without killing it, as Andrew Jones explains below. (side note: check out the young men who walked through the background. It's a whole new world of film makers.)


For DSLR shooters, Aputure has an interesting mic with (again) out of the box features. One of the big problems with feeding audio to DSLR cameras, is getting the levels right. It's just impossible with some small format cameras. The manufacturer simply didn't design a proper audio section. Others can be worked with, but only if you can figure out the gain staging to give the camera what it wants. The last thing a shooter wants is to add another piece of gear (a mixer) to his or her package. Andrew explains. Check it out.


Aputure A.Lyra Digital Lavasliere Mic

Aputure also showed lavs or personal and semi pro applications. I forgot to ask if they were as smart, connectivity-wise as their smart mic. The A.Lyra Digital lavalier mic for Apple devices, capable of 24-bit 96 kHz capturing.

Aputure A.lav








The Aputure A.lav, with an omni condenser element. The A.lav comes with a rechargeable lithium battery, power status indicator, separate mic out and headphone out features. This mic supports IOS and records to FourTrack, Multi Track Song Recorder, StudioMini® Recording Studio, StudioTrack, Multi Track Song Recorder Pro, AV for Digital Performer 8 101. For android users, the Aputure A.lav supports the All That Recorder. Included are the mic with 10 foot cable, a small roll of duct tape to aid in mounting, a fuzz ball wind shield and a hard zippered storage case.

Aputure A.lav ez

The Aputure A.lav ez is a broadcast quality omni lav with a condenser capsule for Apple or Android phones. It comes with a fuzzy windshield, mountable carrying case and cord clip. 

Saramonic also had an impressive booth in the South Hall. I spoke with Sales person Sheila Gou, and though her English was better than my Chinese, communication was difficult. 

Saaramonic Booth at NAB 2018



















A quick trip to their web site confirms the rumors I have been hearing that they are an audio company to be watched, especially for their RX9, TX9 digital series with two channel receiver.

Saramonic audio offerings

It's hard to ignore Sony, but they never quite put themselves out there as an audio leader and they could so easily if they turned and shined just a little more light on their audio capabilities. 

Sony digital wireless

The Sony DWT-B01/n digital body mic runs at 1, 10 or 50 mW in the 566 to 607 & 615 to 638 MHz ranges. The DWT-P01N  plug on transmitter runs in the 556 MHz to 607 MHz and 615 MHz to 638 mHz ranges. It has Phantom Power and supports mic or line input and provides 188 usable frequencies. The Sony Hand-held DWM-02N digital wireless come in three frequency ranges. One model supports two frequency ranges; 566 MHz to 607 MHz and 615 MHz to 638 MHz. The other two models each support 470 MHz to 542 MHz or 638MHz to 698 MHz.

The Sony DWT-B03R is the third generation of Sony's digital DWX series for live sound applications including theater and concerts, as well as studio based TV production and ENG/EFP. 27% smaller than its DWT-B01N predecessor, the DWT-B03R features a tough magnesium body that's resistant to rain, spray and sweat.

Sony's digital audio processing, encryption and RF transmission technologies have latency ranging from 2.8 to 3.7 mSec, depending on which of the three modes it's operating in. It can transmit at 2 mW, 10 mW or 25 mW. The DWT-B03R supports up to 21 simultaneous channels per 8MHz TV band and is compatible with Sony Wireless Studio control software for PC (Ver 5.0 or later), allowing flexible remote operation of up to 82 transmitters using the Cross Remote™ function combined with the RMU-01 remote control unit (available separately).





There was more that I just didn't have time to get around to. If I find more, I'll amend this post or fire up another one. Hope you got something out of it. Please subscribe to my Blog and YouTube channel.

Thanks!

Ty Ford

© Copyright 2018 Technique, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 

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Klover Parabolic Collector Microphone Systems - The Latest Dish.

July 9, 2018, 11:09 am
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Klover Products 26" Collector Dish
As I ambled through the Las Vegas Convention Center during the most recent National Association of Broadcasters' Convention (April 2018), I came across Klover Products of Janesville Wisconsin, home of three models of parabolic collector dish microphones; the 26" Mik, 16" Mik and 9" Mik.

Paul Terpstra, Klover Products President, was manning the Klover booth. Like many people, I have seen mics like this, mostly at football games but never up close. I had no idea what they might really sound like or where else to use them other than sporting events.

I talked to Paul Terpstra about a demo. After the NAB 2018 dust settled, the three dishes arrived. The 26" was loaded with a Sennheiser MKE2. The 16" had a DPA 4060 and the 9" had a Countryman B3, specially EQed by Chris Countryman for a more natural sound.

Brian Glock with the Klover 9" dish and hand-grip
In fact, in listening to the three different dishes, the 9" did have the most natural sound, but, due to its size, not the range. The 26" and 16" captured more, but were peaky. Fine for a live broadcast sporting event with grunting footballers, but too peaky for movie dialog unless the scene called for surreptitious surveillance audio from a dish. Maybe with some EQ......? Hmmm.

Attached to the 26" and 16" disks are tubular, segmented, black, carbon fiber brackets that are easily assembled and hold the mic slug in place. The dog-leg in the bracket allows the mic to reach the dish's best focal point. The support brackets are attached to the dish with bushings to reduce handling noise and are made of carbon fiber which crumbles safely if hit. Some dish makers use PVC pipe which can break into body-penetrating pointed shards.

The Klover 26" is the largest and heaviest of the three, weighing 7.5 pounds. It has hand grips and a neck strap. I would think a monopod would be a much better support solution but Paul Terpstra says the networks have a safety concerns with using monopods on the sidelines. If you're not working for the NFL, or don't have bodies hurtling at you, get a monopod or tripod.

The Standard 26" Klover collector dish has a flat slot at the top for mounting transmitters. There is also a 26" Tactical Version with a triangular top that's made to fit into Pelican cases for shipping and transport. Terpstra says FOX Network uses the MKE2 and that some of their mixers prefer a Neumann KM183 omni. My first thought was to switch to a cardioid pattern to reduce picking up unwanted nearby "front" sounds. Terpstra says a cardioid fails to capture the last few inches around the rim of the dish which results in lower overall sensitivity level and that the sound you get from the focal point overpowers any ambient noise an omni would pick up. I'm not done with this thought, but.........
Schoeps MK 21 Wide Cardioid

I became curious about what might happen if an exceptionally wide cardioid were used. The Schoeps MK 21 capsule, for example. According to Schoeps, this type of capsule has a directional pattern between omni and cardioid. The basic idea in designing this capsule was to combine the advantages of the cardioid with those of the omni. This results in a pickup pattern which blends the two sets of characteristics. It has a fuller and more extended low-frequency response than a cardioid, with less proximity effect, while picking up more room sound than a cardioid. There is a version with a high-frequency lift, the Schoeps MK21H, but given the response of the dish, we didn't need that. Redding Audio's Scott Boland forwarded me the MK 21 capsule for the trials. I swapped out my MK 41 for the MK 21 on my CMC6 body and went to work. In the Klover 26", the MK 21 is a noticeable improvement over the MKE2. 

I was interested not only in outside performance, but also what the MK 21 capsule would provide inside. So, down into the studio I went for a little experiment. I rolled video on it so you could see and hear what I experienced. 

In the studio with the Klover 26" and Schoeps CMC621.

Some might say that a 26" (much less a 16" or 9") dish is simply incapable of capturing low frequency sound because the wavelength of the lower frequency sounds -- say the low A on an 88-note keyboard -- is 41.1 feet long. If you're one of these, you need a refresher in the difference between transverse and longitudinal wave propagation. All three of the dishes picked up a lot more low frequencies than I expected, especially outside, but not as much on voice.

Victor Martin dodging the rain with the 26" dish and MKE-2.
Our first exterior session was during a light rain. Our second session was a dry day. Then a short session in which we compared the Klover 26" dish to a Sennheiser MKH 416.

Even using the lavs, the ambient low frequencies sounded very big in the headphones. They were still there when I took the headphones off, but significantly less obvious and more distant. I guess part of this is how our amazing brains process what we hear. At one point, during our first tests, a low frequency wave rolled through like a gigantic tumble weed, lasting for four or five seconds. Was that due to wave propagation in the rain; maybe a distant thunderclap that, like a tidal wave, came rolling across the terrain? Dunno. Our second day was quieter; no rain and fewer birds. All of these ambient sounds need to be considered when deciding if a dish is right for your kit.

Looking up to the house. 84 feet from manhole to the mics.
The process was simple. Walk down the driveway to the manhole 84 feet away. Slowly move back in and listen to the differences. We found that the dishes picked up more when we had black top between the voice and the dishes. When we moved to the grass, the sound wasn't as bright. The brightness differences were not as obvious over speakers, but were with headphones.

Looking the other way.
Head turns or even looking down also reduced the level to the dishes. We did a number of "walk and talks" and later added EQ to show what might be done. Boosting some 80 Hz to 200 Hz warmed things up, but I had to roll off below 80 Hz sharply to control the outside ambience. Click on the links below to hear and see what we came up with. As my pal Bernie Ozol notes, I have a pretty big baritone. If your talent speaks softly, you just won't get the range. My advice is to use your headphones for critical listening to the following files.

This first walk and talk uses the Klover 26" dish with Sennheiser MKE2 lav. As with the next two, I applied some EQ just to give an idea of what might happen in post. Keep an eye on the screen to see where I popped in some EQ.

26" Klover with Sennheiser MKE-2

You can hear the rain and slight breeze in the following clip, along with a distant train whistle and the large low frequency tumbleweed that rolled through. Vic Martin heard it in the cans, and it was very obvious to me just standing there. Head turns make a difference, as does looking down toward the ground while speaking or moving from hard black top to grass. After I reached the manhole at 84 feet, Oh, there's an airplane!!!

16" Klover with DPA 4060

The Schoeps MK 21 capsule arrives and, below, Bernie Ozol and I do another walk and talk. Everything sounds better with the Schoeps, just not as much chest tone as we'd like. As Bernie says, "It could be used for long lens dialog, as is." Car starts, wind chimes ring, cars leave, all while Bernie tracks me with the Klover 26" dish all the way out to the 84 foot manhole cover and back across the lawn. Again, I popped in some EQ from time to time. Keep an eye on the screen. The Schoeps B5D was not quite enough to catch some of the wind puffs. 

26" Klover with Schoeps CMC621

Heads-up DSLR shooters and birders. As mentioned above, the custom EQ done by Chris Countryman on one of their B3 omni lavs sounds noticeably more natural than the MKE2 or 4060 used in the bigger dishes. Again, this was our first day of recording. As you can plainly hear, both Victor Martin and I heard rain, lots of birds and the occasional Light Rail passing by during these tests. The Light Rail tracks are about 200 feet away through the back of the neighbor's backyard. Because of the rain, we kept the dish in the alcove. You can hear some resonating, especially when I'm up close and my voice goes past the dish to bounce around in the alcove. Would a directional mic have worked better at ignoring the bounce? Hard to say.

We had the dish attached to the hand-grip and the same tripod that we used on the larger dishes, but the larger dishes had better isolation hardware. Because of this, there's more rumble in this track. The hand-grip might be better when hand held and not conducting tripod vibrations to the mic. You can hear me say that I'm engaging the Low Cut filter in at 80Hz at 2:45 in, and then sweeping it up to 120Hz. That pulled out a lot of the low end noise, but also thinned out the voice a bit. I rolled the low cut back off just before the ned of the clip. I'm not sure how much bandwith tailoring YouTube does. If you can't hear the low end go away during that time, then there's more YouTube roll off than expected.

If you have time to set up a camera-mounted shot and hold still enough, you'll get better results, but as with any camera-mounted mic, the 9" is susceptible to camera handling noise and perhaps some zoom motor noise.

The 9" Klover with the custom Countryman B3

Finally, I set up on a third day, far enough away from the porch alcove and recorded both the Klover 26" and a Sennheiser MKH 416. When I listened to the playback, I could hear some phasy wonkiness in the 416. I think that's due to aiming the 416 down the driveway with it parallel to the driveway and picking up some sound bouncing up into the interference tubes.

26" Klover with Schoeps compared with a Sennheiser MKH 416


IN CONCLUSION
I got more than expected from these three mics, but more work needs to be done on choosing lavs, or EQing mics. Even the Schoeps CMC621, which sounded best of all, needed a little EQ help. 

For more details, visit the Klover web site:  
KM-26, KM-16, KM-09 or KM-26, KM-16, KM-09.

Big thanks to Victor Martin, Brian Glock, Bernie Ozol and Kathy Phelps for helping me get the sounds I recorded on my Sound Devices 664.

Technique, Inc. © Copyright 2018 All Rights Reserved. More at www.tyford.com

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