Mic Madness or Sound Professionals?

[Quintron]

Hey all, I'm new here

I've been looking at binaural mic packages,(mini stereo and batt box combos), at both microphone madness and sound professionals, as they seem to be very close price wise. I'm just looking for advice and experiences from anyone to help me decide which company to go with and what equipment. I definatly want to stay under $200 and I am making live recordings of VERY LOUD bands. I'm used to using a sony ecm mic using plug in power from my mic in jack. I want more bass!! The recordings are ok but it lacks the full feeling of good bass frequencies and I want to upgrade to better mics utilizing a battery pack with bass roll off. Any suggestions? Thank you!

[srizvi1]

Hey Quintron,

Are you looking for mini mic/mini battery module solutions? When I bought my Sony MZ-RH1, I got a lot of my advising from A440 over in this thread:

I went with Sound Professionals, however, as of right now, it seems that my mini battery module may have crapped out. I felt their customer service was good presales so I'm hoping their support is good post sales. I just dropped them an email letting them know whats up with the mini battery module. Let's see what happens (hopefully it's the mini module and not something more serious like the input of of the MZ-RH1 having gone bad).

And you said you want to stay $200 - I was definitely under that price.. here's my total for the MZ-RH1, the omnidirectional microphones, and the mini module:

>>>>>>>>>> Purchase Order #:

>>>>>>>>>> Order Date: 2007-03-08 11:23:57 Items ordered:

>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>> Quantity: 1

>>>>>>>>>> Item: SONY-MZ-RH1

>>>>>>>>>> Price: $327.00

>>>>>>>>>> Description: SONY MZ-RH1, MZRH1 - NOW IN STOCK - FREE MICROPHONE

>>>>>>>>>> INCLUDED

>>>>>>>>>> (SELECT IN DROP-DOWN BOX) - $69 RETAIL VALUE! PC AND MAC

>>>>>>>>>> COMPATIBLE

>>>>>>>>>> HIMD/MP3 MINIDISC RECORDER Include SP-BMC-2 Omnidirectional

>>>>>>>>>> Stereo

>>>>>>>>>> Microphones with clips (Save $20); No extra blank discs (one is

>>>>>>>>>> included

>>>>>>>>>> in recorder package); No external battery pack; No hard case; No

>>>>>>>>>> extended

>>>>>>>>>> warranty

>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>> Quantity: 1

>>>>>>>>>> Item: SP-SPSB-2

>>>>>>>>>> Price: $59.00

>>>>>>>>>> Description: SOUND PROFESSIONALS SUPER MINI BATTERY MODULE. MADE

>>>>>>>>>> IN

>>>>>>>>>> USA.

>>>>>>>>>> 6

>>>>>>>>>> inch output cable; No extra batteries; Standard 2 year Warranty

>>>>>>>>>> (no

>>>>>>>>>> charge)

>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>> Special Ordering Comments:

>>>>>>>>>> Note: In-Stock orders are usually shipped within 1-2 business

>>>>>>>>>> days.

>>>>>>>>>> If

>>>>>>>>>> your order contains custom items, your order may take extra time

>>>>>>>>>> to

>>>>>>>>>> complete and ship. Please click here for details.

>>>>>>>>>> Click here to download your instruction manuals, if applicable

>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>> Order Subtotal: $386.00

>>>>>>>>>>

>>>>>>>>>> Shipping: $12.39

>>>>>>>>>> Tax: $0.00

>>>>>>>>>> GRAND TOTAL: $398.39

>>>>>>>>>> Your order will be shipped UPS 2nd Day Air - Guaranteed

>>>>>>>>>> Second-day

>>>>>>>>>> Delivery from shipment date to Laurel, MD

[isfahani]

Heh...

I was about to make about the same post here, excepting I am not going to be recording mainly loud things but allsorts of concerts. I am more interested in hearing about the reputation each of these companies have and user opinion of the build quality.

I am going to get a stereo cardioid mini setup soon so I thought I'd see about which place to buy from. Thanks.

[A440]

If I remember right, Mic Madness was started by a former Sound Pros employee, so they're both using pretty much the same techniques. Choose by the housings, clips, size, etc. that you want.

My general recording setup is Sound Pro BMC-2 and Mic Madness Classic Mini battery module, both chosen for small size and low price.

http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2

http://www.microphonemadness.com/products/mmcbmminminc.htm

You could easily upgrade to a better mic than the BMC-2 depending on your budget.

Note: If you get lower-price cardioids you probably are going to get less bass response--check the specs .

I've gotten quick help from both companies on small glitches during the warranty period.

What glitches, you ask?

The black sticky dot covering the Sound Pro mic element fell off--I stealth them in under my shirt, and things can get sweaty there--and they sent me new ones. The Mic Madness battery module had a slightly loose connection, because they said they had gotten a bad lot of parts from some supplier, and they fixed it.

Bass rolloff is going to lessen your bass. Use it if you feel you desperately need it, but try without it first.

[Quintron]

Thanks for the advice guys......I understand bass roll off will reduce the bass intake but I want the option just in case the situation calls for it.....So I have narrowed down my choices: Sound Pro's bmc 2 with batt module w/ rolloff, or mic madness' viper mic's with their module. Both packages come out to about the same price. They also have similar specs. I've read around that most people have experience with sound pro's mics, but does any one have comments about mic madness' vipers or any other omni mics? Again I'm recording very loud bands at close distances so I want to reduce noise overload. I realize either of these mics will have a better frequency response than the sony ecm-ds70p mic ive been using but I want something with good bass response as the sony really lacks it! Thanks again!!

[A440]

A lot of the little mics are built with exactly the same capsules: Panasonic WM-61a. I know the Sound Professionals are. How can you tell? Compare the specs. If they're all the same, then it seems pretty likely they have the same capsule inside, with a different housing .

These are the specs for those capsules:

Sensitivity –35±4dB (0db = 1V/pa, 1kHz)

Impedance Less than 2.2 k

Directivity Omnidirectional

Frequency 20–20,000 Hz

Max. operation voltage 10V

Standard operation voltage 2V

Current consumption Max. 0.5 mA

Sensitivity reduction Within –3 dB at 1.5V

S/N ratio More than 62 dB

As for bass response, the frequency response for a full-range mic is 20-20,000 Hz. Voice mics, lower-priced cardioids and Sony mics "for minidisc" often just go down to 100 Hz which is far less bass.

Oh, and if you're the New Orleans Quintron, say hi to Miss Pussycat, the Drum Buddy and the Spellcaster Lodge....

Edited September 26, 2007 by A440

[Arni]

in case you win the lottery , go for "DPA 4061" omnidirectional mics.

I had all the SP and MM mics over the years and finally came to the conclusion(for ME) the 4061 from DPA are the best compromise for a 1-for-all-shows-mic. ok, they cost 850$ but they are worth every cent.

size of 1 mic is: 5,4mm diameter and 1,2cm length.

http://dpamicrophones.com/module.php?MID=1...on=pdescription

for 200-300$ I´d go for MM-HLSC-1 250$ or SP-CMC-4U(with low sens mod from SP) for 224$.

with these cardioids you are on the safe side for loud+bassy shows and don´t need a bass-roll-off...just a usual 9V bbox without bassfilter.

Edited September 26, 2007 by Arni

[Quintron]

Hahaha no im not the real Q, just a huge fan. I use Quintron as a screen name for alot of forums, etc. You're the first to know who it is

[srizvi1]

i'm fine with my http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/SP-BMC-2, but I'm bookmarking this thread for the future. $850 mics? I didn't even know they existed