COMPLETE [Group] Microphone Showdown 3 - RuthieG

Algy Pug · Post by **Algy Pug** » November 9th, 2015, 2:34 pm

patrickjeaton wrote:Can you give me a slot in the Magic Window. I would like to contribute although I havent chosen what to read yet

Thanks Patrick

Section 8 is yours.

Cheers

RuthieG · Post by **RuthieG** » November 9th, 2015, 4:16 pm

Algy, I've taken the liberty of allocating myself section 9, so that I could upload this before I retire for the night

.

Title: Sonnet 1 of Emaricdulfe by E. C. Esquire, from A Lamport Garland.
Text: https://archive.org/details/cu31924013279496
Upload: https://librivox.org/uploads/ruthieg/microphoneshowdown3_09_various_128kb.mp3
Duration: 1:32
Equipment etc: Samson Q1U; USB; Audacity 2.1.0; Windows 7 PC.

I'll move us over to Readers Wanted now.

Ruth

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » November 9th, 2015, 4:30 pm

Two more for you:

Echoes (from The Flowers of Evil) by Baudelaire (1821-1867)
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36098

https://librivox.org/uploads/ruthieg/microphoneshowdown3_10_various_128kb.mp3

Apogee MiC USB microphone, MacBook

The Evil Monk (from The Flowers of Evil) by Baudelaire

https://librivox.org/uploads/ruthieg/microphoneshowdown3_11_various_128kb.mp3

Audio-Technica AT2035 microphone, Focusrite iTrack Solo USB, MacBook

And, might I suggest name the sections after the mic, rather than the text title? That way someone considering mics could easily pick out the ones they are considering.

Algy Pug · Post by **Algy Pug** » November 9th, 2015, 4:59 pm

RuthieG wrote:Algy, I've taken the liberty of allocating myself section 9, so that I could upload this before I retire for the night .

I'll move us over to Readers Wanted now.

Ruth

Thanks Ruth

Exquisite reading - as always. PL OK.

Yes, the Q1U is a little noisy. However, in a regular project, where noise cleaning could be applied, it seems that could be quite serviceable. Amazon reviews seem to indicate that it is not particularly sturdy.

Cheers

Algy Pug · Post by **Algy Pug** » November 9th, 2015, 5:14 pm

sjmarky wrote:Two more for you:

And, might I suggest name the sections after the mic, rather than the text title? That way someone considering mics could easily pick out the ones they are considering.

Thanks Mark

Both readings are PL OK.

To help with cataloging I have appended the full details of your recordings:

Title: Echoes
Author: Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867)
Text URL: http://genius.com/Charles-baudelaire-the-evil-monk-annotated
MP3 URL: https://librivox.org/uploads/ruthieg/microphoneshowdown3_10_various_128kb.mp3
Duration: 1:12

*******************

Title: The Evil Monk
Author: Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867)
Text URL: http://genius.com/Charles-baudelaire-echoes-annotated
MP3 URL: https://librivox.org/uploads/ruthieg/microphoneshowdown3_11_various_128kb.mp3
Duration: 1:13

**********

Ruth can advise us if she wants the title format changed. Your point is a good one.

I really liked the sound of AT2035. I used to have a FocusRite interface - the 2i2. I got rid of it because I simply could not get enough gain out of it. I wonder if one needs a powerful computer to operate these 24 bit interfaces effectively.

Cheers

SweetPea · Post by **SweetPea** » November 9th, 2015, 6:03 pm

Could I have sections 12 and 13? I've got two different microphones (though I don't use one of them much

)

Thanks!

Algy Pug · Post by **Algy Pug** » November 9th, 2015, 6:27 pm

SweetPea wrote:Could I have sections 12 and 13? I've got two different microphones (though I don't use one of them much )

Thanks!

Thanks Rachel

They are yours.

Cheers

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » November 9th, 2015, 6:41 pm

I really liked the sound of AT2035. I used to have a FocusRite interface - the 2i2. I got rid of it because I simply could not get enough gain out of it. I wonder if one needs a powerful computer to operate these 24 bit interfaces effectively.

The iTrack Solo has plenty of gain for a condenser mic; I don't know if it could power a dynamic. Computer power has nothing to do with it; you can use it with an iPad, although I haven't tried. I especially like it because it requires no drivers - pure plug 'n' play. I never used a 2i2, but the M-Audio and Digidesign interfaces I used for years always seemed to eventually have driver issues. The Apogee ONE I used for while had huge boost and was awesomely quiet, but when I replaced my aging MacBook that came with the most current OS and required a driver update it never worked right again.

The AT2035 is a very nice mic, indeed, and for $149USD including the shock mount is a deal. A Yeti Pro is $249US. A 2035 + Solo is $258US. Honestly, it's no contest.

Algy Pug · Post by **Algy Pug** » November 9th, 2015, 6:50 pm

Hi Mark

Thanks for the information.

I have heard a couple of negative things about the Yeti Pro:
1) It's output is quite low;
2) The higher bit rates and sampling rates don't really translate to better quality sound.

I also wonder about the utility of a microphone which has both XLR and USB connections, particularly given the extra cost, and also considering that the Yeti is not notably portable. I have noticed that apart from one model by Samson, other major manufacturers have steered clear of the joint USB/XLR concept.

Cheers

sjmarky · Post by **sjmarky** » November 9th, 2015, 7:07 pm

I have heard a couple of negative things about the Yeti Pro:
1) It's output is quite low;
2) The higher bit rates and sampling rates don't really translate to better quality sound.

Low output seems to be a common problem with some of these USB mics (not the Apogee). I've read numerous complaints about the Samsons as well. I think the Yeti is not a good value for audiobooks. It's a multi-pattern mic, so instead of one good, one-inch capsule, it has three tiny ones, two of which you never use if you have it set to cardioid. A one-third-inch capsule will never give as good a sound as a one inch capsule. Never. It's swell if you're doing a podcast with two speakers; if not, you're spending money on features you will never use at the expense of the one you do. And a small capsule will produce a weaker output.

24 bit recording means nothing, really. If you record at 24 bits all that happens is you use a third more disc space in your initial recording, then when it gets converted to 16 bit MP3, the additional bits are simply discarded by the software. Only high-end recording software like ProTools and Logic make any use of these extra bits, and even then would only matter if producing audio of at least CD quality. That's why it doesn't sound any better.

RuthieG · Post by **RuthieG** » November 10th, 2015, 12:44 pm

I agree about the titles. Let me have a think. We certainly don't need the authors in the title field - they go in the metadata.

Ruth

commonsparrow3 · Post by **commonsparrow3** » November 10th, 2015, 2:48 pm

Here are three from me --

Title: Burning Leaves, November
Author: Christopher Morley (1890-1957)
Text Link: http://theotherpages.org/poems/morley01.html#november
Uploader Link: https://librivox.org/uploads/ruthieg/microphoneshowdown3_14_various_128kb.mp3
Length: 1:07
Recorded using the built-in microphone of a Lenovo Thinkpad laptop, with Audacity.
(Ouch! I've never tried using this mic until now, but it sounds horrible!)

Title: An Open Fire
Author: Don Marquis (1878-1937)
Text Link: http://theotherpages.org/poems/part2/marquis01.html#fire
Uploader Link: https://librivox.org/uploads/ruthieg/microphoneshowdown3_15_various_128kb.mp3
Length: 1:20
Recorded using a Samson USB Go-Mic on the cardioid setting, with Audacity on a Lenovo Thinkpad laptop.
(I do not normally use this setting for LV work, as it seems to pick up too much background noise).

Title: Morn
Author: Helen Hunt Jackson (1830-1885)
Text Link: http://theotherpages.org/poems/hhj01.html#13
Uploader Link: https://librivox.org/uploads/ruthieg/microphoneshowdown3_16_various_128kb.mp3
Length: 1:25
Recorded using a Samson USB Go-Mic on the noise-cancelling setting, with Audacity on a Lenovo Thinkpad laptop.
(This is the setting I always use when doing my LV recordings, as it seems to need almost no noise-cleaning at all, though it does require sitting very close to the mic).

Algy Pug · Post by **Algy Pug** » November 10th, 2015, 5:05 pm

commonsparrow3 wrote:Here are three from me --

Title: Burning Leaves, November

Title: An Open Fire

Title: Morn

Thanks Maria

Your readings are all PL OK.

Yes, indeed, the internal mic on the ThinkPad is extremely noisy. I find this surprising when you consider that the quality of internal mics on many laptops (especially Mac) are becoming quite reasonable. I think you would struggle to use the Lenovo even for a Skype conversation.

The GoMic, considering its size and price, is amazing. It's streets ahead of nearly everything else at that price. It's just a pity that it isn't just a little quieter.

Cheers

Algy Pug · Post by **Algy Pug** » November 10th, 2015, 5:19 pm

RuthieG wrote:I agree about the titles. Let me have a think. We certainly don't need the authors in the title field - they go in the metadata.

Ruth

Hi Ruth

Would it work is we changed the title format to something like this:
Title - Manufacturer - Model
eg. Ozymandias - Rode - NT1A
Morn - Samson - USB Gomic

Cheers

RuthieG · Post by **RuthieG** » November 11th, 2015, 1:06 am

That seems a sensible solution. I see that you haven't been adding the source and author in the metadata, Algy. Were you intending to do them all at the end? I find it easier to do them as I go

.

Ruth