Bored? How about a microphone shootout?

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audiomike
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Post by audiomike »

I've uploaded a file with samples of 5 different microphones. I recorded the first line of the Librivox One Minute Test using each one. It's just under a minute so it won't take long.
I'm not going to tell you what they are, yet. First, I want to get your opinion of each one. Which one, in your opinion, is better or worse than another and why. Which do you think is best suited for a Librivox recording? Don't be afraid to include any other comments, good or bad about any of them. I'll put everything together, post the results back here, and tell you what each mic was.

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/Microphone_Shootout.mp3
sjmarky
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Post by sjmarky »

1 - Sounds good, but looks over-compressed and has significant plosives
2 - Scratchy and indistinct. The worst of the bunch
3 - Similar to 1, but without the plosives
4 - Better than 2, but worse than 1, 3 or 5.
5 - Better than 1, not as good as 3

1, 3 or 5 would be fine with a decent pop screen. I wouldn't want to listen to 4 for 10 hours, and I don't want to listen to 2 at all. I'd rank them 5, 3, 1, 4, 2. But then, what do I know? [EDIT] I meant 3, 5, 1, 4, 2.
Last edited by sjmarky on October 23rd, 2021, 8:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

What a great idea!
I would rate them (best to worst for my ears): 3, 5, 4, 1, 2.
I wouldn't listen to an audiobook recorded with 1 or 2, and would listen to 4 only if the reader was pretty damn good (!). 3 and 5 seem to be in a different league altogether.
I'm listening to these recordings on a pair of $AUD 120 Audio-Technica headphones via my computer.
Sciguyvoice
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Post by Sciguyvoice »

I am annoyed by plosives and mouth noises which may not be reproducible between readings. Rightly or wrongly, these irritations did influence my rank-ordering which is:

Best to worst: 4>3>5>1>2 to my ears

1 had too many plosives
2 was scratchy and unpleasant
3 had a lot of mouth noises which probably means it was the best quality mic since it picked up these nuances.
4 had no irritations
5 had mild plosives
loon
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Post by loon »

I'll go with 5 > 3 > 4 > 1 > 2

5 seems the most natural to me.
3 is pretty good. There's a lot of low frequency stuff - it seems to me that it is picking up actual low frequencies from your voice, so it's probably a pricey mic. If I were recording with it I would probably reduce the lows in the editing process.
4 middle of the batch.
1 shows a lot of proximity effect - lows 'seem' artificially enhanced. And as others have noted - plosives.
2 painful.

There's quite a lot of variation in these samples - I'm looking forward to reading what the mics are.
Rich Brown - Minneapolis, MN
madcappe
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Post by madcappe »

I liked 3 & 5. Would love to know what they are (and if you have a pop filter you recommend--I'm having trouble with plosives on my old blue yeti)
audiomike
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Post by audiomike »

Here are the results of the mic shootout. You could have figured it out for yourself by just looking at the ratings but I'll throw it all together anyway and tell you which mic was used.
By the way, all mics were recorded without a pop filter. I did get rid of some of the noise across the group and leveled all the tracks. No processing other than that.

In last place was mic #2. This was a Rode PodMic. It's a dynamic mic that costs $100 and is great for podcasting but not so much for narration. I kind of expected that after listening to all of them.

4th place goes to mic #1. This was a $25 Tonor TC-777. While not terrible it's also not desirable.

3rd place is the Rode NT USB Mini. It's a $100 USB condenser mic. This is a great mic for 'on the go' type work. It's small and would prove up to the task for most people.

2nd place is the Shure SM57. A $100 dynamic vocal mic that has been around since the stone ages. It has surprisingly good sound.

In 1st place, as I had anticipated, was the Audio Technica AT-4033. This is a decent studio condenser mic that runs $400 and sounds like it.

I hope you enjoyed listening and now have an idea of what different mics can sound like using the same voice to make the comparisons.

Thanks to those that participated and even those that listened but were afraid to express their opinion. Yes, I know you're out there. The post has over 300 views with 5 responses. Hmmmmm.....
audiomike
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Post by audiomike »

Oops. Forgot to mention the mic numbers for all of them. Here they are:
1 Tonor TC-777
2 Rode PodMic
3 Audio Technica AT 4033
4 Rode NT USB Mini
5 Shure SM57
TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

Enjoyed this thread very much. Interesting and very helpful — particularly to hear how much difference there was between these different microphones. Thank you!
sjmarky
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Post by sjmarky »

If you're still bored, here's another mic shootout. 4 mics. All unprocessed except adjusting volume. The big reveal later.

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/shootout_2022_mn.mp3
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loon
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Post by loon »

I'll step out onto a limb and predict the prices of the mics. Mic #1 is the most expensive, followed by #2, then #4, with mic #3 being the least expensive.


I'm probably way wrong.
Rich Brown - Minneapolis, MN
sjmarky
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Post by sjmarky »

loon wrote: February 6th, 2022, 3:58 pm I'll step out onto a limb and predict the prices of the mics. Mic #1 is the most expensive, followed by #2, then #4, with mic #3 being the least expensive.


I'm probably way wrong.
Not too far. 1 is most expensive by a little, 3 and 4 are next and cost the same, and 2 is least. The range is $200 to $300.
"Bringing you yesterday's tomorrow...today!"

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TheBanjo
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Post by TheBanjo »

On that price ranking, #2 strikes me as excellent value.

My own preferences:

Most liked: #1
Definitely OK: #2, #3
Prefer not to listen to: #4
audiomike
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Post by audiomike »

I agree with TheBanjo.
1 - Sounds the best.
2 - Not bad but with a tad bit of noise.
3 - Seems to lose a bit of the high end with more noise.
4 - Just sounds flat and dull but has less noise than 2 and 3.
Sciguyvoice
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Post by Sciguyvoice »

My order of preference is:

Best: 1

Ok: 3

Least: 2 & 4
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