-
Sony ECM-674 Shotgun Mic Replacement
Hi everyone! My trusty ECM-674 broke last night and I’m looking for a replacement. It lasted me 10 years(maybe more, can’t remember when I bought it) and I’ve seen them available for very low prices online, but it seems a little silly to me that I’d buy the same mic I got 10 years ago when I’m sure there have been huge strides in shotgun mic builds. Can you suggest a comparable replacement? I do use phantom power, so that’s important.
I shoot a lot of theatre and dance shows. Sometimes I can get a feed, but more often it’s small, fringe-type theatre so I have to rely on the shotgun mics getting all of the sound and I can be as far as 20-50 feet away from the stage. Although there’s some background noise(A/C, audience chatter, etc.), I found my ECM’s recordings to be acceptable considering my shooting situations and clients rarely complained. So I’d love something that has a similar capacity. Thanks very much. -
2 Replies
-
Hello Nick and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum.
Looking at the price, specs and dimensions of your existing gear, I’d suggest this mic.
Slightly more sensitive than your existing mic, but with built in pad and LF roll off. It will NOT run on batteries and does require phantom power.
Regards,
Ty Ford
Cow Audio Forum Leader.Want better production audio?: Ty Ford\’s Audio Bootcamp Field Guide
Ty Ford Blog: Ty Ford\’s Blog -
The Sony ECM-674 is rather a “lower-end” product they seem to offer mostly as an on-camera mic. There probably aren’t as many “huge strides in shotgun mic builds” as you would think. Most of the effort seems to have been in lower-end products, i.e. 3.5mm, non P48 phantom power models. (Like all those little plastic Rode things, etc.)
As Ty Ford suggests, you could “up-scale” with something higher-end. But, if you got satisfactory performance from your ECM-674, perhaps just replacing it with the same model seems like a logical solution. There are currently a B-stock ECM-674s on Ebay for $180. That’s what I would do if it were me.
Ref: https://www.ebay.com/itm/161756119639
———————————————————————————
Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up