Sam Mallery
Forum Replies Created
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I don’t know if this will solve your problem, but when you use the 88W system with an XLR output, you should use the CP8306 output cable:
https://www.audio-technica.com/cms/accessories/a1258f281594123a/index.html
It has a transformer that corrects the signal flow. Also, try changing channels. The 88w has two channels. One may be getting interference. Also, instead of renting a Sennheiser, hire a local location audio person. Your chances of getting unexplained hell static go down considerably when you do this.
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Guy – it’s easy. Get either the Sony D50 or the Edirol R-09HR. Make that one decision and your done. I bought the R-09HR last week. I couldn’t make up my mind for the longest time, then Edirol announced this $50 off until the 15th of December holiday promotion and that made me pull the trigger.
I use the recorder in a location audio bag primarily. I liked the size of the R-09 better for that. If you want better on-board mics, the D50 is the way to go. The mics on the R-09 sound great, but the D50’s mics really shine.
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You say you’re looking for “good” dual wireless… In the spirit of good, better, best, I would say get two Sennheiser G3 systems. It’s not a dual system, but the transmitters and receivers are pretty small and it’s easy to mount two receivers to a camera with the use of a Cool-Lux MD3000.
Audio Technica and Adzen both make dual systems, but I wouldn’t recommend either. The Audio Technica is decent, but the receiver is too large, and the lav mics that come with the transmitters are not good at all.
In the spirit of “better” and “best,” that would be Lectrosonics and Zaxcom (in no specific order). Wireless systems are one area where spending more money the first time out is a wise move. I bought two Lectrosonics 100 series systems (their entry level system), and they’re great, but I wish I would have gone all the way for a dual SR receiver and two SMa transmitters. In fact, just writing that sentence down makes me feel like I should go ahead and do that as soon as possible 🙂
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I wouldn’t put a whole lot of faith into an iPod. The microphone connector that’s integrated into the headphone jack isn’t the most reliable. The mic connection is just one thin ring on an 1/8″ plug.
Another question is what lav mic to you plan on using? Is that lav going to require power from its input? Is that lav going to have sufficient protection from wind? When a helmet cam is involved, it leads one to believe that wind is going to be a factor.
I would check out the Yamaha Pocketrak CX. It’s really small and it has a dedicated mini-plug mic input. A lav you can use for that is the Sony ECM-CS10.
Any lav mic is going to require wind protection. You’re likely going to need a Rycote Lavalier Windjammer:
https://www.rycote.com/products/families/personal-microphone-solutions/Another recorder/mic option you have is using a M-Audio MicroTrack II recorder and a professional wired lav mic. The MicroTrack has balanced TRS inputs that supply full 48V of phantom power. This means that you could use two pro-level lavalier microphones. Both the Yamaha CX and MicroTrack have a “hold” switch that disables all of the controls to prevent accidental commands.
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Poor quality control results in microphones of the same model sounding very different from mic to mic. It makes buying a matched pair very difficult. Another thing poor QC brings is having microphones leave the factory with technical issues (poor soldering, loose parts, etc.) which could lead to the problems you’re having.
What are you plugging the mic into? Too much gain could cause the crackly peaks, and rumble can sometimes be eliminated with high-pass filters.
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I’m not familiar with the shockmount that you bought, but I did a Google image search on it and was surprised to see pictures of it supporting both slender shotgun mics and fatter mics like the AKG 414. If the bands in it stretch that much to fit fatter mics, I imagine your little Oktava is bouncing around a little too much.
I have the Rycote Lyre suspenders in my blimp, and they work really well with my boom mics. I use a Pearstone DUSM-1 universal shockmount for my indoor booming. It’s like a beefier version of the Rode SM4 shockmount, with thicker K-Tek K-SUS-style rubber suspenders. It should do the trick for your mic too.
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I wouldn’t bother trying to Frankenstein something with Radio Shack adapters. There is likely some kind of step-down transformer business going on inside the MZA900P. The trouble with spending $140 on that Sennheiser adapter is that it’s only for those locking Sennheiser mics. If you move on to a better wireless system, you will move on from the $140 MZA900P too.
I’m with Ty when it comes to getting a dedicated wired lav. I own a Tram TR-50 for this purpose. If you can’t spend the extra $$$ to get one of the more favored broadcast mics (Sanken COS11, Countryman, etc…) another option is the Audio Technica AT899 with the AT8537 power module. It should cost you around $185. It’s a good sounding mic, it’s very small, and it can run on phantom power or a AA battery. Plus it comes with a bunch of different clips and windscreens. Obviously, if you can spend more on an industry standard lav, you’ll be better off. But I think the 899 is the best compromise lav out there.
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The PMD671 also has a digital output. The form factor of the 671 is more desirable for some people for field bag use. It has the big red record switch on the top panel, which can be useful in the field. But these differences don’t really justify the difference in price.
A limiter is certainly a good thing to have in a piece of gear, especially if you can turn it off when you don’t want it, and adjust it to your liking. The difference in price between these two units is more of a legacy thing. The 661 is a much newer design. Back in 2004 – 2005, Marantz was one of the only manufacturers that made solid state digital field recorders. All of the small handheld digital recorders that we know today (Zoom H2, Edirol R-09) had yet to come out. People wanted them, they just didn’t exist yet.
The reason the 671 is more expensive is because at that time, there was a very similar recorder out called the PMD670. The 670 had a limitation. It could only record in 16-bit, with the highest sampling frequency of 48 kHz. The 671 came out next and offered 24-bit 96 kHz recording. Likewise, it was also a bit more expensive.
As to which machine is better, I can’t say. I haven’t used the 661. If you used a Marantz before and liked it, then I bet either one of these would be fine. There are lots of good digital recorders out now.
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Matt, I don’t think you need to concern yourself with mathematical equations that calculate a microphone’s frequency response with sampling rate capabilities. Your Logitech H330 doesn’t sound good because it’s a $23 USB headset. If you want to record good sounding audio, you need a better microphone. You could get a USB microphone, like the B.L.U.E. Snowflake or the Snowball. Neither of them are headsets, but, I don’t know of any affordable headsets that are capable of high-quality audio.
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I recall that the previous generation of that Sony wireless system (the purple plastic ones), some people had trouble adapting the 3.5mm connector on it. Sony built the system in such a way that a physical limitation prevented a normal connector to line up properly. I think it could be done, but the chances of it staying put and being reliable were slim.
Kind of like the screw-on 1/4″ adapter on all of our MDR-7506 headphones. If you lose the proprietary adapter Sony provides you with, most other 1/4″ to 1/8″ adapters cannot make a secure connection.
I’m a bit out of the loop with this current Sony wireless system, but I would bet a handful of nickles that adapting it isn’t as easy as you’d hope.