From: lnz@lucid.com (Leonard N. Zubkoff)
Newsgroups: rec.audio.pro
Subject: Help sought on choosing microphones
Date: 6 Apr 92 17:43:29 GMT
Article-I.D.: lucid.1992Apr6.174329.17922
Organization: Lucid, Inc.

I've been reading this group since its inception and I'm hoping some of the
people who read this and have real-world experience with different microphones
can give me some advice.  I started educating myself a few months ago by
reading most of the papers from the last ten years or so from the Journal of
the Audio Engineering Society (JAES) on the topic of stereo microphone
techniques.

Since last September, I've been recording some simple folk music performances
with a Sony TCD-D3 DAT Walkman and a pair of Len Moskowitz's Core Sound Mics.
In December I switched from using spaced omni techniques to using a Jecklin
Disc I constructed based on Jurg Jecklin's JAES paper.  While I've generally
been very happy with the sound quality, I recently purchased a Sony PCM-2300
and the time has come to look for better microphones as well, most probably in
thr $1000-$1200 per pair price range.  Typically, the music I record is
performed by either a solo voice and guitar or occasionally by 2-3 performers
with instruments, and I'm only interested in stereo recording of acoustic
performances, and, alas, the venues where these concerts are held generally do
not have the best acoustics.

After reading the papers, I thought a microphone like the Crown SASS-P would be
ideal for my purposes, since I think imaging is very important.  The theory
behind its operation in the JAES papers I read all seemed to point to a good
design, and the demo CD I ordered from Crown left me quite impressed with the
sound quality.  Unfortunately, after I found one locally and brought it home, I
found construction problems which lead me to seriously question Crown's quality
control, and so I returned the unit.  With a SASS unavailable, I decided to try
using an ORTF technique, as aside from the problems of off-axis sound
coloration, it's theory is very similar to that of the SASS.  Further
consideration also led me to wonder if the ORTF configuration might be better
than the SASS due to the concerts often being held in locations with lousy or
marginal acoustics.

Last Saturday, I ended up recording a concert using both DAT recorders since I
hadn't enough experience with the PCM-2300 to be sure I would be OK with it
alone.  So in addition to the TCD-D3 + Core Sound mics + Jecklin Disc, I used a
PCM-2300 + Rane MS-1 mic preamps + demo pair of AKG C460-B cardiods in an ORTF
configuration.  When I compared the taped results on Sunday, there was just no
comparison.  The CSB mics sounded good, but there was no way they could compare
with the AKG's (not that one could reasonably expect them to).  Also, as one
might expect, I found the balance between audience noise (or sing along in some
cases) and the main performers much more pleasing with the ORTF configuration
than with the Jecklin Disc.

It seems like the main disadvantage of ORTF and X-Y recording for my purposes
is that the main performers are off the main microphone axis, and so it is very
important that the off-axis response of the microphones, particularly in the
+/- 60 degree range or so, be as flat as possible, and as close as possible to
the on-axis response.

Recently, Gabe Wiener mentioned that hypercardiods were a better choice than
cardiods because they had a significantly flatter off-axis response.  My
reading of the spec sheets for AKG, Sennheiser, and Audio-Technica microphones
leads me to believe this comment is true for the Audio-Technica 4053
hypercardiod versus the 4051 cardiod, and for the Sennheiser MHK50 versus the
MKH40, but not for the AKG C460B-CK63ULS versus the CK61ULS.  The new
Audio-Technica 4033, even though it doesn't appear as flat as some of the other
microphones, claims to have an off-axis response virtually identical to the
on-axis response, so it might also be a good choice.

Now to some practical questions -- how does people's experience with these
microphones correlate with the data I have available.  As far as I know, all
the microphones I mentioned above are within my price range, and have similar
specifications on paper.  The Sennheiser mics look to have the lowest
self-noise (12dBA), highest S/N ratio (82dbA), and the flattest on-axis
frequency response curve.  The Audio-Technica mics have the worst self-noise
(19dBA), and the AKGs are just a bit worse than the Sennheisers at 14dBA and 80
DB S/N.  Finally, the AT-4033 has a mounting advantage since it is an upright
design and so can easily be mounted without having to have one mic slightly
above the other.

So, what I'm hoping to get is some advice and anecdotal evidence on how well
the above mics can be expected to work for my purposes, given the constraints
I've mentioned and that I can only afford one pair of good mics at the moment.
Are there substantial differences in their sonic character, or should I decide
mostly based on specs?  Are there any disadvantages to going with a
hypercardiod if it has a flatter off-axis response?  Are there other
microphones I should be considering as better than these in the same price
range (e.g., so far I haven't received any useful information from Neumann)?

While ideally I'd like to compare all these mics on the same source material,
that looks like a difficult undertaking, as finding loaners or rental units can
be difficult.

Thanks for any assistance.

		Leonard