r16

Zoom has a cool line of hand held recorders.  Not all of them are as good as some of the compitition, but for what they are designed for (the home musician), they excel.  That would be a perfect lead in for a quick review of the Zoom R-16 multi-track recorder.  Its not perfect, its not on par with a lot of high-end recording platforms…, but this is a sub $400 mixer that EXCELS at what it does.  Let me give you the quick lists….

• 8 XLR/TRS inputs.  Line level.
• 48v phantom power on two channels (5 & 6)
• Hi/Lo-Z switch on input 1
• 2 mono 1/4″ outputs for monitoring
• headphone out (independent)
• Lots and lots of effects
• 5v DC powered or 8x AA batteries.
• Simultaneous 8 chan recording
• Another 8 channels can be recorded and synched with the first project of channels 1 – 8.  This “2nd bank” of 9 – 16 can then be mixed by the R16.  It is a true 8chan recorder / 16chan mixer.
• USB 2.0 output
• SD / HDSD card slot for data storage
• Built in omni-directional mics (will defeat channels 1 and 8 if activated).
• Standard pots, sliders and control surface.
• 24bit / 44.1kHz max recording resolution (unless used with software, which will support up to 96kHz)

This is the deck to own if you are a basement hobbyist, a band who wants to take control of their practice sessions ,or anyone who wants to write music and layer track upon track until a final result is achieved.   In my situation, we used it in our band to make usuable demo material that we cold pass around as marketing tools with our press kits.  The ability to record 8 channels on the fly was very handy..and we could do one take recordings in the same room (with some thought to mic placement, isolation and running directly into the Zoom) that would  be quite pleasing.  The on board effects, while OK, are nothing to write home about.   I prefered to do all post work and mixing in the sofware i’m comfortable with, although a copy of Cubase LE is included which will allow you to use the R16′s to physicaly control the software settings (and vise versa).       Many will complain about the lack of Phantom power on all of the preamps, but one must remember that most recording is done with dynamic microphones, and plugging a bunch of SM57′s and 58′s into this is exactly what was in mind from a design point.  The preamp section of the R16 is relatively quiet.  I didn’t do any measurements with it, but I can’t hear any obtrusive background noise when monitoring, and there is no added noise when scrolling through menus while in operation and recording.

Now for my short list (very short) of complaints.

• not very user friendly.  absolutely not intuitive.  Had to rely on the manual for a month.
• built in mics are not all that good, but not surprising.
• 2 hour recording time limitation.  Not sure if that is limited to when using all 8 chan or not.  I think its just a default setting no matter what.  Even still, 2 hours of recording at 16/44 will yield a directory full of MONO files (one for each channel) that will be approx. 9GB.
• does NOT auto save if shut off while recording, or if there is a drain in battery.
• SLOW turn on time.
• NO hold button, not that you’d need one in a studio.

Overall, KUDOS for its EXTREME VERSATILITY.  You really can not do better for this type of money.  Its not perfect, its not a field recorder…, but its pretty sharp at what it does, and is so rich with features..it will take a long time to get to the end of this deck.  And when you do, you wont be dissatisfied.  I expected to be under-whelmed.  I was presently surprised.

Audio-Technica: Updating the old 825 series of fixed cardioid XY microphones to the new models below.  Oddly, there is no true vertical coincident alignment of the capsules in these models.  However, their new 4050ST M-S stereo microphone is their first *serious* stereo mic.  I’m hoping to get my hands on one eventually.

• AT8022  :   XY microphone.  20Hz-15kHz.  Battery/Phantom power.  XLR and 3.5mm output cables.  MSRP:  $499
• AT4025  :   XY microphone.  20Hz-17kHz.  Phantom only.  5pin > dual 3pin XLR output.  Higher SPL handling. MSRP:  $749
• AT849  :   XY boundary microphone.  30Hz-20kHz  9-52v powering (phantom).  TA5F output with 25′ stereo cable ending in dual 3pin XLR.  MSRP: $499

• AT4050-ST  :  A true coincident stereo microphone.  Two elements, one cardioid the other bi-directional.  Output is selectable to Left/Right stereo or raw Mid-Side.  20Hz-18kHz.  Phantom power only.  MSRP:  $1625

Milab SRND-360 coincident surround microphone

An odd beast…, built around 3 matched DC-196 rectangular capsules, used as cardioids and angled at 120deg. from each other.  This microphone utilizes a “virtual array” of  3 more capsules (derived via th e 3 real ones), and thus ouputs 6 individual channels of cardioid microphone signals at approx. 60deg apart from each other.  Strange indeed..,but knowing how nice the Milab condensers sound, I bet this is excellent.  The technology is impressive.  Does NOT use 48v phantom, and 24v AC power adapters are included.  Not exactly perfect for remote location work, but excellent for 5.1 and up surround formats in a more controlled environment.

Soundfield SPS200 Software Controlled mic kits

While not new this year, Soundfield’s SPS200 kit is gaining popularity.  New options are being sold along with the mic itself, which has an MSRP of $2700

SPS-200 with software

• 48v phantom powered
• 40Hz-20kHz / 130db max SPL / Soundfield tetrahedral array.
• VST plugin software for most MAC/PC audio applications., and also “Surround Zone” software.
• SMP200 : 4 channel matched gain preamp designed specifically for the SPS-200 microphone.  MSRP $1800.  Also included in Kit with mic and other accessories.  Part number SPS200-kit-3 and -4.  MSRP $43oo – 4600

Coles 4050 Stereo Ribbon Microphone

Perhaps not ideal for location recording (esp. rock concerts, but possibly).  This interesting setup consists of two independent figure of eight ribbon microphones that are “stuck together” via magnets.  They can be separated and run as two individual mono sources, or put together to form a stereo microphone which you can adjust the angle of.  Pretty neat !  Someone do this with a pair of side address Cardioids please ???

Never in my life have I owned a “home theatre” system.   I’m not one for a “HT in a box”…, unless I was living in a studio apartment alone…(there is always hope).  My music listening is always done in two channels, pure..no tone controls …no nothing.  I dont like the signal messed with outside of an upsampling DAC in the chain.

I had been feeling a need to get some “BEEF” behind my speakers, which thrive with good wattage.   I am currently enjoying a two year love affair with a pair of Tayler Acoustics Tylo Reference Monitor II’s, which is a handsome two piece setup consisting of a triangular shaped monitor on top (just like the standard Ref. monitors from Tayler, only w/a different shaped cabinet),  and those sit on a bass module that has 2×8″ drivers mounted internally, and 2×10″ forward firing drivers.  They are a full range, extremely articulate pair of loudspeakers, so say the least.   I have been driving them the last month with a Manley Stingray 40wpc Int. Tube amp from Manley Labs.  A wonderful piece of gear…, but not enough “OOMPH” to push the Taylers to concert volume and room pressurisation.   So that was the first motivator.  The 2nd factor…., I like watching movies.  The kids like watching movies.  And you just can’t beat a decent HT setup for movies at home.

I had heard some of the mid-range Cambridge gear at various showrooms over the years, and always walked away impressed by what I heard.  So…it seemed logical that I could build my HT around their new 640R Receiver, keep my Taylers as the front mains…, and build the speakers for the rest of the channels (its a 7.1 channel system).  Let me list some of the features of the Azur 640r and I”ll comment on them as I go…..

• 7.1 channels driven by 7 discrete amps w/their own boards and dedicated circuitry.  Each little amp (Class T) is its own 100w individual power source.  The amp is rated at 100wpc, an honest approach compared to those other companies that might sum this info and call it a 700wpc powerhouse.   When used in pure two channel mode, the power gets “bumped’ up to 120wpc for the front mains while the rest of the amps go dark.  The “.1″ sub-woofer channel can be defeated, routing that crossover information to the main pair.  Very nice for a full range set of speakers as in my situation.
• More than enough digital inputs, both Toslink and Coax, accepting up to 24/96 for incoming streams.  It then up-samples to 24/192 and sends it through the DAC chip (same one that is found in their $450 DAC-MAGIC external DAC).   The Azur is *smart*.  If its being fed a digital signal from my Squeezebox, it recognised the two channel PCM stream and goes right into two channel mode on its own.  You can still simulate multi-channel…if you wanted to, but it defaults to two channel mode, which is just the way I like it.  If it senses a 5.1 PCM stream, it goes right into that mode for playback (and again, there are various DSP sound modes to choose from, but I keep it straight up for movies w/little if any extra effects added in).  All digital signals are subject to the DSP based tone controls (treb/bass)…if you want them.  The cross-over frequency for the bass is 100hz.  More like low-mid bass.  Same goes for the treble, its more in the “high-mid range” bandwidth…, so adjusting either gives you more of a mid rage “warmth” than the typical extreme “happy face EQ” sound.
• Analog direct mode…., a nice thing.   I have a modest turn table setup, and running the RCAs into the “aux” input of the Cambridge Azur…., and hitting the “analog direct” button will bypass the DAC and feed the analog signal directly to the amplification segment of the receiver.  A nice pure approach, as it should be.  There is also a “7.1 direct” mode, which you would use seperate wires for all the multi-channel information (hooking up your DVD/HD/Blue-Ray directly via its analog outputs).  Doing this gives you the purest approach for multi-channel …, and the only way you can listen to multi-channel music like SACD for example.  In this pure analog mode (along w/the analog direct mode), bypasses the DAC and all DSP, thus defeating any tone control or other DSP effects.
• HDMI switching.  This DOES NOT up-sample, tweak or in any way change the incoming resolution of video signals, be them component, composite, S-Video or HDMI.  All inputs (and you get all these flavours for every input) are routed out the main HDMI output to your monitor (TV, or what ever).  It would be cool if there was a fancy video scaler in there that up-sampled to 1080p output.., but that is a reason why this is not a $2k+ HT receiver.  That’s A-OK by me.  all of my video signals are in High-Def any way, so a “dumb switch” is not a problem for my applications

There are many more features to this box…but most of them are fluff or not concerning to the “music listener” type.  Lets get to the most important factor…how does it sound ?  Like I said, I am coming from a Manley Stingray, a high-end, hand built, Class-A two channel stereo that is “high end” in every regard.  Add to that the upgraded EL-84 power tubes, upgraded rectifier and preamp tubes as well, about $700 worth of new glass on top of system that already costs $2k on its own.  It sounded glorious…, but I wont go into that.   When I put the Cambridge in its place…, I was stunned.   The added 80wpc of power of course was the most apparent  upgrade in sound, as my massive Taylors were boomin’ once again, making the couch rumble and the plaster fall from the ceiling.  Just the way I like it !  This box (as well as all their gear I have heard), has a classic Britannia sound to it.  Its warm…, non-fatiguing …spacious and deep.  The sound stage is remarkably huge and the imaging is like SOLID ROCK.  Actually…., to my ear, its a sonic upgrade from the Stingray.  Yea, I said that.

I found two matched pairs of PSB Alpha monitors at a local pawn shop  that were in good order…, and I picked them up to use as the rear channels.  I”m currently using a 3rd from my “spare set” as my center channel until I build one (feeling out my cabinetry making skills and seeing if there is a potential marriage there w/my electronic knowledge).   Multi-channel info…, like watching “Lord of the Rings”…or any movie …, its spooky.  I’m just not used to being shocked by unexpected sounds coming from areas of my room where no sound came before.  I’m more than happy with it.  The kids love it.  The wife finds it easy to opporate, the remote is intuitive and simple…, what more can a guy ask for ?

I’ll be updating this entry as I listen more, take some pictures…etc.  If you want to go over the official specs, visit the corporate web site.  They’ve got all the fixin’s up there.

A 3.5mm jack is the input (only input), small speaker wire jacks on the back are ready for bare wire (only).  The main and only control is via the face knob, which has an “off” position at its lower threshold.

I was able to crank mine all the way feeding it .FLAC files via the line out of my RockBox’d Iriver 120.  I hate to sound stupid, but I was totally amazed by this little system and its cardboard box speakers.  Plenty of volume for my office (about 10×10), more than ample in fact.

That could have been the best $39 spent so far in 2009.

I know I have raved on and on in previous reviews of other “cheap” condenser mics.   Still, the Pulsar II deserves its props.

I picked up my pair as a “scratch -n- dent” special from a certain online retailer.  Got what I consider a good deal, on par with what you might pay for a used pair of Studio Project C4′s or Oktavas.

They came in a very nice (though cracked) hardwood jewelers box complete with clips,  wind screens and a nice T bar.  I was surprised to find a riser for use in coincident and ORTF methods where one mic must be above the other.  Impressive…good thinking.  Also included was a matching polar plot for each mic.

So far, they seem fairly well built.  Not too heavy, not “empty” feeling either.   They are a little longer than a KM184, but not by very much.  The sound….., however.

Ok, let me preface with (my opinion only).  Please feel free to express your own.

I find these mics to be very smooth.  Excellent bass response that is not sloppy.  Not exactly razor sharp, but nicely defined and perhaps a bit rounded, though they claim to be full range, 20hz – 20Khz rated.  Moving to the other end of the spectrum, the high end is fairly even.  I expected it to be spitty, as many of the Chinese built condensers tend to be for my ear, but they seem to capture a very cohesive representation of shimmering cymbals w/o the grainy crap cheap mics can through back at you.  The mid range is where its at though.  These suckers are pretty fat, and with the big bottom end they tend to lean towards just south of neutral sounding, whereby neutral is 100% transparent to the real source.  The result …to my ear, is a wonderfully balanced and musical sounding microphone.  The well matched stereo pair will give you solid imaging and a good sense of spaciousness and presence.

Overall…., an *excellent value* setup.  Match it with a good preamp (Ive been running mine with a V3 and Oade ACMod Edirol R44..as well as stock R44) and they’ll sing.  Whatever drawbacks their are, be it life expectancy, customer support from M-Audio…etc etc, the cheap entry into this kit and their stellar performance makes them nearly a moot point to me.

You can give them a listen here:

• taperssection.com Here you will find the sum of Tens of Thousands, their findings, their interests, their experiences with everything field recording you could possibly immagine.  Great community feel and friendly vibe, the TS.com experience is first rate as message boards go.
• Hydra-Audio Shameless?  You betcha.  FOH mixing services, multi-track recording services and custom audio cables.
• Oade Brothers Audio.  A permanent fixture in the recording community for decades, the Oade brothers offer all sorts of custom field recording tweaks and a staggering ammount of experience to share.
• GearSlutz Another forum, this one more geared toward the studio crowd.
• TieDyed.org Some interesting T shirt art.

Next up, things of interest and business friends.

• Tzolkin Corporation TZO, dynamic DNS software lets you do amazing things from home based servers.  Lots of features, and other services as well.
• NicksPicks on the Live Music Archive (LMA).  archive.org segment.  Live music recordings where you can find samples of all the recording gear reviewed here.

Size and construction is about the same as the V2. If anything its a little beefier. I bet you could drive a truck over one of these with out any damage to the unit (though I wouldn’t recommend trying). All aspects of the preamp are the same with one minor part (a transistor or something) being different than the V2, but gone are the RCA outputs (missed by me). Also gone are the red and green level indication lights, but in their place is a stepped level meter that is so nice , so accurate, man, its just a pleasure to watch. Seriously, its one of the units strong points.
The biggest news with this is the addition of a 24bit / 192kHz analog to digital converter offering s/pdif, two AES/EBU jacks and a word clock output. This is, IMO the *ultimate* one stop box.

It is powered by 6v or 12v and runs for around 5+ hours on a 6v 7amp SLA. That is plenty of juice for a single recording event (usually). There are so many technical details to go into w/this device …i’m just going to skip them and refer to you Grace Designs web site so you can read the official specifications there.

One feature that I love is M-S matrix decoding (set by two internal jumpers), which allows you to record in M-S mode yet output a pre-mixed stereo signal instead of the raw mid / side channels. most people will want to do the mixing in post so that you can dial in the stereo width just right, but I find that with a little practice (and some very good headphones) you can set the forward gain and stereo width on the fly easily and produce great results. More jumpers under the hood are responsible for 12v or 48v phantom operation. There is also a -20dB pad (jumpers, again) that you can engage in order to run a professional line level signal into the V3.

What I don’t like about the V3 is the “missing link” to interface with a laptop computer. Most all of the other digital field recording devices of late have a USB port to communicate with a computer. Grace opted not to add this as it has proven unreliable for high-resolution recording. They did leave it open for future upgrade to firewire or Mlan…but I’m not holding my breath on that. I think it would have been wise for them to include USB as then it would at least be able to record 24/48 with pretty good reliability. Its a drag to have to worry about another piece of gear if you want to record 24bit with this.

The V3 is one smooth sounding box. The preamp is ultra-clean and quite. Probably the most transparent portable preamp on the market. Zero coloration is added and it really brings out the characteristics of your microphones. This can be both good and bad, and I suspect that this may not be the best choice for every pair of mics out there. However, if you like your mics, you’ll love them through the V3. The A/D converter is full time 24bit processing, but w/the push of a button you can engage Grace’s patented A.N.S.R. (analog noise shaped reduction) dithering scheme to output 16bit signals. The detail that the V3 reproduces is amazing at any resolution. Cymbals crash and splash like you are standing next to the actual drum kit. Its not creamy, or glossed over. Its straight and accurate. This level of detail combined with the super transparent preamp produces an overwhelmingly accurate sound stage that is just wonderful to listen to. Am I gushing? I promise you would be too. This is a world class location recording tool that will be hard to surpass, even by Grace Design themselves. However…Looks like the Oade Brothers are now offering an A/D upgrade for this box, building upon its excellence with the experience they bring in far field recording and how things “should” sound.

T.H.E. Audio modular condenser microphone system

T.H.E. (Taylor – Hohendahl Engineering) is a company that was spawned by the ideas and frustrations of a few people. Namely, Taylor Johnson of the “Sound Room”, and the Hohendahl brothers.
Their idea was ….”Lets make some microphones that will break the mold of today’s standard high-end condensers”. Simple enough? Not really. Dream fulfilled? Absolutely!
These mics are the culmination of decades of expertise in the mic industry. All of the best aspects of German engineering combined with forward thinking ideas in mic body electronics have gone into this modular system consisting of the KA-04 mic body preamp and a range of capsules from 25 & 33mm “lollipop” design to 1/2″ cardioid, omnis and all those in between. There are actual more capsules offered for this system as well as some reference mics which you can read about on the THE web site. It is also rumored that there will be an active cable system in the not too distant future for these. Taylor is quite proud of them, as well he should be!

After a few months of friendly badgering, Taylor finally shipped me my choice of his new product line. I was tempted to take his BS-3D Binaural Sphere (a product separate from the modular system), but chose to go with something that my readers would probably benefit more from.
A day later, FED-Ex delivers a handsome cedar box containing two of the prettiest mics I have ever seen. From the pictures I had seen, they look a bit on the gaudy side…all polished and trimmed in gold. In your hand, they resemble a beautifully sculpted piece of art that have a weighty to them. There was something reassuring about their stoutness. Perhaps it is the sinking feeling I get when I hold a $2000 pair of mics that feel like they are plastic. Not so with these! They are almost heavy for their size. No matter though because they sound as good as they look!

They possess a certain smoothness to them. I think another good adjective to use here would be truthful because these mics do not display any coloration that I could notice. Perhaps they have a small rise in the high-end, but that works to your advantage when recording from a distance. I would categorize them as a bright sounding microphone, but not in a harsh way that sometimes occurs with other mics described the same (neumanns or schoeps come to mind). The mics are amazingly quiet, almost no self noise to speak of. None that I could hear any way. This is a result of the electronics used inside the mic body. Electronics that are said to be way ahead of the current guts in most high-end big name German condensers. Taylor told me to blow into one of the elements while I was testing. This would typically produce a noise similar to a freight train. This was not the case. What I heard was me blowing! No distortion from the mic what so ever. That was pretty impressive.
Where these mics will shine will be in close micing situations. I say this because of the SPL capacity they have. It’s a lot! Even when stage taping a fairly loud band, I was still surprised by the amount of headroom they offered. In a studio situation, I would probably run to these as my “go to” mic for any/all acoustic instruments. Something about the sound of them seems to suggest that they would bring the strings to life. The capsules I tested were the KR-2C true cardioids. Side/rear rejection seemed to be good, though not quite as dramatic as some mics I have used. Even still…I think they are much easier to listen to, or better put as pleasing to listen to than any other pair of condensers that I have used previously. I look forward to working with these mics some more and becoming more familiar with them. I had to return my test mics before I could really become comfortable with them. I will have more opportunities in the future and I’ll be sure to update this page with my thoughts.

Is there a downside? I don’t really think so. Their price is right in the middle. Not nearly as expensive as some modular systems, but a little pricier than others. I believe a pair of the mic bodies with a matched pair of cardioid capsules will run around $1500. You can certainly pay more and get less in return!
With these T.H.E audio microphones, you get what you are paying for.

Specifications:
Phantom Power…………………………48 Vdc
Input Noise Equivalent………………..< 2 µV RMS
Power Consumption………………….. 2.5 mA
Maximum Output Drive (differential)………… 18 Vpp
Output Impedance (5Hz to 30Khz)… < 90 Ohms Maximum Dynamic Range……………………… > 132 dB

Y-S Audio (audio experience) Symphonies

The best kept secret in high-end?
At first, I was a skeptic. I have to be honest for my readers. I don’t like to sugar coat things. I had seen offerings from this company on eBay and audiogon and their prices were cheap. The products “looked” cool enough to dig a little deeper into. Advertising and marketing efforts are a little thin for this company, which to the best of my knowledge is a one man show based out of Hong Kong. Hmmm…more skepticism.Chui Yat Sang is the self appointed “master” of valve tube amplifiers in Hong Kong. This may be so, maybe not. His web site is a tad confusing as his English doesn’t exactly flow like water. The layout and navigation is poor, and his products do not exactly jump out at you from the clutter. However, once you find them (I took the liberty of getting to the goods with the main title link of this review), you will be dazzled by the beauty of these esoteric devices.I took the plunge into the “base” line, which is the middle of 3 line stage preamp offerings: the “Symphonies”. You can see by the picture above (clicking on it will expose a larger image) that it is a handsomely built component designed with quality parts, heavy knobs and not too plain, not too gaudy on the eye. The power switch is a rocker located on the side, and there is a single red LED on the front panel that indicates if if is actually on or off. Let me warn ya, its *very* difficult to see, even in the dark! You must get down in front and squint to see if its actually lit up or not.

Looking inside the box, one can see the simplicity and quality of the construction here. The tubes are laid out horizontally and the wiring is all point to point. There is a single, tiny piece of circuit board used to hold the capacitors together as a base, and that is it! If you are into the “less is more” philosophy in hardware construction as it relates to signal path, then you are sure to be impressed with this product. Three 12AX7A vacuum tubes are used in the stage and a one 6X4 for the power supply. Simplicity!

So, how does it sound?
I was unprepared for just exactly how good all of my material sounded when I first fired this sucker up. My system at the time was a Rotel RC-1070 SS preamp > McCormack DNA-1 power drive and a lovely pair of Martin Logan SL3 loudspeakers, which are noted for their sheer transparency and tendency to really show you the strengths and weakness of upstream components. The Rotel sounded shrill, harsh and hurt my ears! I figured I needed some tubes to help me out here. Luckily, I was able to borrow a friends Conrad Johnson PV-10 tube preamp, and yes indeed, that really did the trick.
The Symphonies arrived (approx. 3-4 weeks after I sent payment overseas), and right out of the box it completely smoked, that’s right, SMOKED! the CJ. I was blown away. The soundstage width and depth grew well beyond my speakers, the presentation of the music was far more realistic and the bass tightened up considerably. There was a smooth, liquid like quality to the music. It wasn’t “thrown” at you, as it was w/the solid state Rotel. It was more like the music was “rolled” at you, straight and smooth. All this before it was even broken in! There was a slight grainy quality to it, but that quickly disappeared after approx. 100 hours of burn in time. Its completely broken in now, and it still seems like it gets better and better sounding with every month I listen to it. I brought it over my friends house, along with his CJ that I needed to return. I had him sit down and swap the gear in and out of his system for his own ears to taste. The material we were listening to, a live WSP show he recently recorded, took on such a new lively and clear presentation at one point that I was sure he put on a different and much better recording. Nope, he just hooked up the Symphonies. We were astounded that a $400 preamp (shipping included) could add so much to the music over his $1000+ CJ PV-10, it just didn’t seem right. It was as if we had our ears stuffed with cotton with the CJ, and then removed with the Symphonies. Amazing. Needless to say, the CJ was demoted to “boat anchor” status the next morning.

I started off by asking if this company could be the best kept secret in high-end. So far, in my admittedly limited experience, I have to think that it could be true! I’d love to get one of his higher end products. I’ve since moved on from the Symphonies to a different piece of gear that offered a few things in one (the Musical Fidelity CD-PRE 24) as I am always on the move for more and more equipment to listen to, but this little tube pre will always have a place in my heart. I know Chui can just build me another one …but next time I’ll go for his Symphonies + as he told me it is a vast improvement over the straight symphonies model. That, I have to hear! Hey Chui…how about building me a pair of those 120w mono blocks ? I’m still waiting for you to respond to my email on that one.
Specifications Reference gear used
Controls : Gain , Input Selector , Balance , Power On/Of
Output : RCA x2
Input : RCA x4
Output Impedance : 2K ohm
Frequency Response: 10Hz ~ 200KHz(-0.5dBat 5V)
T.H.D : <0.04% (20Hz ~ 20KHz /2V)
Input Sensitivity : 50 ~ 100mV
Input Impedance: 50K ohm
Gain: 12dB
S/N: >98dB
Channel Balance: <1dB(20Hz ~ 10KHz /max output)
Channel Separation: >56dB(2Hz ~ 20KHz)
Phase Mode : Normal
Max Output : 30V
Line-Stage Tubes : 12AX7A x3
Power Supply : 6X4
Dimension: 400mm x 310mm x 80mm (W x D x H)
Weight: 4.5kg
Power Source: 110-127/220-240V,50/60Hz

Rotel RC-1070 solid state preamp
Conrad Johnson PV-10 tube preamp
McCormack DNA-1 Powerdrive amp
Philips 963sa SACD player
Parasound transport
Benchmark DAC-1
smART DIO DAC
MIT term 3 interconnects and speaker cable
MIT term 2 speaker cable
DH Labs interconnects
Taylor taylo reference monitors w/custom Xovers and sub
Martin Logan SL3

Audio Technica markets this microphone as a hanging mic primarily used for reinforcement and broadcasting. The AT853′s that I used were custom mics produced by the Sound Professionals.
I thought that these mics were outstanding for the cost. Though not as small as most mics marketed for “stealth” recording, they offer many more options for the field recorder. Most notably is the option of interchangeable mic elements. I believe that every polar pattern with the exception of figure of 8′s is available for these. The Sound Professionals also sell a special “T” adapter for these allowing them to be mounted on any standard microphone stand. The adapter is flexible, but not especially suited for stereo placement other than A/B stereo (spaced omni-directionals). It (the stand) just doesn’t hold its form very well, and if your trying to achieve an exact setting of your mics of say 110 degrees with a space of 15cm (ORTF stereo), you will be hard pressed to keep it there. The mics seem to be quite rugged with the exception of the alligator clip, which after time would become worn to the point where the mic would not stay in the direction it was originally pointed in. Performance wise, they cooked. If anything, I thought that they lacked definition in the extreme of both ends (highs and lows). One of my biggest complaints with any microphone is coloration of the sound. I did not find the AT’s to add any significant artifacts here. My use of these mics also included a battery box with 7 bass roll-off settings also offered by the Sound Pros, though this is not needed. Any deck that provides “plug in power” will be sufficient to run these, but a battery box is Recommended I believe that with the battery box, this brought the total up to $260. I thought that they easily out performed other mics that I have played with in this price range.

Specifications:
Signal To Noise Ratio: 67 dB, 1 kHz at 1 Pa
Dynamic Range: 118 dB, 1 kHz at Max. SPL
Frequency Response: 30 – 20,000 Hz +/- 10dB
Open Circuit Sensitivity: -43 dB (5.6 mV) re 1V at 1 Pa
Maximum Input Sound Level: 115 dB SPL, 1 kHz at 1% T.H.D.

The Sound Proffesionals True Fidelity In-Ear Binaural microphones
I thought that these mics would be good for a goof. Just another pair of cheap omni’s.
Oh, how wrong I was…..Before telling you how great these mics sound (they do sound very nice), let me first point out that these are the only mics that I’m aware of, or that are readily available with accurate binaural recording in mind. Sure, other manufactures use the term, but in order to be true to the practice, binaural recording should include the pena of your ear. This is the outer part. It is very important in regards to how sound is harnessed and directed into your inner ear where all the hearing mechanisms are located. If you’re not familiar with this method of stereo recording, check out my FAQ on mic placement. It is the accurate reproduction of “how you would hear it if you were there” that binaural recording strives for.
Man, can these mics deliver!
As you can see from the illustration, these omni-directional micro elements are mounted in a soft plastic molding that fits the inner ear. That’s right, these mics mount at least 2cm inside your ear! It makes all the difference in the world when this is done.
Playback of any recording made with these is most desirable when headphones are used. The direct separation of the channels from left headphone > left ear / right headphone > right ear completely immerses the listener into a wonderfully accurate soundscape. The stereo image is wide and clear and the sound is rich and deep. They sound pretty decent when played over loudspeakers as well, but headphones really make a good binaural recording shine. I can’t think of much that I don’t like about these. At under $70 for a pair, you really can’t go wrong. They make an outstanding low profile recording package.
I would highly recommend some sort of battery module with these. They are sensitive and can brickwall the built-in preamp on a DAT or MD deck w/little volume from the PA.

Some notes from the Sound Pro’s web site:
- Signal To Noise Ratio: >62dB, 1 kHz at 1 Pa
- Dynamic Range: 74dB, w/o battery module, 94dB w/ battery module
- Frequency Response: 20 – 20,000 Hz
- Open Circuit Sensitivity: -35 dB (5.6 mV) re 1V at 1 Pa
- Maximum Input Sound Level: 105 dB SPL, 1 kHz at 1% T.H.D. (120dB when powered by our battery module)