Post by Rabbit on Oct 7, 2017 6:45:17 GMT
I have the larger Saramonic. It’s just a fraction quieter than the old one apparently. The cheapo Xenyx mixers really aren’t bad either as long as you don’t crank them up too much. Behringher’s gear can be hit and miss. Some of their stuff was quite shocking and in some venues for public performance, they even stipulate what gear you can and can’t use. Behringher didn’t feature at all on anything approved.
The XM8500 is almost a copy of the Shure sm58 which is accepted everywhere as some kind of standard but the Behringher is close as dammit. Both are great for vocals because their rejection is good and they are tough as nails.
Now I’m retired, I no longer have access to pro Mics and the biggest difference I’ve noticed is levels of noise. Some gear is shocking in that respect. In fact, some Mics sound as though you’re speaking through a snow storm which is such a pity in these days of digital and supposed ‘silence’ in comparison to analogue. In the bad old days, the noise was still an issue, but gain was used in sometimes very clever ways in order to disguise noise. Theoretically, these days, we should be able to produce silent source material but the Mics still produce a serious amount of noise in reality..
One I recently tried that is cheapish is a Rode NT1a. It has less noise than the Audio Technica but for me, the sound was really ‘hi fi’ with extremely extended top and bottom, so that speech sounded as though it was done in a bare operating theatre. I loved its lack of noise since placement wasn’t so much of an issue but the sound is pretty clinical .... great for recording music, but not sure about speech unless it’s EQ’d down at the top. There’s another one with a close model number, NT1,without the ‘A’ which has a better top end imo, but I think it’s quite a bit more money and not ‘pensioner’ friendly. Great mic though.
The XM8500 is limited in its FR range but has a nice mid section. Quite similar to the Shure SM58 actually. In fact, they’re so cheap, they’d be a great Shure replacement on tours where stuff gets nicked!!!
Slightly rising response in the mids with a treble hump but that kind of helps with vocal clarity. Not as Hi-Fi as the AT2020 and rolled away bottom end. I’d still put a sock on the top though and if you speak really close (like singers do), noise gets pushed away rather nicely. I also EQ’d a little of the bottom end away just to lower proximity effect but the Saramonic doesn’t have that which is a pity. Still, you can do that in post.
I recorded the electric piano of all things, with it yesterday. Very close mic’d because dynamics can take a lot of sound pressure and actually, it sounded ok. I found rejection on it great. So I think for interview shots in my up and coming project, the dynamics are coming out when I can use them for lower self noise and noise rejection. The condensers are very sensitive to background ‘quiet’ sounds by comparison.
Of course, I forgot that you have other readers so there is no ‘one sound’ for your readings. Even if they used lavs, it would be better for noise purposes. Too much hiss and it becomes a nightmare to remove since it impacts on the sound of the music or speech. I don’t like using noise removal if I can help it. I often play around with the envelope shape first since that isn’t so destructive, leaving full hiss inside the noisy parts because you don’t notice it so much then. With the dynamic yesterday though, there was no need for any shaping/noise removal since I slammed so much sound into it.
The XM8500is a surprising mic and ridiculously good value but if you are used to condensers, then the sound may be quite restrained at the frequency extremes to your ears when you hear it. I like the Behringher though and you can get great results from it.
Edit: did a ‘mini’ test with the xm8500 this morning and compared directly to a cheap (but pretty good sounding) Chinese condenser (bm800) and the AT2020.
Obviously, the dynamic is less sensitive but there are definite benefits as well. I used a Behringher 802 mixer and in order to lower proximity, took the bass down a bit and raised treble slightly for clarity. That’s better with the dynamic, but not really with the condensers.
Differences could be heard easily. The two condensers went up way further in the treble and emphasised p and b sounds. Resonant bass too. The noise was interesting .... the Chinese one was obviously louder than the AT but not intrusively so.
The XM8500 matched the AT on noise (!) and to my ears, sounded a little more natural and less ‘lively’. The cheap BM800 was noisier than the XM8500. I used that because it sells at the same ridiculous price.
The background noise from things like central heating were less on the XM800. Both the BM800 and the AT picked it up clearly in spite of being cardiod. The XM8500 didn’t hear a thing. Probably because the capsule points up and down, not forwards and backwards.
So the XM8500 certainly has its uses; especially where background noise is an issue. It does need EQ though imo. If I’m being really picky, so does the AT2020 which is a tad too perky at the extremes. Needs a little toning down in the treble and bass, where the XM8500 benefits from toning down bass but upping the treble slightly.
Very interesting (at least to me) since it kind of shows that a cheap dynamic is imo, better than a cheap condenser for noise although more limited in frequency response. A mid priced condenser matches as far as noise goes with better extension at both ends, but that sensitivity can also pick up unwanted sounds as well.
I think the XM8500 is a real match for the Shure SM58 at a fraction of the price. As long as they are both used close, they are great. The only problem is that really, they are both only as good as the preamp I think, whereas the condensers produce more inherent noise due to the electronics involved. So a noisy preamp will sound good with a condenser and less good with a dynamic. A good preamp would maybe sound great with a dynamic and its low noise but the condensers still produce noise in themselves so a good preamp might not improve so much.....
It’s quite a juggling match with budget stuff. I do find this stuff quite interesting tbh.
Maybe I should do a video comparison for YouTube......
The XM8500 is almost a copy of the Shure sm58 which is accepted everywhere as some kind of standard but the Behringher is close as dammit. Both are great for vocals because their rejection is good and they are tough as nails.
Now I’m retired, I no longer have access to pro Mics and the biggest difference I’ve noticed is levels of noise. Some gear is shocking in that respect. In fact, some Mics sound as though you’re speaking through a snow storm which is such a pity in these days of digital and supposed ‘silence’ in comparison to analogue. In the bad old days, the noise was still an issue, but gain was used in sometimes very clever ways in order to disguise noise. Theoretically, these days, we should be able to produce silent source material but the Mics still produce a serious amount of noise in reality..
One I recently tried that is cheapish is a Rode NT1a. It has less noise than the Audio Technica but for me, the sound was really ‘hi fi’ with extremely extended top and bottom, so that speech sounded as though it was done in a bare operating theatre. I loved its lack of noise since placement wasn’t so much of an issue but the sound is pretty clinical .... great for recording music, but not sure about speech unless it’s EQ’d down at the top. There’s another one with a close model number, NT1,without the ‘A’ which has a better top end imo, but I think it’s quite a bit more money and not ‘pensioner’ friendly. Great mic though.
The XM8500 is limited in its FR range but has a nice mid section. Quite similar to the Shure SM58 actually. In fact, they’re so cheap, they’d be a great Shure replacement on tours where stuff gets nicked!!!
Slightly rising response in the mids with a treble hump but that kind of helps with vocal clarity. Not as Hi-Fi as the AT2020 and rolled away bottom end. I’d still put a sock on the top though and if you speak really close (like singers do), noise gets pushed away rather nicely. I also EQ’d a little of the bottom end away just to lower proximity effect but the Saramonic doesn’t have that which is a pity. Still, you can do that in post.
I recorded the electric piano of all things, with it yesterday. Very close mic’d because dynamics can take a lot of sound pressure and actually, it sounded ok. I found rejection on it great. So I think for interview shots in my up and coming project, the dynamics are coming out when I can use them for lower self noise and noise rejection. The condensers are very sensitive to background ‘quiet’ sounds by comparison.
Of course, I forgot that you have other readers so there is no ‘one sound’ for your readings. Even if they used lavs, it would be better for noise purposes. Too much hiss and it becomes a nightmare to remove since it impacts on the sound of the music or speech. I don’t like using noise removal if I can help it. I often play around with the envelope shape first since that isn’t so destructive, leaving full hiss inside the noisy parts because you don’t notice it so much then. With the dynamic yesterday though, there was no need for any shaping/noise removal since I slammed so much sound into it.
The XM8500is a surprising mic and ridiculously good value but if you are used to condensers, then the sound may be quite restrained at the frequency extremes to your ears when you hear it. I like the Behringher though and you can get great results from it.
Edit: did a ‘mini’ test with the xm8500 this morning and compared directly to a cheap (but pretty good sounding) Chinese condenser (bm800) and the AT2020.
Obviously, the dynamic is less sensitive but there are definite benefits as well. I used a Behringher 802 mixer and in order to lower proximity, took the bass down a bit and raised treble slightly for clarity. That’s better with the dynamic, but not really with the condensers.
Differences could be heard easily. The two condensers went up way further in the treble and emphasised p and b sounds. Resonant bass too. The noise was interesting .... the Chinese one was obviously louder than the AT but not intrusively so.
The XM8500 matched the AT on noise (!) and to my ears, sounded a little more natural and less ‘lively’. The cheap BM800 was noisier than the XM8500. I used that because it sells at the same ridiculous price.
The background noise from things like central heating were less on the XM800. Both the BM800 and the AT picked it up clearly in spite of being cardiod. The XM8500 didn’t hear a thing. Probably because the capsule points up and down, not forwards and backwards.
So the XM8500 certainly has its uses; especially where background noise is an issue. It does need EQ though imo. If I’m being really picky, so does the AT2020 which is a tad too perky at the extremes. Needs a little toning down in the treble and bass, where the XM8500 benefits from toning down bass but upping the treble slightly.
Very interesting (at least to me) since it kind of shows that a cheap dynamic is imo, better than a cheap condenser for noise although more limited in frequency response. A mid priced condenser matches as far as noise goes with better extension at both ends, but that sensitivity can also pick up unwanted sounds as well.
I think the XM8500 is a real match for the Shure SM58 at a fraction of the price. As long as they are both used close, they are great. The only problem is that really, they are both only as good as the preamp I think, whereas the condensers produce more inherent noise due to the electronics involved. So a noisy preamp will sound good with a condenser and less good with a dynamic. A good preamp would maybe sound great with a dynamic and its low noise but the condensers still produce noise in themselves so a good preamp might not improve so much.....
It’s quite a juggling match with budget stuff. I do find this stuff quite interesting tbh.
Maybe I should do a video comparison for YouTube......