Lewitt or Warm....the best $300 mic ?

[kurth]

Originally Posted by DupleMeter

The biggest problem with someone suggesting a mic is that it could very well sound great on their voice or guitar, but not be well suited for yours.

That’s why some mics are so highly prized for their neutrality (like a U67) or for their ability to make most sources sound great (like a U47 or M49). Those are all mics that you can buy & know they will be great. But, they’re also all super expensive (with a” real “ U47 running around $30k in very good condition), which makes the $8k for a U67 almost seem like a deal (almost [emoji2957]).

The reality is that the cheaper mics will have far more variation than any of the classic Studio workhorses. You may just need to make your best guess & take a chance (but check on the return policy).

...in my world , there is no return policies....it's kinda of like real life...you live with your decisions. If buying acoustic guitars was hard online sightunseen, then it's harder for mics...welcome to the international microphone market. I'd still like to have a couple of data points regardless. I'm not down to pinning tails on donkeys just yet.

[kurth]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

The 3 Zigma CHI line of mics are certainly sleeper mics. Their modularity and capsule varieties make it easy (or difficult depending on how you look at it) to grow a decent collection of mics at reasonable prices.

I looked at those...they didn't seem 'inexpensive'. One thing about the basic concept of modularity I don't like is that when the frameworks dies , the whole thing doesn't work. So there's more possibility of failure of the product, rather than 3 separate mics . If one fails , you still have the rest. Just a pov. I'll give them a second looks just to be more familiar. thanks

[DupleMeter]

Originally Posted by kurth

...in my world , there is no return policies....it's kinda of like real life...you live with your decisions. If buying acoustic guitars was hard online sightunseen, then it's harder for mics...welcome to the international microphone market. I'd still like to have a couple of data points regardless. I'm not down to pinning tails on donkeys just yet.

I get that.

On Reverb, I'm seeing Roswell mini k47s used, in mint condition, for 299 USD. A friend of mine, who has produced some classic albums in his time, considers that mic "much better than the Neumann TLM103".

[kurth]

Originally Posted by DupleMeter

I get that.

On Reverb, I'm seeing Roswell mini k47s used, in mint condition, for 299 USD. A friend of mine, who has produced some classic albums in his time, considers that mic "much better than the Neumann TLM103".

thanks but those don't popup for me when listing
'seller in usa". No Roswells whatsoever. Maybe it's twerking the results based on my ip. I'm inclined to not buy a mic used. Hard to know the age...and they would really have to be eaten if bad. Really eaten ! ....the thing about amazon.mx is it does have a month trial period to return goods. So now the Lewitt is winning the 300 category, but just by a scratch over the warm jr. . One mic that hasn't been included is the Lauten La220. Also no Lauten's on amazon. Might compare against the Roswells. Like the roswells in price. I went to the big microphone forum. Browsed and saw some of your posts...but that forum seemed too detailed to actually dig out any useful info. thanks for your input.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by kurth

tI went to the big microphone forum. Browsed and saw some of your posts...but that forum seemed too detailed to actually dig out any useful info. thanks for your input.

Just curious, what information would you find useful? What questions/answers would you have about a mic that would help you decide without hearing it?

[kurth]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

Just curious, what information would you find useful? What questions/answers would you have about a mic that would help you decide without hearing it?

there's no substitute for hearing it....'cept another person hearing it. Sparks in groupthink.

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by kurth

there's no substitute for hearing it....'cept another person hearing it. Sparks in groupthink.

That's why I generally like demos - it's a distant 3rd to trying it yourself, but it can at at least tell you "this is what someone was able to get out of it", or alternately, "really, that's as good as it can sound?". Far better than words. I've demo'd a number of mics, but none of the ones you're asking about. There's Audio Test Kitchen, lots of SoS demos, Sweetwater and other vendor's demos.

But I've yet to find a mic that can't sound pretty decent, the differences between various mics, even at different price points, tend to be pretty subtle. Not unlike guitars, sure they're all different, even ones of the same model, but you can make music with any of them, and the listener would be unlikely to notice the difference. My suggestion would be try to find a few demos of the ones you want, hopefully recording something similar to what you have in mind (hard, I know) and then dive in by buying one. At worst, you end up reselling and costing a few dollars for the experience and education.

[dnf777]

Kurth,
I cant rank order mics, and as you pointed out already, really only your ears can pick out what nuances fit your tastes best. Most reputable mics in a given price point will give “good ‘nuff” results, leaving personal preferences to be determined.

I can speak to my experience with the WA 47 jr. It is my work horse mic. It is well built, sturdy, and gives my ears a satisfying audio. Its not too harsh at the high end, and certainly not muddy. I use it for guitar, vocals, and both at same time. I must admit I have become a huge fan of Warm Audio as I put together my home studio. They are reasonable clones of unaffordable classic gear, and IME have excellent quality consistency.

[kurth]

Originally Posted by dnf777

Kurth,
I cant rank order mics, and as you pointed out already, really only your ears can pick out what nuances fit your tastes best. Most reputable mics in a given price point will give “good ‘nuff” results, leaving personal preferences to be determined.

I can speak to my experience with the WA 47 jr. It is my work horse mic. It is well built, sturdy, and gives my ears a satisfying audio. Its not too harsh at the high end, and certainly not muddy. I use it for guitar, vocals, and both at same time. I must admit I have become a huge fan of Warm Audio as I put together my home studio. They are reasonable clones of unaffordable classic gear, and IME have excellent quality consistency.

thank you Dave......today the warm jumped way ahead of the lewitt, as things are turning out. Lewitt just went up $100 bucks on amazon.mx, and warm is still the same price. Wonder if it'll hold? thanks

[steverok]

I don't think the Roswell mini fits your budget. If I had $300 to spend on a large diaphragm condenser, I'd probably go with the Rode NT1. The clips I've heard have a nice smooth character. It actually comes in below your budget, and the NT1 kit comes with a shock mount, cable, and pop filter. Seems like a great deal on a good mic to me.

[kurth]

Originally Posted by steverok

I don't think the Roswell mini fits your budget. If I had $300 to spend on a large diaphragm condenser, I'd probably go with the Rode NT1. The clips I've heard have a nice smooth character. It actually comes in below your budget, and the NT1 kit comes with a shock mount, cable, and pop filter. Seems like a great deal on a good mic to me.

Nt1 was my original mic thread. Or the 5th gen nt1. I guess it got superseded by the lewitt and warm. The Warm Jr still is standing out. And it's versatile. But I do like the Rode's selfnoiselessness. It does have a smaller diaphragm tho. I wish roswell's were more widely available. then maybe this.....
https://www.amazon.com.mx/Roswell-Pr...3-a253464ffa47
...wouldn't happen. Amazon.mx price for roswell mini k47 is about $675 US. So...roswell's not on the list. Like I said...more widely available. And I'd also like to add another mic of interest at this pricepoint. The beyerdynamic m90. Anyone tried that one? thanks

[Rudy4]

Just to quell misinformation, the standard Roswell Mini K47 kit with hard case and shock mount sells for less than $400 at reputable U.S. retailers.

Roswell Mini K47 at Vintage King

Too much? Sign up for Roswell's e-mail list and get your name thrown in the barrel for their monthly drawing. Someone gets their choice of a K-47 or 67 mic of their choice.

The Rode NT1 has been through several iterations and is generally regarded as a super-nice microphone at a reasonable price. I have one of the earlier versions and it does have that upper end presence boost that most inexpensive LDC imports are known for.

Possibly the newer ones have a less peaky upper end response, but that can be ascertained from current reviews.