Condenser mic - Marantz?
I’ve started thinking about a home studio and have been browsing this forum for a while, searching for ideas. Today I noticed Woot has a Marantz MPM-2000 large diaphragm condenser mic for ~ $90. Any AGFers have experience with it? Any thoughts about Marantz equipment in general?
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i don't know where they are made but for that price, possibly chinese. that certainly doesn't mean they are bad. for that price, it would probably serve you well for an overall mic. seems they are in the a/v end of electronics now and have been bought and sold a few times.
it looks like the mics are sold by quite a few vendors so may be worth it to go to your big box store and try a couple out. https://www.google.com/search?q=mara...hrome&ie=UTF-8 play music! |
Thanks, I was thinking that was a nice price, unless it’s a piece o’ junk. I tried to research it but didn’t find much except for a couple of YouTube reviews.
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I’m not familiar with the mic you are looking at. You said you are starting a home studio, and I was wondering if you’ve considered usb mics versus a setup using an audio interface in combination with a mic(s). If you tell us your overall expectations and usage you might get more opinions.
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Fair enough. I would like to set up a computer based, singer-songwriter type home recording system. The recordings would be for sharing with friends and family, I have no desire to be on YouTube ... so quality matters but only up to a certain point. My preference for the chain would be condenser mic(s) -> audio interface -> PC Daw, tracking to external HD. I have a smallish budget, <$1,000, so I’m looking for the best cost-benefit ratios I can find.
As an aside, I will say that so far, the most helpful sites for my research have been AGF and Sweetwater. Having said all this, my query was whether anyone on the forum has any experience with this specific mic, and whether they could give a thumbnail review. I suspect the specificity of my request has more to do with the number of replies than a lack of background information. But I appreciate your taking the time to comment. Thanks. |
You say you're "thinking about a home studio." What do you envision that home studio will look like and include? In most home studios (as I would define them), USB mics are going to have very limited usefulness.
I'm also curious as to why you're interested in that Marantz mic. You said you've been "browsing this forum for a while" and I don't think that mic has any reputation at all in this forum while there are other similar mics that have come up and about which there is much more information. But to answer your questions, I have no experience with this microphone. Also, I've never seen any real love expressed for a Marantz microphone in this or any other forum. Since I read quite a bit here and in other forums, that implies that either this mic is a good mic that has flown under the radar or there are much better options out there for buyers of USB condensers. If I had to put money on which of those things were true, I'd bet on the latter and pass on this mic. I'm sure if you ask the question here, you'll get responses that will give you better options. |
Thanks for the suggestion.
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I've been impressed with the value of the Focusrite Scarlett audio interfaces; I used to use a 6i6 and my son uses a 2i4. If you go that route get a 2nd generation model. Do you know how many channels you will be recording at once? Will you record vocal and guitar at same time? Will you be doing mono or stereo recording of your guitar? I can't make recommendations on vocal mics, but for a value based sdc for guitar you might consider the Line Audio CM3. I picked up a pair and they are very nice for $150 each. They are a wide cardioid pattern which may or may not be best for your use. For a DAW I use Reaper. Really nice for $60. |
Marantz makes two versions of the MCM2000, a USB and the other kind. But frankly, now that I have read up on Line Audio and its consistently good product reviews, I think that option has a lot more appeal. And thanks, too, for the Scarlett 2i4 comments, it looks like the right answer for what I want to do.
Man, AGF is amazing. |
I know I've said this many times before here, but I was very impressed by the MXL MCA SP-1.
For $59 you can't go wrong and it sounds like a $500.00 mic. https://bhpho.to/2yzv2Ii Regards, Ty Ford |
I remember reading some great reviews on this mic...
monoprice 600800 |
Thank you both, I will check ‘em out.
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+1 for the Line Audio. It is pretty flat which is good for acoustic guitar.
And listen to anything that Ty Ford says on microphones. He's been a knowledgeable source for mics and other recording equipment for decades. I would expect the Marantz is a Chinese mic that they put their badge on. Very common and we are awash in decent (not great) mics these days. I think the MXL mics are worth looking at as I believe they are trying differentiate by better quality control. Another suggestion is iSK. They are a Chinese manufacturer who are trying to differentiate from the crowd like MXL. Still super affordable. I have the Starlight (LDC) and the Pearl (SDC) and they are go-to mics for me for quick recording. The Pearl is ridiculously cheap at $29 but that has no relation to the quality: https://www.iskproaudio.com The thing about super cheap mics is that you may be happy at first, but as your ear becomes better you start noticing issues. For example, with cheap condensors, it is common to hear a grittiness, fogginess or tizziness in the upper mids/trebles, which disappears when you switch to a "step-up" mic. I have at least half a dozen cheap mics that I no longer use because of this. |
I have one and it's pretty good. I paid $80 for mine and it's good for the price.
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Thanks to all
I appreciate everyone who chimed in here. Your ideas and suggestions were very helpful in my research and decision-making. As it turns out, I found an AKG P170 small diaphragm condenser mic bundled with a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 audio interface for $200. So my quest is complete. For now.
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Whoa... my problem looks way worse when I write it down. |
Well, I’m just starting. You Top Hands need to give me time.
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I have started to look around a little bit for a microphone of this type, though I must admit that I have no idea of the advantages of the vertical design vs. a more traditional "point-and-shoot" design like the iSK Pearl mentioned above. I currently have a set of button microphones with which I made one of those fix-on-your-spectacles (just in front of your ears) designs that were kind of popular among concert goers in the 90s. Extremely simple; the buttons are fixed with crimp tubing onto good quality coax cables of almost the same width, feeding into a tiny box that just hold a 9V battery and an RC filter. Gives a surprisingly precise stereo image even when I fix them with one of those "3rd hand" soldering aids but I have never tested its fidelity or SNR (stupid, back in the day I worked in a lab where I had access to the necessary equipment; I guess I was satisfied with the catalog specs for the buttons, now long lost). Anyway, the Marantz is on the high end of what I'd want to spend (and the only brand I recognise when browsing on amazon) and I do have a simple USB iMic sound interface that will accept a "standard" mic (3.5" jack) so I don't really need to pay for the USB function. But in that case I'd prefer a model that will take a battery instead of an external power supply. |
Wow, I just looked at the iSK Pearl specs, amazing low noise specs for such an inexpensive mic. I just bought a pair of sE7 matched mics, which I paid just under $200 for and the specs on noise are about the same. I don't know if the sound quality on the sE might be better over all, considering how much more I paid for them I hope so. But the price on those iSK mics is pocket change almost, don't see how how you can go too wrong at least trying them out.
As for other recommendations, I also got an MXL 770 and an AKG p420 large diaphragm mics. The quality difference between those two isn't very different to my ears, other's might hear more of a difference I'm sure. I think the MXL is a fantastic deal. I got the AKG because it has the different modes, figure-8 and omni, along with the regular cardiod. But side by side, I can't hear much difference in quality of sound between the MXL or AKG. I'm thinking it would take more $ to get significantly better sound quality. The AKG p220, cardiod only version, is about 2x the price of the MXL, so I'd get the MXL if the sound quality of the p220 is same as p420. That's my $0.2 worth if anyone is considering a large diaphragm mic. As for the sE7 mics, I've only tested them once, but initial impressions are very good. They seemed like they might be about as good as I could get in that price range (got them on sale, $20 off). I was considering the AKG P170 and Lewitt LCT 040 models (both of which seem highly regarded), but I couldn't find the P170 in a matched pair configuration, and the Lewitt 040 doesn't have any att/high pass features. I wanted to get something I can hopefully be satisfied with for awhile, don't think my wife will be too happy with much more of my GAS, so I settled on the sE7. Only thing I can say about them at this point is they don't come with a carry case, so I'll be looking for something to keep them in. Probably go down to the sporting goods store and pickup a cheap case for it, so no big deal there. |
I saw the MXL 770 too - apparently it's a favourite of rappers, for some reason (not sure what to think of that :))
I also found the Eagletone CM60 (75€) which has a 1" aperture (apparently rare), a preamp with discrete (non-FET) elements and can be switched between cardioid and omni-directional: Quote:
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Also, you can readily upgrade the electronics in the MXL. The AT2020 for instance is one that isn't easy to upgrade the internals. Not that it isn't better maybe to just upgrade the whole mic if you want better sound, rather than spend money trying to make a cheap mic better. But apparently, a lot of people are into doing that, and I would wonder if the rappers are typical among them? That's just a guess, though, I have no knowledge whether they tend to play around with equipment like that, but I just suspect they might. Maybe it's because it would fit in with the whole scene of modifying cars with upgrades and tricked out parts. Maybe you can put a set of spinning hubcaps on an MXL?? |
You're probably right. Back in the day when I made the above mentioned "stealth" stereo mic (with the help of an electronics guy in my lab!) I had been looking at ordering a similar one made by a small company. That same electronics guy told me I'd be wasting my money, that we could make something essentially identical by just buying the components, because "everyone uses the same [button] mic elements anyway". You pay for having them matched, you pay for the nicely packaged electronics and for the housing, and the manufacturer takes a margin off all that. I already knew that argument from an uncle who worked for Philips in their German TV division: add a 10 cent component and that will increase the MSRP with at least 10 marks.
Indeed, I payed an incomparably lower price for the handful of components, in the end (the most expensive being the quality cables and the little plastic box, IIRC). So yeah, it's probably true that it'll be easy to replace an electronics circuit inside a nice packaging with a quality transducer element (the actual mic). Much of those electronics might even be superfluous (and thus get in the way) if you're connecting the mic to quality studio equiment(?) |
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I was a bit shocked at how well it compared to many other mics. |
Apparently I had a psychocological need to spend some money :), I ordered a T.Bone SC600 from Thomann which seems almost identical to the Eagletone I mentioned above (incl. the cardoid/omni switch) but has a much lower self/intrinsic noise level. Thanks to Thomann for putting up succinct and useful information helping me chose ... and being competitive in price with A**zon too!
I'm still debating whether I'll get just a USB-powered phantom voltage supply (Tonor, about 17€) or go wild and get an ART Tube MP (49€). Not that I think I'll ever be doing it, but the idea of having an omnidirectional-or-cardioc mic to combine with my existing "headspace" stereo mic kind of tickled the tinkerer in me :) |
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The web is full of after-market upgrade kits and services for less expensive mics. The owner of the "Recording Hacks" website started producing his own line of mics that are based on the upgraded capsules and electronic components. I have one of his Roswell Mini K47 mics and think it's really quite good if you're looking for a LDC that's reasonably priced and doesn't have the hyped high end that's part of the majority of Chinese LDC offerings. |
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For the price, I'd get a half dozen :lol: |
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