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Aspen Mics - lav mics - opinions?


GNinja

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I actually have a bunch of these, bought them when they were on sale. They're not going to compete with top level lavs, but for quick and dirty backup, they're really quite decent and much better than the $30 trash that's sold on ebay. I even used them on a project two weeks ago, in an armory where we couldn't use wireless or booms, and I just wired these to the talent (3 guys), stuck them on zoom 1 recorders and hoped for the best. Luckily, the levels were OK and nobody had a bad word to say about the sound. My verdict - not bad in emergency situations and I carry them in my grab bag of random stuff just in case they might come in handy.

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That doesn't sound like a very scientific approach to evaluating a piece of gear.

Traditionally you'd be right, but CheesyCam.com is famous for endorsing and profitting off chinese gear. Really bad knock off type shit. And any product would would be associated with Cheesycam.com probably isnt of any quality. The site is geared toward DSLR DIY novices.... Also, here is a marketing ad for the aspen mic attached to the Zoom H1.... in the headphone port. So that should sum it all up.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Clicking the website's contact details brings up no contact details, which means I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.  Also - "Aspen Mics is a design and research lab based in the United Sates of America."  China isn't in the USA.  No thanks.

What website? OST? OST mics are made (or at least assembled) in New Jersey, which AFAIK is in the US, OST's customer service is excellent. Don't know much of anything about the 'Aspen Mics', except they're marketed towards the DSRL/Zoom crowd which suggests the quality (or lack thereof).

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I find it ironic that many of us spend upwards of two grand for a boom mic (or, actually, for each of several in our "toolbox"), and will spend more than three grand for a channel of wireless, but here is talk about compromising sound quality in order to save maybe a couple of hundred bucks on the lav.

Different markets, I guess.

In case it matters, probably the single thing one can do to most improve a mid-range kit, is with better mics.

$300 to $500 for a lav is not out of line in relation to the expense of the rest of our kits, considering that better mics will improve your sound.

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I find it ironic that many of us spend upwards of two grand for a boom mic (or, actually, for each of several in our "toolbox"), and will spend more than three grand for a channel of wireless, but here is talk about compromising sound quality in order to save maybe a couple of hundred bucks on the lav.

Different markets, I guess.

In case it matters, probably the single thing one can do to most improve a mid-range kit, is with better mics.

$300 to $500 for a lav is not out of line in relation to the expense of the rest of our kits, considering that better mics will improve your sound.

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there is a tendency with some newer producers and directors to have everybody wired at all times, so some young sound mixers might rather want to buy 20 Aspen Lavs than 5 DPAs? I think getting fewer but better mics is probably the better choice here, but I'm not sure these producers would see it the same way.

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Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there is a tendency with some newer producers and directors to have everybody wired at all times, so some young sound mixers might rather want to buy 20 Aspen Lavs than 5 DPAs? I think getting fewer but better mics is probably the better choice here, but I'm not sure these producers would see it the same way.

Not meaning this to sound argumentative, but how many young sound mixers own 20 wireless systems?

My point being, part of owning a good wireless system is having good mics for it -- they're a crucial part of the chain.

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Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there is a tendency with some newer producers and directors to have everybody wired at all times, so some young sound mixers might rather want to buy 20 Aspen Lavs than 5 DPAs? I think getting fewer but better mics is probably the better choice here, but I'm not sure these producers would see it the same way.

I'm not sure it really matters how some producer views this --- if you're working on jobs that require wireless (for whatever reason) you should be prepared to have and use the highest quality wireless mic set you can afford. 

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I further submit that producers leaning more on wireless mics these days is not a reason to use cheaper lavs. Quite the opposite, it becomes more important to buy higher quality ones!

 

Actually that's exactly my point, and if you care to read my post again, it's also what I wrote in my last sentence. My assumption, I don't mind rephrasing, was that because of the expectations to have large quantities of wireless kits (and forgive me for exaggerating, no, I don't know anyone who owns 20 kits), it will be a natural effect for some to consider buying cheaper products. I personally think that's wrong (like you and Jeff and many others), but that doesn't mean nobody else thinks like that.

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The price difference between low quality vs high quality lavaliers is not huge. We are not talking for a Rode NTG2 ($225) and Schoeps CMIT5U ($2200). Since your lavalier microphone will be your main microphone; bring something better.

 I totally agree with you man. In fact, somebody already mentioned that these mics will be useful in case of an emergency. But truth is that the price is not even as competitive as they might think it is. If I'm in a desperate situation were my B6s are totally gone. I'll rather get some used M152s from the original kit. I'll never trust these AspenMics.  

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Actually that's exactly my point, and if you care to read my post again, it's also what I wrote in my last sentence. My assumption, I don't mind rephrasing, was that because of the expectations to have large quantities of wireless kits (and forgive me for exaggerating, no, I don't know anyone who owns 20 kits), it will be a natural effect for some to consider buying cheaper products. I personally think that's wrong (like you and Jeff and many others), but that doesn't mean nobody else thinks like that.

 

Sorry if it appeared my comments were aimed at you personally -- that was not my intent.  I was addressing the issue of lav quality and had no intention of negating anything you said.

 

My comments are not aimed at any one personally -- just at the issue of "cheaping out" on one of the most critical links in the sound chain.  With the best lavs available costing less than $500, it shouldn't be an issue for someone working professionally in our industry.

 

Having "crash lavs" is a different thing entirely -- that's a specialty application, and one that's good to be prepared for.

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The price difference between low quality vs high quality lavaliers is not huge. We are not talking for a Rode NTG2 ($225) and Schoeps CMIT5U ($2200). Since your lavalier microphone will be your main microphone; bring something better.

 

I agree with you. But considering how may Schoeps mics I own, compared to how many lavs I own.... upgrading to better lavs can be rather costly.

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