Ilari Sivil

Since we're talking about the differences between the 4017B and the 4017C, how different are they, really? I've heard the C-preamp being described as "smoother", but since the C preamp is so short, shockmounting and wind protection seem like a challenge unless you can afford Cinela. I've used the B preamp and I know it to sound really good, but I've yet to hear a head-to-head comparison between the B and the C.

If I had to guess, the peak at around 20kHz is actually the anti-aliasing filter at 24kHz. I've seen other gear do that.

I think it's a good idea to have whatever you have on your person as something you can put on or take off easily. It really helps with changing clothes and taking breaks. It's also useful if you have to plant your main boom mic. I like to use a belt with pouches, I'll change the loadout depending on the demands of the show.

My "one mic" could really be the 4017B. It's light, it has a practically non-existent rear lobe despite being a shotgun and it sounds great. The off-axis response is beautiful and it makes booming easier, works pretty darn well for both interiors and exteriors. Great reach as well. I like how neutral and natural it sounds. A mixer I work with pretty regularly actually has the 4017B as the only boom mic in his kit, and I completely understand why. I've only used the original CMIT 5U, not the mini, and I liked that as well. It's been a couple of years since I used a CMIT, so I can't recall how it sounds well enough to compare it to a 4017B which I just used last week. I do remember that the CMIT 5U sounded really good in interior locations as well. Compared to an MKH50 the response is flatter and it's a bit less sensitive, but I'd say the same thing about the 4017B off the top of my head. I own a 416 and as much as I like it and I trust it, I consider it to be for exterior locations or big halls only. It doesn't always do well with high-frequency sounds off axis, it may even emphasize them. Recorded some pretty gnarly pan sizzle on a cooking show even though the pan should have been way off pattern visually. Still 90% of the time a 416 sounds absolutely lovely and it will take pretty much whatever conditions are thrown at it.

All of these sound good to me. I could tell which one was Zax before I looked at the spectrogram (which I did after the first listen). On this test, the difference is more subtle than I've heard on some other tests that used Sanken Cos11s. Personally, I would not mind any of these files in post, they'd all be perfectly acceptable to me. My gut feeling would be that #1 is Audio LTD, #2 is cabled, #3 is Zaxcom and #4 is Lectro. There might be more differences with a more dynamic reading, but that wasn't the point of the test, was it? I think I might now know what Constantin means by the "noise" in question. I think I heard it on the second part on the phrase "Der ausfühlichen angabe seine handlung", around "angabe". Sorry if I'm misspelling stuff, my German isn't great. Am I hearing the same thing in the upper mids? Thanks for the comparison!

I've been using a couple of different solutions since I've been running rental gear a lot. The Lectro VHF transmitter isn't actually bad in a bag, it's about the same size as a 411 receiver and it doesn't weigh much. The VHF whip antenna can be a bit ridiculous though, but it has worked quite well the couple of times I've used it. Personally, I like Sennheisers. They're rugged and they sound pretty good. Now that the G4s have come out with wider tuning ranges, they're even more interesting. I'm getting my own hops and TC solutions soon-ish, probably going to combine Sennheisers with Tentacles, especially now that the Sync E has wireless capabilities. That LR/Tentacle combo does look pretty nice, though...

Can't wait to see what the usual suspects come up with for hiding accessories!

I've been swinging Oktavas for quite a while now. I think using them has made my touch on the pole way softer, which is a good thing. I've also learned important things about wind protection. I use a Rycote INV 7 HG-MKIII and a Baby Ball Gag. I'd also add moisture sensitivity to potential problems, I've had the Oktavas crackle out on me once which has really kept me on edge ever since. Hasn't happened again, though. The sound is really good for such cheap mics, but by the time they've made me enough money to buy DPA or Schoeps, I'll probably go that route and keep the Oktavas as spares. I need something a bit more sensitive, a bit quieter and a bit more reliable. I've never used the Oktava low-cut, since I manage just fine by cutting at 80Hz on the recorder. The mics are noisy enough on their own.

Must've had some old info, since I learned about wireless video systems a couple of years back. Shouldn't be that much of a problem, in that case. There's still the 2.4GHz congestion in most residential areas to consider.

100mW in the 2.4GHz range could be asking for interference trouble with wireless video systems. Still, seems like an intriguing idea for camera hop type use at the price. Could be cool to see an IFB receiver as well. Jury's out until there's real world experience, obviously. Also, there hasn't been any info on latency. For example, the Sennheiser AVXs sound good and work well enough, but there's 20ms of delay which can sound pretty messy when used with cabled sources. In a bag, it would probably be easy enough to power them from 5v regulator hooked to a power distribution if necessary.

This could be a repackaging of the H6 hardware with different firmware and a ganged gain control. I mean, that's what they already have and can source easily. I like that it's an all-in-one unit, so there's no cabling to hide from a 360° camera. Something similar with timecode capabilities could be a pretty good tool for VR, so that it could be synced with another recorder that's handling wires on talent and other mics. I would think the gyroscope and the accelerometer are used with keeping a "horizon" fixed. On a moving recording, it could be pretty disorienting if the "horizon" moves too much. Being able to fix the audio image onto a horizontal plane despite the mic moving might be pretty useful, especially if there's going to be head tracking involved.

With extensive testing, I've found that a red Sharpie, manufactured before 1937, works best. Gives a nice, wooden vintage tone with an immaculate depth to it, but only after burning the cable in. You also need to use high-quality cable lifters, even on wireless.

There's a boundary accessory for DPA406Xs as well: https://www.dpamicrophones.com/accessories/boundary-layer-mount-for-dscreet

I do when it's required, and I did record music on wireless yesterday. The job I was on needed me to record a grand piano without mics in frame, could not have done it cabled. Hid everything on the underside of the lid of the piano and they shot from the other side. By the way, didn't you have an A10-TX and an A10-RX on sale a while back? How did you like them when you used them?

Thanks for the insight @Moesound! I was also about to ask about the bluetooth app. Does the receiver frequency change when you Bluetooth a change on the transmitter? I think 10ft is perfectly fine for inconspicuosly changing something, less intrusive than a dweedle tone if the talent needs to really focus. To respond to @Daniel Ignacio, I sort of consider the bluetooth remote comparable to the dweedle tones on Lectro systems, which have been an awesome feature with handling talent. I don't always get gain settings or frequencies right on the first go, so it's great to be able to change them without having to go under people's clothes. Personally, I really care about the remaining 4kHz, but that's also a matter of taste and use cases. I like having the highs there. I hear a difference when it's not full range, even on dialogue. There are overtones up there, which can be essential to have, especially for SFX recording or music. Just yesterday, I needed to record a grand piano with wireless, and I'll probably need to do similar things again. Looking forward to that, actually! For dialogue use alone and for the technical aspects, I totally get limiting the audio bandwidth to 16kHz. It makes a ton of sense, and I've heard great stuff recorded on Zaxcom gear. I'm just really, really drawn to getting audio up to 20kHz on wireless.

I'd love to try table stands or goosenecks for something like that, if mics are allowed in frame.

If you're going for "buy once cry once" and you're looking to get bigger jobs in the future, I'd recommend the 788 you mentioned in the original post, or you might want to save up for a 688. I've used the 664 a couple of times after getting used to the new features on the 633/688, and I really like the newer 6-series machines more. Looking at production work from a post perspective is weird. I've cursed myself for not recording stuff better when I've edited my own dialogue tracks, just as I might've cursed someone else. Really, it's not easy, but then again neither is dialogue editing. Do both well enough, and the end result is better than the sum of its parts.

What types of batteries do you run on the transmitters? I've heard they can get hot with Ni-Mh rechargables. How's the range in feet/meters and what type of antennae are you using? How have the transmitters coped with sweat? Have you needed to use the recording feature, and if so, how are the files named? Is downloading the cards on the transmitters a lot of trouble at the end of the day? I'm really intrigued by how insanely good the A10s have sounded in every demo I've heard. I'm a bit torn between the A10 system and wideband Lectros, so I'm in a similar place as Daniel. I'm going to get 4060s with any system I'm getting, love those lavs.

Thanks for the great reply! Dealing with the weight and leverage of the softie makes sense.

Based on the color, it looks like it has shore 82 Lyres which are meant for heavy mics to my understanding. I wonder why? Isn't the CS-M1 very light? I'm currently really interested in shock mounting solutions for very light mics, in part because of the CS-M1. Seems like a new type of challenge for manufacturers.

I'm on 4 Advanced and I've been thinking about upgrading to 6 Advanced, since they've apparently improved the Dialogue Denoiser which gets a lot of use from me. Also, I'm interested in Dialogue Isolate and De-Rustle. I've actually been changing prosody and intonations with pitch shifting occasionally, so Contour seems pretty interesting. The pitch shift that came with 4 Advanced still holds up great, so I'm excited if they've improved on it!

I've been using these: https://www.alpinehearingprotection.com/earplugs/musicsafe-classic/ They work well for listening to gigs and I also use them in the rehearsal space for our band. Comfortable and discreet, I never leave home without them. It seems my hearing is only decaying at a natural rate, but I am slowly becoming a better listener.

I prefer a waist belt to a shoulder strap, but a harness is the best solution when the bag's weight builds up. I don't ever want to use a single shoulder strap again, it really messes up my back, even with just an MM1.

I've been using the waist belt with the Stingray Small. Running can be a bit iffy, but walking is totally fine, as long as you get the bag tight on your body. I'd expect it to be better with the Junior.

Thanks for the input, now I'm definitely getting some!