LDC mic upgrade (pair)

ex351d

Member
I have a pair of sE Electronic X1 LDC that I would like to upgrade. They sound good as spot mics but I do not like them as drum overheads and room mics. I could still use them as outside kick and maybe second snare mic.

I am looking for a switchable polar pattern so I would use the mic as a general purpose mic. I have a decent selection of good dynamic mics, a pair of Chinese ribbons that seem to do the job but I do not use them a lot. I have a Blue Bluebird that I really like for vocals and use it only for that. Also, I have a pair of Oktava MK012. Together with the SM57, they are my favouite mic.

I was looking at the Oktava MK220 which are at a good price for about 500 for the pair. As I really liked the MK012 I though of these but there is not a lot of reviews on the MK220 mics. Seems like a lot of users like the AKG C414. To get a pair of 414 would stretch my budget quite a bit (700 per mic). I've looked for all the other alternatives I could and I am not spending more than the C414. Seems that the C414 XLS, Lewitt Authentica LCT 640, Audio Technica AT4050 and he Senheiser MK8 are at around the same price range.

Which pair would you recommend?
 
Yeah sadly I cannot afford the ADK. I would have to double the price of the mics I mentioned to get a pair of these! (which was already stretching my budget)
 
Currently there are specials that can be had on the newest generation of ADK mics. But you have to know who to ask.......Astroaudiopdx.com Sorry for the shill! But they are as close to Larry as is it gets....AND they have a demo model of the TC-251. I have a modded Area 51 TT with that capsule in it. Stunning...And all of the mics the OP listed are going to work for what is intended although I don't know anything about the Lewitts......
 
Currently there are specials that can be had on the newest generation of ADK mics. But you have to know who to ask.......Astroaudiopdx.com Sorry for the shill! But they are as close to Larry as is it gets....AND they have a demo model of the TC-251. I have a modded Area 51 TT with that capsule in it. Stunning...And all of the mics the OP listed are going to work for what is intended although I don't know anything about the Lewitts......

Lewitt seem to be recommended a lot online but have not met anyone using them. So would the Oktava Mk220 work? how would they match up to the other mics? As the Oktava pair is not even half the price of the others!
 
I have a modded Area 51 TT with that capsule in it. Stunning...

I have several ADK mics...from their earlier line-up.
The original Hamburg and Vienna (black) mics, both had some of the electronics upgraded by ADK, but not the capsules.
I have a stereo pair of the TL mics....ans also a A51TL...not sure what the difference was, but the 51TL has a TT-47 custom capsule, which sounds fantastic in it.

I also have the Commemorative Edition TT....which is designated as the TT/CE...it was the first one that had the round basket (like all their top-line mics now have)...where the original TT mics had that "pinched" flat sided basket.
The Custom TT-47 capsule was actually meant for the my TT/CE...but I just didn't like how it sounded in that mic. Just happened that at the same time, I spotted the 51TL on eBay for like $25, because it had a broken capsule...not sure how they broke just that and not the basket, but I asked Kevin, the ADK tech if the TT-47 capsule would work in the 51TL, since to me it looked like it should...and he said yes.
So...I picked up the broken 51TL, put the TT-47 capsule in it, and it sounded way better in that mic than it did in the TT/CE.
I had also tried on other custom capsule for the TT/CE (I don't think it was their 251...one of the others...and I didn't that one either. In both case, the original stock TT/CE capsule just sounded better to me....so I put my original capsule back in, and used the TT-47 for the 51TL. :)
I even bought a spare stock capsule from ADK for like $75...because they had a pile of them from people doing the custom upgraded capsules.

I paid $1100 for the TT/CE...but heck, now their upscale mics are twice that.
Larry offered to do a full upgrade on my TT/CE...not just the capsule...but after my capsule swapping experience, I decided to leave it alone. I'm sure the full upgrade would have sounded good... but I just didn't want to end up with a different sounding mic, since my stock TT/CE sounds fantastic stock.

I'll have to check out the Astroaudiopdx.com site...see what deals they have.
While I love the sound of the 51TL with that TT-47 capsule...it's still a FET-based mic...and I was interested in something more true to the classic tube 47 sound.
The new stuff from ADK looks mighty tempting...if I could find one for a decent price.

The only problem I have now with ADK is that they have so many different models! :D
The various Z-Mod stuff...then the TC, Berlin, Frankfurt 47 versions...etc.
I would love to be able to demo them all so I can really pick the one that works best for me...'cuz you just don't know from the descriptions which one will be the best choice.
 
Yeah....too many models. I believe they are working towards thinning the herd. I bought a pair of the original tt's from a studio in Nashville a few years back. Got them for a great price and while they were really good sounding mics, I wanted to increase my vocal mic collection and having two LDC tube mics in my small room just wasn't needed. So I had JJ Electronics mod one as an ELAM 251 with the TC251 capsule and one as an M249 circuit with the TC47 capsule. Now with my Cathedral Pipes U67 clone, my original U87, a Bock and these two tube mics I can cover most voices easily. Especially through the ViPre.

I also still have my pair of Model 5's which have Vienna parts in them. Also a 3Zigma SDC with a couple of caps. and an old SC-2 which is really a great SDC. It sounds almost as good as my Neumann 184's.
 
The only ADK available here are the ones outside my budget. Please help me choose the best pair from my original post or something within the price range I could easily get in Europe!
 
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