Which mic is more pleasing to your ears? (mic shootout)

antispatula

Active member
Hey kidz
I recently did the mic-parts mod for my SP C1 and have compared it to my only other mic (poor student lol) the Mojave MA 201 fet. I am really impressed with the mod.
The following mp3 file contains the Modded C1 (about $335 new if you include the mod and assume you could still buy a new C1) compared to a Mojave ma 201 fet ($700 new). I will post which is which tomorrow, I'd like to see which one you guys think is more pleasing to your ears. Please note that the mp3 filename does not necessarily give the order of the mics in the recording.

When referencing the mics, just says "mic 1 and mic 2"


Here's the mp3 file. Its about 20 seconds long. no processing was done, and tried my best to match volumes.

Mic test (click on link then click on file under "download file"
 
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"Pleasing" is very subjective.

I guess I'd want to know what it's going to be mixed in with. The first one lacks that lower lift I hear in the 2nd (that might just be proximity) and seems a bit more "airy" (which might not survive the mix), but it also seemed more sensitive and has more audible breath sounds, which could be more work than some basic EQ.

I guess I lean slightly to the first, for this voice, but the mix could sway me if it was really exposed and needed a lot of work to tame the breath sounds (which are also subjective).

I'd want to hear it on an acoustic guitar (e.g.) to say it was a better overall mic, if that's what you're looking for with your mod, of it was specific for your vocals.
 
The first one lacks that lower lift I hear in the 2nd (that might just be proximity) and seems a bit more "airy"

That's opposite of what I heard... The first one seemed to have a lot more low-mids, and the second had a lot more high-end.
That said, the second one sounds more like the high mids to low highs were hyped rather than naturally picking up those frequencies.
I think the first one is better overall.

That said, both have some issues with mp3 distortion, and it's not in a mix, so hard to gauge.
 
If this was for a diction comparison, the second one has more clarity and capture of the plosives is crisper and detailed - but the first one is more pleasing - To be honest, I'd be happy with both as they're both easily eq-able to sound more similar?
 
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