As Good As A Neumann But Cheaper

bunyip

New member
I bought one of these mics of ebay around a month ago and WOW
It really sounds as good as as a NEUMANN U87 and I recon better than my TLM 103
They are selling 5 UNITS at cost (I bought mine for $899 DOH)
I know James Hewgill (endorsee) Is highly regarded as one of Australias best recording engineer so I took a punt and was Amazed they give all the accessories and phantonm power.AND A MONEY BACK GUARANTEE !!!
If you guys are looking for a quality alternative I would check this out
MIKE
wattsiesnr (eBay ID)

heres the link cut n paste

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=41466&item=2541840925
 
Not at all

Not this baby as good as it gets very classy.
I am very satisfied and I own a NEUMANN u87
they were glad to post the spectrograph comparisons but I knew already it sounds Awesome NO CRAP
 
Bruce,

I don't know if the same thing is happening on your side of the pond, but this current incarnation of a Chinese "knock off", (alledgedly "modded or something that is supposed to make it as good as a Neum****), is the latest in a line of attempts to make bucks by passing off a mic that costs a fraction of what they are selling them for................and in this case they are using the Fielo badging accompanied by a slick (or was that sickly) sales spiel. This is as opposed to the more legit companies like MXL, SP and ADK.

And bunyip, just in case you don't know........Fielo was apparently set up by a breakaway group in opposition to 797 Audio, who are supposed to be the "premier" mic company in China who have been supplying Rode with their major components (capsules) for years.

Caveat emptor



:cool:
 
Re: Not at all

bunyip said:
Not this baby as good as it gets very classy.
Can you please show me how it's "classy"??? From the pictures and the marketing hype, it doesn't say "class" to me, more like "cheese".

First off -- I don't suggest anyone buy an unheard mic off of ebay (or anyplace) that has no reputation (such as these chinese knock-offs).... it's one thing to buy a used, known entity such as a C12 or U87, but an unknown mic, with unknowable sonic characteristics -- I wouldn't risk it.... to select a mic, you need to hear it or know it's properties first-hand. You can't buy a mic based on a spec sheet..... you hear with your ears, not your eyes.

And secondly - many of the cheap knock-off mics have their capsules made at either one or the other factory that makes the capsules for the majority of knock-offs.... so you can dress it up/badge it anyway you like on the outside - inside, it's the same stuff as the nearest competitor. The biggest difference between them will be the skills of their respective marketing teams to hype it.

Lastly - don't forget - while everyone seems to be comparing mics to Neumanns, and while Neumanns are excellent mics - a Neumann isn't always the right mic for the job.......


As Ausrock said -- caveat emptor.....
 
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Re: Re: Not at all

Blue Bear Sound said:
Lastly - don't forget - while everyone seems to be comparing mics to Neumanns, and while Neumanns are excellent mics - a Neumann isn't always the right mic for the job.......

IV-I!!!!
 
When you say that it sounds as good as a U87 and that you have a U87, I wonder if you are getting everything you can from the U87. For instance what type of channel are you using? If you are running the U87 straight into the mic-pre on a Mackie board, then it probably sounds only a little better than most of the low priced condensers. If you are running through a class A mic-pre and only sounding like the low priced condenser, then you need to send the U87 back.

Also, are you only recording one type (or person) of vocal? If so, then you have not tested the full range of the U87. The real benefit of the U87 is that it is so flexible.

If you really want to compare the low-priced condenser to the U87 test it with things like tambourine, congas, amp cabinets, different ranges of vocals, etc. Then compare across the board.

I particularly like to compare the tambourine. The high frequencies that you get will show the weakness in any mic.

I do think that the low-price condensers are very useful. I have a bunch of them that I use for different applications, but I find that specific ones are good for specific things. But if I need to do something in a hurry and don't have time to test several options, then I grab a U87 and go.

My $0.02!
 
bunyip said:
They are selling 5 UNITS at cost ...
That would be, what, around US$50? Starting bid is $399, and there's a reserve that's presumably higher than $399. How does that relate to the "cost"?

Oh, and whe are the pattern selector, bass rolloff, and -10dB pad switches? I can't see them in the photos. (You need these if you're going to compare your mic to a U87.)
 
AS GOOD AS A NEUMANN

WE TESTED THIS MIC WITH PRO TOOLS HD1 (thats high definition)
via a G4 mac with 5 gigs of ram and 500gb scsi hard drive powered Class A macron Tech 2401 amplifier driving a Dolby DTS speaker system running JBL LSR325 speakers
NOW IF THAT SOUND's BETTER THAN A MACKIE DESK !!!!!
AND YES WE RAN A SPECTROGRAPH TEST AND YES WE USED OUR EARS PUT IT NEXT TO A TLM 103 AND IT HAD BEUTIFUL CHARACTERISTICS SWEET THIS IS NO CHEAP KNOCKOFF>>>>
 
AS GOOD AS A NEUMANN

Did you know NEUMAN use chineese boards,components and cages in the TLM series???
 
For cryin' out loud!

Give the guy a chance! Just because all his 7 posts so far are about overpriced cheap mics being sold on ebay (by someone else, I'd like to point out), that in itself doesn't make him a spammer. I'm looking forward to his posts on other topics.
 
QUOTE:........."THIS IS NO CHEAP KNOCKOFF"

Sorry but you are wrong!!!

QUOTES:........."WE USED OUR EARS PUT IT NEXT TO A TLM 103 ".............."Did you know NEUMAN use chineese boards,components and cages in the TLM series"

So what you are saying is that you compared one mic made in China with Chinese components to another mic made somewhere, but still with Chinese components.

:rolleyes:
 
That is the strangest frequency response curve I have ever seen for a mic in this price range. It has peaks and valleys all over the place. If this guy really wants to sell these, he would take that chart off the site.
 
I'm sort of impressed that he posted a chart. And it really doesn't look too bad; looks rather well behaved for a cheap mic to me. Too bad it isn't cheap then. :)
 
Re: AS GOOD AS A NEUMANN

That's great and all, but what about the preamp? What sources? What does your recording space sound like?
If you don't know the answer to "What preamp?", then shut up!

bunyip said:
WE TESTED THIS MIC WITH PRO TOOLS HD1 (thats high definition)
via a G4 mac with 5 gigs of ram and 500gb scsi hard drive powered Class A macron Tech 2401 amplifier driving a Dolby DTS speaker system running JBL LSR325 speakers
NOW IF THAT SOUND's BETTER THAN A MACKIE DESK !!!!!
AND YES WE RAN A SPECTROGRAPH TEST AND YES WE USED OUR EARS PUT IT NEXT TO A TLM 103 AND IT HAD BEUTIFUL CHARACTERISTICS SWEET THIS IS NO CHEAP KNOCKOFF>>>>
 
Re: Re: AS GOOD AS A NEUMANN

gordone said:
That's great and all, but what about the preamp? What sources? What does your recording space sound like?
If you don't know the answer to "What preamp?", then shut up!

What's a preamp? It goes directly into the 'mic in' on his soundcard (finding an xlr to 1/8 converter is a toughie, but it's worth it!!!!11).
 
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