A new kick mic gem! Red5 Audio RVD1

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We've been testing the new line of Red5 Audio mics.

One bright shining star is the RVD1. This mic ate a Beta 52 and a D112 for lunch. Much better bottom and a lot more punch. I'll have more soon - with a full review – but I just wanted to post this. The Red5 Audio mics are very affordable, testing out very well – and can be ordered direct from the Red5 Audio website. The RVD1 will be selling for around $100. I'll have more info on the exact price soon.


For you folks in Europe, these are great mics that may offer a less-expensive alternative to mics companies based in the US.

For you folks in America, here's an email from Craig Dunmore of Red5 Audio concerning $US pricing:

We do sell to US customers. When we sell out with the EU we don't have to apply our UK Value Added Tax which is 17.5%. Here is a quick list of example prices (including shipping) to the US:

RV8 $195.00
RV10 $260.00
RV15 $350.00
RVK7 $325.00
RV4 $175.00 (Pair)

I should also point out that US customers when ordering are charged in
US dollars according to the exchange rate that day. (The prices above
are based on an exchange rate of 1.55 USD=1.00 GBP).
Click to expand...

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Dan Richards
Digital Pro Sound
 
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Hey Dan,

The Red 5 mics are made by Tenlux out of Taiwan. They can be had here in the states under several different names, like Superlux, Avlex, and some other brands as well. I am pretty sure there is no difference between any of the models other than a brand name and model number. There is no custom mics being done as the manufacture does not do it. They only make what they make...no mods.

I point this out just for your knowledge. I make and offer no opinions.
 
Hey there, Alan.

I did some hunting around on the net and found no mic that resembled the RVD1. I did see Apex mics as well, which seem to be a line by Yorkville.
 
alanhyatt said:
Hey Dan,

The Red 5 mics are made by Tenlux out of Taiwan. They can be had here in the states under several different names, like Superlux, Avlex, and some other brands as well. I am pretty sure there is no difference between any of the models other than a brand name and model number. There is no custom mics being done as the manufacture does not do it. They only make what they make...no mods.

I point this out just for your knowledge. I make and offer no opinions.
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Hi Alan, we've had a similar conversation on another forum so I'm intrigued by your comments. I can tell you that we have absolutely no affiliation whatsoever with Tenlux (superlux/avlex). We've never had anything manufactured by them. They do have a model similar to our RV8 / RV10 but as Paul White (Sound On Sound) pointed out in his review "the internal design uses different components and circuit board layouts". I point this out just for your knowledge :)

Dan, thanks for your comments.

Best regards

Craig Dunsmore
Red5 Audio Ltd
 
alanhyatt said:
I am pretty sure there is no difference between any of the models other than a brand name and model number.
Click to expand...

. . . and, uh, the internal components . . . and the circuit board layouts. Oh, and the external bass rolloff toggles and the the -10db pad. But other than that, there's no difference. :D

That's my Alan.


"Outwardly, the RV8 looks very much like the Superlux CMH8A we reviewed recently, although the internal design uses different components and circuit board layouts (even though the circuitry seems very similar). The RV8 also has external toggle switches for low-frequency cut and a 10dB pad, which the Superlux equivalent does not."
 
PUHLEEZE!!!!

you guys all oughtta come clean, so many mics seem to be made by the same dudes, and then just got european names stamped on them

this " RV 15 " valve mic SURE looks familiar, VERY VERY familiar

they say " imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"
maybe AKG is flattered, but I think potential customers might just be insulted
 
hmmm...

I'd like to throw an idea in here - a thought for this whole microphone fiasco...

We see many different strats that look the same, but the construction is different in many, as well as the 'lectronics inside.

This kind of thing is done in the electronics industry all the time - i don't see why it can't be stretched to the Microphone industry...

The shell is the same because it's a standard good sounding design. (Case shape REALLY effects the sound... take a look at the SM58 and SM57. They have the same insides, but a different shell. So, if there's a preferred shape, then I can understand many different OEM's trying to copy it.

It's the choice of diaphragm and design of electronics that provides the product differentiation required by companies like Red5.

In the rest of the electronics industry, there are examples of this kind of thing, where an OEM will give designers a form factor to fit their design into. "Your PCB must be Ymm by Zmm to fit in the case" - Hell we do it with our PC's!!!

It would be interesting to get some feedback on the industry itself by guys like Alan hayatt and the guys at Red5.
 
Hey Craig, why don't you just tell us where the components come from? The Red5 LD condensers sure look like Tenlux designs. I've got a Tenlux ("t.bone" labeled) tube mic myself, which isn't a bad mic at all. So I tend to believe that at least the microphone housing must be from Tenlux. In fact the RV8's body looks *exactly* like that of my mic including the switches. So to me it looks like the Red5 RV8 and RV10 mics are Tenlux mics with just a slightly different circuit layout - even in the SoS article they say it looks *very* similar. Even the 3 mylar thickness of the capsule is identical. So far I found no reason to believe it's not a Tenlux mic other than your statement. I mean you're not trying to tell us you manufacture them in England like BPM tried to tell us their mics are German? I certainly prefer when manufacturers and distributors inform their customers about the origin of their products, and that's one of the things I like about Studio Projects: even on the mic itself it says: 797Audio.

That's not to say your mics aren't any good. It's just that all indications say they're made by Tenlux, and you say they're not. So where do they come from?
 
Lots of interesting comments here guys. Let me come in on a few things . . .

The fundemental concept and design of the LD condenser mic is well established principle dating back to around 1920. (Contrary to what a lot of people think, it wan't invented by Neumann, although he did develop and pioneer this design - look up the Neumann "bottle" on their website). At one level, every manufacturer is therefore using a design developed by someone else. Choices are made in components, circuit design, body shape, quality and testing and eventually you've got an end product. We don't claim to be pioneers - we've got some ideas about what makes a good mic and we operate on a very basic ethos - put the best components that we can afford into every product. From there it's time and effort, some trial and error and a huge emphasis on quality control.

We choose our components from various sources, mainly well-known industry suppliers such as WIMA, to name one that I'm sure most will recognise. Up until now we haven't designed our own mic bodies but we do have a mic in progress at the moment that is ours from scratch.

We've always been happy to tell people our mics are made in China. We have a dedicated partner who listens to and works with us to produce the product we want. It's my word for it - but we don't use Tenlux (or any of the other big brand names offering popular catalog models). Outwardly the RV8 and the Tenlux model may look the same but internally it's different kit. I think you'll find that the Tenlux mic is a catalog model and to the best of my knowledge - it's not open to OEM spec to the extant that it's a completely different mic.

I have every respect for Alan and the SP products. They have good reasons to promote the 797 brand and there are benefits in doing this. Red5 Audio is a different operation with a different approach to how we market our products. For example - we *only* sell directly to the end customer - we control price - we control customer service. Sure, it's slow building a brand name this way but we think it will be worth it in the long run.

I do hope this is helpful to some extent. There's no hidden agenda, there's no eye-wool. We're just a small dedicated team of Scotsmen with a passion for what we do (cue the violins . . . .)

Just one small point - it's Scotland, not England. Haven't you seen Braveheart? :)

Craig Dunsmore
Red5 Audio Ltd
 
Oops, okay Scotland, not England. Of course I've seen Braveheart - err, wasn't it about some Australian guy? My are dreams still haunted by the dreadful sight of the hairy men's ass attack ;)

Anyway. Thanks for the information about your business ethos. But the German nerd in me is still curious about the name of the Chinese manufactuer. Is it Feilo, Yoga, 797 or some other manufactuer I haven't yet heard of? I think it's more interesting to know where the capsule comes from than where the capacitators are made. Although I do applaud your choice of WIMA. And to what extent are Red5 mics made to your own specifications? Did you design the electronics, for instance? Are the capsules stock or custom designs? With the availability of so many mics from China and Taiwan it's really hard for the customer to distinguish the "bang-for-the-buck mic" from the "expensive-doorstop mic." Which is why I'm asking.
 
Found Clones

RED5 AUDIO RVB9 = Avantone ATOM Or Avantone AVANT ADM

RED AUDIO RVD1 = Avantone AVANT AMK MONDO

(Source: Recordinghacks.com)

Avantone AMK MONDO.webpAvantone ADM.webpRVB9.webpRVD1.webp
 
dickiefunk said:
Where did you find the info that said these are the same mics?
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Thinking the same here. I had a look of recording hacks where the avantone ones are listed but didn't see anything about them being the same as any other mics (which recording hacks are usually very good at pointing out). Granted, they certainly look very, very similar but that's not really that uncommon.

About 3 or 4 years ago a drummer friend of mine bought the Red5 RVK7 set (with the pencil overheads rather than the LDC's) after hearing some recordings of traps kits online. As he never got a lot of use out of them myself and another friend borrowed and used them a lot, predominantly for the clip on tom mics which are pretty awesome, especially for the price! i was pleasantly surprised by the clamps on them being super sturdy as well (up until that point we'd been borrowing some of the samson tom mics and the horrible plastic clips on them were awful!!!) The pencil overheads are pretty good, although we often had access to other SDC's which we both much preferred. The kick mic actually saw very little use at first as we had a D112 we were happy enough with. However, one day we were asked to run sound for a live show last minute and rather than gather up a bunch of stuff we just grabbed the Red5 drum set in it's nice little box. It turned out that the kick mic was brilliant! Punchy, solid, clear. We started playing around with it on bass amps and djembes and found it really excelled on bigger hand percussion. Sadly about a year ago some mutha fluffer nicked it from a gig my mate was running.

I don't recommend budget drum mic "sets" very often, if at all, and certainly even with the red5 set i'd still suggest picking up something like an SM57 for the snare and maybe some different overheads, but for £159 for the whole set it's certainly a great buy for someone who maybe just has drums setup constantly and wants to record for youtube/rehearsals.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'm particularly interested in this mic along with the Shure PG52 and EV PL33. Anyone compared any of these?
 
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