Anyone try Blue's new SPARK mic yet...
- Thread starter matttheaxe
- Start date
matttheaxe
New member
My bad. Its a lame thread. It would be nice if people only responded who actually HAVE one and know what they are talking about,
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
OK- I did get to audition one recently, but only fairly briefly, and not through my own gear. My initial impression is- it sounds like the Bluebird, which I own, and I wouldn't be surprised if much of the circuitry is the same or similar. It's not particularly colored, so I think of it as a "just the facts, ma'am" sort of mic. My voice is fairly high and thin, without a lot of low frequency overtones (like Jonathan Edwards), so when I flipped the high-pass filter switch (whatever they call it) there was no discernable change, except that I lost much of the low frequency rumble from the guy playing bass in the next room.
My short form conclusion- it's not revolutionary, despite the advertising hype, but it is a damn good $200 mic that lacks the characteristic high-mid frequency boost we have come to associate with Chinese mics. I think it does exactly what it intends to do- to be a versatile, uncolored, relatively flat, entry-level condenser, and I would recommend it as a first condenser for those on a budget without reservation. The fact that it comes with a shock mount and a pop filter makes it competitive against anybody's entry-level condenser. I also think that if you own a bluebird, you basically already own one.-Richie
My short form conclusion- it's not revolutionary, despite the advertising hype, but it is a damn good $200 mic that lacks the characteristic high-mid frequency boost we have come to associate with Chinese mics. I think it does exactly what it intends to do- to be a versatile, uncolored, relatively flat, entry-level condenser, and I would recommend it as a first condenser for those on a budget without reservation. The fact that it comes with a shock mount and a pop filter makes it competitive against anybody's entry-level condenser. I also think that if you own a bluebird, you basically already own one.-Richie
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
I think what they're trying to accomplish is to build a Bluebird with a high-pass filter in China, to take advantage of cheap labor, so they can bring the price down to a level that is competitive with MXL, AKG Perception series, etc. It'll take one of the technogeeks to look at the board and figure out if they have also substituted cheaper Chinese components. My first impression is- not, because it doesn't sound like a Chinese mic, at least on my first limited pass.-Richie
Well get back in there for round Two Richard! I'm curious!
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
I don't want to hijack this thread, but I will say this about Chinese mics:
1. Most, but not all, Chinese mics have a characteristic sound that you can hear. I can't define what it is. It's like pornography. I know what it is when I hear it. That sound is actually useful for some things. There are times when a typical Chinese mic is perfect for the job. Most MXL mics and the AKG perception series have that sound. More often than not, it's *not* a sound I want, so I think of them as specialty mics.
As I said, some of them *don't* sound like standard Chinese mics to me- V67G, for instance. In time, the Chinese will figure out how to build the $100 Neumann equivalent, and they will rule the world. In the meantime, they're not there yet. At least with SPARK I don't hear that sound, either, although it does sound more like the Perception series than the MXL mics I've used. Is the SPARK Chinese? Of course. You can't really build and sell a reasonable quality condenser for $200 with a pop filter and shockmount any other way.
2. Whether anything is or isn't made in China is an issue that weighs heavily on American minds (for the minority that actually *use* their minds). And it should. Among my many hobbies, I am a bit of a military historian, from the stone age on up. Every time we pick up something in this country, it says "Made in China". Without the Chinese laborers in barracks, working 16 hour days (I read the U.N. and Amnesty International bulletins), we have no ballpoint pens, paper clips, computers, motor vehicle components, *digital recorders, mics etc.* So they are blowing beaucoup greenhouse gases and pollution into the air burning coal to build *our stuff*.
If I look at the historical implications, it's pretty disturbing. We are totally dependent on the Chinese, and they, unlike most folks, have nuclear-tipped missiles pointed at *me*. (and *you*, fellow Americans, Brits, Aussies, Austrians, Canadians-etc.). I know that until now, hydrogen devices weren't an issue on the world stage. But- I know of no time in history where a larger but poorer country with considerable military power provided vast amounts of labor for a technically advanced client state/overlord, where it didn't result in major-league bloodletting. Does that mean if we buy less Chinese stuff and build our own damned plastic toys, it will change anything? Who the hell knows? I doubt it. My best history says that eventually war will come, as it was said, "on some fine Sunday morning".
Now back to your regularly scheduled program: SPARK mic, initial impressions. A decent entry-level "world" mic. Designed by some Latvians, built in China, with administrative offices in California.
1. Most, but not all, Chinese mics have a characteristic sound that you can hear. I can't define what it is. It's like pornography. I know what it is when I hear it. That sound is actually useful for some things. There are times when a typical Chinese mic is perfect for the job. Most MXL mics and the AKG perception series have that sound. More often than not, it's *not* a sound I want, so I think of them as specialty mics.
As I said, some of them *don't* sound like standard Chinese mics to me- V67G, for instance. In time, the Chinese will figure out how to build the $100 Neumann equivalent, and they will rule the world. In the meantime, they're not there yet. At least with SPARK I don't hear that sound, either, although it does sound more like the Perception series than the MXL mics I've used. Is the SPARK Chinese? Of course. You can't really build and sell a reasonable quality condenser for $200 with a pop filter and shockmount any other way.
2. Whether anything is or isn't made in China is an issue that weighs heavily on American minds (for the minority that actually *use* their minds). And it should. Among my many hobbies, I am a bit of a military historian, from the stone age on up. Every time we pick up something in this country, it says "Made in China". Without the Chinese laborers in barracks, working 16 hour days (I read the U.N. and Amnesty International bulletins), we have no ballpoint pens, paper clips, computers, motor vehicle components, *digital recorders, mics etc.* So they are blowing beaucoup greenhouse gases and pollution into the air burning coal to build *our stuff*.
If I look at the historical implications, it's pretty disturbing. We are totally dependent on the Chinese, and they, unlike most folks, have nuclear-tipped missiles pointed at *me*. (and *you*, fellow Americans, Brits, Aussies, Austrians, Canadians-etc.). I know that until now, hydrogen devices weren't an issue on the world stage. But- I know of no time in history where a larger but poorer country with considerable military power provided vast amounts of labor for a technically advanced client state/overlord, where it didn't result in major-league bloodletting. Does that mean if we buy less Chinese stuff and build our own damned plastic toys, it will change anything? Who the hell knows? I doubt it. My best history says that eventually war will come, as it was said, "on some fine Sunday morning".
Now back to your regularly scheduled program: SPARK mic, initial impressions. A decent entry-level "world" mic. Designed by some Latvians, built in China, with administrative offices in California.