China Mics! Would you?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mactreouser
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RFR said:
Nothing wrong with Chinese mics. China is perfectly capable of making quality products as well as junk.

They will make things at whatever quality the designer requests and is willing to pay for.

Its funny how some peope will bash "Made in China", yet do it on their iPhone.

Gee, wonder where that's made.
:D
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Well said. I totally agree.
 
garww said:
I have pre war cameras that are very well made. They could could make a rifle, for sure. POST WAR, THEY JUST DID WHAT THEY COULD

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This one isn't German, but it is pretty good quality. Natch', this one acquired a german high speed shutter and lens along the way. Possibly at the dealer, as they made re-calibrating the rangefinder a up-front feature

In the '50s, I thought Japan was where pot metal came from. hahah

I have early '60s TEAC decks that are good enough that Berlant-Concertone put their name on them, and, of course, we got Nikon. Dearer to the Audio heart, possibly, is post war Mullard and Philips setting up tube manufacturing in Japan. In the '60s soldiers were buying cameras and hi-fi out of the PX and they were not buying junk
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Love my Nikon S2 rangefinders, and love the lens (50/1.4) even more. Circa 1950s.
 
Post war, they didn't waste a lot of time re-supplying photogs, for sure. I missed a Nikon rangefinder on eBait, and many other cameras(no end). The Konica III I have can hold its own and it was how the lens did the aquamarine blues and greens that got me hot on it.

I have a batch of rangefinders that needed to be shot a couple years ago, and I can't get out and do it. a Petri with a 1.7, a FED with a Jupiter f2, Signet 60, Regula IIIc, and some Agfa wit solinar.

The only 1.4 I have is M42 Super Takumar. Congrats on the s2 models
 
got a great deal on a bunch of mxl s
 

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gtoboy...I see a box for the 800 series of MXL those were/are great mics, used on the "Jam in the Van" series and I had one and enjoyed the JaminttheVan.
890 or something, a huge mic like a U47 body, but they were kind of pricey until they cleareanced them out.

check it out...youtube Jam in the Van my favorite was Devil and St Paul... abunch of good tracks.
 
A lot of boutique builders do outsource parts. Most are made where they can keep their costs within a range where they can both make a few bucks as well as offer a product that they have control of the quality. There's a big trend now to outsource the....pc boards, transformers, capsules, etc, inspect, test and assemble here. Of course this does drive up the prices but a hands on assembly of a quality mic that will be easily serviced by the manufacturer without posting to someplace across the oceans is always going to cost 'something'....and be worth it.

Personally I own a veritable smorgasbord of mics built all over the world....America, China, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, Mexico, and California........
 
China mics

mactreouser said:
Hi,
I'm curious whether you guys have 1 China Mic or 2 or 3?
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Like espresso makers, kitchen appliances, cheap tablets and lots of other things, unless the US company is on site watching quality-control carefully, the quality varies dramatically from mic to mic of the same model #. Worst offenders are importers who slap their name on a mic and have no involvement in the factory. But even worse yet are the direct-from China deals that look great but have crap inside and ficticious specs. So you will get one post saying "go for it!" and another saying "run away!"
 
I have one of the Apex 460 versions, different name printed n it (Badaax) and for the money or really any money the microphone is really nice. And then a buddy brought one over, different company, but same thing, not quite as good. I think the major difference is that unlike the classic companies, who reject a fair amount of capsules the Chinese tend to be less stringent and basically if it passes current then it passes inspection, so there is more variance. I would suggest ordering through Amazon, their return policy is the gold standard, never an argument or a question why. And usually the lowest price as well. I feel for those who have to compete with them. Obviously you get no guidance or suggestions, but plenty of wrong information is passed on by well-meaning sales people at more music-related outlets. A tube microphone for less than 200 bucks, uh, for someone who has been around a while that didn't even seem possible at one time......
 
I have a small diaphragm Avantone CV-28 tube condenser mic. It is one of the best in my locker for acoustic piano, drums and acoustic guitar. Comes with three capsules. An excellent Chinese made product. I'm very particular about using pro-level microphones, and Avantone makes several that meet those standards.

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