M-Audio Nova

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lockesilver

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I know there have already been some threads on this topic but none of the answers have been very informative... Well I'd like to hear some opinions on the M-Audio Nova mic. Are there any of you who have experience with this microphone? How does it compare to other mics from its price range (especially AT2020 or various MXLs)?

I'm looking for an under-150-$ mic for voiceovers and the choice is pretty overwhelming. There are few reviews of the Nova on the web but the ones I found are actually quite praising. I was wondering if they are objective enough...
 
There are a few choices amoung all those at that price point...but 95% of them are trash...Maudio seems to make decent products...Id have to form an opinion on them after hearing them...youtube should have some examples...with the new HQ view...you can trust your ears as long as you listen through good cans or your monitors.

Here is a nice one of a classical guitar...makes it sound pretty decent for a mic in that price range.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FywCxEAjhA4
 
I guess I can post -- I picked up a Nova for pretty cheap a while back. Truthfully I haven't done much with it, but it did seem to be better than the other similar-looking Chinese mics that I have (the low end MXLs, Apex, etc.) -- I opened it up to see if I could see any obvious ways to improve it, but I couldn't - the electronic components were high enough quality that it didn't make sense to swap them out, and the general workmanship was pretty good.

The sound of the mic was less harsh than its aforementioned cousins -- seemed like it was susceptible to overloading -- that is, the max SPL didn't seem as high as some better mics, but I didn't reliably confirm that with testing.

I'm not being very helpful, I know -- I don't reach for it in preference to my modded Oktava mics or other somewhat nicer LDCs (AT 4040, AKG C414, etc.), but if I didn't have them, I'd probably get some use out of the Nova and be pretty happy with it (especially for the price), provided I didn't overload it.
 
Thank you for the answers... they are actually quite helpful. Although the Nova seems to offer quite good value for money, currently I'm leaning towards saving a couple of $ more and buying Rode NT1A. It is not that much more expensive and as far as I know is quite good for recording voice. With a loose interpretation of the reviews of sorts it is even comparable to much more expensive professional mics...
 
You can steal some things off of ebay...its best usually to stick with the major companies so you dont have to question the quality.

I just stole an AT3035 for $50 .
 
Yeah buying on eBay can be a pleasure - provided that you live in the USA. And I am from Poland. The funny thing is, I can usually buy things in the States through eBay about 10% cheaper than here (shipping included) but chances are I'll be forced to pay import duties and tax which, in turn ,amounts to about 25% of the original price. It is enough to solve a simple equation to see that paying less in this case results in paying more. Hurray! :rolleyes:
 
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