Samson C01 Condenser mic Vs STUDIO PROJECTS B-I

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humbog

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HI ,
I can buy a Samson C01 Condenser mic for half the price of a STUDIO PROJECTS B-I , list price here in Oz they are almost equal.
Any recommendations , is it worth saving 100 australian dollars ?
Thanks.
 
Humbog,

What prices are you looking at and where from?
 
humbog said:
HI ,
I can buy a Samson C01 Condenser mic for half the price of a STUDIO PROJECTS B-I , list price here in Oz they are almost equal.
Any recommendations , is it worth saving 100 australian dollars ?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

In my view you're better off spending the extra cash for the Studio Projects B1. The Samson has a noticeable self-noise (23db) that can easily be heard if your music tends to be on the quieter side. The SPB1 is very quiet (12db), and sounds very nice on instruments and on many voices. Mind you, I didn't think the Samson sounded bad, but it is hissy. Sound-on-Sound gave the CO1 a good review, but they also pointed out the hiss (and in my view understated it).
 
I refer the right honourable gentleman to the answer I gave some moments ago.

(see enchilada's post about this exact same thing)
 
billisa said:
In my view you're better off spending the extra cash for the Studio Projects B1. The Samson has a noticeable self-noise (23db) that can easily be heard if your music tends to be on the quieter side. The SPB1 is very quiet (12db), and sounds very nice on instruments and on many voices. Mind you, I didn't think the Samson sounded bad, but it is hissy. Sound-on-Sound gave the CO1 a good review, but they also pointed out the hiss (and in my view understated it).
Click to expand...

I like sound on sound for a few reasons but the gear reviews isn't one of them.

According to them a Samson CO1 through a presonus tube pre would be a decent front end. :confused:

I'm not down on cheap gear (it's what I have to use) but even at the budget end there's good and bad stuff. SOS sure as hell can't seem to tell the difference (or at least they choose not to share it with the rest of us). :rolleyes:
 
I gave up buying sound on sound a couple of years ago. I felt that even though some of the reviews were realistic, others left me thinking how much money had changed hands. Especially when a favourable review was accompanied by a big ass advertisement.
 
yes the list price is almost the same, but the retailers have virtually no margin on the b1... $200 is pretty damn cheap considering when it first arrived in aus it was $329rrp (from memory)..... it is a quality mic.

the b1 will take a very long time to outgrow as your collection progresses, where as i think the co1 would become a veritable pimple in your future mic locker, as the mxl990 has become for me... at $200 the b1 is pretty much the second least expensive mic in the country..
 
QUOTE................"but the retailers have virtually no margin on the b1"

Probably 'cos the distributor is making sure he lines his pockets.

:cool:
 
now now aus, your'e probably right, but lets think about it....i don't think there are any ldc's in australia with an rrp of less than $199, but there are a shitload at that price point sp b1, mxl 990, beh b1, gxl, adk etc.etc.... as far as i know, the studio projects mic is the only one that makes an extra stop over from the factory china to the u.s to be quality checked and undergo the coulor sticker treatment... not pointing the finger here at all, just posing a hypothetical; but it would be in the interest of both the manufacturer and the distributor (even the retailer) to place the product in the same pricepoint as (imho) inferior products, even if it means smaller retail margins... from what i understand most of the advertising is done by the distributor and most distributors include the rrp in ads.

its kinda like saying the b1 would be a better deal for $185 if its rrp was $250 rather than streeting for $185 with an rrp of $199...

ah i should really do something more constructive with my day off ;)
 
Speaking of the SP B1's, does anyone think $140(US) for a pair is a decent price or should I be looking elsewhere for a better deal?
 
Curious how the Australian dollar translates into American dollars?
the exchange rate I mean...?

Probably a better place I could have posed this question, ...but hey...

It's late.
 
choldy said:
Speaking of the SP B1's, does anyone think $140(US) for a pair is a decent price or should I be looking elsewhere for a better deal?
Click to expand...

I'd think that's a pretty reasonable price...

I paid $85 w/shockmount for mine and thought it was a good deal! :(

Where are you getting those, anyway?
 
Ahh 'tis but a secret, these are the last two in stock at this price, have them hold but still making up my mind at this point... If I don't get them I will divulge to all. I'm still completely unsure, as I'm wishing to simply use these as drum overheads for a hard rock/metal band, along with a combination of SM57's, 58's, and a PRO25. Does anyone think the B1's are overkill and should I be looking for some SDC's as I will be close miking the toms? If so can anyone recommend any around that price range (ie. $150 or less) available to an Australian buyer. Sorry for the threadjack, should probably start a new thread but there's so many about this type of thing already, but none that I can find to answer my specific questions.
 
thanks for all tips.

Ausrock ,
i was looking at 200 AUSD for the B1 ,all places really and 109 for the Samson from Alan's mics (on aussie ebay).Hes also got SM58s for 150 which is a bargain for sure.
 
dr.colossus said:
yes the list price is almost the same, but the retailers have virtually no margin on the b1... $200 is pretty damn cheap considering when it first arrived in aus it was $329rrp (from memory)..... it is a quality mic.
Click to expand...

On the other hand, you could order something from the US... even shipped, it will cost you much less than buying here. I got a Marshall V67 for $140 Australian, including shipping. The last time I looked, the list price for this mic in Australia was $599.

Even Rodes are cheaper if you buy them from the US... there's got to be something wrong there...
 
Humbog,

Contact Nigel at Oceania ( http://www.oceania-audio.co.nz/ ), they are the Studio Projects distributor there. Ask him what kind of deal he can do.........12 months ago he was beating the Australian prices as there is no middleman involved and he was quite happy to ship across the Tasman.

Just remember that there is no mic that will sound good on everything regardless of how much it costs, so if you can't at least try a mic out and preferably try it out at home with your own setup then there is never a guarantee that you have made the correct choice.

That said, instinct tells me that the B1 would be a safer option.

:cool:


Dr.colossus...............I would bet I am right. If I recall the US retail is approx., $79 which is about $115 Aust (I think), (or was that street and the retail is $99US {$135Aust}) and at a guess the dealer/distributor is probably paying 50-65% of that, also considering that shipping cost is spread across a fair quantity of mics and import duties are only 5% plus a GST component, you don't have to have a degree in maths to get an idea of things. :rolleyes:
 
yeah, i've got a bad habit of trying to defend the indefensible ;)
 
Choldy, i like my B1 as an overhead. lately i've been using a B1 and a V67 as a mixed-set of overheads, and they give me a MUCH better sound than my pair of 603's (which are just a little too high-end hyped for my tastes). even using my B1 as a mono overhead sounds pretty good.....but the combo with the v67 is a pretty nice pairing since they give me slightly different sounds--i use the v67 over the ride side of the kit and the B1 over the snare/hihat side of the kit.

i'd get that pair for $140--that's a pretty good price. You'll find lots of uses for the B1's. i don't think they're "overkill" for overheads at all.


wade
 
B1 retail is $119.99 now, and it comes with the shock mount
 
I haven't bothered to keep track of SP pricing here for some months.......life's too interesting, but in regard to a B1, a quick check shows that after the initial drop from $259 to $249 some months ago, Mick the Wonderdog has now reduced the Aust., retail to $199 but according to his FEA site that is for the original package with a mic clip, not a shockmount.

Some quick research brings up a street price for the B1 of $170Aust, so Humbog, if you're serious PM me and I'll point you in the right direction.

:cool:
 
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