jitteringjim
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Hi guys, I just received my Marshall MXL V69G - I ordered it to check it out, thought I'd return it if it didn't work out for me. It's a fixed cardioid pattern, no roll-off or pass switches - no frills tube mic.
This is NOT a review with a lot of technical shit.
First impressions:
With a street price of $299, I had no real expectations.
When I removed the packaging, I found a "flight style" case. Not bad. Not a heavy duty flight case, but much more than I had expected.
Upon opening the case; I found the mic in a zippered pouch, an elastic spider shockmount, windscreen, power supply, seven pin cable, AND a standard mic cable - all in fitted compartments in the case.
My first thought was "wow, what a lot of stuff for $299 - what's the catch?" I was a bit worried.
Upon inspecting the individual components, I found the windscreen to be a bit cheap. The shockmount swivel seemed a bit small, and I wondered if it would be sturdy enough. It locked down tight enough though, and seems to be up to the task for the moment. (The shockmount also sported a "Made in China" sticker. I felt a little guilty for not buying American.)
I removed the power supply & checked that the voltage settings were correct. I inspected the cabling - "professional audio cable" (and something in Chinese.)
I removed the mic from the zippered pouch & found it enclosed in plastic. The mic was in a black finish with a gold grille. "MXL V69" was stamped into the housing along with MOGAMI. Nice wiring, I understand. Cool. I had expected it to be a little heavier than it was, and I noticed that if I squeezed the housing, I could feel the bottom cap give a little. Hmmmm.....
Peeking through the grille (I'm not going to take it apart yet) I could see the same brass assembly around the diaphram that Harvey commented on in the MXL 67 / SP C-1 thread. Nice, the appearance of solid construction.
OK, on to the important stuff... how does it sound?
I set up the V69 (the shockmount had no problem staying in place) and my NT-1. I connected them to the preamps on my Fostex mixer & had a male vocalist sing a few bars into each as I listened. Quite simply, the V69 blew the NT-1 away. I can only use the standard "warm, round, larger than life" expressions as I don't know shit about mics, but the NT-1 sounded thin and siblant by comparison. No surprise there really, just that the difference was so obvious.
My comments: I took the V69 seriously, as the MXL line ('cept the 2001,) seems to be well respected by the homerec establishment. I'm pleased with what $299 can buy - however, I'd like to see how the V69 stacks up to the RODE NTK, or even the MXL V77.
Anyone else???
This is NOT a review with a lot of technical shit.
First impressions:
With a street price of $299, I had no real expectations.
When I removed the packaging, I found a "flight style" case. Not bad. Not a heavy duty flight case, but much more than I had expected.
Upon opening the case; I found the mic in a zippered pouch, an elastic spider shockmount, windscreen, power supply, seven pin cable, AND a standard mic cable - all in fitted compartments in the case.
My first thought was "wow, what a lot of stuff for $299 - what's the catch?" I was a bit worried.
Upon inspecting the individual components, I found the windscreen to be a bit cheap. The shockmount swivel seemed a bit small, and I wondered if it would be sturdy enough. It locked down tight enough though, and seems to be up to the task for the moment. (The shockmount also sported a "Made in China" sticker. I felt a little guilty for not buying American.)
I removed the power supply & checked that the voltage settings were correct. I inspected the cabling - "professional audio cable" (and something in Chinese.)
I removed the mic from the zippered pouch & found it enclosed in plastic. The mic was in a black finish with a gold grille. "MXL V69" was stamped into the housing along with MOGAMI. Nice wiring, I understand. Cool. I had expected it to be a little heavier than it was, and I noticed that if I squeezed the housing, I could feel the bottom cap give a little. Hmmmm.....
Peeking through the grille (I'm not going to take it apart yet) I could see the same brass assembly around the diaphram that Harvey commented on in the MXL 67 / SP C-1 thread. Nice, the appearance of solid construction.
OK, on to the important stuff... how does it sound?
I set up the V69 (the shockmount had no problem staying in place) and my NT-1. I connected them to the preamps on my Fostex mixer & had a male vocalist sing a few bars into each as I listened. Quite simply, the V69 blew the NT-1 away. I can only use the standard "warm, round, larger than life" expressions as I don't know shit about mics, but the NT-1 sounded thin and siblant by comparison. No surprise there really, just that the difference was so obvious.
My comments: I took the V69 seriously, as the MXL line ('cept the 2001,) seems to be well respected by the homerec establishment. I'm pleased with what $299 can buy - however, I'd like to see how the V69 stacks up to the RODE NTK, or even the MXL V77.
Anyone else???
