Which mic has a better frequency response?

[max1805]

I've got two Beyer M160's and am trading one in. Could someone possibly help tell me which mic has the 'better' frequency response?

I'm not very clued up with this, so any help would be much appreciated

 

[Steenamaroo]

Hi,
No one can answer this man. We don't know what you're using it for or how your particular source sounds in your particular environment.

Even if we did, I doubt anyone would reference the charts to get an idea of how a mic sounds.
You might use a chart to compare two variants of a dynamic to realise that one has a presence boost and might cut through better on stage, or whatever, but you're really not going to find out if you like the mic that way, you know?

Try to find some reviews or first hand opinions from people who are using on a similar source to your own.


Tl/dr? Use your ears.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I do as one piece of the research equation. If I want a bright mic I look for a sizable bump up on the high end or a boost around 4k-6k. Problem is there appears to be a lack of standards on how how a manufacturer creates theses graphs, in particular the distance to the test source.

Well, I did elaborate. You're really backing up my point that a graph might give you a rough idea of characteristics but it's not going to make you familiar with a mic.

I mean, you might gain a vague idea of suitable application, but you know know how it sounds in the real world.

 

[ido1957]

The left one will probably have a darker sound, the right one will be brighter.
I would choose the left one as I find bright mics a little annoying on my vocals and the track sits better in the mix.

 

[Bristol Posse]

The one you like best has the best response and you should keep that one. If you can't tell the difference then flip a coin

the charts will usually tell you how the mic performs with a 1k test tone at 1m. If you are recording 1k test tones at 1m this may be important information but otherwise it is an extremely loose guide to some of the mics generally properties and not really useful as a sole source of information for choosing one mic over another (espicially if you have the mics in your hands and can test them to see which one you preffer for your applications)

 

[max1805]

Thanks for your feedback guys - I understand now that it's a pretty vague question

For the record, I'm using it a drum overhead (just mono), so was wondering which once might sound better, albeit hardly audible. But I'll just choose one and send the other back, no problem

 

[ido1957]

Cymbals can be pretty harsh so I would choose the darker one.

 

[ashcat_lt]

The one you like best has the best response and you should keep that one. If you can't tell the difference then flip a coin

the charts will usually tell you how the mic performs with a 1k test tone at 1m. If you are recording 1k test tones at 1m this may be important information but otherwise it is an extremely loose guide to some of the mics generally properties and not really useful as a sole source of information for choosing one mic over another (espicially if you have the mics in your hands and can test them to see which one you preffer for your applications)

You can't get a chart like this with a 1KHz test tone. It would have a bump at 1K and nothing else at all. It has to be a sine sweep, broadband noise, or a sharp impulse. They almost never tell you how they did it.