No-one is more aware of the old 'you get what you pay for adage' (or the
various issues with cheep Chinky stuff) than I am, but my
curiosity/interest in a valve microphone has had me punting a relatively
paltry £132 (inc. postage) on this little lot:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWN:IT&ih=011


Haven't had it going yet but the *apparent* VFM is beyond ludicrous by
normal 'valve microphone' standards - if nothing else, at 5 kg for the
whole thing (inc. the PS) the weight of the package was a shock:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...0Mic%20Kit.JPG


So far, the view inside is more or less what I expected and is not at
all disappointing:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...0Inside-01.JPG

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...0Inside-02.JPG


I will probably post some clips shortly, in case anyone is interested -
my guess (if it works at all) is it'll be at least OK and the 'magazine
review' would end up summat like this: "Not up there with the best and
not recommended for professional use but, at the price, this Oriental
offering cannot be entirely discounted by someone wanting to add the
warmth and versatility of of a valve microphone to their Home
Studio...." ??

We shall see....

"Keith G" wrote


I will probably post some clips shortly, in case anyone is
interested - my guess (if it works at all) is it'll be at least OK and
the 'magazine review' would end up summat like this: "Not up there
with the best and not recommended for professional use but, at the
price, this Oriental offering cannot be entirely discounted by someone
wanting to add the warmth and versatility of of a valve microphone to
their Home Studio...." ??


OK, stick the word 'multi-pattern' in where you think it would have done
the most good...

On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:03:24 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:

No-one is more aware of the old 'you get what you pay for adage' (or the
various issues with cheep Chinky stuff) than I am, but my
curiosity/interest in a valve microphone has had me punting a relatively
paltry £132 (inc. postage) on this little lot:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWN:IT&ih=011


Haven't had it going yet but the *apparent* VFM is beyond ludicrous by
normal 'valve microphone' standards - if nothing else, at 5 kg for the
whole thing (inc. the PS) the weight of the package was a shock:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...0Mic%20Kit.JPG


So far, the view inside is more or less what I expected and is not at
all disappointing:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...0Inside-01.JPG

That picture is a little worrying. The solder should have wetted all
the way through those holes to form a slight fillet on the component
side of the board. Can't think why that hasn't happened. The
components are very substantial looking, though.

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show...0Inside-02.JPG


I will probably post some clips shortly, in case anyone is interested -
my guess (if it works at all) is it'll be at least OK and the 'magazine
review' would end up summat like this: "Not up there with the best and
not recommended for professional use but, at the price, this Oriental
offering cannot be entirely discounted by someone wanting to add the
warmth and versatility of of a valve microphone to their Home
Studio...." ??

We shall see....



Stereo, with your best "other" mic on the other channel, please! Place
them close together, both facing forwards - ta.

d

--
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

"Don Pearce" wrote


That picture is a little worrying. The solder should have wetted all
the way through those holes to form a slight fillet on the component
side of the board. Can't think why that hasn't happened. The
components are very substantial looking, though.


I know what you mean, but it seems very common and I hafta say I don't
worry about seeing solder on the 'component side' of the board if there
are no tracks there. (You usually can't solder both sides under the caps
in any case...)


Stereo, with your best "other" mic on the other channel, please! Place
them close together, both facing forwards - ta.


Nosso fast - if I include the surprisingly good Samson USB mic, there
are now 6 different mics to compare and I don't know which is the best!
That's the point of a comparison - I was/am planning to record Swim on
the clart (in different pairs to keep down the incidence of variation in
her playing) and was going to post the clips to elicit opinion as to
which was 'best'..!

Also, due to a lack of anything (name, plastic blob, paint spot or
whatever) to indicate the 'front' of the mic, I have to mess around (in
'cardioid pattern, I suppose) to find the 'front' of the new mic!

More anon....

(Meanwhile, Classic FM plays 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' on an hourly
basis....)

On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:08:21 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:


"Don Pearce" wrote


That picture is a little worrying. The solder should have wetted all
the way through those holes to form a slight fillet on the component
side of the board. Can't think why that hasn't happened. The
components are very substantial looking, though.


I know what you mean, but it seems very common and I hafta say I don't
worry about seeing solder on the 'component side' of the board if there
are no tracks there. (You usually can't solder both sides under the caps
in any case...)


If the joint is heated properly it should flow though by capillary
action - you don't actually solder both sides.


Stereo, with your best "other" mic on the other channel, please! Place
them close together, both facing forwards - ta.


Nosso fast - if I include the surprisingly good Samson USB mic, there
are now 6 different mics to compare and I don't know which is the best!
That's the point of a comparison - I was/am planning to record Swim on
the clart (in different pairs to keep down the incidence of variation in
her playing) and was going to post the clips to elicit opinion as to
which was 'best'..!

tricky one that. And I'm afraid a clart is absolutely the wrong
instrument for the job - its tonal and harmonic range is just too
limited. The piano would be a much better bet.

Also, due to a lack of anything (name, plastic blob, paint spot or
whatever) to indicate the 'front' of the mic, I have to mess around (in
'cardioid pattern, I suppose) to find the 'front' of the new mic!


You're just going to have to talk to it nicely and find out which ear
is deaf.

More anon....

(Meanwhile, Classic FM plays 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' on an hourly
basis....)


The mind boggles.

d

--
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

"Don Pearce"

That picture is a little worrying. The solder should have wetted all

If the joint is heated properly it should flow though by capillary
action - you don't actually solder both sides.



** The Chinese do - wherever a via is really needed

12 year olds with bare feet, standing on a dirt floor in a big galvanised
iron shed with a diesel gene droning on outside copying sample PCBs.




........ Phil

On Tue, 28 Aug 2007 23:06:05 +1000, "Phil Allison"
wrote:

"Don Pearce"

That picture is a little worrying. The solder should have wetted all

If the joint is heated properly it should flow though by capillary
action - you don't actually solder both sides.



** The Chinese do - wherever a via is really needed

12 year olds with bare feet, standing on a dirt floor in a big galvanised
iron shed with a diesel gene droning on outside copying sample PCBs.

True enough - I suspect the 12 year olds are the ones approaching
retirement age, though.

d

--
Pearce Consulting
http://www.pearce.uk.com

"Keith G" wrote in message
news
No-one is more aware of the old 'you get what you pay for adage' (or
the various issues with cheep Chinky stuff) than I am, but my
curiosity/interest in a valve microphone has had me punting a
relatively paltry £132 (inc. postage) on this little lot:


Sorry to say, it's looking like *stinker* atm:

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show/Noisy%20Mic.mp3

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show/SelfNoise.wmv


We'll see....

"Keith G" wrote in message

"Keith G" wrote in message
news
No-one is more aware of the old 'you get what you pay
for adage' (or the various issues with cheep Chinky
stuff) than I am, but my curiosity/interest in a valve
microphone has had me punting a relatively paltry £132
(inc. postage) on this little lot:

The noise floor of the clari01 recording is dominated by 700 Hz and its
harmonics - perhaps a nearby PC cooling fan? Second major source of noise
is that of a person inhaling.

In terms of evaluating mics, I can't think of anything much worse than a
solo clairinet. Limited frequency range, limited dynamic range. Even a set
of keys jangling would give more information about response over the
critical upper half of the audio spectrum.

Sorry to say, it's looking like *stinker* atm:

What the MP3 is a recording of, is not self-evident.

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show/Noisy%20Mic.mp3

http://www.apah69.dsl.pipex.com/show/SelfNoise.wmv

If the left channel is the preamp, terminated with a low-value resistor,
then the right channel may not be all that bad.

If the left channel is the ribbon mic, set up for equal acoustical
sensitivity, then the right channel is horrid.

The right channel has a nearly theoretical-looking -40 dB/decade slope, and
seems to be electronic in nature. Get rid of the tube!

I can only imagine what would happen if Keith tried one of the better mics I
routinely use - a Rode NT-1 or NT-5, for example. Of course they are both
infected with that deadly disease - "sand state" electonics.

It would be good if some people would let a modicum of the scientific method
inform their investigations. One such informative scientific tool is the
known reference. Comparing eBay special ribbon to eBay special cheap tube
mulit-pattern mic via a well-known travesty of a mic preamp (The Tube MP)
may be fun, but it is frustrating if one were to try to actually make sense
of the proceedings.

In article ,
Arny Krueger wrote:
Even a set of keys jangling would give more information about response
over the critical upper half of the audio spectrum.

Standard test for checking the companding (noise reduction) on analogue
radio mics - very revealing.

A belltree is a good one for those who think analogue tape recorders
perfect. ;-)

--
*Constipated People Don't Give A Crap*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.