Mic samples-Schoeps, the Holy Grail ?

[beaser]

My never ending quest for the best!

Am I satisfied?

I think so. Listening to the Schoeps CMC6 / MK41 hypercardoid is a strange experience. It’s not earth shattering, lights don’t flash and bells sound, quite simply put it makes all of the other mikes sound like sh!t. The Accuracy is phenomenal.

A read of the Schoeps philosophy will tell you the why’s and wherefores of this very fine product. I tested the Schoeps against the Sanken CS-1 and the CS-3 in a very noisy environment, it had better off axis rejection and the detail was awesome.
http://www.schoeps.de/E/overview-mic-types.html#shotgun

Have a listen to the samples, keep in mind the mp3 files are compressed. Listen to the files on decent monitors or Sony 7506 headphones .

If the audio from the large clips sound choppy, let the file download and then replay it.

http://www.dvfreelancer.com/media/beaser/SchoepsleftOktavaRight.WAV

Smaller files

http://www.dvfreelancer.com/media/beaser/SchoepsVsOktava1.mp3
http://www.dvfreelancer.com/media/beaser/ShoepsLeftOktavaRight2.mp3
http://www.dvfreelancer.com/media/beaser/shortSchoepsVsOktava.mp3

[beaser]

Much of the high price paid for the Schoeps is the off axis rejection.

I recorded these files in the warehouse where i picked up the Schoeps. The conditions were terrible with a noisy space heater over head but all 3 did a great job rejecting the off axis sounds. The CS3 is $80 more than the Schoeps. You tell me which one was better.

Recorded on marantz PMD670 with mics 90 degrees to the source of the noise and mounted on a sabra som shock mount. Originally recorded at 48 hz PCM converted to 320 kbps MP3. It's rough but proves a point

http://www.dvfreelancer.com/media/beaser/SchoepsVsSanken.mp3
http://www.dvfreelancer.com/media/beaser/CS-1VsSchoeps.mp3
http://www.dvfreelancer.com/media/beaser/CS-3VsSchoeps.mp3


Next we'll boom an Oktava, Sennheiser ME66 and the Schoeps and see where the Bear Sh!t in the Buckwheat.

[rextilleon]

Bryan---I used to own a set of Schoeps capsules---I sold them severall years ago--Big mistake!

[chris]

Quality costs money but dang. For $1,200 a pop they should be pretty close to audio reality. Actually for that I expect better than reality.

Funny how standards change over time, especially for technology. The mics available today are simply amazing.

Watching an episode of American Casino and just saw a really nice professional wireless mic go into a pool of water with a lounge dancer. The people in the show were totally blitzed but I could almost hear the producer in the background going, "Oh, s---! Not in the pool, not in the pool- ah, he went in the pool."

And that's why you don't buy gear on eBay.

[beaser]

Pelican make a really nice little waterproof case for the transmitter. i saw them at Trew audio yesterday. Damn! That place is like a candy store.
http://www.trewaudio.com/catalog/items/item294.htm

I compared an AKG CK63 hypercardoid capsule on a 480B preamp. That's AKG's top of the line and the hiss just unnerved me. other than the self noise, the mic sound very much like the Schoeps.
http://www.schoeps.de/E-2004/supercardioids.html

AKG Canada had a promotion of the C480B with a Cardoid capsule for $780 Canadian or 565 US. Maybe I'll listen again monday, i'll see if the high pass will do anything (70 hz)
The mic has specs that shoud blow the Schoeps away so far as self noise is concerned, but it doesn't.

http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,nodeid,1,mynodeid,173,id,225,pid,225,_language,EN.html

[rackdude]

whats the reach on the schoeps?

Can it be used pretty well as an outdoor shotgun too?

I'd like to hear a comparison of like, 30 feet away outdoors between the schoeps n some shotguns

[chris]

Bease hasn't been around for a while, Chris. So don't take it personally if he doesn't answer. I should call him and see how he's doing.

One of these days we need to redo the shootout with some of the newer mics running side by side comparisons. Some of these clips are getting pretty old. Mic technology has advanced a bit since '04.

[Joe Kras]

At 30 feet away, I doubt that you'd hear much difference between most shotguns.

[Bill Pryor]

For 30 feet you would want one of those really long shotgun mics. I used to have a long shotgun Shure that cost abotu $1K back in the mid '80s. I actually did record some dialog outdoors from about 10' away and it was fine. Soundman was on a ladder, fishpole extended as far as possible but couldn't get any closer because of the angle of the shot. That same mic didn't work nearly as well in close as the Sennheiser MKH60 I use mostly today. You can get it right in the face and it still is great. I picked the MKH60 over the equivalent Schoeps and Neuman because it was a little more forgiving off axis, and I don't always have a professional soundman to run the boom.

[chris]

30 feet you'd need one of those parabolic dishes like the networks use on the sidelines of football games. Even then there's going to be a lot of background noise.