I'm feeling the need to add a couple more SDCs to the collection (already got a pair of STC1s and NT5s plus the lovely omni caps). Looking around everyone seems to have very nice things to say about the Beyerdynamics MC930s and they are an affordable price for me right now. Are they really that good?

TIA,

CC

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Putting the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Here's a thought. I read a very good review of the Swedish Line Audio CM3 ( Here ) and ordered a pair that arrived today. Wide cardioid, flat response and very good value. Unfortunately I'm flat out organising a festival just now, so I'm unlikely to test them for awhile. Might be worth trawling the net for reviews, people comparing them with Schoeps m21s.

Bob

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www.bickerton.co.nz

Hmmm, 93 quid plus VAT (probably about 30% in Sweden) is a heck of a good price, but the site and company do seem to be in some disarray. Temporarily closed due to illness, various items out of stock with no restocking date or restocking date passed. I do hope they sort themselves out, it sounds interesting.

CC

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Putting the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Quote ConcertinaChap:

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Hmmm, 93 quid plus VAT (probably about 30% in Sweden) is a heck of a good price, but the site and company do seem to be in some disarray. Temporarily closed due to illness, various items out of stock with no restocking date or restocking date passed. I do hope they sort themselves out, it sounds interesting.

CC

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No first hand experience with the MC930s sorry although I've heard some shoot outs against older and current Neumann 84/184s and the MC930s sounded great but slightly darker from memory... Of course you can only tell so much from such simple internet tests though!

I’m very pleased with my CM3 mics although I’ve not had a chance to use them as much as I’d like. Re: price: It baffles me how they’re cheap yet great and handmade in Sweden (not cheap!?) They have good low extension and a nice flat sound, not harsh but not lacking detail either. There are lots of comparisons to far more expensive mics over on the GS forums if you want to listen to some examples.

Re: the website, it’s a small company, pretty much a one man outfit as far as I understand… Hopefully a speedy recovery for Roger. Seemed a nice guy when I emailed him a few months ago.

Having used Rode NT55 and AKGc451b and the CM3 I am more than happy with the way the CM3 sounds in comparison, I think you would have to use proper shockmounting though.
There was another thread sometime ago about the MC930 which seemed to suggest it was a good alternaive to the neumannKM184, 2 other darker pricier mics to consider are shureKSM137 and microtechGefell M300.
D

I bought one last year after previously using an NT-5. I think it's in a different league to the NT-5 for acoustic guitar. I love it.

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I like people, it's my friends I can't stand - Larry David.
http://www.myspace.com/lodious

I borrowed an MC930 to finish an album, using it on acoustic guitar, mandolin, that sort of thing. As I'd read and hoped to hear, it measured up really well to other tracks recorded with a KM84. Plenty of detail, not dark as such but the high lift is different to a KM184, so it has brightness but is a bit less forward-sounding, if you see what I mean. It captured the nice woodyness I was looking for a treat.

A friend who heard the recordings liked them so much he bought himself one, then a couple of months later he decided he just had to get a matched pair. When he did that I bought his original single mic off him. Everybody happy! It's a lovely mic.

Re: the 930

It really depends on what you're recording and what you want.

To me, the mic's have always sounded like they're delivering processed material-with a very polished processor!

But they tend to substantially exaggerate low mids, and they have an elevated top end which sounds nothing like their marketing graphs might indicate. The peak is decidedly lower and more pronounced, as born out in individual calibration graphs-or at least many of them. While they don't really exaggerate sibilants, they do seem to change the character of them. The mic is a little scooped, overall.

Still, it's a great mic, and a "brilliant" sounding one, which is not to say "bright."

When it works, it's superb, when it doesn't, it's not. But that's true with mostly anything.

Of the other mic's mentioned, the Line Audio is the 930's complete opposite, and the 137 is also a very different mic-it can sound "lite" because of it's roll off points, but it still has a real extension, and it can sound a little bright, mostly due to the character of the low end. It's upper end is much smoother than the 930. It has a very tight pattern, and it can sound dry and forward in some instances. It's a very clean mic.

Thanks all. Stuff to think about appreciated.

CC

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Putting the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

Quote ConcertinaChap:

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Hmmm, 93 quid plus VAT (probably about 30% in Sweden) is a heck of a good price, but the site and company do seem to be in some disarray. Temporarily closed due to illness, various items out of stock with no restocking date or restocking date passed. I do hope they sort themselves out, it sounds interesting.

CC

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It's just a one man show, I have been buying from him since the early 90's (At the time he built the best multitrack ADC/DAC's available for the Atari Falcon) and he is a 100% guy, but if he is having health problems it is to be expected that some products are out of stock etc., I would email him if I had any misgivings or concerns.

Swedish VAT is 25% BTW and some of his products are a ridiculously good value for money and I would advice anyone to take a closer look, but equating his cheapest designs with the more expensive variants of Schoeps is perhaps taking things a bit far

I have been using MC 930s on percussion and acoustic guitar - with good results. From my experience they're not quite as versatile as the Neumann KM84 or KM184 mics which almost always do a great job on virtually any source you throw at them but they're certainly good mics.

Cheers,
Frank

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Imagination is more important than knowledge - A. Einstein

Something neat I found on GS. A chap's put up some decent orchestral and drum recordings using KM184, MC930 and NT5 here.

CC

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Putting the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio

I think I might have said it before but I sometimes wonder if the MC930s are a bit muffled/congested in the lower mids. Then again, I've used them many times as a main pair on classical sessions, as well as a close mic for pop stuff, and they're generally very good. The times when they sounded slightly bloated in the low end could well have been something to do with the room, or the performers on that particular day.

The other problem I have had with them is that their RF shielding is not perfect. On live chamber recordings where space was limited and the audience were sitting a couple of metres away I've ended up picking up mobile phone interference, which was embarrassing. I've tested them against my KM183s, and the Neumanns are perfectly shielded so I imagine the same is true of the 184s. But if you only need the mics for studio use when you can genuinely ensure everyone's phones are off, the beyers are definitely a 'professional' sounding cardioid. Furthermore, you might even prefer their extended low end response compared to the 184's LF roll off.

Quote mjfe2:

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The other problem I have had with them is that their RF shielding is not perfect. On live chamber recordings where space was limited and the audience were sitting a couple of metres away I've ended up picking up mobile phone interference, which was embarrassing.

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I seem to recall reading that elsewhere For me that's a significant point since I do quite a bit of onsite recording - only yesterday, for instance, in a crowded pub with people actually standing by the mic stands. There was no RF problem with the NT5s I was using but since this is one place I would be using the MC930s that is clearly an issue for me.

Thanks.

CC

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Putting the fun back into dysfunctional.
Mr Punch's Studio