| Huh. Was the C214 positioned the same way as the other mics? Because it hears a lot more room and is very hollow-sounding if it was.
You know, for all the slavish love the SM7 gets I'm just not hearing it on this vocalist. The SM7, like all moving coil dynamic mics does not resolve "S" as accurately as a well-behaved (and lighter moving-mass) condenser or ribbon mic. The SM7 doesn't do this vocalist justice with regard to sibilance in my opinion. The U87AI with its K67 capsule and HF attenuation circuit has a tighter "S" and less "eshhh" than the SM7. It is more refined sounding.
I was actually surprised by the Sterling Audio ST69 - my notes say "upfront, intimate and clear". Could be because this mic uses a 797 Beijing Audio capsule which is a step up from the garden variety Alctron K67-type frequently heard.
The clarity and less forgiving nature of digital recording really requires getting the sibilance range right. But non of these mics is a great performer when it comes to sibilance. I'm hearing multi-layer mesh headbasket effects that color and smear "S"s. Try to find a good solo'd recording of a Neumann M 49 (or just some old Barbra Streisand stuff) to hear a mic that is less colored, more open and less sibilant than any of these mics. The '49 has a very large, more open headbasket (compared to a U 47 or U 87) surrounding a K47 capsule. The impressive midrange phase accuracy of the K47-type capsule translates into better sibilance control further up the spectrum.
This test shows you don't have to spend boatloads of money to get U 87 ballpark sound - the $300 Bluebird is the best value condenser in this group. |