Chinese DPAs...

[NOLAfishwater]

has anybody tried these out yet?

[Rolo 46]

Can we name a Chinese product of true quality (apart from Apple) ?
Why are they so short termist ?
Japan started like this and then became perfectionist in time and outpriced itself.
Will this happen to Sino Goods ?

[David Spearritt]

Originally Posted by Rolo 46

Why are they so short termist ?

Buying all our natural resources now for cheap and leaving theirs in the ground for their future generations is seriously long termist. Aren't we dumb!

[Jaymz]

Originally Posted by Rolo 46

Can we name a Chinese product of true quality (apart from Apple) ?

Littledot headphone amplifiers are designed and made in China I believe, I consider them to be quite good.

[boojum]

Oppo CD/DVD players.

[Thomas W. Bethe]

This seems to be the American distributor. FDW-Worldwide

[The Listener]

Originally Posted by Rolo 46

Can we name a Chinese product of true quality (apart from Apple) ?
Why are they so short termist ?
Japan started like this and then became perfectionist in time and outpriced itself.
Will this happen to Sino Goods ?

Quite some of the Se Electronics stuff...

Or wait, are they English now? Or both? Anyway - they come to mind.

[Plush]

These make me ill.

What a joke.

B&K and DPA are very high precision with lineage in measurement mics. These measurement mics are tied to a scientific standard that is very strict.

Chiney-Boy now come along and offer silver object.

[9sbean]

Any one knows William Jardine? He involved so deeply in China about 180 years ago. International trade disputes....

[rumleymusic]

I saw them at NAMM a couple years ago. Tried to listen but the presenters were running them through crummy preamps and headphones they didn't seem to know how to work. Didn't instill much confidence in their quality.

If you want a cheap DPA, get the 2006.

[Ribbonmicguy]

Originally Posted by tenor39

Not DPA. Everything is manufactured and assembled in Denmark.

Not all of them. Their lavaliers are not

[boojum]

Originally Posted by Ribbonmicguy

Not all of them. Their lavaliers are not

Where are they made? The 406n's?

[jnorman]

confucius say it is mistake to see silver object and assume it is junk.

[GimmeAir]

Originally Posted by jnorman

confucius say it is mistake to see silver object and assume it is junk.

Or to see a nation of one billion + and assume they're not smart.

[Plush]

See--I didn't say that they Chinese people aren't intelligent. Certainly they are.
Read my actual comments.

When we Europeans were cavemen living in caves and later, fearing the incubus and the succubus, the Chinese were perfecting using aged tofu to mimic the taste of duck.

What I did infer is that the mentioned mics are poor substitutes for the real thing. They are similar to B&K only in look.

[Bibster]

What I deduct from all this is the following:

They're not direct crap microphones, it's just a pity they make'em look like B&K. Something they're absolutely not.

But then again: Had they made them in a different package, they would not have attacted our attention (and we might have missed a nice, cheap mic) or we would've said: just another cheap chinaman mic mimicking a cool-mic look, must be crap.

Dilemma for them wannabe builders?

[hbphotoav]

Originally Posted by Bibster

Dilemma for them wannabe builders?

Not so much the "wannabe" builders (Beez Neez and AEA come to mind, making great mics that pretty much stand on their own and, often, fill niches) but the "clone a great design as cheaply and visually as identically as possible and get their money" builders. Behringer, and several Chinese manufacturers come to mind. Behringer has at least put up the dough to buy Midas and Klark Teknik after years of "borrowing" their designs and visuals. One can only hope some large amount of QC came with the deal. I doubt most of these mic makers have any intention of doing anything but cheaply cloning world class design and visuals.

As my dear, departed Dad used to say... "You gets what you pays for." I have great mics (Sennheiser 8040s, Neumann TLM193s) and I have, from before I knew the difference or had the money, not-so-great mics (Equation SDCs, Rode NT1s) which, while they still have their uses, are not in the same class. Not even close... the NT1 being, perhaps, the closest.

It's the visual deception of the mics mentioned in the OP, the "image cloning", that is disturbing. But, then, that's always been the case with copycats. Dad also used to say... "There's one born every minute."

Mic design seems to me to be primarily an exercise in physics, circuit design and build quality. The physics is a rather rigid discipline, as its laws are not suggestions... and via powerful computers and CAD and modeling, basic design is not nearly the time- and material-intensive trial-and-error process it once was... which leaves us with build quality. Some things can't be cloned. Rode have done a great job mechanizing the process of building a quality, inexpensive mic. But, for 95% of my work, I'll reach for my Neumanns before I'll even consider the Rodes. Just the way it is. I can't fool myself into what my ears tell me, even to save a few bucks.

If one has no finances and wishes to record something, they are better than nothing. They are just not what they're not... they are what they are. Caveat emptor.

[Jtt]

Originally Posted by Plush

See--I didn't say that they Chinese people aren't intelligent. Certainly they are.
Read my actual comments.

When we Europeans were cavemen living in caves and later, fearing the incubus and the succubus, the Chinese were perfecting using aged tofu to mimic the taste of duck.

What I did infer is that the mentioned mics are poor substitutes for the real thing. They are similar to B&K only in look.

Well then don't use phrases like "Chiney-boy". It makes you look ignorant or worse.

Jtt

[Plush]

Nonsense.

I use the English language to make my points. I use it freely and with very specific intent.

Who are you?

[Tom McC]

Originally Posted by Plush

I use the English language to make my points. I use it freely and with very specific intent.

Plush, was it your specific intent to use "ïnfer" instead of "imply"? :-)
The speaker/writer implies; the listener/reader infers.

[Plush]

Certainly you are right, Tom McC.

I should have written imply.

thank you,

Plush

[9sbean]

Originally Posted by Jtt

Well then don't use phrases like "Chiney-boy". It makes you look ignorant or worse.

Jtt

Good point.

[muziekschuur]

I've looked at these microphones. And I asked for the dutch prices. I cannot see graphs of the DPA 4090 microphones (500 euro a piece). And the interesting MICW microphones fall into that price catagory. There are no graphs of the 4090 and the MICW (comparable ones) above 20Khz. So I assume I could/should just get the 4090 omni's.

[nkf]

Originally Posted by muziekschuur

I cannot see graphs of the DPA 4090 microphones (500 euro a piece).

DPA Microphones :: Products

[jnorman]

i replaced my DPA 4061s with a pair of DPA 4090s and they are very nice - way easier to deal with than 4061s - by contrast, the 4090s are stand mountable, do not have the tinky little cords, and have a flatter response curve.

they are fabulous on grand piano, acoustic guitar, and as spots for almost any acoustic instrument, woodwinds, horns, strings, etc.

i have never experienced any objectionable noise from these little guys, even though they are very small capsule mics. they dont typically need a lot of gain.

[didier.brest]

The impact of the self-noise of the mic, specified as an acoustic level, is not determined by the preamp gain: if the mic self-noise is 23 dBA, the A-weighted ratio of the reference signal level 94 dB SPL to the mic noise level will be 71 dB whatever is the mic sensitivity or the preamp gain.

[NOLAfishwater]

I bought a pair of N101's. they output a really hot signal and I had to use an inline attenuator when using them onstage to record a funk trio. So far, I am happy with them. Need to use them some more. What I noticed is that they are not colored at all like the Schoeps microphones that I normally use. The bass is clear and punchy and the highs are very detailed. I am no classically trained recording engineer and they will probably never be used in a studio. typically use a pair of mics to blend in with 6 other sbd subgroups to make my recordings. Maybe I can see if one of my friends here in NOLA has an upcoming project they want to try them out on.

[David Spearritt]

Originally Posted by NOLAfishwater

What I noticed is that they are not colored at all like the Schoeps microphones that I normally use.

Interesting.

[panatrope]

Originally Posted by didier.brest

The impact of the self-noise of the mic, specified as an acoustic level, is not determined by the preamp gain: if the mic self-noise is 23 dBA, the A-weighted ratio of the reference signal level 94 dB SPL to the mic noise level will be 71 dB whatever is the mic sensitivity or the preamp gain.

True - but with the proviso that the absolute voltage level of the self noise is significantly higher than the Ein of the pre-amplifier at that particular gain, so that the mic noise predominates and controls the perceived noise level. There are some very low self noise mics out there and preamp noise can become a factor in the perceived (total) noise.

[aracu]

The micW compact omni (cn201) has a 12.7 mm capsule and is only
22 mm long. That's even shorter than the Senn 8000 series without
xlr module.

By the way, Sonodore now has a compact omni that can run on 48
phantom power. The capsule is 12.8 mm, and the mic weighs only 28 grams.