Beyer MC930: Worth dumping my Oktavas?

[leddy]

Some folks who have used the MC930's are raving about them. My MC012's have been good to me, but I think I may be ready to move up. I would be giving up the option of using omni caps, and the Beyers have a tight cardiod pattern so I hear. I have three other Beyers (ribbons and a M88) that I love.

If you are familiar with both mics, would you dump the 012's for the MC930's? The omni caps are Soundroom matched caps. The cardiods are not. They are genuine Russian mics. I'd like to keep them all, but I can't afford too much gear lying around.

[borau]

Yes, you should absolutely do that, completely different league imhe.

[Sergievsky]

Don't know about the Beyers, but you might want to look into getting the large capsule diaphragms available for the Oktavas, like the one from the mk102 (which I have and are fantastic), or the ones from Red. It gives those mics a different, but great, sound.

[Jimbo]

I'll let you know in a week -- when I pick my mc930s up

I'll be putting them to the test two weeks after with an Irish music band.

Honestly, I have an MK012, which I bought for live work, and it sounds good for live, but not much of a studio mic for acoustic instruments IMO -- maybe I got a dud.

Or else, I spilt waaaaaay too much beer in it. Does beer hurt condensors?

- Jim

[newnes]

I don't have the Oktava's but I also just ordered some mc930's (mostly for drum overheads) so I'll let you know what I think in a week or so as well...

Craig.

[leddy]

Thanks for the quick replies - I love this site.

Anxious to hear more reports on the MC930's. It's going to be a while before I pop for some Shoeps. I need something that will keep me happy for a while.

[d_fu]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I'll let you know in a week -- when I pick my mc903s up

Is this a typo or is there really a 903 (not 930) now? Some kind of modular system by that name was announced in the press after this year's Frankfurt fair, but I never saw or heard of it again... Would love a Beyer SDC hypercardioid mic or pair.

While I don't have any 930s, I have their predecessors (pair of 803 cardioids and one 805 hyper) and I think they are absolutely excellent mics. The 930 are a good deal cheaper than the 800s were when they were new, but so far, I've only heard positive comments about them here.

Daniel

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by d_fu

Is this a typo or is there really a 903 (not 930) now?

Most definitely a typo....I'm going to fix it above.

Thanks,

- Jim

[Acoustic Cloud]

Reconsider selling the 012's. Its not like "neumann money" you will get for the resale, and I can guarantee you will miss them. Wait and save up a little longer if you can.

If its a higher dollar trade-off, its worth it....but I would keep-em. Unless they are a funky pair.

[leddy]

Update - Bought the MC930's from Warren. I will get to put them to real use this weekend, but setting up one along side an Oktava and doing some listening, key jangling, etc. was fun.

The Oktavas seem to have a bump between about 3k and 7k the Beyers do not have. The bump the Beyers have above 10k is pleasant. The Beyers also have so much more detail, especially in the mid bass. In the lower bass, the Oktavas seem to have some wierd spikes where the Beyers are much more flat. The Beyers have higher output too.

So far I'm excited. Can't wait to use 'em for real.

[Jimbo]

The most "in your face" diifference I hear is the veiled sound of the Octavas vs the Beyers.

The next thing I noticed is that the Beyer's have a much deeper low end.

However, I gotta say that, compared to the price of the Beyers, my Octava was a real bargain at $68.

I hope you enjoy your new mics!

thumbsup

[warhead]

MC930 beats them on overall detail, low end response and "air". There is a ton of airy detail about the MC930 that I love, without them sounding harsh or overly bright. The low end is bigger and smoother on the MC930, yes the Oktava can get sort of woofy down there.

I still love my Oktava on acoustic guitar among other things. They deliver the woody sound of ac gtr so well...! Good pick scrape in there, as well as a full midrange sound.

Thanks for letting me take care of you, Leddy.

War