ADK Hamburg & Vienna vs "II AU" Versions

[dkelley]

Originally Posted by Multicore

You make some good points!

First of all I'm only quoting what Larry has said. He said he was an amateur not me. But sometimes I get hung up on what a person isn't saying or rather what they may be trying to imply by what they say.

he doesn't trust his ears (which is a well known thing not to trust, study psycho acoustic effects and how your mind can play tricks with you... where even some of the world's most legendary audio engineers have fallen for this very problem in documented tests)


This is kind of what I was getting at actually, because, if a microphone is "remanufactured" by ADK in the US which is what the Custom Shop stuff supposedly is, then all the testing that is done is by ear. I don't believe that ADK has an anechoic chamber, clean room (as Larry has told me is necessary to build microphones) or B&K testing equipment.

So the point you make , ears being "a well known thing not to trust" is exactly what I am talking about when considering buying a microphone that has had the price vastly increased by "remanufacturing" , where in the first place it was probably made in the factory with the equipment needed to properly test it as you state. If Larry doesn't trust his ears to do it, then what ultimately is the test that gets done before you buy the now more expensive remanufactured microphone?

This is the part I don't understand.



Yes, like I say Larry is a great guy, and I understand he has to market the mics. I guess I just read so many posts by him that lead me to believe he was actually a guitarist and a recording engineer that I was bummed to discover he was only a businessman. I like to get advice on what to buy from people that actually use the products. For example taking advice from Steve Jobs (rest his soul) on how to record even though his products are the staple of many studios would be strange also. He was a great businessman, but he never went around saying he was a recording engineer even though just about every recording engineer has used his products at one time or another.

So yes I agree my post was pretty strange! I find it strange, but as you can see I love my mics.

Thanks! -Multi

haha, ok, fair enough. I think I am getting to grips with your meaning more now. and thanks for not reacting in a really negative fashion to what I wrote - I was just confused as I said and trying to understand what you were getting at. You clarified well dude, cheers :-)

[dkelley]

Originally Posted by Greg B

Users are the guinea pigs, not designers. They provide useful feedback for the designers, but Larry always has final say in what models are made. Here's an example, Mark Isham (well known horn player) tried a few ADK mics and explained he wanted something just a little more mellow for his trumpet, which led to the S-7B, the mellower version of the S-7). Mark got one and loved it. He didn't design the mic, but his feedback led to the design. I think virtually all manufacturers need to work this way. If you don't make the end-users happy, you don't sell your product.

which, for point of reference, is how many modern companies do business. Create a product (of any type, not just audio), let a select set of experience beta customers try it for a while and give feedback, selectively choose or ignore that feedback for the first release of the product, and release it.

standard stuff. I like your posts Greg, thanks for the information.

It makes me happy to hear how ADK does business actually compared to many other mike companies.