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Post by bluesholyman on May 15, 2024 19:48:50 GMT -6
Ok, not trying to troll here as the title might suggest, but I think this is genuinely a not great mic - MXL Trophy. My biggest complaint with it is that its sensitivity is -41.9dB re 1 V/Pa which equates to 8mv/Pa I think. Its a 48v condenser that has a sensitivity "almost" as challenging as an SM7b, which is -59db (1.12mv) I guess I just don't know what or how to think about this. I guess I could put an inline booster on this mic, but then phantom would be taken by the booster and not passed on. I am traveling and picked up this mic for $30, marked down from $150 (which I thought was absurd) but then for $30, why not - worst case, I could destroy it learning something about mics or turn it into a genuine trophy and give to a friend in place of a raspberry or something useful like that. I guess my question is why would a company make a condenser mic that requires phantom power with so low of a sensitivity? Is this a normal thing? Any "good" mics that do something similar? The documentation describes it as a "Pressure Gradient" microphone, which just seems to be a fancy way of saying "its a cardioid, bro." Feel free to not waste your time here, but I am genuinely curious about this. I should call these the "3am thoughts" questions.... Link to Photos |
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Post by RealNoob on May 15, 2024 21:37:23 GMT -6
low build cost -> low quality output.
that said, my Studio Projects C1 did pretty good back in the day.
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Post by bluesholyman on May 16, 2024 5:08:46 GMT -6
low build cost -> low quality output. that said, my Studio Projects C1 did pretty good back in the day. It was hard to find any info on the microphone. The big pitch I saw in one old YT video was that you could have your name of choice engraved on the front of it by sending in the removable plaque. I think I am going put "Fisher-Price" on mine.... |
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Post by svart on May 16, 2024 8:00:22 GMT -6
Are those the actual specs? Seems way too low for a powered condenser mic that was probably copied from one of the usual circuits unless they did it for a reason, or used a weird output transformer.
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Post by doubledog on May 16, 2024 8:07:35 GMT -6
I'd guess MXL spent more time developing the engravable plate than the making a good mic. It seems to be the focus there. Also, note that recording hacks says the capsule has "not been used in any other MXL microphone". Maybe for good reason. If you were into it, you could check the capsule polarization voltage (to see if it's in a range that makes sense - but if the sensitivity is that low it may be way underpowered? for example, maybe they used a capsule that really needs 60V but they skimped and just fed it straight 48V) and if it is ok, then try another capsule that may or may not make any difference.... could be an even bigger waste of money. recordinghacks.com/microphones/MXL/Trophy |
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Post by recordingengineer on May 16, 2024 9:43:25 GMT -6
Don’t equate sensitivity with quality. They have nothing to do with each other. Sensitivity and design for an application (as well as user-choice for the application) can have correlation though.
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Post by chessparov on May 16, 2024 12:14:20 GMT -6
It's the best on Trophy Wives!  And can withstand "Insult Humour" well. (It's less "sensitive") Pages Don Rickles... |
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Post by chessparov on May 16, 2024 12:15:19 GMT -6
low build cost -> low quality output. that said, my Studio Projects C1 did pretty good back in the day. It was hard to find any info on the microphone. The big pitch I saw in one old YT video was that you could have your name of choice engraved on the front of it by sending in the removable plaque. I think I am going put "Fisher-Price" on mine.... The Price is right! In fact, if you C1. Buy it.  |
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Post by bluesholyman on May 16, 2024 12:32:15 GMT -6
Don’t equate sensitivity with quality. I don't equate MXL with quality either.... |
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Post by bluesholyman on May 16, 2024 12:33:04 GMT -6
Are those the actual specs? Seems way too low for a powered condenser mic that was probably copied from one of the usual circuits unless they did it for a reason, or used a weird output transformer. Yeah, the photo link has the specs from their users guide. |
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Post by recordingengineer on May 16, 2024 14:11:38 GMT -6
Don’t equate sensitivity with quality. I don't equate MXL with quality either.... Try an MXL 890 or CR89… |
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Post by bluesholyman on May 17, 2024 8:06:40 GMT -6
I don't equate MXL with quality either.... Try an MXL 890 or CR89… Interesting - just listening to a comparison against a 414XL, the MXL CR89 sounds a bit more open. Blind, I'd probably pick the MXL over the 414. |
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