advertisement


Measurement microphones?

JimmyB

JimmyB

pfm Member
It would be obvious to buy a UMIK but as I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 with phantom power, it would seem more sensible to get a mic with an XLR connection.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a cheap microphone, preferably calibrated? To be used for room and speaker measurement (mainly for fun DIY stuff).

If this is a mistake and I'll just run into software etc. compatibility later on if I decide to go MiniDSP or other then welcome for views.
 
JimmyB said:
It would be obvious to buy a UMIK but as I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 with phantom power, it would seem more sensible to get a mic with an XLR connection.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a cheap microphone, preferably calibrated? To be used for room and speaker measurement (mainly for fun DIY stuff).

If this is a mistake and I'll just run into software etc. compatibility later on if I decide to go MiniDSP or other then welcome for views.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure 'cheap' and 'calibrated' belong in the same statement above TBH! And note that in general the responses of microphones are direction-dependent and distance dependent!
 
The UMIK-1 is around £100 calibrated but TBH I have no experience with mics so I haven't a clue if these measurement ones that all look the same are any good or what I need.

I'm basically going to be 'playing' at pointing it at loudspeakers/drivers to test/tweak what I'm building and for in-room measurement, just a hobby setup really.
 
The umik is very good for the price, can’t go wrong really, if you want to keep cost down and use rew.

Can pay a bit more and use the Dayton/omni mic combo, but must use their mic & software together (is free with the mic purchase), rated very highly by diy’ers, and has some features that rew doesn’t. Not that rew is lacking btw, is excellent and more audiophiles should be familiar with it!
 
JimmyB said:
It would be obvious to buy a UMIK but as I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 with phantom power, it would seem more sensible to get a mic with an XLR connection.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a cheap microphone, preferably calibrated? To be used for room and speaker measurement (mainly for fun DIY stuff). ...
Click to expand...
FYI, the analogue alternative to the UMIK-1, as shown on the REW website, is the Dayton Audio EMM-6. It's rather expensive (IMHO) on Amazon UK but somewhat cheaper elsewhere (e.g. Dayton Audio's listed UK source).
 
Paul Burke said:
Can pay a bit more and use the Dayton/omni mic combo, but must use their mic & software together (is free with the mic purchase), rated very highly by diy’ers, and has some features that rew doesn’t. Not that rew is lacking btw, is excellent and more audiophiles should be familiar with it!
Click to expand...

Is that the EMM-6 mic by Dayton or the full Omni measurement system @ £300? Deffo can't justify £300 but that calibrated Sonarworks one seems about right, I like the quote:

'At this price range, all measurement microphones are roughly the same, so what makes the XREF20 stand out is its individual calibration profile.'

Probably about right, down to the calibration file quality. I've seen somewhere that the Dayton one can be questionable?
 
Yes, they all look the same don't they. Looking at all these i think I'll try to find one with an individual calibration and a table stand.

The Sonarworks seems to fit the bill at £56 delivered and just have to buy a stand.
 
Not sure about the Dayton but the umik’s are batch calibrated. So same file for serial number x to x etc. I suspect most around this sort of price range are. Have heard good reports of the new little Dayton, that works with an app on phone/tablet but I’ve never tried it, cheaper than the full setup though

If you want a well calibrated mic for decent price then cross spectrum individually calibrate umiks, and probably others, think it’s around another 20-30 a unit
 
For just some amateur messing about you can go wrong with the UMIK. It's plug and play, so not messing about with having to take loopback measurements of your Scarlett. Calibration is also overrated, 1degree off axis and the response of the mic will be different. When you are setting up filters you only really need to know the general shape of your speaker response and your room will way dominate anyway.
 
orangeart said:
so not messing about with having to take loopback measurements of your Scarlett
Click to expand...

Part of me says that's something I should learn about but the other part of me says that it will just delay me making use of the items that just arrived this morning via UPS!

Maybe I'll just cough up for the UMIK-1 and leave the Scarlett in its box for a while longer.
 
sam_cat said:
And buy the UMIK second hand, then you can resell for roughly what you bought it for.
Click to expand...

Well if anyone sees one for sale let me know. Currently reading about loopback measurements and it does look like a bridge to far for an quick and easy start.
 
I should have an unused umik mike and a 4x2 (again unused) for sale in the next few days. Was going to use them with a standard pre-amp, then found one that did the crossover work for me.
 
GruntPuppy said:
I should have an unused umik mike and a 4x2 (again unused) for sale in the next few days. Was going to use them with a standard pre-amp, then found one that did the crossover work for me.
Click to expand...

Could be interested although not sure what I'd do with a 4x2 as I've got full range drive units!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top