Mic Knock Off MADNESS!!!

[ManFromGlass]

This is in Canadian dollars. There is a similar one called a U87 on Amazon for double the price -

[Drew Stephenson]

I'm sure it'd make a great prop for a TV show set in a recording studio...

[BillB]

Ha - shipping costs 3x more than the microphone

[ef37a]

There is a thread and a YT by a chap called Rob Aylestone over on Home Recording about a fake Shure Beta 58. The cosmetic differences are virtually zero and the weight, often a give away with 57/58 knock offs, within a few grammes. The sensitivity, sound quality (speech) and polar pickup are also virtually identical to a pukka Beta 58. All for the princely sum of £19.00.

I have two plain looking dynamics, not trying to copy anything and they have plastic bodies but metal grill globes. The dynamic capsule is the same as you will find in lots of far eastern mics at five times the 7 quid these cost me each. They have the same sensitivity as a 57 and sound perfectly acceptable on speech.

A "prop"? Yes I have suggested that elsewhere. From 2m you cannot tell they are plastic. "Practical" as well!

These will end up in my garden once the present incumbents have rotted away!

[resistorman]

They can sometimes make good donor bodies for kits from https://microphone-parts.com

I've wanted a KM84 after borrowing one a few decades back, and finally got my chance by building one of their kits, which is coincidentally reviewed in this months issue. Sounds as good as I remember!

[sonics]

I had a quick look, and it has gone crazy, hasn't it?
There are 414s, e906s, Lewitt LCT240 copies. Even a decent-looking U87 for $300. Also saw a "Genuine" Sennheiser E935 at $45. There are also boxed Shure SM58 and SM57s with all the literature. Could those be real? Do Shure make any mics in the far east now? I suspect they do.

[ajay_m]

The Chinese manufacturing industry has a vast infrastructure of specialised manufacturers and for years global vendors have sourced Chinese built microphones under their own branding. But the raw material cost for a standard mic is only a few dollars and the r&d for things like diaphragm material and geometry was done decades ago.
China also has the rare earths to make the magnets for dynamic mics and all the semiconductors and passive components and circuit boards can be sourced locally.
As such, mics are about as trivially simple a product to make as anything Chinese made, so they are quite capable of making SM58 clones for a few dollars and still make a profit. And no, they won't be junk.
They are very shrewd businessmen (and women) and if they think there's a market for low cost mics then they will make them.

Let me give you an example from another field. As you know, you can get a laser in almost any wavelength (colour) you want. And cheaply. Except yellow. A yellow laser would set you back hundreds of pounds.

But the Chinese know that while scientific and industrial users don't balk at that price, laser enthusiasts do (yes, it's a thing, like home recording studios).

So, guess what. You can now purchase Chinese yellow lasers for £40 or so. They are complex things to build, but the market was seen to be there, and... Here we are.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but whereas most Western countries' governments think in terms of 4-5 years time, the Chinese works with 20, 50 and 100 year plans.

If you aimed to be the dominant power in 50-100 years, a very good way to do it would be to manufacture as much as possible and undercut the Western manufacturers to such a degree that they have to buy in from China just to remain vaguely competitive. At the same time, send students to Western universities to gain as much knowledge of cutting edge science and tech as possible, and where necessary resort to more covert information gathering.

It wont be too long before the West is entirely reliant on China for everything from surgical gowns and masks, to steel, to anything electronic to the Internet, to nuclear power to wind turbine generators, to car batteries.... Think about it, how many of your last 20 purchases came from China in whole or in part?

If China was to turn off that supply of goods and materials, how long could Western businesses, communities and countries survive?

Could they rebuild the manufacturing industries they had closed down? Would all that knowledge and experience still be available?

What are the long term implications particularly for defence, If a country can no longer make its own steel, for example?

It's a sobering thought for anyone looking more than four years ahead....

[ef37a]

"It's a sobering thought for anyone looking more than four years ahead...."

Indeed Hugh. There is hope? The students that come west not only take our technology with them but also a taste of our culture, decadent and shallow it might seem to many but rather exciting to the young? This means seeds of dissent are perhaps sown and China could be in for yet another revolution?

The west also IMHO could learn what an industrial nation can do when they don't hide trillions of dollars of (mostly other people's hard earned) wealth in tax havens? We love our freedoms but we are very short on the responsibilities that should go with them.

The other limit on China is likely climate change and the people getting ever more fed up with pollution?

Dave.

[The Red Bladder]

If China was to turn off that supply of goods and materials, how long could Western businesses, communities and countries survive?

About one month - try making anything without electronic components!

It's a sobering thought for anyone looking more than four years ahead...

According to one design engineer I once interviewed, he told me that he was taking to the production manager of their OEM in Shanghai and said that his company was worried about the medium-term future.

"Yes." came the reply. "We in China also very worried about next one hundred years."

[The Red Bladder]

The students that come west not only take our technology with them but also a taste of our culture, decadent and shallow it might seem to many but rather exciting to the young? This means seeds of dissent are perhaps sown and China could be in for yet another revolution?

It baffles them.... [Unacceptable comments removed — HR]

The west also IMHO could learn what an industrial nation can do when they don't hide trillions of dollars of (mostly other people's hard earned) wealth in tax havens?

Try that in China and you can find yourself disappeared and your organs harvested!

We love our freedoms but we are very short on the responsibilities that should go with them.

Take responsibility??? You must be kidding! The big 'They' will do all that for us! 'They' will clear the roads in winter. 'They' will care for the old. 'They' will give us free money when we can't be arsed to find a job.

The only problem is, 'They' are making you poorer.

[Drew Stephenson]

Do we really need the anti-trans nonsense?

[ef37a]

Bit extreme Red? I suggest many of them enjoy their time here a great deal?
My eldest grandson studied Mandarin at uni and had to spend a few months in China. Now all of us here are to some extent are or have been in 'show bizz' and we have experienced the gamut of sexual preferences. We all I think know people of all 'persuasions' and those with disabilities. In China grandson said such things are not seen or talked about. By any reasonable measure a fair percentage of Chinese students will be closet gays.

G'son never wants to go back there. He also did Spanish and went to Mexico and had a WHALE of a time!

Dave.

[tea for two]

This is in Canadian dollars. There is a similar one called a U87 on Amazon for double the price -

Aha. This is for impressing potential clients whilst we record everything on berry gear lol.

[ef37a]

This is in Canadian dollars. There is a similar one called a U87 on Amazon for double the price -

Aha. This is for impressing potential clients whilst we record everything on berry gear lol.

You jest Tea but those "BM800/Neewer" microphones ARE of quite impressive build quality considering their very low cost. We have had 3 of the LDC* types and the metalwork cannot be faulted. Decently chunky and well finished and I cannot dent the grill material no matter how hard I squeeze!

Ours were supplied with an XLR to 3.5mm trs plug which means they can (and have been) be plugged into the mic input of a laptop making them rather more versatile than a USB mic. They also run of course on an XLR mic cable with phantom power.

Their failing is quality control. There have been many posts in other forums (maybe SoS peeps don't admit to buying them?!) with faults such as noise, very low sensitivity and flat out not working. Just buy from Zon and chuck them back at 'em. Our three have been fine. Sound quality? Well...they work! Yer pays yer money! I have to say the ads keep coming but the complaints seem to have dried up? I think they are a steal for knockabout use, amdrams and kids parties?

*Not really a Large DC, Hard to see but I would guess no more than 20mm and the ACTIVE area probably even less than that. This would account for their lower than usual sensitivity which I would estimate at around 10mV/pa.

Dave.

[tea for two]

You jest Tea but those "BM800/Neewer" microphones ARE of quite impressive build quality considering their very low cost. We have had 3 of the LDC* types and the metalwork cannot be faulted. Decently chunky and well finished and I cannot dent the grill material no matter how hard I squeeze!

Ours were supplied with an XLR to 3.5mm trs plug which means they can (and have been) be plugged into the mic input of a laptop making them rather more versatile than a USB mic. They also run of course on an XLR mic cable with phantom power.

I had a B700. I'd get it again. Had a metal lamplike arm variable updown angles to attach detach from a table included in the kit. Mine also had xlr to 3.5mm included. 25squid total was a bargain.

[sonics]

You jest Tea but those "BM800/Neewer" microphones ARE of quite impressive build quality considering their very low cost.

I had a B700. I'd get it again.

There are quite a few different versions of those mics (ever from Neewer), with a huge variety of materials and quality in evidence. They cannot be spoken about in the normal way one does about a specific model from a particular brand.

AFAIAA they require a decent power voltage, so will not work well simply plugged into a laptop.

I would certainly never waste my money trying one again.

[ef37a]

My mics worked perfectly well into a laptop. They use an electret capsule so only need 5V or so for the impedance converter. USB mics run quite happily from 5V so there is no reason these should be any different. (I doubt the budget range of USB mics use a voltage up converter?)

When run from a 48V source the spook juice is cut down to suit.

I can quite see why a man of your calibre Sonics would not bother with the mics. I bought mine mostly out of interest but they can be handy for anyone who needs a 'knockabout mic' that has 20dB more sensitivity than a dynamic and given decent luck a low noise floor. U87s they ain't! But good enough for podding? WAY better than the mics built into laptops.

Dave.

[sonics]

My mics worked perfectly well into a laptop.

U87s they ain't!

I don't think all 3.5mm mic sockets will provide the required power.

It was only a cheap experiment, but I've used the best body as a donor, and the cheapest mics cost me no more than buying the shock mounts alone, so I'm happy enough.

I'm warning others that the quality varies so wildly you'll never know what you're buying. I think most people would be better advised to buy a known brand (even a Behringer).

[ef37a]

My mics worked perfectly well into a laptop.

U87s they ain't!

I don't think all 3.5mm mic sockets will provide the required power.

It was only a cheap experiment, but I've used the best body as a donor, and the cheapest mics cost me no more than buying the shock mounts alone, so I'm happy enough.

I'm warning others that the quality varies so wildly you'll never know what you're buying. I think most people would be better advised to buy a known brand (even a Behringer).

That is fair enough and, as the saying goes "YMMV" I suggest to anyone who likes the look or like me is curious, give one a go, if you you get a shocker, get a refund. Chances are Amazon won't even want it back!

You mention Behringer. For a cheap dynamic their XM8500 is remarkably good for very little. Son and I have had two sets of the C2 SDCs and three are fine, one has gone noisy. He needs to record classical guitar and I am open to suggestions of any bargain pairs anyone can offer? The mics have HPF and a 10dB pad. Would rather the money spent on basic quality. He has HPF on his A&H mixer and you don't need a pad on a nylon stringer!

Dave.

[Forell77]

There are some reviews on youtube for similar chinese condencer mics ordered from Temu, and they are surprisingly good for the money. Nothing like the original mics they are trying to clone, but because they are basicly free, people have ordered and tested these. Go figure..

[ef37a]

There are some reviews on youtube for similar chinese condencer mics ordered from Temu, and they are surprisingly good for the money. Nothing like the original mics they are trying to clone, but because they are basicly free, people have ordered and tested these. Go figure..

I have discussed matters with son and he says he is not comfortable buying an obvious rip off. I have seen several SDCs that do not pretend to be AKGs for example and that is the furrow we shall plough.

Dave.

[James Perrett]

He needs to record classical guitar and I am open to suggestions of any bargain pairs anyone can offer?

The best bargains around are probably the Line Audio CM4s. OK - so we aren't talking bargain basement Chinese prices but they are often compared to the likes of Schoeps which are far more expensive.

[tea for two]

He needs to record classical guitar and I am open to suggestions of any bargain pairs anyone can offer?

A possible bargain pair is omni lav xlr. Being lav they can be fitted on to the Classical Guitar, being omni they won't have the proximity effect that cardioids have.
I have a pair of these 30squid each Movo lvm-xlr1 Omni lav. I got them new 15squid each auction site, still new 15squid each when I checked this morning.
https://www.movophoto.com/products/lvm- ... al-lav-mic
Stated specs:
Frequency Response: 35Hz to 20KHz +/- 3dB
Sensitivity: -24dB +/- 3dB / 0dB=1V/Pa, 1KHz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 80 dB.

[ManFromGlass]

He needs to record classical guitar and I am open to suggestions of any bargain pairs anyone can offer?

The best bargains around are probably the Line Audio CM4s. OK - so we aren't talking bargain basement Chinese prices but they are often compared to the likes of Schoeps which are far more expensive.

I have a pair and they have been very useful over the years.