Lav mic recommendations please

[GC1971]

Hi all,

I am in a position to replace some Lav mics and before I plump for the old favourite MKE2 goldlines I thought I better ask here in case you lot think there is a better alternative, -for the same price point.

Has anyone used Orbital's Da Cappo mics?

 

It's for an AV company, so majority of the time live conference / award ceremony use but will be on the occasional musical theatre gig too.

Thanks for any advice

GC

[Bobbsy]

The MKE2 is probably still the workhorse and may be a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

 

However, others I might have a look at would be the DPA4060 (or 4061/2/3 depending on the sensitivity you want). A lovely sounding and, in my experience, an nice rugged mic.

 

I can also give a hearty personal recommendation for Countryman Isomax mics...again there's a series with slightly different specs depending on your need.

 

Or...a third off the wall option: lately I've been buying cheap ($25-$30 Aus) Chinese mics and treating them as a disposable item rather than a capital purchase. Not quite as good as the expensive ones mentioned above but they can be EQ'd to sound similar--and sweat outs or broken cables can just be thrown away rather than costing for labour to fix them. So far so good in my case, though I suspect it works better when you're using the mics yourself rather than hiring them out.

[GR1]

You really need to try before you buy, only you can decide what suits you best. The DPA is very nice but at a price point and you need to be able to make an informed decision. I would normally suggest hiring to try stuff out but as you are a hire company maybe your distributor can lend you some.

[GC1971]

Thanks for the replies, I would love to use the DPAs but they're too expensive for me I'm afraid.

I know where you're coming from with the Chinese mics but the thought of a live failure is too horrendous to contemplate.

I will certainly try before I buy..

[cedd]

Another option might be to look at the offerings from Microphone Madness. I've got a few of their headsets and really like them. Can't comment on the lav's but I'd assume they sound pretty similar.

 

The Da Cappo ones really are tiny. Hardly bigger than the cable itself. Very easy to hide indeed.

 

 

 

[GC1971]

Another option might be to look at the offerings from Microphone Madness. I've got a few of their headsets and really like them. Can't comment on the lav's but I'd assume they sound pretty similar.

 

The Da Cappo ones really are tiny. Hardly bigger than the cable itself. Very easy to hide indeed.

 

 

 

 

Cool, what did you use them on? -How do they sound? did they last? How's feedback etc?

[RichM]

My favourites are the Shure 185's. You can get a lot more gbf compared to the MKE2's. They're quite big though (well, relatively speaking), so if hiding them is a priority they're not as good.

[GC1971]

My favourites are the Shure 185's. You can get a lot more gbf compared to the MKE2's. They're quite big though (well, relatively speaking), so if hiding them is a priority they're not as good.

 

Thanks I'll give them a go.

[Stuart91]

Maybe buy a batch of cheaper Chinese mics and keep them for "rough" performances so that your ~£250 ones last longer?