Miniature Microphones - Theatre/Headworn/Beige/3pin Mini XLR

[PYROmaster]

Hi all,

Hoping somone can point me in a direction...

The company I work for use mini-lav mics with a 3pin mini XLR and I cann't seem to find any that are in stock at the right price point for us.

We normally have the t.bone stuff from the usually very well stocked German warehouse ( https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_t.bone_bodymike_tan_akg.htm ) but the long lead time currently stated on the website puts it after our event that we are just about to start... 

It's a little bit my fault for not having spares, but on the filp side, I did have spares and then the mic requirements changed and I didn't get additional budget to compensate....

SO, I am wondering where do people normally go for this type of mic? I've been ordering thomann for so long that I have no idea where sells a comparable product.

Unfortunately, as a company we are not yet able to justify the sort of prices that come with the brands like Sennheiser/SHURE/DPA... as much as I would like to!
- Secondary question: Have mic prices always been that high on the brands? I am seeing £300-400+ for just the mic & cable....

 

Let me know what options are out there! 

Thanks in advance 🙂

[Lamplighter]

Phil

you could try these

https://cpc.farnell.com/pro-signal/mp33750/microphone-lavalier-beige/dp/MP33750?ost=mp33750

though you would need to change the connector.   Or these if you have some slack on the back order date

https://cpc.farnell.com/stageline/ecm-501l-sk/microphone-mini-xlr/dp/MP33611?ost=mp33611

If you need more headroom then try these 

https://cpc.farnell.com/jts/cm-201if/microphone-omni-lavalier-beige/dp/MP33730

though you would need to change the connector and the stock situation is not so good.

I have used the first type for both hairline and upper cheek mounts without problems. The cable is not the best but for the price ??

Brian

[GaryNattrass]

Several e-bay listings for the headworn cheaper option but I suppose you can also have a few spares: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174910963483?hash=item28b9817f1b:g:rUAAAOSwJm1hKJgq&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA8K%2BTfLuEcACUDzpv6psp0Uu17BMEj%2FYqsPeeuxBAhpKFhK6FMaNWZvEcVK3zu%2Bgx%2BxY0dxZ6Kf21BmchVrJU2UPU0lFP%2FIFRmfLN67FeWvTmIrFomW0CUS20MJWSH7V0ZKEYsoIZYqSRJFWocZh05l%2Fq9nYUUsYUaiIyArKvuE5IhwnsDxpqNrA6KooXO3Tej3AyUnKnga8%2BhKfe4rk%2BvpnhlnT1g9PdfWUvY2ik0i%2BodXi%2BGh8QX8hgz8uFv5mK%2B3oT3YZtHnGyxckbQyGjg4rIVN7CS1njHMHIYENAcGcQBo8%2B27GykUQJmyHWNEB6Xw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR97Gg9qMYQ

I think the four pin can also be used with three pin packs but others may advise more

Edited November 11, 2022 by GaryNattrass

[Stuart91]

13 hours ago, PYROmaster said:

- Secondary question: Have mic prices always been that high on the brands? I am seeing £300-400+ for just the mic & cable....🙂

That's been my experience. 

We've had a couple of customers insist on getting a DPA or Sennheiser option. They sound good, but not ten times better than the cheapies.

Whilst a bit more durable, they can still break. One AmDram near us was nearly bankrupted when their youngsters managed to, err... de-terminate a brace of hired-in DPA headsets and the supplier charged the full RRP as a replacement cost. 

You could check out Rode as an option - they're better than the cheapies but a bit more realistically priced. One of our church customers swears by them, they had a pastor with a troublesome voice and found the Rode handled it much better. 

[J Pearce]

A DPA 4061 is lovely, but certainly comes with a premium. The Rode lavs are a good price/value balance. The CPC booms are ok, the lavs have been of mixed usefulness when I've tried them.

[PYROmaster]

Thanks for your help so far!

I get slightly wary of the really cheap mics having used a customers set recently and the difference between them and the t.bone ones was night and day.
I may order one of each type and see what the difference is like.

It would be good to know if the 4pin is still compatable with a 3pin beltpack - that could open up more options if so, but I have been working under the assumtion that they are different connections so wont fit...

I will check out everything mentioned and see what may work for us 🙂 

 

Thanks!

[Derek Tallent]

Phil, have a look at the JTS products:

https://www.fbtaudio.co.uk/jts/wireless/headsets-and-lavaliers/

Come as standard with a 4-pin XLR but the cable can be swapped for a 3-pin XLR

And, I can sort you our a loaner to evaluate....

[richardash1981]

For clarity, 3-pin and 4-pin miniature XLR connectors won't mate with each other, but usually only 2 or 3 pins are in use so it's relatively easy to re-solder the plugs or get an adaptor between them.