Condenser VS Dynamic

Okay so I always had been doing vocal recordings with a

Dynamic Mic , which is really suppose to be for live shows ?

and then I read for recordings I am to use CONDENSER.

Okay to have this SLIM STYLE one ? I want to use the same style mic stand/mic clip :slight_smile:

I like Dynamic (moving coil) microphones. They’re robust. The ElectroVoice people used to demonstrate their microphones by pounding nails with one and then still have it meet factory specifications. Dynamic microphones are stand-alone. They don’t need any special microphone environments to work, they sound pleasant and they effectively don’t overload. The first stage of electronics in the microphone preamplifier is much more likely to become damaged with high volume than the microphone itself. People make attenuators you can put between the microphone and the preamplifier to lose a little volume and make everybody happy, but it’s the preamp that’s in trouble, not the microphone.

Condenser microphones in my opinion are overrated. For the microphone to work at all you have to feed them Phantom Power (or have an on-board battery). A condenser microphone appeared on the forum that claimed to be able to work from the tiny USB power available from a computer soundcard, but then the disclaimers went for pages. If you have low volume or high distortion or…yadda, yadda. At the end of day you have to be able to come up with 48 volt phantom power for everything to work perfectly.
Screen Shot 2017-11-01 at 14.36.51.png
Don’t blow into a condenser microphone. That’s a good way to create expensive garbage.

Condensers used to have high volume overload problems, but I don’t think they do that any more. I’m betting they still overload quicker than Dynamics.

Many condenser microphones are being designed for that “crisp professional sound” which can cause trouble. More than one audio engineer has found it necessary to apply De-Esser, De-Clicker and equalization to production audio to get rid of that crisp professional sound before the client hears the work. If you find it necessary to use Noise Reduction in your show, you will find that any correction stiffer than just “mild” will make your voice sharp and gritty and require further corrections such as De-Esser, etc. etc.

Crisp Professional Sound is not without its problems.


Quick Note that the tiny microphone in your laptop, cellphone and many other places are all electret condenser microphones. They produce good sound, are cheap and tiny. I wondered how many larger “condenser” microphones are really a tiny electret element in a big body. This is where you look for “large diaphragm” in the product description. There is a “small diaphragm” condenser without being an electret. I have no experience with them. That may be the AKG you posted.

If you’re using a dynamic microphone now with good success, I’d keep doing that. It’s possible to improve yourself out of work. ACX places great emphasis on chapter to chapter matching, so no changing equipment in the middle of a book.

Koz

Funny you just said that because I felt my 1 VOICE Recording I did with my LAPTOP MIC sounded better.

So perhaps at least in my case I should have a CONDENSER because it did sound alot more like I do in real life ?

it did sound alot more like I do in real life ?

Did somebody else say that? You generally can’t tell your own voice because of ear structure, bone conduction, etc.

It’s also not fair to compare a crappy dynamic with a condenser, and know that most laptop condensers have structured response and conditioning. My laptop has two and it’s supposed to be able to do tricks. So that doesn’t count.

At the end of the day, you go with what sounds best to you.

Koz

That’s very true , Perhaps I’ll just get one and see what’s up. When I watched several videos on YOUTUBE etc , they claim CONDENSER is used because apparently it captures all elements of your voice and Natural Room Acoustics/Reverb.

it captures all elements of your voice and Natural Room Acoustics/Reverb.

Yes. They are reputed to be able to capture every possible nuance of your voice, most of which is going to die when you convert the reading to MP3 whose goal is to remove nuances in favor of small sound files.

Do all your production and archive in WAV and convert to MP3 at the very end, and then only if the client wants it.

Room acoustics is pretty much the last thing you want to capture. We can’t take echoes and room reverberation out of a recording and echoes will label you instantly as an Inexperienced User.

There was a recording made by a company who paid to have an advertising message done professionally which worked perfectly. Later they decided to add a sentence or two—at home. This was a segment of the add-on.

You can almost describe the kitchen she’s recording in, can’t you?

Oddly, sometimes you can record music like that and get away with it, but not a cold text reading.

Koz

There’s a short article about dynamic microphones versus condenser microphones on DPA’s website. DPA are a leading manufacturer of very good (and expensive) microphones. 10+ Statements on Condenser Mics vs. Dynamic Mics

Bookmark

Koz