Audio-Technica AT5040 Quad Diaphragm Cardioid Condenser Studio Mic

Four capsules are visible
inside the two-layer grill

For years, Audio-Technica has brought solid, economical workhorse mics to market for broadcast, video/film and recording. If they have any cross to bear, it's that they frequently have stayed away from the spotlight. Yes, they get street, live and studio cred for many of their mics as solid performers; just not a lot of of icing on the cake. I think those days are over.

The new Audio-Technica 5000 Series has begun. First out of the chute is the AT5040 electret cardioid condenser mic and accompanying AT8480 mic clip. It's an electret. If that makes you wince, it might help you to know that on several occasions over the years, I was assured by people who had been making top-shelf mics for major companies, that there was no reason that electret mics couldn't be made as good as externally polarized condenser mics.

Sennheiser MO 2000 Industrial Optical Analog Microphone

Sennheiser MO 2000 Optical Microphone

This is not a review of a studio toy. It is, however, about audio; industrial audio. I had been hearing about a Sennheiser optical mic. Was this for studio use? Is it analog or digital? How does it work? I reached out to Sennheiser and within a week it was on my door step.

The Sennheiser MO 2000 system consists of a smallish half-rack-space box, a two-way fiber optic cable capped with an omni element. The system is powered by a wall wart power supply. There are both coarse and fine gain controls on the front of the chassis and a simple, lighted Off/On button. The omni mic element of the MO 2000 has a frequency response of 20Hzto 40kHz (+/- .6dB). 

Sony M10 Pocket Recorder - Nice!

The Sony M10 came out in 2010, or so. It deserves continued attention. It's a little thicker than an iPhone and comes with 4GB internal memory and a microSD/Memory Stick Micro™ (M2™) slot for expanded memory. It fits comfortably in the hand. 

I was able to work it immediately. After inserting two AA batteries and holding down the power button, the M10 sprang to life, indicating the sample rate and bit depth, amount of recording time left and that it was in STOP mode. Hitting the REC button put the M10 instantly into record-ready with the yellow back-lit PAUSE button flashing and meters showing level. I tapped the PAUSE button, and was recording. Nice.

Fast Facts

Applications: Recording audio anywhere.

Features: Dual, on board condenser omnis, discrete record level, easy access to most controls, multiple sample and bit rates of MP3 and .WAV

Price: $329

The Audio-Technica High Sensitivity AT 4080 Ribbon Mic

Two Audio-Technica AT4080 in Blumlein

Ribbon microphones have been in service since the 1930s. RCA mics like the 44B and 77DX are now considered vintage. You can spend $1200 to $1500 or more for one. The trick is finding one in good shape because the original ribbons are relatively delicate. Not because of age. That’s just the way they were originally designed. Or, you can try a new Audio-Technica AT 4080 bi-directional (figure of eight), dual ribbon mic that streets for about $999. Seven years in the making, it boasts a 150dB SPL level and the sensitivity of a studio condenser.

Why bother with a ribbon? Well, for one thing, it sounds fundamentally different than dynamic or condenser mics. That’s why recording engineers have continued to use ribbon mics all along. Ribbon mics use a different principle of physics to capture sound than dynamic and condenser mics. Ribbons are rectangular strips of metal, usually aluminum, in a magnetic field. 

Sescom Adapters Keep RF Out Of Audio - OR NOT!

Nothing hurts your location audio day more than cell phone warbles. You can tell clients and crew to turn them off, but more often than not, they don't until you hear THAT SOUND and have to tell the producer you can't use that take because someone's cell phone got polled from the mothership.

I have a client with an iPhone that used to cause interference. I wired a Neutrik EMC XLR on a cable and "Poof" RF-BE-Gone!

[Update: 8/31/2013 The RF was blocked going into a Millennia Media STT-1 and Greg Hanks BA-660. It was not blocked when going into my GML preamp. So soldered on EMC connectors help prevent RF from getting into your audio, but the front end of the preamp also needs to be designed to block RF.

Now Sescom has them as inline adapters; one with the filter on the male side, the SES-INLINE-EMCM, shown directly below. Before you buy, read on!

and one with the filter on the female side (SES-INLINE-EMCF). 

Two days after I got these my client came in and we tested them under the same conditions in which the XLR connectors were working. The Adapters were NOT able to block his cell phone's interference. I"m breaking away from our session right now to report this. It may be because the the shields are lifted on the adapters. I have contacted Sescom to see if they can find a solution. [Update: They seemed disinclined to take any action.]

So, RF blocking is apparently the result of soldered on EMC connectors and the design of the preamp they are plugged into.

Technique, Inc. © Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

Ty For may be reached at tyford.com.

Sescom TRS to TRRS Adapter for iPad & iPhone

Sescom IPHONE-ADAPT-1

If you have audio gear with an 1/8" mini TRS output, like a Rode VideoMic, that you want to get into your iPad or iPhone, how do you do that?

With the IPHONE-ADAPT-1 adapter cable from Sescom! A foot-long cable that does a simple job to get your audio from Point A to Point B.

I couldn't really write a lot about it. What is there to say about a simple piece of gear that solves a problem. You probably won't see it mentioned as a MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH, but it may be just what you need unless you're very handy with a soldering pencil.

Look for it at about $22 at all the usual places.


Here's the cable working with a Makayama Movie Mount for iPad mount with wide angle lenses, MicroPro LED light and Rode SVM. The IPHONE-ADAPT-1 allows the mini 1/8" stereo Rode SVM mic to be connected to the iPad.

Schoeps SuperCMIT DSP-steered Digital Shotgun Mic

Schoeps Super CMIT

I just started seeing the unmistakable Schoeps blue shotgun recently on TV during some media circus press event. It was probably the earlier analog version, but the point is, since no other mic has this blue metallic finish, Schoeps gets “recognition points” for daring go other than grey or black. Actually, putting out a shotgun mic, regardless of color, was some thing that Schoeps had not considered until they received solid input from the US market that one would be well received. That’s how the first CMIT came to be.

In another daring move, Schoeps released the SuperCMIT digital shotgun with a two-position, DSP circuit to tighten the pattern and lower ambient noise.

Tascam iXJ2 Multipin Audio I/O for iPhone and iPad

TASCAM iXJ2 Audio Adapter for iPhone and iPad
seen here with a Sennheiser G2 receiver.

It just showed up this morning. For $79 at places like B&H, there's another way to push 16-bit/44.1 kHz audio into your iPad and iPhone.

There are two mono input jacks, one on the top and one on the side. The Sennheiser G2 receiver shown to the left plugged right in.

Rode iXY Stereo Mic unlocks 24/96 Audio for iPad and iPhones

Rode iXY Stereo Mic

My Rode iXY just came in recently and I plugged it into my iPad 3 right away. I downloaded the Rode recording app from iTunes and began reading the manual to find out which gestures did what. Do that first and you'll get a lot more fun out of yours.

Not that there's a lot to read, but knowing that spinning your iPhone or iPad 180 degrees puts you in and out of edit mode is not something you might think of.

The iXY supports 24/96 recordings and also lower sample rates. More on this $199 wonder as I have time to work with it.