Best Shotgun Microphone ($1000-$2000) : DPA, Schoeps, Sanken Mics

Here we jump in the studio to explore hearing a couple high-end shotgun mics. Each has their own unique characteristics and price point. The Schoeps is remarkably smooth and most natural. The Audix sounds amazingly good for the price. The Sanken would win the "Reach" contest and still sounds close to the best. What do your ears say? A lot of folks are voting with their wallets here in our store and going for the DPA. Sorry we left out offerings from Sennheiser and RODE, in this round. Subscribe for our next test where we will add them in.
Audix SCX1 HC
www.dvestore.com/audix-scx1-h...
DPA 4017B
www.dvestore.com/dpa-d-dedica...
Schoeps Mini CMIT
www.dvestore.com/schoeps-mini...
Sanken CS-3e
www.dvestore.com/sanken-cs3e-...
Zoom F4 Recorder
www.dvestore.com/zoom-f4-mult...

[@shamaruku]

You guys put in work. And it is appreciated. Thank you!

[@elanlafontaine4406]

Wow. I love how the DPA sounds. SO clear and true.

[@Pabula]

Great comparison, thanks for sharing.

[@dvestore]

Thanks! They all sound so good. Which mic did you like the best Pabula?

[@Pabula]

@@dvestore all sounded very good, I'm a little baised because I own the audix and senn 8060, but imo the cs3 sounded the best to my ears, again a very personal choice, not that it's better.

[@dvestore]

​@@Pabula Ah, thank you for the reply, the 8060 is a fine mic too and the Audix is a real bargain for the price. It is kind of like wine, at the high-end, it can be rather subjective. I do love the CS-3e for rejection in really noisy environments. We have an NFL customer that swears by it. Personally, the first time I heard the Schoeps I was floored by how natural and realistic it sounded. Almost scary how "Normal" it sounded, as if the person was still in the same room!

[@ili6065]

Excellent review!!! Thanks.

[@Ardillabellotera75]

Sanken CS-3e !!!!

[@capwkidd]

“Cool” tip about the keys ;)!

[@MikeAcostaOfficial]

Could you recommend a good shotgun mic / boom stand similar to what you have on the Shoeps or Sanken? Im primarily using it for video interviews where the subject is seated or standing in one spot. Thanks!

[@themightyroars]

they all sound pretty similar to me!

[@alexmagor]

Schoeps sounds best to me with the most detail.

[@creativegreatsvisuals]

What’s the difference in the dpa 4017b and the Schoeps cmit5u ?

[@Decenium]

Is the Sanken CS1 worth it today?

[@alexmay6699]

What are we listening to in between the points you’re showing the boom mics?

[@dvestore]

Good question, Alex. I'll need to go back and look at the edit timeline to find out.

[@RHS_video_club]

sounds like 2 or more of them summed together

[@paulfairchild8942]

Low budget indie productions often rely on the $600 USD Audio Technica AT4053B for interior dialogue. We did but got badly burnt by it when it suffered terrible RF interference in multiple locations at a recent shoot in NYC. The interference was so bad, the audio was unusable. We'll be upgrading to one of these...

[@doubledark2]

what did you end up buying?

[@paulfairchild8942]

@@doubledark2 A Schoeps CMC6 MK41. Very expensive but one of the best interior mics available. Deity should be releasing a Uni-Mic with hypercardioid capsule in the next few months, which should be a very good option for interior recording at 1/5 of the cost of the Schoeps.

[@doubledark2]

@@paulfairchild8942 that's strange; no one else on KZbin has mentioned problems with RF interference on that Audio Technica mic. Also, Deity have paused their work on the Uni Mic

[@paulfairchild8942]

@@doubledark2 I used the Audio Technica without issue on over a dozen shorts, shot in Canada. But when we shot in NYC, the RF interference issues came. I did a google search at the time to see if anyone else had written about RF issues with the AT, and a filmmaker in reddit had the same problems. The Rode NTG we had as a backup mic had no issues, better design or shielding. For exterior scenes we used a Rode NTG3, and it had no RF issues either. The AT suffered terrible RF interference. We were not using wireless gear so we were not the cause. For our next shoot, I will also be upgrading my cables to Mogami. The RF issues with the AT nearly destroyed our film, something I don't want ever happening again.

[@Itaketoomanypics]

@@paulfairchild8942 still waiting on deity

[@PushaDee]

I couldn't hear any difference between them lol.