Lewitt RAY: I Didn’t Know An XLR Mic Could Be This Versatile!

[@judec7579]

That box as a mic stand is just genius. Like nobody in their right mind would use that long-term probably, not when you have that kind of a budget for that mic. But it's honestly just really cool. It's just one nifty thing that shows that the company cares even to the point of designing their packaging in such a clever way. Also, giving me heavy shoebox vibes.

[@Rodacre]

Seriously - if you wanted to pack it in the box for travel and just use the box for a temp stand on the go? GENIUS!

[@LEWITT-audio]

We'll let our product designer know that you appreciate this "easter egg".

[@ZeDarkLord]

Do I need this mic? No Do I love the mic? Absolutely

[@tombuck]

*absolewittly 😉

[@schultzeworks]

This is true innovation and I love how it came out of nowhere. It reminds me of the first time I had a mouse with scroll wheel. My first reaction was ‘weird … why?’ because it was so new. Ten minutes later, the reaction was ‘I can’t live without this / why did it take so long?’

[@tombuck]

Right?! Can't believe it hasn't been done sooner.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Fantastic video. Thanks so much for the wonderful demonstration!

[@onlyskill7003]

You make really good microphone. If my USB microphone is broken i will buy one from Lewitt

[@frankkatzer]

Alrays rayfreshing your Rayviews! Fun to watch and always everything you need to know! Best greetings from Germany!

[@tombuck]

Thank you Frank! I gRAYtely appreciate the support!

[@JohnScottB]

Very interesting. The auto mute would be great on a dynamic handheld mic for loud stages / live music. We use a little adapter called the Optogate at my church for things like a vocal mic near a drum kit so it mutes itself whenever the drummer moves away from the mic (using IR sensor) to avoid a ton of cymbal bleed in the mix coming from that mic. I know Lewitt makes some great handhelds, so maybe a RAY version of those is in the future. 👍

[@tombuck]

That's an awesome idea! I feel like you ghouls definitely send them that feedback because it'd be so helpful in so many ways.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Great idea.

[@REAPERMania]

You got me to buy the new low profile arm but I'm not falling for it this time. I love my white Lewitt LCT 240 Pro and I'm sticking with it. This technology is cool but I do fear that the people that need this the most wouldn't pay this much. Nor should they. $99 for a great mic exists.

[@tombuck]

Yeah the 240 is spectacular! no need to upgrade if you've already got that. There's definitely a sound differences between the bigger capsule on the 440 and Ray vs. the 240, but the 240 is ALWAYS my go-to recommendation. I would put the Ray alongside the SM7B/ETHOS/SONA, so the price point seems fair with all the new features considered. But the smaller capsule of the 240 does also have the benefit of performing a bit better in less than ideally sound treated environments.

[@REAPERMania]

@@tombuck It's a fair price point but that feature is really geared towards people doing podcasts or similar. Multiply that times 3 or 4 mics and it's insane. BTW - I'm a record producer so I already have about 30 mics. Like you, I've become a collector and bought the Lewitt because I like the way it looks. lol - But it really sounds the best for what I do.

[@JonDPodCom]

Thank you, best explainer video of this mic I have seen so far. I work for a podcast company and so I am constantly surfing for videos of new products, especially mics, to recommend to clients for their home set-ups. I would so buy a Lewitt Ray with the very cool Aura features, however I was given a Shure SM7db not long ago at no cost so I am using that for my home recordings. Excellent vid as always but this could be one of your best Tom. ps- the mic stand box is pretty awesome, just a winner of cheap ingenuity, love it!

[@tombuck]

The SM7dB for free is awesome! Appreciate the kind words here! The RAY has settled in for me as a really great mic for video calls, where I no longer have to worry about muting/unmuting myself and I can trust that I'll sound good no matter what.

[@HeythereDavehere]

Do the Shure mv7+ next... very curious how the on-board processing sounds and I'm Shure you're up to the task

[@tombuck]

I'm hoping to get one at some point! It seems like they've really leveled things up a bit, especially with the plosive rejection which was always an issue on the original.

[@btsr2553]

Dear Tom, you're one of those KZbin actors where I click the Like button before I've even started the video or even watched it to the end. The Lewitt Ray is exactly one of the microphones that I could very well imagine using in my setup. Please keep up the good work. Servus from an otherwise silent subscriber from Bavaria

[@Ozwel]

I kind of feel like this microphone is the first a new era. I will not be surprised if we see Logitech, Rode and other companies release microphones with this technology very soon for streamers and "mass market". If so, Lewitt will enter history.

[@MSladekPhoto]

Soooo interesting! Thanks for sharing this. Love the flexibility/versatility of these Aura features. Very clever. Box stand = genius and fun!

[@tombuck]

I love the goofy box stand! 😅

[@MegaJJ2013]

Cool feature, but I ran tests with an audio engineer and it seemed that with AURA engaged, the bass response suffered, almost akin to having a high-pass filter at 120Hz suddenly in the circuit. Also, after engaging AURA, the mic-pre needed more gain to produce equal loudness to when AURA was not switched on

[@ElijahPark]

this is so nice. hope more companies catch on to implement these “auto focus” type of features

[@tombuck]

Me too! It's really neat to see how existing technologies can be repurposed in new ways.

[@baileystone8395]

Can definitely see the benefit of this for those clients who don't understand mic technique, or maybe get a bit laid back while recording a long podcast episode! If I was building a podcasting studio, I would instantly buy these, even over something like the SM7B, simply for this tracking feature! Great video as always

[@portersblackboard]

Wow!! This looks really cool. I especially like how you pushed the mic away and it auto muted. That could really be useful in a Zoom meeting.

[@tombuck]

So helpful! I hate clicking the little unmute thing when I need to talk or trying to press the space bar which only seems to work half the time 😅

[@GuilDormeus]

Finally, the mystery mic is revealed and it’s sounds great!!! That Aura feature is actually really cool.

[@tombuck]

Yep! This was it!

[@LEWITT-audio]

Glad you like it!

[@markwiemels]

The box stand is soooo cool! I’m shocked by how well the auto gain works.

[@GoTellJesusSaves]

LOVE IT!!! Lewitt sounds SO GOOD! I watch a podcast in which there are 2 to 4 people on set talking at any given time. They don't have the same mic techniques so.... this mic would be SO helpful to them.

[@mfkp]

Lewitt is awesome, my favorite reasonably-priced mic company. I might have to save up for one of these, looks like a great design.

[@BoothJunkie]

Great review! It's a really cool mic.

[@tombuck]

It really is!

[@homestudioacademy]

Such Incredible mic features! I think so many people will benefit from this new technology. Currently waiting on the one Lewitt sent me but can’t wait to test it out 😊

[@tombuck]

It's pretty dang impressive. I genuinely had no idea phantom power could be so versatile.

[@Windiguana]

Actual innovation! So good to see (and hear).

[@MTheKing09]

The box makes such a good first impression. It was the same with the LCT 24O pro I got a few months ago.

[@tombuck]

The little things do make a big difference.

[@Special-5323]

So much information. Perfect demonstration and comparisons. Now I have to buy this dam thing

[@tombuck]

Haha, thank you! It's a very cool mic and definitely fun to see some nifty innovation in a well established niche like XLR audio.

[@Prodbytodden]

I can’t wait to see this tech specifically catered to live audio situations. It’s gonna work wonders for feedback fighters

[@JeremyLeech]

Absolutely love Lewitt microphones! Great mics, especially for the price. Love their pop filters too.

[@LEWITT-audio]

That's fantastic to hear 💚

[@LEWITT-audio]

💚

[@soramittenpaw2127]

Great video and great product! One thing Lewitt ought to do for marketing this mic is to add a caveat about use of this mic for calls and remote conferences. When people use loudspeakers to listen to far-end participants instead of headphones, this mic will mess up acoustic echo cancellation (AEC) on meeting platform software because it changes echo paths constantly by adjusting dynamics before AEC. I have made this very mistake by using gate/expander and compressor on the mixer before feeding the mic signal into the software codec on meeting platforms, causing the software codec to destroy the mic signal and shut off the playback intermittently on the loudspeakers. While some platforms like Zoom allow users to turn off AEC, only turning off AEC will not completely fix the problem. Therefore, I simply do not recommend this mic for conference calls unless the users have good understanding of how AEC works. I also wonder how frequently the sensor needs to be cleaned for it to work properly and how much impact that part has on its mean time between failure.

[@patriciaort9172]

You are starting to make me covet things I didn't even know I wanted.

[@tombuck]

Haha, if you don't need it definitely don't get it! But it's fun for sure.

[@cwichura]

This is a neat concept that will probably help a lot of folks. But it will wreak havoc on noise suppressors that need a steady state of the background noise to isolate and filter out the background. It would not play well with my CEDAR DNS, for example. When it unmuted you'd get a big blast of background noise until it "re-learned", which takes around ten seconds. Granted, most creators probably aren't using a CEDAR, but still useful to point out as it could impact things like the noise suppressors in Resolve/Final Cut/etc. Just something to be aware of.

[@tombuck]

That’s a good point- definitely important for someone to know how/where they plan to use the mic most often.

[@margagomezcomedy]

Love all things Lewitt. I wonder how it would sound with 2 people sharing

[@tombuck]

That'd be interesting. Honestly if two people were using one mic, it'd probably be best to turn off the Aura sensors altogether otherwise gains levels could get weird 😵‍💫

[@JesseDanielSmith]

Great review and this video proved that I love the spirit of it and the companies ethos

[@kyleethekelt]

This would be great in Toastmaster meetings, particularly if you're visiting online and making a speech. It might also be useful in the field when trying to get a mic in front of someone in a run and gun-style. Sounds like your room could do with some treatment, sir. That way you could move around the mic and audibly there would be far less difference.

[@gh00al]

Looks neat but I'm not sure it will actually work in most scenarios. The main use case is podcasts where guests don't have good mic technique. But in 95% of podcasts you have mics positioned not in front of guests but at a 45 degree angle (or even more) below them, pointed a bit up, so that they can look over the mics and see the other person for a natural convo. In that case if the guest moves back or forward they don't just change their proximity but also where the microphone is actually pointing on them. If a guest like that moves back, dialling up the gain and the bass is not going to fix the fact that the mic (which hasn't moved) is now pointed above their head. Or if they move forward, dialling down the gain and the bass won't fix the fact that the mic is now pointed at their collar bone. This is assuming a Ray mic positioned that way can even track them properly. So a simple boom arm that the guest can easily use to keep the mic roughly in position relative to them is still going to work much better. I really struggle to think of where this tech will be useful.

[@NPCLiam]

Okay hold up that mic stand box feature is so dope haha - absolutely loving the mic for sure. That bit of extra mic technique flexibility is super handy.

[@team-starfox]

This is really nice. Is it internal gain, compression, or both?

[@tombuck]

As far as I know, nothing. All processing is still done via your mixer or interface.

[@CRE8VALU]

@@tombuckI think his question was about how are they achieving the volume normalization when you move around. You demoed it briefly where you showed the screen during the laser segment… but it wasn’t clear whether the “magic” is achieved purely by riding the gain, or if it actually has some aspect of compression as well when you are closer up.

[@team-starfox]

Really appreciate the response, @tombuck. :) @@CRE8VALU is right. I'm guessing their is some sort of onboard DSP at work. If that's the case, I'm wondering how extensive that is.

[@The_Chad_]

Daaaang! I wish i knew about this thing. I just got the 440 a few months ago. I would DEFI ITELY use the features in this mic. I move forward and back q lot while wtreaming. The 440 does fine picking me up when I move back, but this would be better. The game changing feature for me would be the auto mute though. I lean out of frame to blow my nose and stuff pretty often I always mute my mice, and sometimes i forgetnto turn it back on.

[@tombuck]

I think there's definitely some processing that can help normalize things a bit with the 440 (which is still an absolutely incredible mic)!

[@The_Chad_]

@@tombuck Oh yeah, I absolutely LOVE it! I have no complaints. I just know I would get use out of the features on the RAY

[@goaway2174]

Interesting - it would seem that it can adjust output level as well as a degree of compensation for the proximity effect - perhaps a digitally controlled variable high pass filter is used? Lewitt really does stand out with many of their innovative products and this looks like a technology that could be refined further in the future! Thanks it was good review Tom!

[@stevenneaves8079]

In the live music world to switch between mic A/B for different effects or in ear/house mics one might use an optogate. I really hope something like this can be integrated into other products to allow similar functionality, just built in. It’s a super cool proof of concept for those who need the functionality

[@daktariwameno]

Just cool! Really innovative! Is the auto-mute function optically indicated, e. g. by a red bar?

[@tombuck]

Yes- the red bar lets you know the point when the mic will mute itself, and the white bar shows how close/far you are away from that point.

[@AndreSjoberg]

Whoah! Loving the "built in" microphone stand (aka "The Box) ... AWESOME! - Love that stuff, no matter how stupid it might seem - Also: box like that was my camera stand for a while, boxes are *great*, I'm a box afficionado of sorts to be honest, love me good box :) This has got to be the first time for a *long* time I've been interested in a mic, other than for audio quality (and knowing I probably *need* one at some point) - Who doesn't love a mic that shoots lazers! - Lewitt seems like a fun company :D One thing, the distance test where the level stays the same at a distance (built-in auto gain?) - in a "properly" treated "dry" room that would probably work great even at a distance right?

[@tombuck]

I feel like you could have an entire cardboard box review series 😅 In a proper room, I think it'd definitely sound better at a distance, but unless it's a totally anechoic chamber or something, I think there would still be a bit of reverb introduced.

[@AndreSjoberg]

@@tombuck You know, that’s not a bad idea … a series of shorts maybe … weight, ridigity, build quality, construction, material, size, alternative uses, water resistance, print quality … this is going into the cardboard box I have for ideas for sure, we’ll do a 80/20 split yeah?

[@EposVox]

It's magic!

[@jonathanramsey]

That is cool. I have wondered why more tech isn’t built into mics using phantom power. I’m not sure how much surplus current is available for doing anything beyond charging the condenser plates. Obviously, there’s enough for this little bit of amplification. 😊

[@tombuck]

I'm definitely curious how far you can take things with phantom power!

[@GabrielPadron]

So, the mistery mic is revealed! 🔥🔥🔥didn’t expected that haha.. Pretty cool tech out there

[@mattwruff]

Lewitt Mic are fairly good the one I want is Lewitt LCT 1040 Large-Diaphragm Tube/FET Condenser Microphone System but it a quite expensive ($3.5K at B&H). Not a bad idea for people who fidget or like you said guest who are not used to using a mic...

[@HomesickMac]

If I'd start a podcasting business (like our friend Guil...) this mic would be an absolutely great choice. And the main argument would still be that wonderful Lewitt sound, and then all the new and both cool and very practical addons. On thing though, as you mentioned using this mic with acoustic instruments, particularly acoustic guitar, hm, I wouldn't want that proximity leveler take away the fine dynamics of my string picking (not that I'm playing fine at all haha)...Of course I'd need to test it to tell really. My main reason to never use the noise gate as well as very small amount of compression on the guitar mics (we're talking livestreaming mostly) is that loss of dynamic creative expression while playing.

[@CAMphotography_]

my lewitt 240 pro box can double as a mic stand as well! but not gonna lie... I could not figure it out so thanks for teaching me lol

[@tombuck]

Oh really?! I totally missed that.

[@fallinmor]

Hey! It’s Tom Buck video day. Thanks for making my rainy day awesome.

[@tombuck]

Enjoy the rain!

[@TransplantHelper]

Wow you definitely got the NEWEST tech

[@tombuck]

Yeah, this was fun! It was nice of them to send it so long ago so there was plenty of time to actually use it and live with it.

[@Boofcan]

5:40 the MKH 50 sounded very muddy and hard to listen to. Is that normal or just odd placement?

[@Ryu_Yin]

Nah, it's because Lewitt is suddenly so much better, in comparison.

[@TechButler]

So how does it work with people in the background vs you in front of the mic? Does it just mute all sounds if you're far enough from it, but if you're close enough to talk to it, it still picks up that distant person who would otherwise be out of range? That's the function that would be most useful for this. Let it still work, but only for things within that range and not full on/off.

[@tombuck]

It's not a particularly "smart" sensor, so it just uses whatever the closest object happens to be.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Hi there, RAY is made for balanced voice recordings, the AURA Technology compensates levels and tone of the person in front of the mic, but doesn't "blend out" background noise. What you are referring to is probably beam forming, but this would require an extra power source. We deliberately wanted to provide something that works with just the 48 V phantom power from your audio interface.

[@cortneywebb1677]

Just ordered this mic and an audient interface.

[@tombuck]

Nice! I hope you enjoy it and all the super cool things it can do.

[@cortneywebb1677]

@@tombuckthank you and I hope so as well :)

[@ItsRyukin]

I was astonished with this mic! (My reaction was like, Oh wow!) This is the first time "ever!" I see it has the sensory thing on a such an ordinary condenser mic. Btw, If I have that mic I would have to do something with it tho. (I would have to use it for recording my audio commentary while playing games like Minecraft)

[@tombuck]

It's pretty cool to see new features in an area where it felt like pretty much everything has been done.

[@MusicChannel-rf5zz]

What are the advantages? Will it cut down on plosives?

[@ToddDolce]

Tom,...can you set the proximity tolerance on the Ray? I mean I would be afraid that since I'm a bit fidgety and often conduct 1 hour interview podcasts that I might drop out without realizing it during a head shift or slight body repositioning. I usually stay cognizant of my position to the mic (so likely will not ever be an issue with me), but was just curious what that proximity distance is defaulted to on that mic.

[@tombuck]

In terms of gain/proximity it adjusts levels to keep things even for whatever the nearest object is, no matter the distance (so if you start close and then gradually move away, it's no issue). For the mute function, you can absolutely adjust it.

[@KevinArmistead]

Does that distance-mute function help inhibit unwanted sound in a noisy environment? Like does it mute ALL sound coming from past that distance? Or even just help reduce reverb or things like that? Or is the mute relative to the speaker the sensor senses and all other sound is fair game like a normal mic? Seems like that feature could have some interesting and possibly groundbreaking applications for isolation and/or poorly treated rooms.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Hi Kevin, the MUTE by Distance feature is an automatic way to mute your microphone. If you take a step back, you signal mutes automatically, if you approach the mic you are audible again. You can set the distance individually up to 32 in. There is no dereverberation or anything like it going on - yet. Hope that answers your question.

[@KevinArmistead]

@@LEWITT-audio Thanks for clarifying, Lewitt! This is the most innovative mic I've seen in a long while. If you could tap into further uses for that feature that would be game-changing for your whole industry, but still it's fantastic what you've already done here. Really cool.

[@eestipoiss360]

One really cool function is also that when u are giving it to a non-audio-nerd, you can actually kind of Pavlov-train them to be closer to the mic, cuz otherwise they are muted xD.

[@cajamanual6713]

Now they just need a track face with a servo and boom! Greetings from Australia.

[@tombuck]

That would be so cool! I feel like that'd be a genuinely awesome use for "AI"

[@Slipsch]

They should totally make an end address mic, so people can use this for podcast, because guest don't know they have to be near the mic sometimes

[@tombuck]

I've seen so many people talking into the top of side address mics 🫠

[@garyclement2888]

This is interesting. The more expensive Lewitt Mics give you the ability to switch polar patterns. Is this microphone similar, but set up differently? Not use to using a XLR microphone that has a mute button, with proxemity set up like this.

[@koto9x]

What shock mount is that! Also would you ever review the teenagers engineer CM-15? It’s one of my favorite mics I use it for travel. I just wanna find a shock mount for it, this one looks cool, so does the mic.

[@tombuck]

It's the LCT-40 I believe (comes with the mic). I've always seen the Teenage stuff and thought it looked cool, but I've never used any of it.

[@AerialEmber]

My guess is the box design was aimed at their trade show and resale displays. 6:08 Being a condenser isn't the reason the mic isn't a good shotgun. It's all about polar pattern. You can get condenser shotguns (hypercardiod/lobar).

[@tombuck]

That makes a ton of sense.

[@LEWITT-audio]

The intial thought was simply to "upcycle" and add another purpose to the packaging, but the trade show idea is great. 💚

[@AerialEmber]

@@LEWITT-audio lol, glad to be of service!

[@nickdual]

I think the autofocus is great!

[@adrianmadrigal6805]

How well does this reject background noise like a keyboard? I also wonder how this mic would do with clipping or peaking with the aura feature. With a rode duo i wonder if all of the noise gate and post processing settings would conflict with the mics aura functions.

[@SalmorejoGeek]

Amazing mic 😎

[@TheTemperedWolf]

Tom, will you be reviewing the new Shure MV7+??

[@OrenArieli]

Next up: replace the proximity display with a webcam for that fantastic chin view. I dig the auto mute feature though. That can be a game changer.

[@tombuck]

Chin/up the nose view is peak online video conferencing!

[@OrenArieli]

@@tombuck ironically, it seems to be quite the popular default, as most people use a laptop with a camera just below their chin looking up. I've seen way too many nose-hairs since the Zoom era began.

[@JQURNEY]

Would you recommend this or the electro voice re20? Or any other microphone no budget mainly gaming streaming and stuff

[@DAveShillito]

I started out thinking "Great, another company adding complicated features to a mic, that no-one needs"... I ended thinking "hmm.. can I really justify buying myself yet another mic?" 😁👍

[@tombuck]

That was honestly my first thought too, but it is genuinely helpful and pretty simple overall.

[@lucasfifine1211]

That's really cool!

[@VictorVedmich]

What's your new mixer? Is it rode?

[@tombuck]

I was using the Mackie DLZ Creator XS here. It's really nice!

[@FallenKiid]

Please review Shure MV7 plus

[@ImMikeMC]

Tom, please! My bank account can only handle so much!

[@tombuck]

I know, it's insane how much good stuff there is now!

[@bbc762x51]

Do you think they call it the ray because it uses a RAYdar sensor?

[@tombuck]

I hope so 😅

[@LEWITT-audio]

We'll never know.

[@kenyontech]

Hmm nice to see you "RAYve" about this mic.

[@tombuck]

Definitely felt it deserved a good Rayview!

[@gryftkin]

Ok, that's kind of cool.

[@NickG6489]

I know Lewitt says the Ray is basically a 440 Pure with added features. ...I don't think so. They're similar Yes, but I think the peaks are different on the Pure, and that's based on hearing your voice through it among others.

[@LEWITT-audio]

Hi there, RAY is based on the LCT 440 PURE, but you are right-they are not the same. However, with the AURA feature turned off, having RAY and LCT 440 PURE side by side will be hard to distinguish. 😊

[@NickG6489]

@@LEWITT-audio hard, but not impossible. I was a little sloppy with my original post, I do believe that with Aura turned off, even, the peaks are still different. The treble behaves differently, it’s more pleasant.

[@techmed-rainer]

Danke!

[@tombuck]

Hope you enjoyed!

[@PawFromTheBroons]

It's a great mic for podcast, when the people you host lack mic discipline.

[@tombuck]

Absolutely! And for guests who aren't used to being on mid.

[@REAPERMania]

@@tombuck Or mic. LOL

[@LORENZOSCHMENZO]

Does it also work in the dark?

[@tombuck]

Good question- yes, the sensors aren't affected by visible light.

[@LORENZOSCHMENZO]

@@tombuck Thank you very much for the answer! I need it because my booth ist almost completely dark🙏

[@REMRODFILMS]

Interesting

[@slightlyopinionated8107]

lol with all those dad jokes you better have kids. then you can say "i have 3 bucks"

[@midnightwolf3134]

God I really wanna buy it but I really can’t justify $350 for a Microphone. I really want those features for how much my brother screams in my background.

[@vincentpolisi]

Tell the truth, Tom, how long have you been waiting to use the double entendre of, "outside the box"? 🤔 Yeah, we actually listen to what you're saying...🤣

[@lining250]

帅

[@JohnNewtoneu]

LAZERS ! Im out !