CHEAP and GOOD small diaphragm condenser microphones: t.Bone EM800 and EM700 review

[@chasingvenusfilmarts]

Great video on these mics. (your comment on Camera Conspiracies brought me here) Glad to "meet" you. Subbed. Peace.

[@RogerinFinland]

Awesome! Thanks for checking the video, and commenting and subbing!! 👍🏻😊

[@justanothernoobe]

Good, down to earth and honest review 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@RogerinFinland]

Thanks 👍

[@goranbignami7621]

Hi Roger! You say that You like the 800 better and that it should have a higher output than the 700. What i hear in the video seems different to me though, where the 800 had a nasty top-end hiss (noisy preamps?) while the 700 sounded a lot cleaner to my ears, altough the highs were kinda muffled. Of course the mics in this vid had slightly different angles from the sound source, but the difference was night and day. Agree?

[@RogerinFinland]

I have to make a 2nd version of this video for sure. You're not the 1st to comment, and there has to be something behind those comments. When I use them boomed above me, I like the 800 better, but maybe the positioning in this video skewed something. The 800 is used in most of my recent videos and I don't experience any hiss. Have you checked any of these? How do they sound to you?

[@kenyontech]

@@RogerinFinland I can concur with the previous comment the EM800 seemed to have some hiss. the EM800 sees to have some presence boost but there is an undeniable hiss and is sort of distracting on Headphones

[@RogerinFinland]

I will make a sequel to the video and I'll try to be more thorough. Thanks for the feedback!! 👍🏻

[@racl1954]

Roger. Thanks for the review. Very useful.

[@RogerinFinland]

Glad it was helpful!! Sometimes a little money well spent can get you far 😊

[@Unethical.Dodgson]

Picked up an EM700 to compared with the Samson CO2. The CO2 is better, in my opinion, but the EM700 is serviceable with some EQ. Given the fact that the CO2 is close to 40% more expensive here... I'd say the EM700 is still quite a bargain. Especially since it also comes with a shock mount. I'll probably use the CO2 more than the EM700 but I'll be using its mount :D

[@RogerinFinland]

That's the thing with the EM700 it could sound MUCH worse, and still be "OK for the price" 😅 Maybe I will upgrade someday, not sure to what

[@Unethical.Dodgson]

@@RogerinFinland Yeah I'm happy to have the CO2 and the EM700. Considering grabbing a Lewitt SD mic in future. I have a lot of large diaphragm mics and only two small diaphragms :) I did several recording tests with the 700 and EQ'd it. Turns out it works really well for realistic sounding voice overs :)

[@thebusinessfirm9862]

Great video, mate. Thanks for making it.

[@RogerinFinland]

Glad you it was helpful 👍🏻

[@1BabaSalam]

I'm commenting half-way through watching/listening with my headphones on. I'm hearing more self noise from the EM800.

[@RogerinFinland]

I've got that comment a bunch of times. I will do a re-test at some point (once I get my hands on a Zoom F3) 👍🏻

[@jamesboldcomedy6914]

T.bone offer great value. Nice video

[@RogerinFinland]

Thanks! And I agree 😊

[@igg5589]

It is so strange, that cheaper option (maybe cheapest in the world) sounds so good. And EM800 has very annoying hissing self noise :( Is your room acoustically treated?

[@RogerinFinland]

Hi! Yes, the comment of the EM700 being better and the EM800 being hissy has come up quite a few times. I will be making a follow up video with new tests later this year (once I get a Zoom F3). And my room doesn't have any treatment at all unfortunately. It doubles up as home office, guest room, hobby room, and a couple uses more :D

[@igg5589]

@@RogerinFinland you room sounds very good with these mics! Anyway, I listened few more reviews of EM800, and didn't hear that hiss... Maybe this is only this unit problem :/

[@lovrostu6846]

i hear that em800 is really noisy

[@RogerinFinland]

Oh? In my video you mean?

[@Carsonchildersmusicnow]

I agree. The hi end noise comes out a lot when he switches.

[@RogerinFinland]

Which of the two do you prefer based on the video?

[@GabrielOliveira-bu9gd]

Hi Roger, how are you? I'm looking for a Mic for indoor and this two got me thinking. I was settled on the Samson C02 but tbone seems to have greater value. Do you have a follow up video to this? Because it really sounds lile the em700 is the best one, specially regarding self noise. Em800 noise is very distracting. If you have a Samson C02 for instance, a comparison video would be great since this are cheaper and possibly offer better package for the price.

[@RogerinFinland]

I don't have any other small condenser microphone, but the comment about the EM800 being noisy has come up a few times. I will make a follow up video with these same two mics, but I'm thinking what to do differently. I might wait to get the new Zoom F3. Oh, if "Samson" is watching this comments and wants to send me a C02, I'll be happy to test it 😊

[@GabrielOliveira-bu9gd]

@@RogerinFinlandYea it could solve its noise. To be honest, I don't even know how Samson exists haha, this mic is almost 20 years old and costs 25 Euro but I see it only through resellers. Its usually the first option among Budget SDC Super-Cardioid, thats why I thought of a comparison between them. Of course, if you get your hand on one unit. Are you getting a new Zoom Recorder because of pre-amps?

[@RogerinFinland]

I'm interested in the F3 mostly because of the 32bit float 👍🏻

[@alinik4737]

Thanks for the video, can these mics be connected to the computer using an XLR to USB adaptor cable? If not what is the most affordable interface that you would recommend?

[@RogerinFinland]

They need phantom power, so I don't know of any such adapter that would work. When it comes to interfaces the Focusrite are very popular and they have some affordable ones 👍🏻

[@Simon-eh5ez]

Saramonic has some pretty sweet devices that convert to 3.5mm and have a battery to provide phantom power, so if you have 3.5mm in that works. They also have some for phones i think so there might be USB versions as well. I think the iRig single channel only costs 30 usd or so

[@RogerinFinland]

I haven't tried anything from Saramonic, but they do have quite a few interesting products!

[@Simon-eh5ez]

@@RogerinFinland They sure do! I was looking at using some of them for my video rig but i changed my mind. Looks like i'll be using the em700s together with a tascam dr-40 for mono/stereo and the few times that 4ch could be nice will be using a zoom h2n. Pretty basic/cheap stuff but should pac a lot more punch than a single mic into a converter and the MILC. Nice video btw. //Simon in Sweden ;)

[@RogerinFinland]

Tack! 😊 Sounds like a good setup! I had an H2n also years ago and I used it a lot at band rehearsal. We rehearsed in a tiny and acoustically terrible room, but the H2n in the middle of it was good enough to have a listen afterwards and improve. 👍🏻

[@serhattorun7406]

Em 700 50-20 khz. Wery gut!

[@RogerinFinland]

It is 😊 I have a new video about it coming next week 👍🏼👍🏼

[@Cesar-kx6vj]

Hi! Thanks for the video! Let me ask you something... I got the t. Bone sc140, plus zoom f6. Apart from a normal white noise, I get really disgusting el signal. Have you had the same issue before with these two ones you're showing here? Thanks again!

[@RogerinFinland]

Hi there, I haven't had the issue with these two. You can hear the EM800 in pretty much all my videos, and other than the level I don't even process the audio... so I'd say they're fine :)

[@everope]

Zoom sucks, get decent audio interface

[@jannevaatainen]

EM800 sounds better in this video. More pleasing and rounded. EM700 is really bad as an overhead mic. As a voice over mic or a close mic for ride or hihat, EM700 does the job somewhat.

[@RogerinFinland]

Many people complained about the noise of the EM800 saying that the EM700 was better. I don't know what to think anymore 😅

[@weshootfilms]

Any link to the mics

[@RogerinFinland]

I added them to the description, but here they are anyway. EM700: bit.ly/32x82rI EM800: bit.ly/2GYrhSy

[@weshootfilms]

Roger in Finland thank you the 800 sounds like it has more noise floor but need to hear them boomed from the top thanks for the review.

[@RogerinFinland]

I just posted a video today (Sony 18-135mm review) using the 800 boomed. It clipped a couple of times (user error), but maybe it helps. Oh, there's no EQ or nothing done in post in that video. 👍🏻

[@buumb0]

Hi! How sensitive are these to background noises? Are these suirable for example for streaming (keyboard noises and so on)?

[@RogerinFinland]

They have cardioid and supercardiod patterns, so they rejecte very well from the back. I'd say they'd likely pick some. The Shure SM 7 is a favourite, but it costs more than 10 times more...

[@buumb0]

Roger in Finland Thank you for the quick response! I might order one just to test it out and play with it since they are so cheap. Awesome video, keep up the good work! :)

[@RogerinFinland]

Thanks a lot!! And they certainly are a bang for the buck IMHO 😊

[@ww1www]

Thanks for the great review. The EM800 seems to have a higher hiss, which might be the preamps. I also sense some small hint of RF interference.

[@maciejlechpaczkowski8717]

nois? em800 win ;-]

[@RogerinFinland]

Yep. I did make an updated video, check it out! 👍🏼😊