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I have just bought a http://www.3dmicpro…"]3D Mic Pro[/]="http://www.3dmicpro…"]3D Mic Pro[/], a brand new American mic which can record binaural like immersive sound. Priced at $1595 it is not cheap, but I was really impressed by the sound samples at their website. They have a made to order process and hand manufacture the mic after placing the order. I need a good binaural mic to record nature sound for a Spa sound track. I wanted a KU100, but at $8000, it is beyond my reach. I am waiting for my 3D Mic and hopefully it will be good. I will let you know how it goes.

By the way, does any one has a Neumann Ku 100? Can you please post some sound sample so that I can compare it with my 3D Mic Pro recording to see how this American mic fares?

Comments

RemyRAD Wed, 05/11/2011 - 09:54

Binaural recording Is not a prerequisite for recording nature sounds. XY/ORTF should be more than sufficient than wasting that kind of money. Everybody is out to make a buck. I'm the best dummy head out there with no need to purchase anything more than a couple of Sennheiser lavalier microphones draped over each one of my ears. I made professional bootleg recordings for conductors that could not get proper musicians union clearance. So I am the best dummy out there and you can be too. All you have to be is a dummy and I'm very good at that. My hair falls over my ears so no one could see my microphones. On one occasion, I actually attached the microphones to the left & right side of my glasses which made my glasses appear to have one of those strings that allow you to hang it around your neck while not wearing them. So there was nothing peculiar looking about it when I utilize the Sennheiser MKE2 omnidirectional tie Tac microphones. Why waste money on another dummy when you are the best dummy of all?

I haven't been much of a dummy lately. C'est la vie
Mx. Remy Ann David

3daudio Wed, 05/11/2011 - 23:40

Got my 3D Mic Pro today

Hi Remy,

Thanks for your reply. FedEx has delivered my mic today. Done a quick test and guess what? I am very impressed by the 3D sound. It really sounds stunning and I can localize each and every sound sources accurately like a true binaural audio.

Yes, I have tried those in-ear binaural mics earlier, but they are not for me as I find it difficult to play a dummy and remain absolutely still for a long time without turning my head. This one has a tripod hole, so I will mount it on top of a Gorilla pod.

Tomorrow if time permits, I will go out and do some nature sound recording and post it here. You have lot of experience in binaural sound, so I am curious to know your opinion about the sound quality.

RemyRAD Thu, 05/12/2011 - 08:46

Yes, well, when making my recordings as the genuine imitation artificial dummy head, you can't be turning your head in any direction during the recording. You also have to learn the art of a very silent shallow breathing for extended periods of time. Forget about coughing or sneezing. Generally, I frequently requested of the conductors 3 seats, approximately 8 rows back, orchestra center. The reason I used to get 3 seats was to keep it clear for me on my left & right sides. And a funny situation once, I took a friend of mine, also a student of my mother, Marilyn Cotlow. This guy started breathing really hard following the breathing pattern of the singers on stage. At an opportune moment, I had asked Stanley to stop breathing so hard as he was screwing my recording. LOL

Sounds like you made a nice choice with the new microphone. But you know how this proves your incompetence don't you? It proves that you're not much of a dummy head or head of all dummies. I expect a higher level of low-level thinking from your.

Be all you can be. Be a dummy like me.
Mx. Remy Ann David

3daudio Thu, 05/12/2011 - 09:11

Remy, you are the best

Yes you are right, I am nowhere as skillful as you in head worn binaural recording. Thanks for sharing that real life story, it really shows how dedicated and meticulous you are. There is lot to learn from professional like you.

RemyRAD, post: 370838 wrote: Yes, well, when making my recordings as the genuine imitation artificial dummy head, you can't be turning your head in any direction during the recording. You also have to learn the art of a very silent shallow breathing for extended periods of time. Forget about coughing or sneezing. Generally, I frequently requested of the conductors 3 seats, approximately 8 rows back, orchestra center. The reason I used to get 3 seats was to keep it clear for me on my left & right sides. And a funny situation once, I took a friend of mine, also a student of my mother, Marilyn Cotlow. This guy started breathing really hard following the breathing pattern of the singers on stage. At an opportune moment, I had asked Stanley to stop breathing so hard as he was screwing my recording. LOL

Sounds like you made a nice choice with the new microphone. But you know how this proves your incompetence don't you? It proves that you're not much of a dummy head or head of all dummies. I expect a higher level of low-level thinking from your.

Be all you can be. Be a dummy like me.
Mx. Remy Ann David

3daudio Fri, 05/13/2011 - 23:07

3D Mic Pro recording sample

Hi Remi and all,

I went to record some sound sample yesterday at a regional park not too far from my home. The location is marshy land situated beside highway 84. It was an exceptionally windy day. The wind was so strong that it almost blew my hat off. Frankly it was not an ideal day for a clean environmental sound recording. I had so much wind noise seeping through my Sony MDR-7506 ear pad that I was not even sure what I was recording. The recorder I had used was a Marantz PMD-661. I connected the 3D Mic Pro by a 3.5mm stereo cable to the Marantz Line2 input. I had also used the 3D Mic Grey Fox windshield to shield the wind noise.

After returning home, I downloaded the wav file and was very surprised to found that the recordings has very little wind noise. That Grey Fox wind shield is really good. It totally cut down that strong wind noise and all I can hear is a low frequency rumble which I can easily eliminate by applying a -12 db roll off at about 100 Hz. The windshield has 2" long polyester hair, the longest among my all other furry windshields.

I have uploaded the unequalized recorded sound after normalizing it to -6 db. The uploaded file has been down sampled from 96K 24 bit wav to 44K 360KBPS variable bit rate MP3.

The ambient noise is from nearby highway traffic. This is not an ideal test but provides a very good idea about 3D Mic Pros immersive 3D sound capability. If I close my eyes and play it through my headphones, I can clearly visualize the entire soundscape.

Dear Remi, how does the 3D Mic Pro sounds to your ear compared to a binaural recording? I have also played it in my computer 5.1 speaker system and it still sounds very surround to my ear. I am quite happy with this initial test. I will run some more tests and share the results with you all.

Sound of waves splashing on the lake [="http://www.mediafire.com/?7ugb13f92bye94v"]waves.mp3[/]="http://www.mediafir…"]waves.mp3[/]
Birds and plane mp3 [[url=http://="http://www.mediafir…"]plane and birds.mp3[/]="http://www.mediafir…"]plane and birds.mp3[/]
[="http://www.mediafir…"]
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anonymous Sat, 05/14/2011 - 02:26

I have worked with the Kunstkopf 100 a few times.
It is absolutely awesome. It gives you an absolutely accurate audio image of its surroundings.
Sound localisation ( up, down, behind, top, bottom, circling the Ku walking-talking-playing ) is so well reproduced that you get scared when you listen on headphones*
with closed eyes and somebody sneaks to the Ku100 from behind and shouts, same from below the chin ( like inside your belly). It places you directly into the sound environment
like as you were really there.

*Of course, the sound is only usable with HPs.