Soundelux U95S vs. new E47

[yaono]

Hello. Has anyone out there a/b`d the new E47 against the U95S? I`ve been told that the E47 is being shipped out as a cardiod only mic and that the user has to perform a mod if he/she wants to use it in the other patterns. I might be wrong, but that`s what I heard.
Thanks,
Yoshi Aono

 

[MJOwings]

I don't have a 95 for comparison, and I think it would be a mistake to compare those two....

And I don't have experience with great U47s either and so cannot comment on how "close they came" with trying to match that mic - their stated goal.

What I can tell you after having the E47 for a day or two and spending a total of 40 minutes playing with it is that it is beginning to look like a complement to my other mics and therefore a winner for me. My purchase was based on finding a mic that would be used where a U47 might typically be used.

Very nice on two (male) vocalists and acoustic bass. Now remember that was in about 40 minutes.

Hope to be able to do more with it next week.

As far as the "cardoid only" thing is concerned mine did ship from Mercenary in "cardoid only". Soundelux told Mercenary that this was the (paraphrsing) "cleanest/clearest path and as they felt like most users would use it in cardoid they would ship it that way". Mercenary/Soundelux may want to comment.

That said the "modification" is to remove the mic BODY tube (NOT the tube - tube), remove a screw and flip a switch.

From that point on you can control the pattern from the powere supply. Have not done so and therefore cannot comment on cardoid with the switch in different positions due to my limited time to spend with the mic.

Hope to be able to post more soon..

 

[Micah]

WOW! To me that totally SUCKS! $3700 for a mic that ships cardiod only! I was (and am) really looking forward to hearing about how this mic sounds, but geez is it too hard to make it with some frickin' patterns right out of the box?
I'm REALLY curious to see if anyone compares it to the Lawson L47mp...seeing as though there is a $1700 price difference.

Micah

 

[Bear's Gone Fission]

I've spent about zip time with U-47's, but wasn't that a quirk of the original, that if you switch it cardioid at the mic, it's a few dB louder and a good bit less noisy, too? Since most folks are brainwashed into only using mics in cardioid, it makes sense to offer the best cardioid version of that sound as the standard, out of the box experience.

Bear

 

[MJOwings]

Hmmm. Removing and replacing three screws, and flipping a switch is not a problem for me.

There are cost/benefits in any design choice.

I like the fact that the pattern can be controlled from the power supply - for multipattern controlled at the power supply I will have to assume the added ciruitry adds a small amount of noise.

I like the fact that Soundelux gave us the choice. I like the fact that they shipped with the switch set to cardoid - my most common use - so far; still have not made the switch or gotten back to evaluating the mic.

I too would like to hear this mic by a Lawson. Let us know if you get the chance to compare..

Let's assume (for the moment) that the Soundelux sounds "better" (for your or my application) than the Lawson - in multipattern mode. Let's then assume that the Soundelux sounds 1-2% better in cardoid when the varible part switch in the mic is set to cardoid only.

Would I find this to be a problem? No. I have similar choices and "switches to flip" all over the friggin place. If you find this to be a problem, I suspect this is not the right mic for you.

 

[yaono]

I`m sure that Mr. Bock at Soundelux designed the E-47 with the intent of producing the best possible tone. He probably found that by disengaging the rear capsule half that the mic had more output and a decreased noise floor. I think that Klaus Heyne does this with the Brauner KHE and i`ve also seen this with his U87 mods.

I was asking about the differences between the U95S and E47 because in the press release for the E47 it looked like the same description as the U95S. I received an e-mail from Brad Lunde at Trans Audio a while ago and he had told me that the tube complement and circuitry are totally different between the two mics. I`m just wondering if anyone has compared the two and what their biased opinions are?
Thanks, Yoshi

 

[Micah]

My main concern is the sound...if it sounds better than the Lawson I'll buy it. But at $1700 more I hope it sounds MUCH better to my ears.

 

[Sir Bob]

You gotta figure that Soundelux had considered the Lawson L47MP ($2,000) before designing their E47 ($3,700) because if it isn't head and shoulders better, who would spend the extra bucks?

 

[Kirk Candlish]

You gotta figure that Soundelux had considered the Lawson L47MP ($2,000) before designing their E47 ($3,700) because if it isn't head and shoulders better, who would spend the extra bucks?

Duh, yeah, you would hope they were aware of the market and intend to sell at least a couple mics.

I own a U95s and it's an outstanding mic, I can't wait to get my hands on an E47.

 

[anonymous]

Originally posted by Kirk Candlish:

You gotta figure that Soundelux had considered the Lawson L47MP ($2,000) before designing their E47 ($3,700) because if it isn't head and shoulders better, who would spend the extra bucks?

Duh, yeah, you would hope they were aware of the market and intend to sell at least a couple mics.

I own a U95s and it's an outstanding mic, I can't wait to get my hands on an E47.

You'd think so, but it's not always true. Many companies rely on brand recognition/brand loyalty to sell products that are priced higher than their competition and that are not necessarily any better in quality (and sometimes not as good). We see it in every industry, and audio is no exception. (Can you say the "N" word with a nice German accent?)

It is easy for mic manufacturers to ignore Lawson, because it is sold only by direct sales from the manufacturer. Because it doesn't sit on retailer's shelves (or websites) side by side with Soundelux, Neumann, BLUE, AKG, etc. many of these companies do not regard it as legitimate competition. This also makes it a little more difficult to compare his mics to other candidates. I'm sure Gene Lawson has evaluated the pros and cons of his distribution/sales method, but I'm not privy to why he made his ultimate decision not to compete in the retail world. My gut feeling is, if he did, he would make some bigger waves in the mic arena.

 

[¿HuH?]

MagMic by innerTUBE audio is a wonderful contender. It had continuous variable pattern at the power supply, and sounds very good.
Kirk, did you ever make that 10 minute drive to Staynes place?

 

[anonymous]

Originally posted by ¿HuH?:
MagMic by innerTUBE audio is a wonderful contender. It had continuous variable pattern at the power supply, and sounds very good.
Kirk, did you ever make that 10 minute drive to Staynes place?

Hey, ¿Huh?... (how alliterative!)

What are those MagMics selling for?

 

[riconga]

if youve purchased a soundelux dont compare it to a lawson youll spend to much time crying

 

[¿HuH?]

What are those MagMics selling for?

Phantom list price is $3500.
Fletcher has one for east coast loner parusal.
He's, what? about an hours drive for you?

 

[Kirk Candlish]

Kirk, did you ever make that 10 minute drive to Staynes place?

Not yet, i've been too busy. I'm also waiting until I have a DPA 4041 in hand, I want to audition the Magmic next to it. That's a couple of weeks away.

if youve purchased a soundelux dont compare it to a lawson youll spend to much time crying
 

That depends on which sound you like, they both are unique in their character. I'll own both I'm sure. Besides, all it takes is 1 session where a particular mic was THE 1 to use and it's priceless as far as I'm concerned.

 

[MJOwings]

riconga - It sounds like you have heard the Lawson and the Soundelux side by side; hopefully at other than a trade show. Care to share details? As an owner of an E47 I'd like to know more about your evaluation of the two. Specifically what do like about the Lawson that you don't about the Soundelux and vice-versa.

Thanks,
Mike