Scalarized Behringer B1 vs. Neumann U87
Yesterday, KitC, Jepoy, Mohawk and myself had the opportunity to visit Mr. Shinji Tanaka of Soundcreation studio in Tandang Sora QC. This was a long-standing desire of ours, to A/B PIMP's Scalarized Behringer B1 LDC microphone versus a known, and preferably high-end brand.
Just our luck, Soundcreations had a spanking Neumann U87 microphone. Top of the pops. So after a preliminary discussion we put together a test setup, first for classical guitar, then next for vocals.
For the vocals setup, the first arrangement was with the B1 on top and the U87 at the bottom, pointing at the same sound source, low pass filters engaged. We later modified this to side to side as this was deemed to be more accurate and eliminates tonal discrepancies between the mike positions. Signals from the U87 and the B1 were recorded on their own tracks, side by side.
Shinji and KitC arranging the U87 and B1 for the A/B test
Jepoy, KitC and myself took turns belting out vocals on the A/B setup
And the verdict:
The B1 got darned close to the sound quality of the U87. The U87 was still superior in the high-frequency response department, and in the 8kHz and above range, the U87 was still smooth sounding, with the Behringer exhibiting a slight and very subtle "sizzle" sound. I have a very strong hunch that this is caused by the ceramic capacitors which I haven't replaced yet in the B1. Nonetheless the difference was only audible to Shinji, as he was familiar with his studio and his equipment, but his own assessment landed on something like "pwedeng pwede na!". Almost indistinguishable, except to those with really golden ears.
Not bad,not bad at all for a relatively inexpensive Large Diaghpragm Condenser microphone
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Here are the screenshots of the frequency response graphs (from the vocals rendered). They are just partial proof, it's up to the reader to interpet what they mean for now. Left graph is the Behringer B1, Right graph is the Neumann U87
Next step: when opportunity allows, we will return to SoundCreations with remodified Behringer B1 and C1 microphones, this time getting rid of the grainy-sounding ceramic capacitors and replacing those with film-type caps. We might re-do the vocals test, this time with a female singer who can belt out songs that go in the 8kHz and beyond frequencies (OUCH!) and the ultimate objective test: miking white noise and producing spectral analysis charts from that.
I'm not sure if I should post soundclips of the vocals. First, it might open the belters to ridicule (hahehehe), second, the information in the wav files will surely get lost once compressed and converted to mp3's. But for anyone who seriously cares to listen, you may visit us at PIMP for a thorough listen.
Looks like the versatility of the scalarizer is really shining through !
