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HTDZ, EM320E, and other cheap microphones
  • 43 Replies sorted by
  • Which shock mount will work with this mic? Also, I need to order an adapter to go from the 3.5mm plug to the GH-2. What do I need to look for? 3.5mm to 2.5mm mono?

    Update: is this correct?

    2.5mm male to 3.5mm female Stereo cable

  • My early review of EM320E:

    I've just received my EM320E (I waited nearly 1 month). Instead of it's mono3.5mm-to-mono6.35mm jack adapter that comes with it, I plugged my own stereo3.5mm-to-mono6.35mm adapter from eBay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/120814120872 hoping that it would record stereo sound for me automatically. But it still records MONO. Can someone please post an eBay link to an adapter that will do this trick?

    Later, I plugged my EM320E into my Zoom H1 and recorded a mock-scene "I believe in America..." - the opening scene from "Godfather" (Part 1). Recording was done simply into Zoom H1 - input level was at it's default "50". EM320E was recording in "Tele" mode. ("Normal" mode didn't produce much sound at that "50" mode, and I wanted to use this mic as a Shotgun/Directional mic not a usual mic). It was hanging about 50cm (20") above my head. In Premiere Pro I made that track into a Stereo (But I'd love to have it in stereo automatically). Synchronizing the sound was a pain in the neck. I heard there was some kind of plugin that can syncronize the GH1 audio and external audio automatically in Premiere Pro. Can someone please help?

    I didn't play with the audio equalisers and didn't remove any of the "room noise" and did not alter the audio in any way in post (other than make it stereo). (I don't even know (yet) how to edit sound in post and how to do those things with Premiere Pro) Results? Well, the results were pretty awesome! After some quick color correction, it did not just look like a movie, but it also sounded like a movie. The sound is very "close" and "intimate" and quite "warm". You know... like movies from 70s-90s (actually sounds better than "Taxi Driver", although Scorsese could have made the sound so "dirty" for artistic purposes). It certainly didn't sound like a "digital" sound (like Azden or crap like that). Very usable for micro-budget film! I then compared the sound in my mock-scene to the one from the original Godfather. And it's certainly comparable! Well, it didn't sound as stark, but maybe that's because I didn't isolate the spoken monologue, didn't do any heavyweight audio editing, also no rehearsals and I was recording at only input level "50" (I later discovered that Zoom H1 can go up to "100" although it adds a bit of distortion/hiss noise).

    I wonder what's the experience of other users with using Tele mode and Normal mode. I think Tele mode with these mics is better.

    The box came a little squashed and damaged (probably been through a lot on it's way from China), but who cares for the box, if your mic is recording a pretty good sound. The very long XLR plug is pretty wobbly, and causes noise interference is you move it while recording, and I will probably need to replace it with a much shorter and better quality XLR-to-Stereo3.5mm cable (if you have any advices with eBay links or other links please post). Overall, my initial impression after a day of playing with it: I'm pretty satisfied with the quality of the sound.

    Now I need a solution to record Stereo, and automatically sync in Premiere Pro.

    PS: I know that I'm using the term "Stereo" in a wholly incorrect way. What I mean by it is "same Mono sound recording to 2 channels simultaneously".

  • I believe there is an audio effect in premiere that doubles one side of a stereo track to the other side. You just need to trow it onto all the clips. The software that syncs audio from different sources is called Dualeyes. ;)

  • Just got my EM320E mic today. I want to test it with my computer. It has line in and mic? Which is the proper plug? I'm not getting a signal.

  • What is the solution most appropriate for this microphone by GH13VK?

    6.25mm female mono >> 2.5mm male stereo or mono ?

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  • Is there anyone in this forum who likes the Tele mode more than the Normal mode on these EM320E mics?

    To my ears the voices in Tele mode sound deeper and richer (like in film) and therefore more "dramatic", but it comes with more hiss (but it's a "pleasant" kind of hiss, like in 1970s movies, and I'm sure it is possible to remove it digitally in Audacity). The Normal mode sounds more "flat", more like an interview, not "dramatic" - more "factual".

    I'm interested to see what your preferences are in recording with this mic?

  • EM320E is not a shotgun microphone. I looked at the internal structure this microphone: Two condenser mics and basic pre-amp circuit. Yes you're right @kronstadt. "The Normal mode sounds more "flat", more like an interview, not "dramatic" - more "factual".

    Tele mode: can be used to 360 degrees collect the dirty sound.. :(

  • @simurg sorry, I don't understand you. Isn't the "Tele" mode one that makes this mic into a shotgun mic? In Tele I can record the dialogue from a longer distance and make it sound "closer" and more "dramatic"". Tele mode is definitely not one to record the 360 degrees room-tone because it gives a lot of hiss. In "Normal" mode it sounds not only flat, but also noticeably low volume, so to my ers it does not sound like the best opton for dialogue recording. So, it seems to me, that "Normal" mode is the one that should be used to collect room tone. No?

    Then then question becomes: which mode would you recommend that a dialogue scene (with boom and blimp) is recorded in???

    (my setup is very very simple: EM320E, mounted on a boom, recording directly to Zoom H1)

  • @kronstadt Tele mode is too much ambient sound of my microphone. Definitely not possible routing. I don't think this microphone is used for dialogue. Because the overwhelming voice of the the external environment. I repeat: This microphone's internal structure of a simple circuit and condenser microphones ... No tube. (sorry for my bad english)

  • og course there is a tube. It is a knock off of a $200 mic.

  • I bought an EM320E and just tried recording some voice in our sound studio. It won't be replacing my rode videopro, that's for sure. There's a reasonably steep bass roll off and what sounds like the same at the top end, resulting in a pretty 'boxy' sound. My 02

  • Howdy all, I recently got a Rode Blimp for my EM320E. The trouble is this microphone's XLR cable, which does not perfectly fit with Rode Blimp's XLR input at the bottom of the blimp's handle. The cable wobbles at the slightest movement and this creates terrible noise -- the recording becomes unusable.

    So, it looks like I need a new XLR cable to fit into my Zoom H1 - one that will perfectly fit with Rode blimp's XLR plug. Any suggestions which cable to get or how to make it work with Rode Blimp?

  • I haven't understood....there is no difference between HTDZ microphones and EM320E ?They're the same just rebranded?

  • Hi, I just received this microphone, which I found thanks to this thread!

    I would like to ask two questions: In case I'm planning to use it attached to the top of the GH2, what exactly do I need?

    • What cable solution do I need if I want to connect XLR -> 2.5mm jack with a short cable? I was thinking about something like this: XLR -> RCA adaptor + RCA -> 2.5mm jack cable, or XLR -> 6.3mm adaptor + 6.3mm -> 2.5mm jack cable

    • What shock mount do I need? VK linked that eBay store, but I don't know which one I need and that how can I attach that thread mount on top of my GH2.

    Thanks!

  • Hi, I've just received the mic..I've ued it with my PC and it sound very good and pretty clean, however when I connect it directly to my GH1 the sound is very noisy :( My setup is EM320E + XLR cable included in the pack + adapter 6,25 ->3,5 + adapter 3,5->2,5 + GH1...anyonecan help me, please?

  • @AlbertZ

    i think that you need something without AGC, otherwise gain can can be big in case of quiet sound.

  • Thanks @Vitaliy_Kiselev ! ..As far as I understand, I should record using an external recorder ( not connected to GH1) and sync in post due to this problem...GH1 AGC makes the sound very very noisy, the hissing noise unfortunately is so hard (like a shower) that I get cleaner results with GH1 internal microphone rather than my cheap setup with EM320E (mic+ XLR cable included in the pack + adapter 6,25 ->3,5 + adapter 3,5->2,5) Is the external recorder the only solution? thanks :)