SE Electronics X1 A Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone

A real sleeper microphone if you're looking for something a bit 'darker' and 'smoother' than your average large diaphragm condenser mic. It's beautifully warm on the low end and very smooth on the high end, without sounding overly muddy - the slight presence boost in the frequency response really does help it feel very balanced for a ribbon, great for voice IMO. Sibilance and harshness is practically non-existent. Self noise spec is a bit high, but having said that, out the box with my GAP Pre73 Preamp, I'm getting noise floor of -80db in my recordings unprocessed so noise performance does seem better than the specs suggest. You do need a good preamp to make this work or a cloud-lifter like the SE Dynamite stick but even then the sound you get for the cost is very ... MoreA real sleeper microphone if you're looking for something a bit 'darker' and 'smoother' than your average large diaphragm condenser mic. It's beautifully warm on the low end and very smooth on the high end, without sounding overly muddy - the slight presence boost in the frequency response really does help it feel very balanced for a ribbon, great for voice IMO. Sibilance and harshness is practically non-existent. Self noise spec is a bit high, but having said that, out the box with my GAP Pre73 Preamp, I'm getting noise floor of -80db in my recordings unprocessed so noise performance does seem better than the specs suggest. You do need a good preamp to make this work or a cloud-lifter like the SE Dynamite stick but even then the sound you get for the cost is very high end. There are very few mics that can offer the silkiness up top for this price - its a 'high end' sound.

I bought two of these X1R ribbons and use for either Blumlein or mid-side stereo setups for strings. If you have a decent sounding room this is perfect. I set them up with musicians on the front amd back of the mid-side setup, violins and whistles and uilleann pipes sound great 4 feet away from the mic even at a 45 degree angle; the frequency response is great at any angle in front or back of the mic, but the rejection at sides or top or bottom is better then a supercardioid mic. And the sound is so detailed! Lots of body low end and warmth even at a distance of course because its a ribbon. And, the top end is indeed smooth as it should be but on this ribbon you also get some special detail in the highs. On violin you can eq up the really high air frequencies 12 to ... MoreI bought two of these X1R ribbons and use for either Blumlein or mid-side stereo setups for strings. If you have a decent sounding room this is perfect. I set them up with musicians on the front amd back of the mid-side setup, violins and whistles and uilleann pipes sound great 4 feet away from the mic even at a 45 degree angle; the frequency response is great at any angle in front or back of the mic, but the rejection at sides or top or bottom is better then a supercardioid mic. And the sound is so detailed! Lots of body low end and warmth even at a distance of course because its a ribbon. And, the top end is indeed smooth as it should be but on this ribbon you also get some special detail in the highs. On violin you can eq up the really high air frequencies 12 to 20kHz and all the sparkle and detail you could ever want is all there but there's no screech or harshness like you would get with condenser mics on violin. Honestly with no eq it sounds good, i just take down the nasal resonance of the violin (2500 Hz) just a couple db and it's good to go. There's a shock mount for the X1 series mics to purchase separately and it's worth getting, i get a lot of low frequency bumps from peoples feet and chairs channeled up through the mic stand using the included clips.You can get away with a Focusrite gain turned up Most of the way but I've found a cloud lifter helps to boost with noticably less noise.I'm curious about the step up vr1 or vr2 but honestly these x1r mics are already totally good for my needs it was an amazing deal.

I purchased this mic to record multi voice trombone pieces (duos, trios) through an a/d converter to Garage Band that I can edit, trim and export to iTunes. I use the recorded tracks of the parts as accompaniments for practice and informal performance. I bought this mic on the recommendation of an engineer who dabbles in sound. I like the way the mic handles ambient characteristics like natural room resonance. I still have a lot to learn about getting the best recorded sound from the instrument, but even my first efforts have been useable. I like: the ease of set up and use; the sound quality and the apparent build quality of the device. I don't like: it may be more mic than I really need for this application, but time will tell. I would recommend this to a friend ... MoreI purchased this mic to record multi voice trombone pieces (duos, trios) through an a/d converter to Garage Band that I can edit, trim and export to iTunes. I use the recorded tracks of the parts as accompaniments for practice and informal performance. I bought this mic on the recommendation of an engineer who dabbles in sound. I like the way the mic handles ambient characteristics like natural room resonance. I still have a lot to learn about getting the best recorded sound from the instrument, but even my first efforts have been useable. I like: the ease of set up and use; the sound quality and the apparent build quality of the device. I don't like: it may be more mic than I really need for this application, but time will tell. I would recommend this to a friend with a little extra money to spend on toys for the sound system. I don't know if the mic is useful for pro recording, but note that many other comments highlight the value characteristics of this mic.