I remember to have seen a link, in one of the threads about Schoeps mics, with a company making some microphones (from Japan? or China?) with a design very similar to Schoeps CMC 1 + capsules.
Can someone post the link here?
I searched for the link, but can't find it anymore.
Thanks!

https://b9audio.com/

Taiwan based, German appearance......

Thanks

Perhaps you were thinking of MBHO. They offer similar options to Schoeps in the 600 series SDC's. Their principals came from Beyer and Schoeps.

Almost German price tag. Are they good? Did anyone try them?

Their prices are much less than for new Schoeps in the USA... Would be interested in hearing what pro music recordists think of these.

what I was looking for were the b9audio mics.
Now they have an European ditributor.
I just wrote them to ask to try for two stereo set (equivalent to the Schoeps MK2s and Mk21 I have). I'll make a recording and post here for comparison.

And yes, the B9 mics sound quite good. I demo'd their Blumlein mic for quite a while and was impressed with how good it sounds. I didn't buy any for the simple reason that I have my share of the Schoeps mics they copy.

D.

I too have been intrigued by the B9 mics. But on the subject of 'Schoeps clones' don't forget that the Shure KSM 141 was designed, with input from the esteemed Plush, to emulate the MK 5 cardioid/omni. While it doesn't sound exactly like the role model, it is a good mic and good value.

Yes. I didn't notice immediately, that they have a European distributer. I was thinking of shipping, taxes, customs,when ordering from Taiwan and a potentially low resale value, compared to Schoeps.

That's good that they have a distributor in Europe at last (AEI Tech), although not sure if there are any resellers yet.

I wrote them (upon suggestion of the B9 Facebook profile) because I want to try them and compare with Schoeps.
What I like is that they have the same design of the CMC 1 and they are very small.
Now the question is: how good they sound?

I have the B9 Blumlein mic and it does sound quite good. It’s also very small, which is nice. I haven’t used it for any serious classical work, but I’ve had it up for some quick and dirty bluegrass jam sessions and thought it gave a quite realistic and balanced impression of the space.

I do have a single MK8 capsule I could compare it to at some point if I ever have free time.

will ask this here since we don't seem to have a dedicated B9 discussion thread here for the remote/location crowd who I imagine are most likely to use these mics...

While the design is an obvious Schoeps... inspiration, anyone with experience with both mics have observations on the actual sound/performance differences? Does B9 have its own house sound that differs in any significant way?

The wide variety of capsules is really appealing to me for price and compact set-up options. But one reason aside from price that has kept me going with Schoeps is I am actually not the biggest fan of their sound all the time, and for a lot of what I do I don't feel they are the best line of mics to go with for now as main pairs. If the B9 mics are also aiming to imitate the Schoeps sound as much as possible there are a few capsules I would still consider, but I would probably start elsewhere. The design similarities as well as the choice of capsule line makes me think this might be the case, but frequency plots don't tell you everything and looks can be just that.

Now that there is proper EU distribution I am hoping maybe some audition pairs might be possible at some point.

'sound' of schoeps? - imo it's the 'absence of sound' that characterises them best!

...which ime becomes very obvious in large setups: i did once get to compare ca. 100 schoeps against mics from two other manufacturers - to my (and other people's) ears, the schoeps faired much better, meaning they left much less of a sonic imprint than their competitors.

anyway, if sdc's from different manufacturers are close in terms of specs, get used in smaller setups and get eq'd to measure the same, they become very hard to tell apart...

This is why I've mostly settled on Schoeps for nearly everything we do. We get next to no time for mic swaps in setups under great time pressure: my Schoeps work well on nearly everything, generally make signal that sounds to me like the instrument and not like a "colored" version of same, are forgiving about placement (ie player movement once the show starts), can take quite high levels without
issues and generally head off any mic-quality arguments with nerdy players before they start. It's taken me a long time to build up my collection to the point where I can do most gigs with all-or-mostly-Schoeps if I want to, and I like to think of those mics as being my "sound" by now.

I'm curious what would make Schoeps more "forgiving about placement" than any other quality mics of the same polar pattern.

Smooth off-axis response, in part, I guess. If the player gets a little off the freq response is even enough that I can make it work in a mix. At least this has been my experience with these mics over many years now, vs other mics I have (Neumann, Beyer, Shure, A-T).

They are indeed exceptional in that regard; also, the venerable KM 84.

If only. I get to rent them now and again....

I suppose is we want to get in to semantics I am talking about their sound in terms of their character here- so for me transparency is then very much then their 'sound' for the Schoeps. I haven't gotten to work with them a ton or try a wide variety of capsules, but again I don't feel their version of transparency necessarily suits everything or all situations.

The reason I'm looking for actual first hand experience with the B9 mics is because while there is obvious influence and inspiration, but I don't really just want to make the assumption that the sound is the same. Schoeps, MKH, Line Audio, DPA, Rycote's new mics, so on - you'll find slight variations of a relatively flat line. Looking at the details in the polar pattern behavior, sensitivity and things like this make a big difference and are important and tell you more, but even then the real proof is in the hearing. There is a reason each of us chooses certain mics - not just because one might provide the best result due to certain logistical constraints but because it brings out those small things that we are looking for.

a matter of taste... - i prefer to use equipment (not just microphones) that leaves as little coloration as possible.

anyway, i cannot speak of the b9 mics as i have never used them - for my own work, they seem to be less attractive 'cause i'm very happy with the mics (and other gear) i have and because some producers insist on mics from the well-known european manufacturers getting used (or else i wouldn't even get invited to the party)...

___


[for me (the most important aspect of) "sound" is what happens in front of the microphones (and maybe in the artist's or conductor's head) and i find it rather presumptuous to claim that ''colouration'' benefits a recording/mix: artists have spent decades to craft their technique and (unique) "sound" and the rooms/halls in which we're recording largely defines on how that sound gets perceived so who am i to use techniques and gear that leaves a heavy imprint on its own?!]

I'm not looking for or even advocating any sort of extreme coloration - I don't feel anyone would say any of the mics listed above fall in that category. Just based on their characteristics/performance they bring out certain nuances or highlight certain aspects of something or compensate for certain logistical issues we encounter. We choose one over another based on the situations and budgets we are working in. Also we aren't all recording classical musicians in concert halls under ideal circumstances.

Anyway, all of this is not the point. If anyone actually does have first hand experience with these mics I would be keen to hear their thoughts.

I have a very nice ribbon mic made MBHO, directional. Originally made by them for fi-cord.

Do you have a frequency chart to compare against the Schoeps?

This isn’t the brand you were looking, but the ADK line of 3-Zigma CHI mics use swappable capsules (both sdc and ldc) onto a couple varieties of amp bodies.