hey, yes.

i have the golden age 8000 and just got the c-100 to test side by side both tracked 73spx >76LN

i can send to your e-mail, PM me.

which one do you prefer?

so before i answer that i have to say:

the ga-8000 is very smooth on the top end and has that sonically pleasing modern tone like a c800g does, but just less top end than the c-800g.

the sony c-100 is very transparent, has a nice top end, but kinda dull at the same time... hard to explain and probably bc its solid state. the c-100 sounds like a tube-less c800g. i think sony capsules, regardless the mic, just has a certain sound that make the source sit nicely in the mix.

i prefer *for now* the ga-8000 just because it sounds so smooth and the tone makes the c-100 sound a bit dull. i am convinced the sony c-100 will sound better than the ga-8000 if i get a tube eq like a pultec, because i do like the way the c-100 sits in the mix.


so in conclusion...
i'll try a tube pultec with the sony c-100 before i send it back
or
change the capsule in the ga-8000 with a c800g capsule.

i can e-mail you the files if you'd like to get your opinion as well.

I have the c100 and you just confirm what I think.
Yes, you can send me the files. Dm me a link or something.
I think the tone in the ga8000 is different and there's no low-mid at all.
It would be interesting if you can buy a sony capsule and exchange it.

boom, you nailed it! the lack of low mids in the ga-8k makes it sit kind of strange in the mix, imo.

i think that's why i prefer the way the c-100 sits, i just don't like how dull it sounds even with itb processing. i think a tube eq would be the ticket.

but yup, a sony c-800g cap would be the key with the ga-8000. something about the sony capsules sound great!

I know it's not the done thing on GS, BUT, if you were only gonna own one mic to use for everything, (aiming for realism/transparency), but mainly for acoustic guitar, would this be a strong contender for THE ONE in its price range?

The self noise specs seem high for an LDC, no?

I was about to plonk down about half the amount for Audio Technica 4021 (cardioid) and 4022 (omni) SDCs, but this thing looks great and like it might be more versatile.

C-100 never dull. Remove cotton from ears.

I love this mic and it's my go-to now. But sometimes it's dull. I pair it with a lot of UAD plugins and it sounds decent. A real tube compressor would probably give it the top-notch sound we all are looking for.

lol ok? that's subjective and i know what i hear. i said it has a nice top end just dull in comparison to what i've tested.

I made another discovery regarding ground hum on the C100.

When the mic is not fully fastened into the shock mount there is hum

Nonsense!

Nonsense? The Sony C100 manual states that pin 4 (the shells) should be wired to ground.

The part that connects to the shell is the same piece of metal that gets fastened into the shock mount.

Just sharing helpful information here for any other C100 users who have experienced ground hum. Oftentimes when using the C100 as an Omni vocal mic or room mic I find myself keeping the mic unfastened until I find the “sweet spot” and then I fasten the mic in that way. Usually it’s got the capsul facing perpendicular to the sour e

Nonsense!

There is no pin 4.

Pin 1 is ground, mister!

I have these mics. There is never a problem with hum.

“the pinout for XLR connector is such that pin 1 is common audio ground reference pin, pins 2&3 are the balanced audio pins, and depending on how you want to count it, pin 4 is the connector shell.”
- https://electronics.stackexchange.co...ected-to-pin-1

I am certainly not the first or last person to refer to connector shell pin as pin 4. It’s certainly a better description than “case” as stated here:

http://www.clarkwire.com/pinoutxlrbalanced.htm

But hey, I’m in Chicago too

In the north suburbs now though

If you came out to monthly EARS meetings
http://www.ears-chicago.org you would have already learned proper pro audio parlance.

Meetings are usually the last Tuesday of each month. Each month we meet at a different studio to visit, conduct business, and have beer and snacks.
This month's meeting is at Delmark Records.

EARS Presents: A night at Delmark Records & Studio

Wednesday June 28th, 2023 at 7:00 pm
4121 N. Rockwell St. Chicago , IL 60618

(Street Parking is available)

Unless you're talking about a quad 4 pin xlr connector, calling something "pin 4" is not correct.

Tying pin 3 to a chassis ground (that is the correct term) is far from a universal practice. Some mic manufacturers recommend it many others do not recommend it.

In any case, with the Sony mic you have no access to any pin 4.

If your Sony mic has hum then either the mic cable has become defective, was never wired right in the first place, or your input on the
console / interface has lost its ground.

To isolate the problem, change one thing at a time. First try a different cable. If the hum goes away with a different cable you know that it was the cable at fault. It can be repaired.

Then try a different console input. If the problem goes away, the other input that you used is bad. Make a repair in your tech shop.

Thanks, I actually already solved the problem by consulting the Sony manual and using 3 pin XLR with the shells wired to pin 1 as recommended in the Sony C100 operating instructions.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/19...ony-C-100.html
Under “Notes on Use” -
“
cable with the connector housing part connected to the ground wire (pin 1) isrecommended for the microphone cable.Cables that are not connected to a ground wire may emit noise.If a ground terminal is available, noise can be reduced by connecting to that terminal.Also, if used extending several microphone cables and the connector housing part touches the floor, noise might worsen.’

I already diagnosed it exactly as you mentioned by changing one thing at a time. I’m a professional engineer so testing procedures and “multi-variable” situations are not new to me. In order to diagnose I used several cables all either Mogami quad or Canare quad with neutrik shells. Used multiple mics connected to the same pre. The only mic that had issues (with all cables and pres) was the Sony C100… until I used the cable with grounded shells.

All cables were made to order by redco.

I’d venture to say that Sony would not have put such a notice in their operating instructions if they had no discovered grounding issues in testing that were solved by using an XLR with grounded shells.

Anyway after checking out your webpage and your background I could probably use your advice for miking my mothers Steinway Baby Grand (don’t know exact year or model). Also could use advice for recording my niece’s who are classical violinists.

C800g owner here. Yes your assumption is spot on. My C800g has been in the case since I paired my C100 with a 1073, CL1B and Pultec....It gives me what I want out of the C800g, with a tad bit of higher fidelity. Tried it with the Avalon 737 and it sounded dull and sterile to me.

I just purchased a sony C100 and used it in the following vocal chain:
Sony C100 > BAE 1084 > Klark Teknik 2A-KT

I was more than pleasantly surprised!!!
I could fit the vocal track in the mix without additional compression or equalization. Just some added harmonics coloring.
Wow, I love it. And it is so cute and small.

It’s my favorite vocal chain for now

Looking in the C100.

I was wondering if anyone made any tests with quiet singers. I was looking at purchasing the TLM103 before reading about the C100 since the TLM103 is very quiet.

Any comparison files for the noise? Some reviewers say that it is a very noisy mic.

Never any noise problems with the Sony mic.
It does not matter how softly the singer sings. Set up your mic preamp to have proper gain staging and the mic / preamp combination will easily record from a whisper to a scream.

The Sony mic has low self noise. Self noise almost never matters when using any mic.

Anyone notice white noise slightly higher than other mics with the C100?

Recently acquired a C-80 (C-100 with just the main capsule) some weeks ago and compared it against my Chandler REDD. Definitely not 1/10th the sound, just 1/10th the price! Great sound and a solid addition to the locker, especially since it's portable.

Vocal Chain was the Hazelrigg VLC to the Hazelrigg VNE

Do you think a good pre-amp/comp combo can bring the C-80 “up to par” with those higher cost mics? Is it just “different” and not necessarily better? I was looking into an OC-18 or even SA-87t but i’m kinda thinking it could be a side grade

Up to par no but a c-80 is a fantastic mic in its own right. A c-80 newton channel combo is prob the best you can get at that price point

Preamps are real important I think their importance is understated, a great pre can make a cheaper mic like a c-80 or sm58 really shine. There’s such thing as a great $100 mic but not really the case with pres in my opinion. You gotta be willing to at least get a Rupert neve 500 series pre to start the quality journey there, so about $600 used. People get away with stuff like aml which is pretty good if you have to trade off quality for a higher channel count while maintaining a budget, but for a single channel pre you really can’t go wrong by going to Rupert neve and getting whatever fits your budget.

Also of course converters are a concern, one which I think is also often downplayed. If I was trying to spend the least amount of money for quality preamp and pristine conversion, I’d get a neumann mt48. I think it’s worth it to get one of those and use the dsp eq/comp rather than springing for a hardware vocal chain and then skimping on conversion. I often record with an sm58 and an mt48, I see no reason to get a c-80 especially when it’s my portable setup so I can work out of less treated rooms, which the sm58 really shines at. Of course when I’m home in a treated environment I use a U87ai, which I kept after selling my c800g, but if I needed to use a cheaper condenser the only one I’d consider is the c-80 (I’d pick it over the c-100)

To me the c-100 sounds like an almost c800g, not quite, while the c-80 sounds like it’s own thing, just more balanced overall. It’s not as detailed but that extra detail in the c-100 is kind of just fluff without the tube, as someone pointed out

C-100 is a solid mic - I’ve had a few people op for it over a u87ai . A good preamp can help for sure