I mentioned on another thread that I'd try to do a comparison between the Beyer MC930 and the Line Audio CM4.

Recently a very nice musician (both in terms of skill and personality) came through my regular venue, and after the sound check* I asked if he'd be willing to help me out with a comparison between a couple of mics, and he was happy to oblige.

* Sound check involved me realising this guy self-mixed his vocal/instrument level really well, so I put a mic on a short stand (he was playing seated), pushed the fader, and was very pleased with the results.


Mic positioning: MC930 & CM4 taped together (there's a small vertical offset between them), and positioned around 18" from the neck/body join of the instruments. The fronts of the mics were aligned.

The Mystery Mic was positioned just to the neck side of the other pair.

The recording device was a QSC TouchMix 30 Pro. Analogue gains were set so levels touched the yellow occasionally (NB - different gains required). 48kHz sample rate.
I imported those files into Audacity, trimmed, and set them to the same peak level before exporting as 32-bit wav at 48kHz.

In short, the files are as raw as I can sensibly provide.


Obviously the MC930 vs CM4 comparison is what we're here for, but if anyone has any notes about the mystery mic, I'd be interested to read them. Guesses as to the make/model are welcome.

Results are attached.

Chris

This is a great set of samples, thank you, Chris! The Line and Beyer both do a great job, as does the mystery mic, although I don't have a guess as to what that is.

Overall, I prefer the Beyer for the banjo and the Line for guitar. The flat high-end of the CM4 tames the acoustic guitar nicely, but the Beyer opens up the sound of the banjo in a pleasing way. I hear a bit more of a nasal quality in the banjo on the CM4. The guitar has quite a bright capture, so the Beyer's top lift is a bit much for my taste on that instrument – that would probably easily remedied by some more distance, though.

All of them are very capable tools, no doubt about it, and quite complementary! Definitely makes me want a pair of MC930 to supplement my CM4 pair.

Hey Progger,

Thanks for listening and for your notes.

Hopefully there'll be a few more comments before I reveal the mystery mic.

Chris

Mystery mic is revealed in the attachments. People who have read my other posts probably won't be surprised.

Hopefully it was an interesting comparison.

Chris

Cool, and interesting, wouldn't have guessed that! Very solid-sounding mic. It tended to land right in between the Beyer and the Line for my ears most of the time.