When it comes to audio quality, there is no one true scale or score you can give to determine how professional sounding the audio quality is. It is mostly a matter of opinion. Oh sure, you can measure things like signal-to-noise ratio, or chart energy across a spectrum of frequencies. But at the end of the day what matter is what sounds better, and people can only be determine that with their ears. Often a bit of audio that has a low signal-to-noise ratio will also sound bad. Likewise with audio that has lots of distortion. But will that always be the case?
One other determination of audio quality is quality of gear. For instance, most folks will probably say that an expensive microphone will yield better audio quality than an inexpensive one; or that an expensive microphone pre-amplifier makes the difference. But will that, too, always be the case?
Let’s have you decide for yourself.
I have two clips of audio for you to listen to. Both are voice over recordings. One was recorded with a $5.00 plastic PC mic plugged directly into the built-in sound card of a 6-year old standard PC. The other guy used a $300 studio microphone being fed through a $200 audio interface. So what we have are two clips of audio that on paper should be light-years apart in audio quality; essentially, one should sound 500 times better than the other, right? Well since the gear cost 500 times more, it may not be be 500 times better, but it should be really obvious shouldn’t it?
Ready to hear these two clips? Okay, open our home page at: www.homebrewaudio.com and scroll to the middle of the page. You’ll see two flash players. Spoiler alert: Don’t read the text BELOW the players, since that will give the answer away.
Now listen to each sample. They’re only a few seconds long. Can you tell the difference between a $5 recording and a $500 recording? Regardless of the outcome, think about what this means in terms of the whole expensive-gear-always-sounds-better argument.
We’d be interested in hearing what your results were. Leave a comment!
Have fun.
Ken
Well, I was able to pick which was which, but only because you told us YOUR recording was on the cheap mic and I recognized your voice. That aside, I actually thought the cheaper mic sounded BETTER. The “expensive” recording seemed over-modulated, which goes to show that good technology without good technique (and talent) just won’t do the job.
All things being equal, better quality equipment should give better results, BUT–techniques are part of what has to be equal. And $500 is a lot to pay for some “equal!”, as you’ve shown here.
Thanks Ric. No fair knowing my voice:). So what that we played music and hung out in the bad old days? Anyway, that’s an awesome reply!
Oops. I was signed in as Jake:-P.
Ken
. The topic of mics has been on my mind lately due to my signing up for the “free” -voices.com intro thing recently. It seems that the most popular mics there are TLM 103’s. I know they grow on thousand dollar trees! The 416 is another popular one. The guy with the most activity at VOICES is J Michael Collins from Luxemburg by way of Texas and he uses a “RODE NT.” (must be an Aussie rat). Regardless, you rarely see the recently hired people admitting they use a $50.00 whatever. If they do, does EQ and compression even out the equipment playing field? OR are there really that many Neumanns in American closets! Has the mic brand ever been an question with your getting vo work?
John,
See how the prejudice prevails? TLM 103s ($1,000) are fantastic mics. But guess what. I rented one a few years (ca. 2003) ago and ran a double-blind experiment between it and the $200 Russian Oktava MK-319 on a dry vocal (USB mics weren’t up to the task then). Not only did the TLM not win, the MK-319 beat the TLM 103 across the board. That’s a $600 gap. I, myself, use a Rode NT2-A ($350-$400), but audio has been my hobby for more than 20 years. I still don’t have a TLM. I try to let my needs drive my purchases and make those decisions from a position of as much knowledge as I can. My goal in all of this is not to dissuade folks from buying higher quality, higher cost gear. I want them to know WHY. There are reasons, but if you can get the result you want FOR WHAT YOU DO for a fraction of the cost, you should know that, especially if the misinformation is preventing you from getting started because you think you can’t afford it.
To answer your question, “no.” Type of mic has not been a factor in getting VO work. I had a client ask me in March if (since I was on the road at the time) I had access to a studio with a vocal booth for the proper quality. My answer was that “I could provide the same level of audio quality as I always do.” In fact I was using a $140 field mic (Zoom H2), a netbook computer. The client was happy and no mention of actual gear was necessary.
Hope that answers everything!
Ken
Can you make pro recordings with an M-Audio Delta 1010LT?
Yes you absolutely can. The Delta 1010LT is awesome. Just be careful to make sure your computer has a PCI slot. A lot of computers have gone completely to PCIe these days.
thank you very much for your advice
One other aspect of this whole story is the tendency of people to use money as a crutch–thinking that buying a better mic/guitar/amp/effect pedal is what will FINALLY make the difference. We’re all guilty of it too some degree (who hasn’t gotten “guitar lust” when you walk through MegaGuitarStore?), but it’s important to keep it in perspective.
If you suck, you’ll still suck with expensive equipment. It will just cost you more.
(funny how my cheap crappy guitar has sounded better and better over the years…) 😉
VERY true, Ric. Thanks!
Ken
@John,
The RODE is a great little mic that happens to love my bass tonality….definitely not in the price range of a Neumann, but a pro mic that is used a lot in radio, (which is where I started, incidentally.) Depending on what your budget is, it’s a brand I recommend….I’ve produced pieces for some enormous brands on that mic, and they love it. Naturally, mics suit different voices differently, so always try to give them a test run if you can.
All the best,
J. Michael Collins
jmichael@jmcvoiceover.com
http://www.jmicvoiceover.com
http://www.jmcvoiceover.blogspot.com “P2P” Voiceover Sites Made Easy!