Core Sound Low Cost Binaural Microphones and Low Cost Stealthy Cardioid Microphones™
Core Sound is pleased to offer lower cost versions of our Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid microphones. They are very well suited for tapers on a budget and are a good choice for recording concerts and lectures.
Unlike our Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid microphone sets, the capsules used in the Low Cost mic sets are unmodified. While they don't provide the much lower distortion and much wider dynamic range of their more expensive siblings, they still provide exceptional performance for their price.
The Low Cost Binaurals are omnidirectional and pick up sounds in all directions more or less equally. The Low Cost Stealthy Cardioids are directional and pick up sounds coming from the forward direction, while reducing the level of sounds coming from the sides and rear.
If you had to choose just one set of Low Cost microphones, we strongly recommend the Low Cost Binaurals. In general, they will make better recordings under more different circumstances than the Low Cost Stealthy Cardioids.
The microphones are very unobtrusive; many customers have called them "stealthy." When in place, they look like eyeglass retainers, the devices that athletes and librarians use to ensure that their glasses don't fall off. The microphones themselves are amazingly small. When the cord is routed down a shirt or sweater, there's little evidence that you are creating a very high fidelity recording of a sound event. (We strongly recommend that before you record, you obtain permission to do so.)
CSB microphones have been sold to customers all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, England, Scotland, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Serbia, South Africa and many others.
If you're looking to make great tapes at low cost, our Low Cost Binaural microphone and Low Cost Stealthy Cardioid microphone sets can't be beat.
October 13, 2000: We're pleased to announce a new "Low Sensitivity" version of our Low Cost Binaural (LCB) microphone set, especially designed for folks who tape loud music with the Sony MZ-R37, -R55, -R70, -R90, -R91, -R700, -R750 and -R950 MD recorders.
On those specific recorders (and not others), Sony omitted the microphone pre-amp's "low sensitivity" (-20 dB) setting, so they are unusually prone to mic pre-amp overload distortion when recording loud music. Our new "Low Sensitivity" version of the LCB and LCSC microphones are approximately 15 dB less sensitive than the standard set, and will reduce or eliminate the occurrence of that distortion. Like the LCBs, they are powered from the recorder -- neither an external battery box nor attenuator cable is required.
Note: The LCBs with the low sensitivity option are not recommended for use with M-Audio's MicroTrack 24/96 flash memory recorder. It does not provide adequate "plug-in" power.
Low Cost Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid Microphone Description & Mounting Options
The Low Cost Binaural and Low Cost Stealthy Cardioid mics look identical except for vent holes at the base of the Stealthy Cardioid mic shell.
The two microphone cartridges are each mounted in their own satin-black metal shell. The shell is approximately the size of a jelly bean: roughly a quarter-inch (.6 cm) in diameter and a half-inch (1.2 cm) long. Being all metal, the microphone mounts are very durable. The black finish is heat-fused plastic and is much more durable than paint. Removable black light-duty and heavy-duty foam windscreens are available.
The microphone cable can enter the shell in one of two locations: the side or the bottom. For the side cable option, the shell has a miniature alligator clip attached to its base. The clip can be used to attach the microphones to any convenient mounting surface, including your eyeglasses, lapels, collar, shoulder, hats, headband, lighting grids and many others. The alligator clips are finished in black and their handles are covered with a pliable black plastic.
For the bottom cable option (Low Cost Binaural mics only), the cable enters the shell from the bottom of the shell, on the surface opposite the microphone face. This allows you to easily insert the microphones into a set of elastic eyeglass holders ("Croakies"), sew them in a bandana or mount them in a hat. They have no alligator clips so you have to be creative about how you plan to mount them. You can use velcro strips, double sided foam tape or whatever you can dream up!
A very flexible shielded cable exits the base of each tube toward the rear of your head. The cables from the two microphones join into a single cable roughly twelve inches from the microphones. The cable runs for six feet and terminates in a gold-plated 1/8" (3.5mm) mini-stereo phone plug -- other connectors can be supplied on request. (October 4, 2002: A high quality right angle plug is now available as an option.)
If necessary, the cable can be easily split for its entire length, so that the microphones can be separated as much as 12-feet apart. This is especially useful if you use the microphones for interviews: one microphone can be mounted on the interviewer and the other on the interviewee.
Low Cost Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid Microphone Specifications
The Low Cost Binaural and Low Cost Stealthy Cardioid microphone sets use a pair of miniature electret condenser cartridges.
The Low Cost Binaural mics have a frequency response of from 20 Hertz to more than 20 kiloHertz and are very flat (typically within 2 dB) over that frequency range.
The Low Cost Stealthy Cardioid microphones have a frequency response of from 40 Hz to 18 kiloHertz. They have a rising frequency response over that range with the exception of a slight (2 dB) peak between 9 kHz and 12 kiloHertz and a bass response fall off of roughly 6 dB per octave starting at 100 Hertz. (The bass response is very similar to our Core Sound Binaural microphones with the bass roll-off filter).
We match the microphone pairs to within one dB of each other.
The Low Cost microphones require a bias voltage (also called "plug-in power") of between 1.5 and 10 Volts DC, supplied by the recorder or mixing panel via the same cable that carries the audio signal. All current digital and analog recorders supply bias voltage. They include the Sony WM-D6C Pro Walkman (analog cassette), Sharp -702/-722/-831/-877/-MT15/-MT20/-MT60/-SR60 and Sony MZ-R30/-R37/-R50/-R55/-R70/-R90/-R700/-R750/-R900/-R950 mini-disk recorders, Aiwa AM-F70/-F80 minidisk recorders, Sony TCD-D7/D8/D100 and PCM-M1 DAT recorders and many Aiwa recording Walkmen. All of these do not require a battery box. (Contact us if you're not sure how to check if your recorder provides a bias voltage.)
For recorders that do not provide a bias voltage, you can use one of our battery boxes.
The mics require less than 1 milliamp of current and so do not affect the recorder's battery life at all.
Low Sensitivity Option: If you are using one of the Sony MD recorders that lack the low sensitivity setting on its mic pre-amp (MZ-R37, MZ-R70, MZ-R71, MZ-R90, MZ-R91, MZ-R700, MZ-R750) or that have overload problems (MZ-R55), you'll find that if you record loud music, the mic pre-amp will overload and you'll hear huge amounts of distortion. (These are the only recorders that lack this feature. All of the other Sony MD recorders and all Sharp recorders have a low sensitivity setting.)
To eliminate the distortion one must to reduce the level of the signal that the mics send to the recorder. Until now, to do this required that you use self-powered microphones and an external attenuator cable, adding significant expense.
To reduce the cost we've designed a new set of microphones that has a much lower sensitivity. It puts out a much lower signal -- (approximately 15 to 20 dB lower in level) and so are much less likely to overload your recorder's mic pre-amp.
The design adds a little cost but compared to previous solutions, it saves quite a bit more.
(Keep in mind that reducing a microphone's sensitivity makes it less suitable to record quieter sounds. If you primarily record quiet sounds, we recommend that you use the standard LCB/LCSC microphones and not the low sesitivity version.)
*The Sony MZ-R500 does not have a microphone pre-amp and so we don't recommend it for recording live music.
Battery Boxes and Bass Roll-off Filter
In general, if your recorder provides a bias voltage to the microphones (what's usually known as "plug-in power") you do not need a battery box.
If your recorder does not provide a bias voltage, or if you need to feed your recorder's line inputs to avoid overloading your recorder's mic pre-amplifier, you can use one of our battery boxes.
And if you need a bass roll-off filter to reduce "bass boom" again one of our battery boxes will do the job.
We offer three models of battery boxes. The first provides a flat frequency response. The second provides a bass frequency roll-off (6 dB per octave starting at 120 Hz). The third has a very high quality locking toggle switch that selects between the flat frequency response and the bass roll-off filter.
To connect the battery box to your Low Cost microphones, you'll need the adapter cable that is listed on the order form. The cable is a "Y"-shaped cable. It provides a jack into which you plug your microphones, a locking mini-XLR that plugs into the battery box, and an 1/8" stereo plug that plugs into your recorder. Each of the cable's arms are one-foot (approximately 30 cm) long.
*Please note that adding a battery box to our Low Cost Binaural or Low Cost Stealthy Cardioid microphone set do not turn them into equivalents of our popular Core Sound Binaural and Core Sound Stealthy Cardioid microphone sets. The Low Cost microphone sets do not incorporate the microphone capsule modifications that give the higher priced microphones their much lower distortion, much wider dynamic range, more transparent sound quality and lower self noise.
Also note that the battery box is not a microphone pre-amp
Low Cost Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid Microphone Recording & Care Tips
When recording loud sound sources with your CSB microphones we recommend using your recorder's low sensitivity (-20 dB) setting.
Avoid installations that would abrade or cut the cable. Do not clip the microphones to their cable and do not severely bend the cables at the points where they enter the microphone cartridge shells.
The cable can be wiped clean with a damp cloth.
How Do Core Sound’s Low Cost Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid Mics Compare To Mics From Other Manufacturers?
Want to know how mics from other manufacturers compare to our mics? We can tell you -- just ask! Send email to:
How Do They Compare To Our More Expensive Core Sound Binaural Mics?
Compared to the Low Cost Binaurals, the modifications that we do on the more expensive Core Sound Binaurals add over 20 dB of dynamic range, lowers sensitivity, dramatically reduces distortion at higher sound pressure levels and flattens the frequency response. They're worth the money if you can afford them.
Here's what one customer said:
“On April 30 you sent me a pair each of the your [Core Sound Binaural] and [Low Cost Binaural] microphones for me to try out.... I was going to try both sets and see which one worked best for my purposes, returning the other.
I have recorded about 10 hours worth of music with either set of microphones on a Sony MD R-50 [MZ-R50] recorder. Both sets of mikes worked very well. I record classical chamber and ensemble music concerts played by myself or my friends, for our own personal use. I also plan to use recording to help in practicing and rehearsals.
While you seem to advertise the primary advantage of the [Core Sound Binaural] mikes as being in recording very loud sound sources, I hear a clear increase in sound clarity and a clear decrease in the noise level with the [Core Sound Binaurals], even at fairly low sound levels. While the [Low Cost Binaural] version would be quite sufficient for recording rehearsals for learning purposes, the [Core Sound Binaural] version gives recordings of recitals that sound "fairly-near-to-professional, though not quite as good a job as our university A/V engineers do with about $3000 worth of equipment. But quite good enough to already be hunting around as to who would transfer my second-ever MD recording to 30 CD-R copies at a reasonable rate.
So I'm delighted with the [Core Sound Binaural] version and keeping it, and sending the [Low Cost Binaural] version for a ... refund.
Thanks from a satisfied customer.”
Low Cost Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid Microphone Ordering
We are happy to accept orders on-line and via phone, email, mail or FAX.
The Low Cost Binaural and Low Cost Stealthy Cardioid microphone sets are $85.
The Low Sensitivity option is $15.
A battery box with a fixed flat response is $59. A battery box with a fixed bass roll-off filter is $59. A battery box with a switchable bass roll-off filter is $89. The adapter cable required for use with the battery box is $28.
A 15-foot extension cable is $28.
Payment
Payment is via any major credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express), a PayPal account, personal checks, money order (available from the Post Office or bank), traveler's checks, wired funds, cash or certified check, US funds only. Please allow some additional time for personal checks to clear the bank prior to shipment. COD shipments are available in some situations -- contact us for details. You may wire funds directly to our bank account -- please contact us for details.
PayPal handles our credit card processing. You need not have a PayPal account to pay with a credit card.
We also accept purchase orders from pre-qualified US universities, corporations, and state and federal governments.
Checks should be made out to "Core Sound LLC" and sent to:
Core Sound LLC
405 Cedar Lane, #1
Teaneck, NJ 07666
USA
Orders are typically shipped within two or three days but delivery times vary with our order load. We can usually accommodate "rush" orders, including same day shipments -- call and ask!
If you have questions, call and ask for Len Moskowitz. He can be reached at (201) 801-0812. His electronic mail address on the Internet is:
moskowit@core-sound.com
Customs Taxes
If you are ordering from outside the United States or Canada, your government may (or may not) charge you import taxes. Those taxes are your responsibility. If you are not certain, please ask your local Customs authority for more information.
VAT and Sales Taxes:
Core Sound LLC collects only State of New Jersey sales tax. We do not collect UK/Europe VAT taxes or any other taxes
Low Cost Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid Microphone Trial Offer
To give you a chance to try them out and decide if they're for you, Core Sound provides a 30 day trial period. All microphone sets returned within 30 days of shipment qualify for a full refund (minus shipping and handling charges) provided that they are returned in as-new condition.
Low Cost Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid Microphone Sampler Tape
If you'll send us a blank DAT or Minidisc (at least 35 minutes long) and your address we'll be glad to send you a copy of our sampler tape. It has three tracks that were recorded with our Binaural microphones, one with our Stealthy Cardioids and one with our High End Binaurals. Our address:
Core Sound 405 Cedar Lane, #1 Teaneck, NJ 07666 USA
Low Cost Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid Microphone Limited Warranty
The microphones are sold with a one year limited parts and labor warranty. If a microphone set requires repair during that period, ship them back to Core Sound postage paid with a description of the problem, and then please call us once we have them to discuss the problem. We will repair or replace them and ship them back to you at no charge. No consequential damages are covered by this warranty.
Low Cost Binaural and Stealthy Cardioid Microphone User Comments
S.G. in the UK wrote:
“These things sound amazing! Three shows using the Zoom H1 last week and I have 3 more coming this week. The first show I had the level up just a hair too much, but now that I have it dialed in the results are wonderful. No longer will these incredible performances live on only in my memories!”
I.C. wrote:
“This is my second set in 8 years. These are just fantastic.”
T.J. wrote:
“I'm buying the Low Cost Binaurals for the second time because my first pair, along with my Sharp MS-722 recorder was stolen! I have recommended these mics to several other artists, and they have been quite happy with them. ...the Low Cost Binaurals work great for jazz combo rehearsals.”
C.C. wrote:
“Thanks again for your time and some great microphones. I have made a short demo with ringing telephones, drawers of silverware opening and closing, waves crashing on the beach, background conversation and other everyday sounds. Invariably, the uninitiated listener (wearing earbuds) turns to locate the sounds, with momentary confusion on his or her face. And then comes the smile. That is the realism that your binaural mics bring to the audio world. I am very much looking forward to the CSBs. The LCBs I've got are phenomenal. The CSB's increase in dynamic range will make for even better recordings.”
R.P wrote:
“Thanks to you all for your help in choosing the mics for my minidisc recorder (Sharp MD-M15). I bought the LCB with the low sensitivity option from Core Sound. Today I plugged them in and recorded myself playing pandeiro on my leather head pandiero which is the lowest volume thing I have. The mics did great! As you move around, the mics pick up the movement so it's like being in the room with the player. Very cool.
We go to Brazil on Thursday for the real test in the field with the samba schools. I'll report back in late Feb.”
T.H., a MiniDisc user, wrote:
“I recently brought a set of Low Cost Binaural mic with the low sensitivity option for my Sony MZ-R700 minidisc recorder. I just want ed to tell you that it worked great! I was about to give up on my minidisc recorder being able to record my band's live shows becaus e of distortion. Another one of your clients, who has a minidisc recorder, recommended your mics. I was hesitant to try your product because I had brought another company's mic that didn't work well with my recorder. My band played last night and I recorded the show. I was just amazed by how well your mic worked. With a little EQ'ing, we could create a live CD for our fans.”
L.O., a MiniDisc user, wrote:
“As I trade all over the world, more and more people are impressed with my recordings and ask me what equipment I use.”
M.G., in Wisconsin, sent us a greeting card and wrote:
“I just wanted to thank you for all your advice in selecting my new mics. The mics are amazing! I purchased a set of low cost binaural mics [with the low sensitivity option] and a set of the low cost cardioids with the low sensitivity option. I've used them for several shows with great success. There was no distortion or pre-amp overload. These mics have proven to be a great investment. Thanks for the great products.”
A.D., a student in Indiana, wrote: