Which mic setup is "best"?

[TJHUB]

I spent some time searching (although maybe not very well) for what may be a good mic to use for REW. I've been using the software for some time very successfully with my old style Radio Shack meter. What I want is to start using REW for more than just my sub. I'd like to start using it to help treat my room and understand how the rest of my frequency response is doing. I'd like to see what changes I make look like compared to just what they sound like. So I'm looking for a good mic setup and I of course know about the ECM8000. Is this what I should get, or are there other alternatives that may be better? I'm not looking to spend a bunch of money, but if there is a good reason I should consider something else, please let me know.

Thank you.

[tonyvdb]

The ECM8000 is a very good choice but you will still require a mixer of some sort like this one as the ECM8000 has an XLR connector and you can not connect that directly to a PC.

Another less expensive option is to get a better SPL meter. The Galaxy CM140 can be found here and is much more accurate than the Radio shack meter. A calibration file is also available for it.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

I'm not looking to spend a bunch of money, but if there is a good reason I should consider something else, please let me know.

If money is tight (being close to Christmas and all), you can eBay the mixer and mic for 40-50% less than what they cost new. These items are typically used by recording hobbyists and are not abused, like more "serious" pro gear often is, so they're a pretty safe bet bought used.

Regards,
Wayne

[tonyvdb]

Surprisingly enough the price for the ECM8000 on ebay is more than what Musicians friend has them for.
And same goes for the ebay listings for the Mixer

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Yeah, I should have mentioned that there is no shortage of vendors selling new items. Look for individuals selling actual used items...

Regards,
Wayne

[TJHUB]

Thank you gents! I appreciate the info very much.

Looks like I'll be ordering the ECM8000 and the mixer tomorrow. I'm looking forward to my new adventures with REW.

[oddness]

A good, cheap mic can be built using a Panasonic WM-61A electret mic capsule available from Digi-Key electronics for under $2. If you are using a Creative SB Live, Audigy, Audigy2, etc, you already have a mono mic input that provides 5volt dc power for the mic. The mic can be built into a stick type ball point pen housing (papermate,e.g.) See the attached diagram for wiring. You will need only a 2.2K ohm resistor and a 10uF capacitor.

[tonyvdb]

That wont work with REW unless you have made a calibration file for it.

[lcaillo]

The best mic is the one that is calibrated or that is at least compared to a reference mic.

[bjs]

These capsules are extremely linear and hardly need a calibration file for HT use if mounted properly (I use a straw of exact diameter).

Having tested several mics, I'd take the capsules over commercial mics using someone elses calibration file. The only way to do better is to get an individually calibrated mic...needed for serious speaker design...but not so much for HT.

[brucek]

Yeah, not much wrong with those capsules. The problem is using a Mic input to a soundcard. The Mic inputs usually enjoy a very limited bandwidth that is designed to comply with a narrow voice frequency range that a cheap computer microphone would supply. You would have difficulty running a soundcard cal routine to compensate for it, as it's designed to use line-out to line-in loopback. I don't see an easy way around this problem..

brucek