should i calibrate the ecm8000 or use the calibration file

[jeremy7]

I recently bought an ecm8000 and im willing to spend a little more money to get it professionally calibrated if any of you think its worth the extra money as opposed to the calibration file available. Ive also heard that the preamp should be calibrated? i have a tube ultragain mic100
any advice would be appreciated. thank you.

[lcaillo]

How much is it worth to you to not know how far the file is from the actual correction needed for your mic? How much is it worth to be sure that you are not wasting your time?

The more people who get their mics calibrated, the better we can determine the variance in them.

My opininion is that you should remove as many variables as possible and get it calibrated.

[brucek]

The real difference will come when you get a new preamp.

If you look at the specs it reads:

It features a carefully selected 12AX7 vacuum tube with UTC technology for exceptional warmth and lowest noise. Thus, the MIC100 can be used to eliminate the "dull" sound of standard digital recorders and sound cards. Also, it perfectly complements studio-grade condenser microphones. Dedicated Low Cut filter eliminates unwanted noise, e.g. floor rumble. .

hehehe, all this verbiage really means is that it has anything but a flat response that you would require for a piece of test equipment to measure a room using REW. The HPF look undefeatable, so your bottom end would be cut off; which may render it uncompensatable if attempting to include the preamp in the soundcard cal file.

You'd be better off with a solid state preamp that enjoys a flat response...

As far as the ECM8000 is concerned, we've checked a few (three I believe) and they've been identical....... I guess a larger sample would be better....

brucek

[jeremy7]

thanks for the advice. i bought the preamp for $16 off ebay so im not to heart broken. this forum is great
thanks again