Sunday at NAMM - Live blog

gafftaper

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Sennhieser has a great new head mounted mic called the HSP Essential Omni. It won the TEC Award for best new microphone. It's based on the MKE2 element so you already know what it sounds like I tried it on and found it super light weight and comfortable. It was a little difficult to get the feel for how to adjust the neck size, but I think it's just a matter of practicing. Best of all its 250! Yes, $250 while the competition's mics are all around $400.
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Went by the QSC booth and saw the KS212C Cardioid Subwoofer. It's really amazing 15db different from front to back. After being told my whole life that bass is omnidirectional, it's hard to believe, but it really is real. They put two 12" subs in a complicated internally shaped box. Then they use a DSP to adjust timing of the waves in order to cancel the waves at the rear of the box. It's crazy! But it works!
 
My personal mission for the show was to shop for new mic stands. I tried out every stand in the show and decided on Konig and Meyer. They seem to have the best construction and most clever design ideas

I'm going to get some straight stands with these stackable bases.
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On top I'm getting the model with the hand clutch.
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For booms I'm getting tripod bases and this arm.
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It's the only stand I saw on the floor with all metal parts, gripping the boom shaft. The sales rep said that most people don't need the durability of this stand, but I'm going to invest in its extra strength.
 
We found this cool company called MyCaseBuilder.com They will custom cut the foam for a case at a pretty reasonable price. You can use their online app to custom make just about anything fit. Check it out! Promo code: "T-NAMM2019" will get you 15% off before March 1st.

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And there was this outside...
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And this was in the piano area.
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A special thanks and best wishes to all my CB friends. See you all at USITT!
 
Went by the QSC booth and saw the KS212C Cardioid Subwoofer. It's really amazing 15db different from front to back. After being told my whole life that bass is omnidirectional, it's hard to believe, but it really is real. They put two 12" subs in a complicated internally shaped box. Then they use a DSP to adjust timing of the waves in order to cancel the waves at the rear of the box. It's crazy! But it works!
Nexo did that with the CD12 and CD18 subwoofers about 12 years ago, although back in the the stone age that meant NX processor boxes and separate Camco Vortex amplifiers.

How fast things can change (and not change) in a dozen years....
 
RE: K&M stands-

I think @gafftaper is spot on with these choices. The mic stand discussion popped up often enough in the LAB forums at prosoundweb.com that it got sticky treatment in the Lounge forum. It comes down to the 2 Axioms of Audio - "buy once, cry once" and "the wrong product at the right price is still the wrong product." K&M stands justify their price with longevity and quality.

I still use K&M stands and booms that I purchased new in 1980. From that era I only have 1 Atlas stand remaining from original purchase and none of the cheap stuff I bought later. The price of stuff I threw away was 100% expense; but the continued use cost of my K&M stands gets lower every year; when I bought those stands almost 40 years ago they cost $40, so I've spent a buck a year to own them. The $20 stands I threw out in 4 years cost me $5/year to own. I can't think of any other mic or accessory stands that will survive the way Konig & Meyer do. Replacement parts exist (although sometimes on a slow boat from Germany) and USA distribution returned to stability a few years ago - it doesn't make sense to purchase lesser stands.
 
RE: K&M stands-

I think @gafftaper is spot on with these choices. The mic stand discussion popped up often enough in the LAB forums at prosoundweb.com that it got sticky treatment in the Lounge forum. It comes down to the 2 Axioms of Audio - "buy once, cry once" and "the wrong product at the right price is still the wrong product." K&M stands justify their price with longevity and quality.

I still use K&M stands and booms that I purchased new in 1980. From that era I only have 1 Atlas stand remaining from original purchase and none of the cheap stuff I bought later. The price of stuff I threw away was 100% expense; but the continued use cost of my K&M stands gets lower every year; when I bought those stands almost 40 years ago they cost $40, so I've spent a buck a year to own them. The $20 stands I threw out in 4 years cost me $5/year to own. I can't think of any other mic or accessory stands that will survive the way Konig & Meyer do. Replacement parts exist (although sometimes on a slow boat from Germany) and USA distribution returned to stability a few years ago - it doesn't make sense to purchase lesser stands.

Good thoughts Tim. I knew going into it, that I would probably chose K&M, but I decided to take full advantage of NAMM and try them all out for myself. Basically all the other stands are the same, with similar strengths and flaws. The higher range product line from K&M, with the round all metal construction on the booms really stood out
 

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