Not gonna lie, I'm new to sound so I don't know shit. But I think the Deity will be a good place for me to start and go up. Not a "forever" mic, but it's certainly a "great for now" mic. Thank you for this video and teaching me something new! I learned, so I liked... and subbed! Thanks friend!
Again, thank you for this kind of useful and well done video. If you can once make a comparison using the different famous Lavs (Cos11, B6, DPA4060,...) in different spaces and situations, it will be great.
Great review Michael! Though I do prefer the sound of the COS-11, I really like the price point of the W.Lav Pro. As soon as we're done with this whole quarantine I'm going to purchase this mic.
Like ANY microphone, it depends on the voice you are recording. If there was such a thing as a "best" microphone, there wouldn't be any such thing as a mic closet in a studio. It sounds to me as if the Sanken would be best on thinner voices (female?) whereas a rich baritone male might sound more muffled on the Sanken and more clear on the Deity. As long as the noise floor is acceptable, every decent mic can have a use. At least that's my take with crappy RU-vid audio, listening on Avantone Mixphones.
Good point about mic closets in a studio, each one brings it's strengths and unique character. Often the "best" microphone can also be the one you have for the job!
I’ve been interested in hearing different microphones and the differences, especially between a lovelier microphone and a boom microphone and how the differences sound. Do you know of any scenes in big Hollywood films where only lavaliers were used?
Thanks so much for the test Q, how do you clean and keep the flexibility of the cables. I use Countryman B6, it is really good ,Buttttt the cable get really dry and crackel.
My experience with this is cracking is both age related and also cleaning related using solvents like during the height of the Covid cleaning era. Some have tried olive oil to revive, but not over cleaning is important.
I find the Sanken much more pleasing to listen to with your voice, at least while mounted exposed as you have done in this video. It would be interesting to see how the two compared if the capsules were hidden. Then the high frequency response of the Deity might provide a better outcome as you wouldn’t have to push the highs in eq as much to find a balanced sound.
Good to the point info!..Thanks! I am comparing the Cos 11d and the Sennheiser MKE2..no issue with the maximum sound on the Senn. I am looking for lavs that can hold up to everyday use...and off course overall quality of sound for most voices. Any thoughts? Thanks?
I think the Sanken, COS11D, or Sennheiser MKE2, or Deity Lav Mic Pro are all decent choices. I will say the COS11D's are used on a lot of film and TV and have a strong track record for sounding good and being reliable. It's what I use mostly but I'm kinda biased because of that. Also check out DPA!
The Deity didn't necessarily sound bad...but it is definitely more 'tinny' than the Cos-11d. That is to say the Cos-11d has a fuller sound and a better sounding low end. I'd want to test drive it a bit more, but as a knee-jerk reaction, I feel like it has a place as a 'danger' mic to be used where an expensive mic might get destroyed.
Hello Michael I’m about to order W.lav Pro as my first sound bag, do you think it’s a great lavalier to start with ? I only have a small budget to start with
Thanks for the detailed review. I finally got my w lav pro and really happy with the clarity. The design is unique, looks professional and beautiful. The microdot connector is also one positive value for this mic. It can be fitted to various recorder.
Might be interesting to hear this under clothing and with a few different voices e.g. female, sibilant etc. to my ears, may be best under clothing. Could you possibly drop links to your iso wav files?
It appears the Comica unit can accept an external lav mic input so I believe it should work, but check with Deity & Comica Audio tech support to assure compatibility
Thanks for the video, Michael. I was going to purchase a Cos-11d when I saw Deity was coming out with the w.lav pro. Which version of the Cos-11d do you have? Normal sensitivity? Lower sensitivity? How long have you had your Cos-11d? Anything you don't like about it?
The Sanken COS11 comes in two versions, the standard sensitivity and what they call red band. I've got both, i've used them for as long as I can remember. I'm pretty happy with it, I use the B6 when I need a lower profile.
I'm just listening through laptop speakers, but it definitely sounded like a boost in the 7k-10k range. It got a lot more airy. Might help in situations under wardrobe?
I definitely preferred the sound of the Cos-11 but having one of these in a kit I think would be beneficial for when you have to do wet scenes and such. I’d be curious to try one out myself.
@@MichaelWynneCAS Deity themselves sell a microdot to DFA35 and then a second adapter that goes from minijack to XLR. Seems a cumbersome way to do this!
That's acceptably good for the price tag. I've a couple of ecm77s that are getting to retirement stage. Not a huge fan of microdot - impossible to fix, something else to break but useful if you've more than one system - that said a microdot to lemo6.... ouch.
Thank you for this review. I actually have two of these already. My opinion so far for my market, I think it is a perfect lav for the value in the sense of if it wares out or breaks, you can buy more without such a price tag behind it. I have cos11s and 4071s and just felt that it wasn't so much of a different that I was really sacrificing a job if I used them. Though in some cases, especially if on a real insured set and high profile set, pull out the better mics but for your day to day small sets that give ware and tear to your equipment and don't pay you that much for it, this is a perfect solution.
Definitely considering getting some Sanken Cos 11's. I only have Sony UWP d-11 to work with, as I can't afford lectrosonics at the moment. Can I still get good sound from the Sankens with my Sony lavs? Also I'm recording with a Zoom f8. Thanks
Glad you brought this up Stu, I emailed the Deity sales rep and asked about this because the documentation with the paperwork gives the 110db max SPL spec, he said he'd get back to me and I'll update with what the correct specs are since we're getting conflicting info. My bet is on that it's 130db max, but I'll let you know what I hear.
I heard this lav on Rodolfos channel as well and into a Lectro transmitter it had a very high noisefloor. It would be interesting to see if you have the same experience yourself if you have a fitting microdot to lectro adapter. The audio quality seems ok, I would mainly be interested in the smaller one for tricky situations where my 4060's are too big - but high noisefloor along with low Max SPL seems a bit restrictive for its usability. Btw, black Wlav Pro will be released with their new TX, so should be out on the market soon.
Dustbrigade interesting. I’m not sure how the noise floor would be higher using a Lectro TX with proper gain staging simply because the noise floor of a transmitter is so much lower then any electret condenser itself. My guess is it’s possible he did not have the gain staging properly optimized on the Lectro TX input therefore decreasing the signal to noise ratio bringing up the perceived noise floor on the Lav. But that’s just an assumption based upon the difference your hearing.
Michael Wynne this guy seems to have the same issue. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b2YCeOT3nN0.html It appears that it is an issue with Deitys microdot to lectro connector
Hi Michael. Great vid. Thanks. I have one quick question if that's ok. Which would you recommend out of the Deity W.Lav Pro and the Sennheiser MKE2 for a good all-rounder lav mic? Or is it too close to call? The Sennheiser is more expensive but I'd probably be willing to spend the extra money if it was better.
I would say the Deity sounded a little tin can ish to my ears. Meaning the high end sounded a bit harsh to me. Assuming you got the Sennheiser connection to use for coms rather than talent?
Thanks Carlos Miniño. Are you talking about high frequency boosting caps like the Countryman B6 or actually them offering different mic sensitivities for expanded SPL?
Carlos Miniño totally appreciate that fact, but you can boost the high end without it sounding too harsh. It’s the problem that faces most cheap large diaphragm condensers, clothing won’t fix that issue. Also with enough clothing on I feel like you’d lose the low-mids on it because the response seems lacking. All of these issues could be tackled in post, but it makes for more work later and I don’t know what the results would be in post. All things considered it’s priced in the semi-pro range which I think it’s a very fine fit for, I’m a semi-pro/ hobbyist and I’m not sure I would use it. Take my evaluation with a grain of salt though because I’m not an expert.