Are the Lewitt Mics on AliExpress real or counterfeits?

[micolas]

Yes, I figured as much. There's plenty of room inside the AKG mic body for the clip assembly. It does make me wonder if I can rig up some type of shielded external container for the clip. I bet I can. Either way, it will be fun to try.

Some microphones have adjustable Low-Pass, for example some 3U Warbler models, or some of my custom-modded microphones for different clients

http://www.3uaudio.com/cp.asp?id=684

 

[micolas]

Are you talking about Rycote external shock mounts? They are very nice, but I hope to engineer an internal solution for handheld microphones.

And internal too.
The Rode NT1 Black kit has an internal Rycote.

 

[micolas]

Lewitt Mics are produced by Takstar in China. There are many counterfeit Lewitt products in China. Takstar said that Lewitt established the brand in cooperation with AKG. Takstar is not actually a branch in Taiwan. It has only been OEM for many Taiwanese brands, including some Japanese brands. The founder of Takstar is from Shanghai Feilo, China, and it is a brand from mainland China.

IIRC you've made these points in other posts.
Thanks!

 

[soliloqueen]

Lewitt Mics are produced by Takstar in China. There are many counterfeit Lewitt products in China. Takstar said that Lewitt established the brand in cooperation with AKG. Takstar is not actually a branch in Taiwan. It has only been OEM for many Taiwanese brands, including some Japanese brands. The founder of Takstar is from Shanghai Feilo, China, and it is a brand from mainland China.

from what i found, superlux founded takstar as a satellite factory but there was drama in the 90s about taiwanese businesses in the PRC, so they reorganized as a chinese company and now omit that part of their company history for political reasons. you can see this in historical trademark and patent filings if you look deep enough. they registered the takstar name along with the current logo some time in the 90s. at some point i had the original documents saved somewhere, i'll try to find them. i do a lot of market research into the history of chinese microphone companies for obvious reasons.

edit:

you can see here goang fann's (now lapsed for almost 20 years) trademark filing for takstar.
this history is also listed on the taiwanese superlux website:


but is absent from the prc takstar website. some kind of falling out or tension.

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

Some microphones have adjustable Low-Pass, for example some 3U Warbler models, or some of my custom-modded microphones for different clients

http://www.3uaudio.com/cp.asp?id=684

Yes you are correct that what I am proposing is a filter, just with more range than you typically find in microphones with one or two switchable settings. Fun stuff.

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

And internal too.
The Rode NT1 Black kit has an internal Rycote.

Nice. Thank you.

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

from what i found, superlux founded takstar as a satellite factory but there was drama in the 90s about taiwanese businesses in the PRC, so they reorganized as a chinese company and now omit that part of their company history for political reasons. you can see this in historical trademark and patent filings if you look deep enough. they registered the takstar name along with the current logo some time in the 90s. at some point i had the original documents saved somewhere, i'll try to find them. i do a lot of market research into the history of chinese microphone companies for obvious reasons.

edit:
View attachment 147535
you can see here goang fann's (now lapsed for almost 20 years) trademark filing for takstar.
this history is also listed on the taiwanese superlux website:
View attachment 147536

but is absent from the prc takstar website. some kind of falling out or tension.

You are a wealth of fascinating historical knowledge, and I bet you've got some great stories you could tell. I think the Arienne Audio story alone would be interesting to hear you talk about. I can only imagine how many entertaining stories and anecdotes you have based on your own experience in the industry.

 

[Екатерина]

from what i found, superlux founded takstar as a satellite factory but there was drama in the 90s about taiwanese businesses in the PRC, so they reorganized as a chinese company and now omit that part of their company history for political reasons. you can see this in historical trademark and patent filings if you look deep enough. they registered the takstar name along with the current logo some time in the 90s. at some point i had the original documents saved somewhere, i'll try to find them. i do a lot of market research into the history of chinese microphone companies for obvious reasons.

edit:
View attachment 147535
you can see here goang fann's (now lapsed for almost 20 years) trademark filing for takstar.
this history is also listed on the taiwanese superlux website:
View attachment 147536

but is absent from the prc takstar website. some kind of falling out or tension.

They are now a Guangdong company, from the boss to the employees, and they have many branch offices, including Lewitt Huizhou. They all have a boss named Ken Yang, who is currently fully operated by Yang. In addition, many parts of RODE come from Shuaiyin, and almost all McWinds have traces of China

 

[Екатерина]

Hey guys, do you really think Lewitt is great? I think the vast majority of them are very average, and may even be less usable than their imitations

 

[soliloqueen]

They are now a Guangdong company, from the boss to the employees, and they have many branch offices, including Lewitt Huizhou. They all have a boss named Ken Yang, who is currently fully operated by Yang. In addition, many parts of RODE come from Shuaiyin, and almost all McWinds have traces of China

yep, i know what they're organized like now, i was talking 20-30 years ago

 

[FetMe?FetU!]

Hey guys, do you really think Lewitt is great? I think the vast majority of them are very average, and may even be less usable than their imitations

I think they make some quality microphones. The LCT440, 540 and I believe 1040 offer some of the lowest self noise in their class and above. They sound good on my voice and offer a lot for what they charge. They are not alone in this regard to be sure but compare them even to brands like Shure, AKG AND sennheiser and they, depending on the model, offer far better value in both features and sound at least to my ear.