Line Audio alternative

[Emmathom]

I discovered a manufacturer based in NY that I didn't know: https://sonorousobjects.nyc/
They offer an alternative to Line Audio with very small microphones housed in XLR cardio & omni plugs.
These use Primo capsules just like the Line Audio.

Does someone know this brand and have already tried it?
BR

 

[Emmathom]

ETSY (?) https://www.etsy.com/fr/listing/1621716389/whisper-omni-microphone-haute?ref=cart
also sells Whisper mics > still in a Line Audio style...

 

[kingkorg]

I discovered a manufacturer based in NY that I didn't know: https://sonorousobjects.nyc/
They offer an alternative to Line Audio with very small microphones housed in XLR cardio & omni plugs.
These use Primo capsules just like the Line Audio.

Does someone know this brand and have already tried it?
BR

Line Audio capsules are substantially modified, and circuit is one of a kind that compensates for capsule deviations.

 

[Emmathom]

Line Audio capsules are substantially modified, and circuit is one of a kind that compensates for capsule deviations.

Thx for this precision @kingkorg but we don't know if Sonorousobjects mics or Whispers mics don't do the same... ?
That's why I asked if someone had already tested one of these mics...

 

[Tubetec]

Some of those other mics look like a standard electret element put into a tube ,
The line audio is something a bit more special ,
Frequency and polar response plots are exemplary .
Do the others even publish a freqency response ?

 

[Emmathom]

Some of those other mics look like a standard electret element put into a tube

Oh...

The line audio is something a bit more special ,
Frequency and polar response plots are exemplary .
Do the others even publish a freqency response ?

Nope...

 

[Tubetec]

Top is the Sonorus cardioid frequency response ,
CM4 below . Of course the scale of the plots is different but the flatness of the CM4 would be hard to beat even with a dedicated measurement microphone .
Likewise the polar response is very uniform across a wide range , below is an Sm58 polar pattern for comparrison .

 

[nsalis]

"Sonorous Objects is a small independent design studio that focuses on elevating one’s engagement with sound. We prioritize this relationship through design and research. All products by Sonorous Objects are made in-house and by hand here in NYC."

Let me guess:

1. "Small independent design studio" means a single person without any training believes they can make a business by selling a microphone product to the gullible.

2. "We prioritize this relationship through design and research" - It is incomprehensible what the author of the text wants to tell us.

3. "All products by Sonorous Objects are made in-house and by hand here in NYC": We buy the cheapest Electret Microphone Capsule scrap in the Far East and insert it here in NYC into a tube part that was also bought cheaply from the Far East. Then we sell the goods at an overpriced price to local believers.

If the manufacturer wants to educate me and proves that it runs a reputable business with the necessary infrastructure and documentation, I would be happy to be enlightened.

In the meantime: Stay away from such crap and stick to the established manufacturers who put a lot of effort into development, construction, data sheet creation, service and education.

Nick Salis

 

[Emmathom]

Do you know about the Fs response of the Line Audio Omni 1 ?

 

[nsalis]

Do you know about the Fs response of the Line Audio Omni 1 ?

What is "Fs response"?

 

[Emmathom]

Sorry, Fs is the way we write "frequency response" in french... (well I guess so)

 

[Icantthinkofaname]

Sonorous Objects is a small independent design studio that focuses on elevating one’s engagement with sound. We prioritize this relationship through design and research. All products by Sonorous Objects are made in-house and by hand here in NYC.

This reads like sales copy that was written by someone who has no idea what their potential clients in the recording industry want to hear. I wouldn't be surprised if it's AI generated honestly 'cause that whole thing is just awkwardly phrased (especially for a US-based company).

Anyway, I agree with all you've said. There's no reason to spend $100+ on those when a Line Audio CM4 is like $130 USD and has a much better body (including a grille so our capsules aren't exposed), modified capsules, and serviceable sensitivity and self noise. Unless these other guys decide to make hyper cardioid and figure 8 capsules, there's no reason to even consider them. We already have fantastic omni and cardioids from Line. OP's linked mics remind me of 12 Gauge, that one "company" (one guy) who just sticks electret capsules into discharged ammunition (shotgun shells, rifle rounds, etc) who provides no specs on his mics but also won't share what components he uses, so I'm pretty sure it's the cheapest usable stuff he can get wired like a simple lav.

The SO mics are literally using neutrik connector sleeves with 3D printed heads for capsules (his pictures even say the head is PLA plastic and the rest of the body is an XLR connector). If that doesn't scream "I have no idea what I'm doing" I don't know what does. Yet he's charging approximately what Line Audio does for the cardioid. I'd pay maybe $40 for the Sonorous Objects mics, given the construction.

The CM4 is flatter, has the same sensitivity (I'm going with the advertised specs), better self noise, a body that isn't super cheap plastic, doesn't have an exposed capsule, and people have actually used it so we know it's good. The inside of the SO 103 cardioid has mesh so the guy knows how to get it to stuck to the plastic he's using so there's no reason not to have grille in the front.

 

[Emmathom]

No one mentions the Omni from Line Audio...
CM4 cardio is very useful, essential, indeed, but an Omni mic is sometimes the best choice (to capture the room effect...)

Line Audio also manufactures an omni "pencil mic" : does someone own one ? what are its quality ? frenquency response ? self noise ?
BR

 

[Icantthinkofaname]

No one mentions the Omni from Line Audio...
CM4 cardio is very useful, essential, indeed, but an Omni mic is sometimes the best choice (to capture the room effect...)

Line Audio also manufactures an omni "pencil mic" : does someone own one ? what are its quality ? frenquency response ? self noise ?
BR

https://www.lineaudio.se/Omni1.html specs are pretty much the same as the CM4, except for polar pattern. I haven't used it as I don't really have any reason too, but if you want a flat omni it should be a great choice. I have my C414 and M179s for omni.

 

[McIrish]

I have both the CM4 and the Omni. I find them both to be very useful. I often use the omni in some foam under the bridge of an upright bass. It's not the only mic but it does give me something that a ribbon or LDC doesn't. I've also been meaning to try it as a "wurst" mic on a drum kit. That's a single onmi mic placed near the right knee/crotch of a drummer. Compress the hell out of it and it can give you something interesting to add in.

 

[k brown]

"Sonorous Objects is a small independent design studio that focuses on elevating one’s engagement with sound. We prioritize this relationship through design and research. All products by Sonorous Objects are made in-house and by hand here in NYC."

Let me guess:

1. "Small independent design studio" means a single person without any training believes they can make a business by selling a microphone product to the gullible.

2. "We prioritize this relationship through design and research" - It is incomprehensible what the author of the text wants to tell us.

3. "All products by Sonorous Objects are made in-house and by hand here in NYC": We buy the cheapest Electret Microphone Capsule scrap in the Far East and insert it here in NYC into a tube part that was also bought cheaply from the Far East. Then we sell the goods at an overpriced price to local believers.

If the manufacturer wants to educate me and proves that it runs a reputable business with the necessary infrastructure and documentation, I would be happy to be enlightened.

In the meantime: Stay away from such crap and stick to the established manufacturers who put a lot of effort into development, construction, data sheet creation, service and education.

Nick Salis

I wouldn't automatically assume they are crap; some of the Primo capsules (I don't know which ones SO is using) sound quite nice without modification, and using very simple powering/biasing circuitry.

The Line Audio units are, however, impossible to beat for the money. The CM4 is not, though, a cardioid - it's a subcardioid (pattern is actually closest to the Schoeps 'Open Cardioid").