Sennheiser announced a new line of entry level gooseneck microphones that bring their great quality to a level that is affordable for most applications (MSRP: $250). The MEG 14-40 (pictured above) is a 16 inch gooseneck microphone that features an integrated Sennheiser KE 10 cardioid microphone capsule with a flexible element that helps with the alignment of the microphone. It is also RF shielded to prevent interference from mobile or other wireless devices.
The USBPre® 2 from Sound Devices is a professional microphone pre-amplifier for use when you are using a professional analog microphone and want to capture pristine audio. The $650 device is powered from the USB bus and has a hardware loop through to send computer audio back to an input. With sample rates up to 192 kHz and 24-bit converters, this brings professional mic pre’s into the computer age.
The recently released Zoom H1 has the same microphone elements arranged in an x-y pattern as the popular H4 with less options. All controls are through switches – no menus. There is still a stereo out and a mount so it can be mounted on top of a camcorder and used as a stereo microphone similar to the H4. It comes with a 2GB microSD card which can be replaced with a 32GB microSDHC card allowing over 50 hours of record time. It was on sale at the show for $89.
The Zoom R8 and its larger brother the R24 are multichannel digital recorders, USB interfaces for computer recording, guitar processors, samplers and drum machines! While the faders won’t work in Garageband, they do work to control applications like Logic and Cubase. The R8 at $299 list can record up to 2 inputs at a time with a total of 8 tracks and the R24 can record up to 8 tracks at a time with up to 24 tracks of recording at $499 list. They are both battery powered and 2 R24s can be linked together via USB to record up to 16 tracks at the same time.
The SONY Digital Wireless Microphone system allows the audio engineer incredible control over the remote transmitters such as the DWT-B01 shown above. The receiver or computer interface provides information such as audio input level, battery remaining, low cut filter frequency and attenuator level. The body pack can even be remotely powered on and off by the audio engineer. At just under $2500, this unit would be more suited for venue based sound reinforcement rather than a typical classroom.
