Measurement mic for testing my rooms response?

[professorlamp]

I can see 2 on the market, The Behringer EMC8000 coming in at £50 and the Peavey PVR2 at £40

are either of these going to give me stable enough results so I can finally start treating my room?

I figured instead of buying a shite load of wood and rockwool I might aswell first do a bit of planning so I don't bugger it up royally

any help?

 

[006]

Get the Dayton measurement mic - same price as the Behringer but it comes with calibration files.

 

[beyond dead]

Ive watched some vids on youtube on the earthworks measurement mic. they seem to think it is way more accurate than anything else out there. I`m not sure whether it would be worth the extra cash.

 

[professorlamp]

I think earthworks may be sliiiightly out of my reach

and damn, the daytons dont sell in the UK

 

[vespiz]

Don't quote me on this, but I remember a salesrep say that ECM8000's are rejects from Earthworks, that didn't pass their strict measurements.

That said, I think it's sufficient for what you need.

 

[professorlamp]

Yer Ive had a quick look around and they seem to be not that bad from what i've heard from various forums and review places, apart from impulse software would there be anything else I need? apart from the treatment obviously

 

[ChrisTanakaCanwell]

The Behringers function like most of the other ones but the SPL handling isn't as high

 

[Omega_Void]

Don't quote me on this, but I remember a salesrep say that ECM8000's are rejects from Earthworks, that didn't pass their strict measurements.

I sincerely doubt this. Truly accurate electronics are made by testing and matching the individual components before assembly, so QC rejects are minimal. Earthworks probably don't make enough rejects to service Behringers market.

B*hringer have their own factory anyway, and would Earthworks seriously subcontract manufacturing to them?

@ professorlaqmp: if your room has good acoustics to start with and you're planning to really go to town on the treatment, the end result will still be far from flat.

If you have good monitors, then IMO you may be just as well off doing it by ear with sine waves and pink noise. Unless you're planning tuned solutions like Helmholtz resonators, a measurement mic doesn't strike me as particularly useful.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

You can't really over treat a room without running out of space first, so I'd get building bass traps.

If you get a pair of those Behringer mics they're useful for overheads and acoustic guitars.

According to this: http://realtraps.com/art_microphones.htm all the measurements are pretty much the same in the low end where it matters.

See also: http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/Behringer/ECM8000 <== if you're ever looking for info on mics that's where to go

 

[AudioGeekZine]

The Behringers function like most of the other ones but the SPL handling isn't as high

As long as it's clean up to just above your mixing level then it's cool. About 90dB should be all it needs to handle.