Comments on: Microphone Review: Marshall MXL Studio 1 USB, USB.008, and USB.009

By: Kayar Silkenvoice

Kayar Silkenvoice — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:58:07 +0000

The price-point for the MXL .009 has dropped to ~275.00 on Amazon. It is worth every penny. Yes, it is 4x the cost of the Blue Snowball and 2.5x the cost of the Samson G Track and the AT2020, but for me, it is worth it. I not only do podcasting, but I do professional voice-over work, and I need something that will give me the convenience of direct USB recording with near-aspossible-studio quality. The .009 nails it.

By: Hayden R

Hayden R — Tue, 25 May 2010 01:54:06 +0000

Quick Comment update. I meant to say 96 kHz not 98 on the USB.009.

By: Hayden R

Hayden R — Tue, 25 May 2010 01:51:18 +0000

Hey, I personally have received a USB.008 for reviewing. And when i read your article, i really like the feeling you put out into it. But i just wanted to say it was funny. I personally could not audibly hear any differences in the USB.008 and USB.009. While i have the 008, and so can’t really talk junk about it; i can honestly say I haven’t heard many praises about the 009 because i am constantly hearing about defects, and problems with the microphone, which leave me to believe that it might be a bit to ahead of its time, and needs a 3.0 USB plug, or fire-wire to properly process a audible difference from 44.1-44.8 kHz, to the 98 kHz. But that’s just an opinion. Anyways that was my opinionated results from your recordings, and i liked the review.

Hayden Roll
|The Software Maniac|

By: Macnimation

Macnimation — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:28:17 +0000

Hi again,

A quick question if possible about the Evernote Tour. I am impressed by the graphics used for the iPhone simulation and was wondering what did you need to do to simulate the iPhone? The image looks like the SDK image but how did you achieve that in Articulate?

cheers

By: Macnimation

Macnimation — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:46:22 +0000

Thanks for the answer. I thought that a particular stand was required due to the shape of the Mic. I’ll google around and check some out.

thanks again

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:04:13 +0000

Hi Macnimation,

Any standard desktop mic stand should do just fine (the type with the heavy round base, not the tripod style). Google “desktop mic stand” and you’ll find plenty of options, and they’re inexpensive. B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/) is a great source, though they’re closed this week for a Jewish holiday.

By: Macnimation

Macnimation — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:48:25 +0000

Hi,

Great article…very useful, thank you.

You mentioned changing the stand of the .008. Do you have any suggestions of what to buy? I’ve just purchased the .008 and would like a better sturdier stand to add the Pop Filter.

By: Paul Mac

Paul Mac — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:33:24 +0000

Chris,

Thank you very much for the feedback. I ended up doing just that (bumping the audio quality) to get to an acceptable level.

My next move is to try and get a budget for the MXL USB.008. I know the company will not go for the $400 (or $310 on Amazon).

Thanks again,

Paul

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:03:23 +0000

Hi Paul,

My first suggestion would be to not record your audio directly in Engage (or any of the other Articulate apps). You will get better results if you use an external app dedicated to audio recording/editing/enhancing. I use GarageBand on the Mac. Audacity (free) is a good choice in Windows, and SoundBooth (by Adobe) would be even better. These tools give you a wide range of tools for “sweetening” your sound after the initial recording.

A lot of the “tinniness” you’re hearing is probably resulting from the compression process. You may want to experiment with the compression settings in the publishing options in Articulate. Bump the audio quality setting up until you have an acceptable compromise between sound quality and file size.

By: Paul Mac

Paul Mac — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:53:57 +0000

Chris,

Loved your presentation … you deserve the award.

Here is my question. How did you get such good audio of the the Engage Interaction? We have been recording, with some top of the line microphones, and the playback results always come out sounding “tinny”. If you listen to the audio in the Engage audio editor is sounds fine. If you export it and play it in Windows Media Player it sounds fine. Our problem is when it is played from within the Engage Interaction. Any suggestions.

Thanks,

Paul MacKinnon