Review: Samson C03U Recording Pak
August 20, 2009
Today I’m reviewing the Samson C03U Recording Pak. This almost-all-in-one (more on that in a bit) solution looks well-suited for eLearning narrators who want high-quality recording on a modest budget.
The C03U is a USB microphone that gives you excellent recording quality while offering the convenience of a plug-and-play USB connection. The Recording Pak is a Samson bundle that includes the microphone, desktop stand, shock mount and USB cable, neatly packed into a nice molded-foam-lined aluminum case for easy storage or transport.
The microphone itself has a solid heft, and its excellent build quality is evident. Unlike my Blue Snowball mic, there’s no plastic to be seen on this baby. A 3-way pattern switch lets you select between omni, supercardioid, and figure-8 pickup patterns, which give you some flexibility in sound control based on your recording environment and situation. The figure-8 pattern, for example, is designed for recording, say, a group of people sitting around a table (if you ever run into such a need in your eLearning audio work).
The stand is short, heavy, and padded with foam underneath. There will be no inadvertent toppling of the microphone with this setup!
Being the type who jumps into a new product without first reading the instructions, I was befuddled by the microphone mount for a minute before I realized you have to remove the Euro adapter before mounting the mic (or the shockmount) to the stand.
This fact is mentioned in the owner’s manual, to my chagrin. A few quick turns with a nickel and the adapter came free, allowing me to mount the shockmount to the stand (and the mic to the shockmount). I did find it odd for Samson to ship the kit with the Euro adapter installed when the Euro adapter does not fit the stand provided in the kit.
Samson missed a golden opportunity by not including some type of pop filter with this kit. Those of us who are amateurs at voice recording have not mastered the art of plosive control, and a pop filter is absolutely essential. Samson could easily have crafted a custom-fitted pop filter for this kit for very little cost. Instead, one must rely on a third-party pop filter, which, as you can see in this photo, may not be (and likely won’t be) an ideal fit. I’m using an MXL metal pop filter, which comes affixed to a fairly large arm mount and a long flexible gooseneck. Too long to be easily maneuvered into the ideal location on the stubby Samson stand. The pop filter tries mightily to rise up and away from the microphone, as the gooseneck is not entirely pliant while it struggles for space to accommodate its excessive length. Fighting with the thing alternates between comical and frustrating, but ultimately ends up just being frustrating.
Not only is the pop filter difficult to situate, but it also poses the issue of where to store it, as there is no place to put it in the molded case. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a pop filter designed for this very kit, with its own storage slot in the case? Why, yes it would! Alas, this is one those head-smacking moments where a manufacturer stopped just short of providing the ideal solution. Samson, please consider designing a custom clip-on pop filter for future kits like this. You are so close to greatness…
The kit also comes with Cakewalk Sonar LE recording software for Windows, which I will ignore for this review as I use GarageBand on my Mac for my narration recording.
Sound quality is very good – close to my current mic of choice, the MXL USB.009, which I reviewed a few months ago. Perhaps a bit less full and a bit more harsh to my admittedly non-expert ears. I’ll let you decide for yourself, via my admittedly non-expert sample recordings below.
In addition to the difficulty of attaching a pop filter, my other niggle with the Samson kit is the height of the mic stand – or perhaps better stated the height of the mic when mounted to the stand. Even with my chair adjusted to its lowest point, I had to hunch over slightly to get good mouth-to-mic placement. The much taller MXL USB.009 mic poses no such problem for me.
Overall, the Samson C03U Recording Pak is an excellent, high quality package for eLearning developers who need a good recording solution without breaking the bank. Had Samson only included a pop filter in the kit, I would have deemed this mic a home run for budget narration recording. Without it, I’ll call it a solid triple. You can pick up the kit for just under the $200 mark from various online retailers.
Might I suggest Amazon?
You don’t plan to keep recording your eLearning narration with that cheap-o headset mic, right? Right???
Posted in Audio, Hardware, Narration, Reviews, eLearning Development Tools
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August 21st, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Hey Chris, thanks for getting around to my mic.
I didn’t buy the full blown pak with base and shockmount. I just didn’t like that much bulk on the desk in front of me, but the bigger reason was $$$. I was lucky to already have a floor stand with boom so it takes up no desk space at all. The generously long usb cord helps in this regard.
Also, I don’t use a pop filter. Before buying one, I experimented with some copper wire and pantyhose, but found no improvement over simply positioning the mic about 60 degrees to the side. Maybe my lips are weird, but I’ve managed to avoid all plosives.
I didn’t like the Cakewalk software either. Audacity is far superior, … and free!
One frustration I had was with the automatic install of driver software (apparently some firmware inside the mic housing) when you first plug in the mic. It takes several minutes, with some activity at the beginning, then seemingly nothing happening, then more activity. The instructions don’t mention the long apparent pause in the middle, and if you do something stupid like trying to use the mic or unplugging it before the installation is complete, you blow it, and you will think the sound quality stinks. It took a lot of Googling to realize this, and more Googling to figure out how to uninstall the pieces of driver software so I could try again – you have to tread the sacred ground of Windows registry (just be glad you have a Mac). Anyway, please don’t contact me now for help – I didn’t save my notes. Just play it safe and let it have a nice long time all to itself to complete the installation. A cup of coffee ought to do it.
But once I got beyond my driver RE-install headache, I love this mic.
August 31st, 2009 at 2:10 pm
@ Jim:
Windows registry? *shudder*
I know the “Just Works” line about Macs has become a much-derided cliché, but what can I say – I plugged the C03U into my Mac and it…just worked.
It’s hard to put a price on pain-free computing…
Glad you like your mic. It’s a winner in my book.
October 6th, 2009 at 5:47 am
Chris,
A few weeks ago you were kind enough to provide some very helpful information re: recording audio for Articulate. Now I have another question for you. I recently purchased my first Mac and have been experimenting with Garage Band. Can you tell me what setting/selection you use when recording narration? I realize Rock and Megaphone are not the preferred opitons but am having trouble determining which of the dozens of other combinations offer the best results.
Thanks again for your help.
Paul
October 6th, 2009 at 7:30 am
Hey Paul,
First, congratulations on your new Mac! You’re going to love it. And GarageBand is a lot of fun. A GarageBand narration tutorial has been on my to do list for a long time – I really need to get to work on that.
I like to use the Male Narrator or Male Narrator Noisy presets under the Podcasting category. Your setup may sound better with one of the other presets – try each one to see which sounds the best for you. These presets are non-destructive – you can record your audio and then try out each preset with your recording to see which you prefer. These presets don’t permanently change your audio.
Please keep me posted on your new Mac experience!
Chris
October 6th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Chris,
Thanks, as always, for the great information. It’s nice to know there are others out there that have tried everything and come up with the answers in order to make it easier for the rest of us.
While I’m at it. I’ve seen your reviews on audio editing programs but I’ve not seen you mention GoldWave. I’ve used it for years (with my PC) and really like it. How would you compare it to Audacity and some of the others?
Take care,
Paul
November 4th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Chris,
I need someone to tell me what mic to buy. If this set it not as perfect as another one – then which one is the best? I prefer to spend under $250 for everything I need for the mic, and if I could everything for even less that would be nice.
So, is there a perfect solution?
Lisa
November 4th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Hi Lisa,
There is, of course, no “perfect solution,” but for the money and the all-inclusive (except the pop filter) convenience of this kit, I don’t think you can go wrong.
November 4th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Paul, sorry for the late response. I’m not familiar with GoldWave. I’ve always stayed on the Mac side of the fence when it comes to multimedia.
November 15th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
I have the Samson C03U but I just can’t figure out why it sounds so muffled when I record something in Audacity. The sound recording is set as ‘Samson C03U’ but the playback is set to ‘VIA Audio (WAVE)’ so i’m wondering if that has something to do with it. Does anyone know how I can change the playback format to make it sound good quality? It doesn’t sound clear at all!
November 15th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Amanda,
It sounds like you are having the frustration I described on this thread back in August. How long did you allow for the mic to install the driver software on your computer?
I was able to remedy the problem, but I wish I had saved my notes on that experience. Try Googling things like Samson C03U driver install problem.
January 25th, 2010 at 11:50 am
Hi i wonder if anyone can tell me if it is possible to monitor myself when i speak.
also, i play music over the internet and have previously used a normal mic and played and spoke through stereo mix, when i use stereo mix as the default the c03u doesnt work like it did my other normal jackplug mic, (sorry im not too technical guys lol) does anyone know how to set this up to do the same or if it is possible,
Many Thanks
Lee
January 25th, 2010 at 11:54 am
Hi Lee,
What recording software are you using, and on which platform (Mac/PC)?
I use GarageBand on the Mac, and there is an option to turn on monitoring. Most recording software should offer similar functionality.
BTW, I wouldn’t use stereo mix if you are recording narration.