MXLD.R.K. Desktop Recording Kit

I have used this microphone for recording acoustic stringed instruments and some local theater productions. I am very impressed with the tonal quality and frequency range. Well worth the cost. It is not perfect but to my sensitive ears it is very very good. My dog howls when I play back my recordings when the double stops are hit on the strings, so this obviously captures up into the high range. I like the fact that it is battery powered which eliminates any possibility of introducing hum from an external phantom power supply plus it makes it easier to use. I have been using this straight into a Sony HD Video recorder with excellent results. All the accessories are high quality and function well. Some things to consider... no light on the mike to tell you that the power is on. Need to be careful to turn it off or you will have a run down battery. Very quiet in terms of spurious noise (hiss) but not absolutely silent. I am very picky on this aspect and this just meets my expectations. This mike is very sensitive (and has a large dynamic range) so you have to be careful in setting the recording range or you may have some clipping distortion on your recordings. I actually like the sensitive nature, in live recordings it sounds live not like some dead studio recording. I have read about using condenser mikes with a limiter or compression device to cut any possible clipping and I intend to look into that.

it is difficult for me to choose between 3 or 2 stars ... all this because concept and the expectation created around this microphone is very high ... but the result is bad.The Fact of having a 9v battery power is a welcome innovation.Aesthetically beautiful, the kit features quality and in Europe costs around 150 euro, or 182 usd.Stereo Microphone MXL suffers from the same problem of other models, ie ... the sound quality changes drastically according to each mic preamp.This microphone connected to an audio usb converter of 120 euros results in a strange and sometimes poor sound ... when lodged to an SPL or Universal Audio or even to a Sontronics preamp, the quality is similar to microphones that cost literally 6 times more. This means having a quality mic preamp to get quality results. Connected to a usb mic preamp (focusrite) the sound became reasonably poor, and with a measured self-noise of 22-26 db (away from the announced 18)In SPL and Universal Audio the quality improved drastically and the measured self-noise was between 18-20 db and 18 db in Sontronics Sonora 2 (this pre-amplifier was the one with the best result)If you do not have a good mic preamp (from 500 euro and more) and if you only plan to connect to a usb audio converter type focusrite or similar you can be sure to get a sound of today ... another tomorrow. ..and have a lot of self-noise and a little defined sound.Not suitable for VoiceOver jobs that require a broadcast quality standard ... EXCEPT if you have a good Mic Preamp

This mic is sold as not needing a preamp. I found this to be mis-leading. Trying to record on a PC sound card using only the 9v battery and the mic input was hopeless unless you want to record something very, very loud. I ended up getting a Behringer tube preamp and now I can record using the line input with high sensivity.Other than that it works fine for my application: voice-overs.

Have it: HATE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I have tried it on FOUR different computers and it has never ever worked at all. I am tech savy and know my way around recording equipment, so it's not that I can't figure it out! I called for support and they sent a second one..... tried that on FIVE computers.... dose not work.I did not buy it from Amazon, so I will not show up as a "verified purchase" (or whatever it's called).I found they sold this on Amazon because I was online looking for any help I can find so I can use this dumb thing! Thought I would save someone from wasting their money and do a review while I still search (in vain) for answers.