Shure TwinPlex Lavalier Microphones: What Does a Premium Mic Have That a Cheap One Doesn't?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2019
- Shure’s next generation, premium lavalier microphones, TwinPlex, include a number of features sought after by many sound professionals. In this episode, we have an overview of the TwinPlex TL47 and TL48 lavalier microphones from the perspective of a sound for film mixer.
#Shure #TwinPlex #Lavalier
If you’d like to learn how to make great dialogue audio for your film and video projects, please have a look at my courses at school.learnlightandsound.com including processing dialogue audio in Adobe Audition and DaVinci Resolve/Fairlight, recording sound, how to use the Zoom F4, F8, and F8n, and how to get the most from the Sound Devices MixPre series of recorders.
Gear used or mentioned in this episode:
Shure TwinPlex Lavalier Microphones - B&H bhpho.to/31Icz7L
Microdot Adapters - B&H bhpho.to/31FKRsd
Aputure C120T - B&H bhpho.to/2yUWD4z
Aputure C120DII - B&H bhpho.to/2T7FtcR Amazon geni.us/deg3
Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K - B&H bhpho.to/2JB7W5V
Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS Lens - Amazon geni.us/uMsKam
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 Lens - Amazon geni.us/6cvOQ
Take your films to the next level with music from Musicbed. Sign up for a free account to listen for yourself: geni.us/G7by
Copyright 2019 by Curtis Judd
Ethics statement: Some of the links above are Amazon.com, B&H Photo, or other affiliate links.
Which speakers/headphones/earbuds did you use to listen to this? Which of the mics sounded best to you with my voice?
Curtis Judd I listened to this through my Apple AirPods and felt the Countryman was the best sounding lavalier by far. The Countryman has a deeper bass sound for your voice that to my ear is more pleasing than the others.
Curtis Judd , my AirPods, TwinPlex sounds good to me.
Sennheiser and Revox HeadPh. TwinPlex TL47 - excellent. Aloha.
I could tell that on a phone speaker it’s really indistinguishable😄 will watch again later on my EarPods and return here.
Countryman sounded best for me, your voice felt a bit more "nasal" on the twinplex wich i didn't like.
Listened on audio technica ath-r70x open-back headphones.
Curtis - absolutely love your "pro" series videos. I find TH-camrs usually don't have access to this level of gear, and people who do have access to it, don't seem to be on TH-cam. So it's sweet to see videos on stuff this high end. It's like seeing videos on 100+ inch 8K TVs - even if I'll never buy it, always fun to see it!
Thanks Casey! Always good to know what's out there and what's possible.
Thanks Curtis! Great review as always. For what I film, I liked the option of recording loud sources, that would be sweet for recording tuned car exhausts.
Yes, that SPL spec is impressive. Perfect for tuned exhaust!
Have watched a couple of your videos and gotta say you’re really good at there reviews and I enjoyed your professional opinion
🙏
Curtis, I have followed your instructional and your reviews for the lavalier. I just wanted to say thank you. I appreciate the thoroughness and completeness of your reviews. For the longest time I have been researching the best lavalier mics for my purposes. I am a vo artist, and am now getting into prodilixonf content on that subject. I have decided on the shire tl48 for my baritone narration voice. I haven’t tried it in real-time, but I think the value and the tune god it for my voice is perfect. We shall see. I was going to get the 6061 DPA just based on its marketing and use in the entertainment industry. But your comment that “there is no best lavalier” it it’s rather the purposes and situation that dictates that. I believe that. Thanks. Just when I asked out loud in my privacy of my office you answered the question of that I can use any microdot adapter by companies that offer a certain format (3.5 TRS) as I didn’t see Shure offer that TRS as something they sold, BUT, DPA does and other companies too. Though it ranges from $30 to $100 (DPA). I hope I am right about that. We shall see.
Hi Yabo, thanks for the feedback. I hope it works well for you and best of wishes on your VO work!
Thank you for the overview. I purchased the TL48 for my productions.
I hope it works well for you. Happy recording!
@@curtisjudd Thank you.
Excellent work, Curtis! Thank you:)
Thanks Elevate Fargo!
Thanks Curtis, great display of options, although a little out of my price range for what I do and need a lav for.
Thanks Johnny.
Listened in my car, some observations: TL47 sounded most transparent, however I much preferred the sound of the Countryman B6. The B6’s coloration really enhanced the low end, with no harshness in the top end. The B6 reminded me of a broadcast tonality, similar to an SM7B, which is pretty impressive for a lav.
Thanks Ben.
Very informative. Thank you.
Thanks Fin.
Great video like always.
Thanks Bandrew!
Out of the Shure lavs the TL48 sounded really good to me while listening with a headset.
👍 For me it was a toss up between the TL48 and TL47. But both sounded better than the Countryman or DPA.
Hey Curtis, I recently got the twinplex and I'm wondering if you had any trouble removing the capsule. I wanted to try out the presence cap, but I find it difficult to remove the original cap even though the instructions say to just pull it out. Thanks for the video btw, you're the reason I decided to buy the mic.
Hi Dreamlet, it is a tight fit, but I was able to pop off the caps without too much trouble.
Seem like a great lav. And thanks again for a great video!
How does the TL47 differ from the TL46 and TL45 though?
Hi Dominic, Thanks! The 47 is the all-around lavalier while the 45 is optimized for theater and the 46 is more highly sensitive. There are also differences in which connectors/terminations are available for each model. In short, it looks like the 45 and 46 are meant more for live theater. Details are at the bottom of the Shure page: www.shure.com/en-US/performance-production/twinplex
Listening on some Fostex PM641 three way monitors and the TL47 sounded the best to me but a little boosted in the low mid. I didn't really like the TL48 though it sounded crunchy in the high end and compressed in the low mid range. The DPA felt like the opposite and a little weak in the low mid but felt more natural and open than the others.
👍 Thanks for sharing your insights!
Great review thanks Curtis!! Any thoughts on the Shure DL4?
Thanks. No experience with the DL4 yet, but hoping to try it out.
Well done.
Thanks!
I'm ordering ten of these bad boys; I'll be set on all my mic needs throughout the apocalypse!
I'll do audio work for anybody when that time comes, too.
Forms of payment accepted: water, food, and AA batteries.
Hahaha! Happy recording!
Thank you so much, Curtis! Would these mics work well with the Rode Wireless Pro transmitters? Or would you recommend only using a specific transmitter for these? I'm doing educational videos, talking head, in a controlled environment usually.
Should work if you can find one with a 3.5mm connector. I dont think you can buy them off the shelf with that.
First thing, is that an X-ray of your brain in the background? To my complete surprise, I thought the B6 sounded really great! I have a couple of them that are rarely ever used, maybe I should use them more often. The Shure 48 sounded very nice as did the 47. The specs, design, and build quality looks excellent if not game changing.
What has been seen cannot be unseen.
Cross section, yes, thanks for asking. 😀 I agree. Shure has produced a very nice new option for us here. I can't wait to put them to use on upcoming productions.
Thx for the review! The Adapter/Cable combination for Sennheiser AVX looks very long... Might be weak point right? Or does it look bigger than it actually is? I have people sitting down with the receivers in the pockets 🤔
Hi Jonas, It measures about 1.5 in. sticking out of the transmitter when plugged in - from the bottom of the locking nut to where the flexible cable begins.
Thanks for your great review. I definitely love TwinPlex TL47. Is there a significant difference between TL47T and TL47B?
Just the color - the T is tan, the B is black.
@@curtisjudd Gotcha. I thought they were different products because there was a $100 difference in Amazon. Thank you!
All my sound from my ASUS GL702VSK Gaming laptop is played thigh my Vizio SB3651-E6C 5.1 SmartCast Sound Bar Speaker System while the video goes to my 60" HDTV.
Really it all breaks down to is, You get what you 'PAY' for If you know what your buying. Great presentation it gives a guy an incite as to what is available with out having to spend a whole bunch of cash for a disappointing product. You give the non professional a fighting chance.
Thanks!
@@curtisjudd Your welcome DUDE 99% of you tube watchers are listening on a pair of $10 computer speakers anyway. Or worse using the mike in their DSLR or mirrorless piece of Junk.
Very nice comparison, as always. The Shure is good, not as good as the DPA. imo. the DPA has a very smooth mids and natural lows. Too much "chest resonance" for my liking in the shure, . Again thanks for the video.. I actually found this because on a webinar from Shure it was mentioned that the Twinplex was used on the Ref. at the last Superbowl.
Thanks Bill. Interestingly the DPA 4160 sounds a bit more nasally to my ears.
Listening on Shure srh440, 1.Tl48, 2.Dpa, 3.Tl47, 4.B6
👍
I recently bought a comica wireless system. One of the lapel microphones has already died 2 weeks in to my 17day shoot as well as the 3.5m to dual XLR.
I ways knew this was going to happen the whole kit cost me 350 pounds so it's very much a starter. And when I get better will be used for the more risky stuff
Sorry to hear about the mic failure. Perfect example!
@@curtisjudd you get what you pay for, it was also an actor that just naturally swets alot as you as you said.
Curtis, thank you for your work, I learn a lot =).
I have a question about recording with a Lav mic connected to a Zoom hn1 recorder for example.
When you film a short movie and record a lot of take, you usually stop recording your video between each of them to save memory and avoid getting only 1 big video of 50 gb for example.
But about the sound, do you ask the talent to stop his sound recorder at the end of each take? How do you track the take if you never stop recording and you end up with only one big sound track.
Is it only about saying the take before each take? I'm really curious about the process, and if you have to process with many actors, I already have a headache lol
Thank you Sir, and again, great job!
Hi François, This is where a Zoom H1 is not very practical. I would stop between every take. That is a pain. But that is also why most movie productions don't use Zoom H1's to record each of their actors. I find using an H1 as a replacement for a wireless system is most useful for simple corporate videos or interviews where you don't stop between each take.
Thank you for your answer Curtis, then, do you recommend in this case to use a good shotgun mic with a boom pole? Or would you use a wireless system sync to the video for each actor?
@François Godofe My preference would be for a boom mic as the sound will generally be more natural. When I shoot narrative pieces, I use both a boom and wireless lavs for each actor. Then in post, choose whichever sounds best.
Hi, i was wondering if you have any tips on buying a lavalier Mic, Last year i bought an AKG heaphones for soundmixing, but Im really into games and i love to play with friends, but the AKG i got dont have mic, and i didnt really want to buy a brand new Headset since these Headphones i got, have a pretty awesome sound quality, so i was looking to get a lavalier that i could connect to my computer,( budget mic), I found your 2013 videos but i wanted to know something more recent. Thank you Very much
Hi Vit_Luis, here's a slightly newer video on affordable lavalier mics: th-cam.com/video/CZKs1U1GA84/w-d-xo.html
do you think the Deity Microphones DA35B Microdot will work with this, to connect to a deity BP-TRX
Not sure. In theory, yes.
Is it possible to use the TL47/48 with the Sony UWP-D system? It has the locking 3.5mm, I don’t see that option available when I look at the Shures on B&H
Only if it is re-terminated specifically for the Sony system which uses a different wiring scheme.
Hey @curtis Judd, are this 3.5mm jack lavalier are for sale or not yet? I don't see it on B&H website.
You would choose the 'Microdot' version and then get an adapter to fit 3.5mm such as this Deity one:
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1449020-REG/deity_microphones_da35_sennheiser_locking_3_5mm.html
Agreed with G Kanai, you’d get the microdot version and 3.5mm adapter. I’m betting Shure will have a 3.5mm version before too long as well.
Helpful video as always, Curtis. Thank you. Question about using AES on your 633. Just to confirm, the 633's single AES input on XLR 1 can record 2 separate AES channels from a dual receiver like your Audio Limited or a Zaxcom QRX, correct? And by 2 channels, I'm trying to verify that it would record an ISO of each lavalier mic rather than putting both channels on one track. Thanks again, Mark
Hi Mark, yes, two separate iso channels via the first XLR input. I usually use channel 2 for the second AES input which effectively disables the physical XLR input 2 since it is now virtually AES channel 2.
@@curtisjudd Perfect, thanks Curtis. Just one more follow up, if I may. Any chance you can route the 633 so the physical trim pot & physical fader navigate different channels than their default? For instance, I like to keep the 1st channel and trim/fader controls reserved for my boom so it would be nice to have channels 2 and 3 occupy the AES from a dual lav receiver. But since you need to input the AES into XLR 1, not sure if that's possible? I have my eye on purchasing the new 833 next year and am little bummed SD designed it with only one AES input. Thanks again, Mark
@@mark8955 Unfortunately, that is not possible on the 633. You can only assign channels 1&2 for AES input. I'm not sure on the 833. I'll have one here next week and can check then.
@@curtisjudd Thanks Curtis, appreciate it.
@@curtisjudd you can route the AES input of the 833 to absolutely anywhere you like, you're not limited like with the 633
A quick question. Would the audio be different if you used a different transmitter such as the Sennheiser EW 112 P G4? Looking at putting together a kit and would like to get good stuff from the beginning and was pretty impressed with the sound of the DPA lav and the Shure paired with the A10 transmitter. I am doing food travel documentary style work.
Hi Mark, the sound will be different with the G4, but one has to be very, very discerning and with experienced ears to hear the difference. The problem with the A10 system is its price, obviously. I would have no qualms recommending the G4 system. I had a great experience for years with the G3. Best wishes!
@@curtisjudd Thanks for the input.
Would you happen to have a comparison video with the ME 2-ll Omni lav vs a higher end mic such as the DPA or Shure? The price of the mic upgrade is like purchasing another transmitter unit lol. I am willing to invest in quality yet be smart at the same time in how I spend, so if the Sennheiser G4 kit is great then I would just start with that. However if the mic is blah, then I am open to getting a transmitter and a mic separately as opposed to a kit, therefore cutting out the redundancy of things I do not need such as the mic that would normally come in a kit. This is my first wireless mic purchase, so doing my research. I have my eyes set on the premix 6 for the recorder to complement my setup.
I don’t have a comparison in the same video but you could queue up my XSW-D review in one browser tab and the Shure TwinPlex video in another tab to compare. Best wishes!
@@markchen4381 why would you want to do that? When you looking for lavs it goes by specification, signal to noise ratio, self noise and sensitivity. try to buy best you can afford and not only on sound. I read a lot of people here talk about how mike sound, but what they do not realize is that recording in real world these self noise and signal to noise ration makes a lot of difference, not just a mike sound good. Reason is if you in air condition room taping for example a wedding which you cannot avoid the noise,a shure twin plex, DPA, or the more expense senh MKE2 is going to capture less noise and more of the source, an dalso exhibit less self noise which you know as hiss, the ME2-II that you asking about is going to capture more noise and exhibit more self noise, because the noise to signal ratio is less which i think was 57db compare to these mics at 70 db. Now the next issue is because the noise is more, you have to use more noise reduction, which now put in more artifacts or change the audio of that sound good mic. But if you actually have these other mics, you would use less noise reduction. And also these mics pick up much more of the source at further distance.
My question is, which connector should we be buying microphones with? Micro dot xlr, 3.5.?
Depends on what you're connecting them to.
Sir i have rodevideo mic go shotgun mic .he produce lot of hiss......sound please suggest me idea.
Hi, are you looking for a shotgun microphone or wireless lavalier microphone? (sorry, I didn't understand your question because the Wireless GO is not a shotgun microphone, it is a wireless lavalier microphone system)
Hey Curtis, how does this Shure lav compare to the VT500? I'm looking to take a step up in quality soon and before this the vt500 seemed the best sound/price ratio
Hi Alex, I haven’t been able to compare because my VT500 is wired for Sennheiser while the TwinPlex I have here are all wired for A10. I didn’t want to compare across wireless systems. I’m hoping to re-terminate the VT500 for A10. I miss using it.
@@curtisjudd thanks, well if you ever compare these two I'd love to hear it :)
How would you compare sensitivity of Twinplex vs cos11? Which one has better signal to noise? Thanks
Hard to tell - all my Sankens are wired for Sennheiser which is why I didn't include them in the audio samples portion here. I didn't feel like I had to push a lot of gain in any of the cases if that helps at all.
check the specifications, the twin plex has 70db, not sure about Sanken, but the shure have the same signal to noise ratio as senh MKE2. And the shure twin plex is one of the quiets mic in terms of self noise. The shure twin plex was the mic chosen to do the reunion of the TV series 'family matter' because it sound natural, and had good self noise and very quiet.
Question: How long of an xlr cord can be used on a tl48 with its shure Lemo to xlr phantom power adator before losing, if any, sound quality? If you do lose sound, any adaptors to boost the sound? I'am providing phantom power from the premix 10ii.
Hi Bryan, the risk is more likely to pick up interference, but since it is a balance connection you should be fine. Keep it as short as possible, but as long as you need. If you stay under 25 feet, you should be fine. Also keep the cable away from any outlets, power cables, or other electromagnetic sources.
@@curtisjudd mogami, seems decent, 10ft...
@@bryanbarajasBB You should be fine!
I thought the b6 sounded great as well as the 47 - I was a little surprised how tinny the 48 sounded. Does Shure and Countryman make these for Sony lav systems? I don’t see that option on B&H
👍
Do you think this could be a good clip on mic for weddings? I’m considering replacing my old sankens. The water resistance and cable strength make them very appealing to me.
Absolutely and you can get them in white if you'll be miking up brides or black if miking grooms.
It is a factor to help prevent issues, not a 100% fool proof insurance policy that you won’t have issues from moisture. So we see your point but it comes across as “that’s a useless feature.” I respectfully disagree that it is useless. But I do agree that it is not a 100% perfect solution.
Personal View do any of the lav makers use MEMS?
Considering that smartphones are notorious for _not_ being waterproof, I really doubt that claim. I would have to say that the overwhelming reasons for using MEMS devices in smartphones is because they're very small and very inexpensive compared to conventional devices. I looked at all the major MEMS capsules available for bulk sale, and none had any sort of IP rating.
IMO, The DPA 4160 sounded best and natural on your dialog test for your timbre. The countryman sounded bassey on you and the Schure's sounded almost chorused on you. DPA for you!
👍
I don't understand, *when these active mics with in-line batteries are required,* and when not. I would like to have a lav mic, which will work on any cam, computer line-in, smartphone, audio-recorder, etc. Anybody any explanations, so I can understand this topic better?
This might help: th-cam.com/video/n6C6yzt2Hgc/w-d-xo.html
@@curtisjudd It did. Thank you.
Which one do i need to use with vocoder?
You could feed the signal from any of them into a vocoder, whether hardware or software based.
I have a question about the lavalier microphone, if I have the mic on and I'm talking to someone who is 2 meters away, can you hear it in the recording or are there other microphones for such cases?
It will pick the other person up, but they will sound far quieter.
@@curtisjudd thanks
the nano coating rocks
It helps for sure.
In my opinion, the sound from the sure tl47 doesn't go very good on your voice, the tl48 sounds great, the countryman b6 sounds chesty, and DPA sounds natural. Headphones Sony MDR-7506.
The TL47 didn't sound good on him at all.
How odd how we perceive our voice and how others. Most say the 47 sounds bad but Curtis thinks that sounds best.
Thought they all sounded good
Thanks David. The lesson I seem to learn time and again is that everyone hears differently and has different preferences. I originally thought the TL48 sounded best on my voice when listening back on Focal Solo 6Be monitors and Beyerdynamic DT770 80 ohm version headphones. Then when I played the samples for my wife, she thought the TL47 sounded best and strangely, so did I when listening back that time. It’s an interesting phenomenon.
@@curtisjudd, it's probably the headphones more than anything. I was also listening on the Sony 7605 headphones and through my computer speakers. The 47 accentuates the harsh tones in your voice. You have a more nasal tone, and usually brighter mics don't complement those vocal tones.
@@mrshaheedmalik Thanks Shaheed. Appreciate the insights.
Does any microdot connector work with the Shure TL48?
In theory, yes. That's the idea with Microdot. If you're speaking about 3.5mm locking TRS - I used the DPA microdot adapter and it worked.
@@curtisjudd Thank you so much!
I'm looking for the smallest possible high-quality mic for a travel to Jordan to podcast with two people at once. Will this work? I'll be plugging it into my zoom handy video recorder. How long is the cord? thanks!
I would get a separate mic for each person. This is a pretty high-end mic at over $400 per microphone. Is that what you're looking for? Also, I don't usually suggest lavalier microphones for podcasts. I guess I'm looking for more details, please?
@@curtisjudd Thanks for the response! I usually use a SM 158 for my podcasts and that gives me great quality. However, they are too big to travel with. I can bring my zoom recorder but I'm looking for the smallest possible mic to podcast with. I found this because of the three prong xlr adaptor. If you have any other ideas, I would love to hear. Yes, they are too expensive, but it seems like I could record a high quality podcast with them...
@@danwilson8991 Yes, the Twinplex are small and omni-directional so they will pick up sound from all directions. Paired with a recorder like the ZOOM F3, you'd have a pretty small recording kit: th-cam.com/video/THEBOa0UUJo/w-d-xo.html
@@curtisjudd thanks for the advices. I think 32 but float is great. But is there a cheaper lav that will get me decent results in your opinion, instead of the twin flex?
@@danwilson8991 Have a listen to the ZOOM F2 with its included lavalier and hear if that is good enough? th-cam.com/video/2y51ptCAOdI/w-d-xo.html
I recently bought the Shure tl48 with Lemo 3 pin. I tried connecting a Shure RPM400 and using a Female to 3.5 into my Tascam Dr-05x and I'm not getting any sound. Does the Tl48 need to be phantom powered?....
It needs 3-5V plugin power. I believe you feed +48V phantom to the XLR end of the RPM400 and it converts that down to 5V for the Twinplex. But how are you using that with a Tascam DR-05x?
@@curtisjudd I thought that I could, but now I have to purchase the Mixpre 10 ii. :)
@@curtisjudd So the lav mic really needs a voltage source, cannot just plug its lemo 3 pin to an adaptor converter to 3.5 and into a Tascam?...
Ok, sorry, I misunderstood that the lave has a lemo cable. I thought I read XLR. Try turning on plugin power in the Tascam in the menu.
@@curtisjudd I turned on the mic power, nothing. My set up is the Lav mic with Lemo, Lemo is connected to the RPM400, I then connect a Kopul XLR to 1/8(3.5mm) to the RPM400, then the 3.5 into the Tascam DR-05x.
Which of these had the highest gain before normalization?
Hi Joshua, I applied 30dB of gain for each of them and they all peaked around the same levels. So there doesn't appear to be any big differences between the 4 listed here.
Watched (more so listened) to this a few times. Appreciate the tests, Curtis. To me the TL47 and DPA are the winners. The TL47 sounds richer and less compressed than the DPA, but the DPA was noticeably quieter to me. I imagine in a quiet environment the DPA would be my choice. Otherwise I'd go TL47. Was surprised by the TL47's self-noise since Shure seemed to highlight that as one of their strengths. After using the Shures a bit more in the last month, have you noticed any other strengths/weaknesses compared to the DPA? Also, any chance you were able to test the TL46? I'm having a tough time sorting out if that version would be best suited for the film/tv/corporate/commerical recordings. Thanks as always. -Mark
The TL47 and 48 both sound richer to me. The DPA is probably better under heavy wardrobe due to its brighter voicing but I prefer the 48 and 47 depending on the actor’s voice.
@@curtisjudd Thanks Curtis!
This is luxury 😁
😀
DPA 4160 then TL48 listening on Sennheiser HD25s
👍
Have you reviewed the WL93? Thanks!
I haven't, unfortunately.
I need a wireless mic to use
This is a pretty good option.
4160 sounded more natural and had much less hiss
Interesting. It sounded a lot more nasally and mid-range focused to me. This is a great example of how we all hear differently and have different preferences. 👍
Sounds a little clipped to be honest(by the mic, not the hardware/software). Give me a 2001-ish countryman lav any day.
Interesting. What did you listen with?
I cringed a little when you were bending the cord at the base...wth is wrong with me
Hahaha! It’s ok, not normally recommended but somebody needs to test it so you don’t have to. 😀