#45 How to get the best microphone for your ham radio shack with Bob Heil

A clip from the YTB Hamfest this past weekend with Bob Heil about why his mics are so good.

 

Purchased a PRO-7 IC brand new 40 days ago. Mic is inop, massive distortion. Been calling Heil for three weeks, phones go unanswered, voicemails not returned, emails ignored.

Was cutting them a bit of slack with the COVID, but since it appears they have time for a promotional spot....Well, can they spare a few minutes to return a call or email from a customer??

 

he must be using one of his heil mics judging by the audio quality on the video

 

His audio is a great example of what not to do, that is use outboard processing.

Fact… The more processing you use, the further from the truth you get!

It starts with your voice. You're either born with it or not and no fancy rackmount gear is going to give to you. There is plenty of you out there that really do have a good radio voice. Don't hide it with too much processing.

 

There are many great mics for voice. All great recordings of the past used the Ribbon mic design, as they were the standard in recording studios. Bob sure has convinced the hams that his is the only ones to use.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like Bob Heil but the audio in this video is the worst and not a good representation of his products. Maybe Bob has a cold or something. Hope Bob & Company can fix this and some of the other mics that are not up to snuff. Maybe it's time for others in the Heil family to step up and help.

 

Alot of mics have a built in "EQ" like a treble boost or some response variation. That is useful to adjust the audio response of old rigs with no adjustments. Today the radios have built in EQ adjustments, thus I see the value of starting with an electret mic that is basically flat across the audio range of SSB and beyond, and tweaking with the radio, for most people. Many radios are now made to power the electret and a decent electret mic should not cost hundreds of dollars except radio makers make alot of extra money from "matching accessories" that improve overall profit. The radio controls are like "tone" controls. If you want to add peaks and valleys in the response curve, you would have to get an external EQ of some sort. Spend what you want. I cannot see spending more than stock mics with the audio quality I get from my up to date radios.

 

Yes, Bob's audio sounds terrible here - low-mids and lows are gone - but I am pretty sure that is a result of the video conferencing software/service he was using and not the mic or his processing.

Heil mics are fine, I'm certainly not going to say they're not because they are, but they certainly aren't the best on the market. They could change that by making some improvements or getting past Bob's preferences but they are liked by many (some I suspect simply because of the name or because they've seen a friend use them or on the Ham Nation show) and they do sell so I don't suspect they'll make improvements anytime soon.

 

This sounds more like a combination of Bob's low-end-starved mics in combination with the typical distortion of the audio codecs used in Skype.

 

Tuning across the bands and one can get an ear full of BAD sounding audio. Add in a EQ, noise gate, DSP processing filters... is just operator overload to make your ears bleed (2 puns intended) with more knobs and menu to fiddle with. It's interesting to hear when someone compliments your audio "Sounds Great" and you come back with "Stock Mic".

My guess would be ? top brands spend a bit of design time and money to get it right. That is reflected in the cost of todays rigs with microphones included. Most hams would be scared to death to open the rig to reach in and diddle something. (and why would U not any 807's in there. We know where those are)

So there's not much left to make a buck at. Whats left ? that is in add on's... mic's and antennas. See the latest ads in magazines or on the shelfs at the candy store. AND don't get me started on the audio of our repeaters and users. Don't need a big chrome plated mic and built a cheap dipole kind a guy. Not trying to be a buzz kill for the ham economy.

 

They're still used today but not as common due to their delicate nature. They are known to be exceptional for orchestral recordings and many purist still prefer them just like analogue tape in recording studios.

I use this ribbon mic on my HF rig. This one is designed for a less heavy bass response that ribbon mics like the vintage RCA-44 is known for. See my QRZ page if you want more information on this mic.



I do know Mr. Heil is not a fan a ribbon mics, he stated one night during a QSO a friend and I were having on 40m "Ribbon mics are just TOO bass for HF radio". He's right but not completely.

Too bad I was on a mobile radio that night so I could here his evaluation of my audio.

Personally, I thought his audio was over processed with that thick and heavy compressed sound. I didn't say anything though.

 

Whenever I hear some fantastic audio on the air, invariably they are always using the excellent Electro-Voice RE27.

Really can't beat an industry standard in broadcast, super detailed, great articulation, very easy to tailor to your voice with EQ. Sounds great, especially on AM!

The notion of a "ham radio" mic with pre-emphasised frequency response so you don't need to EQ is silly. It's a one size fits all approach to a world of different voices.

 

As you know.. Microphones have been around for over 100 years.. Many Well Known Mfg's have been around for a Long time. With all of that manufacturing they are good at Quality Control.
For a new Player in the market that most All of their products come from China , I'll shy away from those products.. One example is a mic with a 20-30 cent element selling for $110 - $120.. One Mic
.. the EV RE-320 ( $300) is a nice mic but someone could also spend $ 100 for a Sennheiser E835 for very close response & a 10 year warranty . The Ribbon mike has superb reproduction of voice.
I grew up around RCA Ribbon mikes in the family owned AM broadcast station... Wish I had gotten both of them before we sold the station..

 

Yeah, you should have grabbed those mics when you had the chance!

Check out ribbon mics from from AEA. These are expensive American made ribbon mics by the only company authorized to make exact replicas of the original RCA mics.

AEA had been servicing and making all the original parts for RCA since the 70's and now make their own models to the same specs and using the same components as the originals.

My AEA R-84 is shaped like the RCA 77 but modeled like the RCA 44 but with a decreased proximity bass effect which is a good match for HF radio. This mic is one of their least expensive but best for my application.

 

I personally like MXL microphones I have the R144 ribbon mic and the 770 condenser mic through a Presonus tube preamp, the ribbon mics don't have too much bass they are mainly flat response, the 770 condenser has a low end roll off (switchable) and a high end peak from about 5K. I have been a live audio engineer for over 40 years so I have a little experience in the field. The R144 makes for a great AM mic and I prefer the 770 for SSB, cheers and stay safe!