greetings earthlings today i'm back with a review of a brand new microphone from tech zone audio
products or as i like to call them tzap pew pew pew pew pew i couldn't even look at you while i
was shooting you with a laser i'm too embarrassed i hate myself that microphone being the stellar x2
if you are interested in this microphone it will cost you around 350 dollars
like always i'll throw some links down below for this video i have the microphone
connected directly to the 18 i20 second gen my gain is set at around 11 o'clock maybe 11 15.
i will not be doing any kind of post processing but i may have to boost it in post
so check the dooblydoo to see what i didly did now let's talk about what comes in the box
it's always so nerve-racking i hate that first off everything comes in a really nice aluminum
hard shell storage case for some reason you also get a leather storage bag for the microphone
you'll of course get the microphone you'll get the shock mount as well as a 5 8 to 3 8 inch
microphone stand adapter a foam windscreen and a little bit of documentation including a testing
list for your specific mic then as far as the build quality i really don't have any complaints
about the microphone it is pretty nice feeling it has an all metal body as well as a fine firm metal
mesh grille you have a 34 millimeter capsule on the front of the mic you have two switches a high
pass filter and a negative 10 db pad the logo on the front of the microphone is actually a metal
emblem that seems to be glued to the mic it is not just printed on which is a nice addition there as
you move around the microphone there is nothing else on the mic on the bottom of the mic you
will find the xlr port and i unfortunately could not find any information about the manufacturing
location of this if i remember correctly tekzone audio products are made in china but then they
do testing in the us and california if i'm not mistaken but correct me if i'm wrong then as far
as the specs this mic has a cardioid polar pattern a frequency response of 20 hertz to 20 kilohertz
and it is relatively flat a sensitivity of around negative 33 db an impedance of 110 ohms a self
noise of only 8 dba a max spl of 135 db and a phantom power requirement of 48 volts
now i am spinning around the stellar x3 to 90 degrees so you can hear the off axis rejection and
coloration we'll continue around the microphone to 180 degrees here's what it sounds like from the
rear of the mic continuing around the microphone to the second 90 degree angle and then we will
rotate and end the front of the microphone now let's test the plosive rejection on this thing
and i have a feeling it's going to be pretty bad because the capsule is massive please bring
pizza pronto please bring pizza pronto please bring pizza pronto now i am right on top of the
microphone to demonstrate the proximity effect on this thing about three inches off of the mic with
it pointed at the corner of my mouth and here is how the audio is sounding about one foot away from
the microphone two feet away from the microphone i am a human and now we're about four feet away
from the microphone bleep bleep blurp take me to your leader and now i am typing on a keyboard
with gatoron blue switches to see how much of my voice verse how much of the keyboard it picks up
and for you elite gamer boys and girls out there now i'm typing on the sad w keys
now i want to demonstrate the high pass filter on this microphone so i am very close to it to really
accentuate and engage that proximity effect i do not have the high pass filter engaged and here
is how the microphone is sounding and now at the exact same position i have engaged the high pass
filter and here is how the audio sounds really pay attention to the low end because it will roll off
a lot of that mud a lot of that proximity effect a lot of that bass in the microphone there you go
that's the high pass filter on this thing here is how the microphone sounds in a well-treated room
okay there you can see the microphone now against my shirt
but here is how the microphone sounds in a completely untreated room
next to see how effective the provided shock mount is i will now go ahead and bump my desk
to see how much of that noise it rejects and i'll tap the boom arm
next up i want to do a quick test with the provided foam windscreen to see how
it affects the tone of the microphone and to see if it reduces the wind or plosives that hit
the microphone's capsule and first up i am about three to four inches away from the microphone no
wind protection on it and here is how my voice sounds i will go ahead and blow on the capsule
sounds terrible for the record i meant the wind hitting the capsule sounded terrible not the
microphone but now i have the wind protection the provided foam windscreen on it same distance same
gain nothing has changed and here is how it is sounding make sure to listen to the top end of the
microphone because the foam windscreens tend to reduce a little bit of the top end now i'll blow
on the microphone that sounded sexual still there not as bad though not quite as bad still bad
though don't do that don't do that that's the moral of the story and just to be as thorough
as possible now i will tap on the microphone to see if there are any kind of resonant frequencies
next up like always we're going to do a quick comparison between the stellar x3 and a bunch
of other microphones on the market so we can see how it stacks up against other options
that are available of course we'll start on the stellar x3 i am six inches off of this thing
no pad no high pass filter the gain is set at noon now check the lower third to see how much
i boost each of these in post and let's jump to the first microphone first up on the list
is the audio technica at2020 this is a 100 small diaphragm condenser it's not a full inch capsule
but 100 bucks affordable very popular six inches gain still at noon at 12 o'clock check the lower
third to see how much i boosted it because i will have to boost this a bit more than the stellar
x3 and let's do some more comparisons now back on the stellar x3 so you can hear how the microphone
we're reviewing sounds before we jump to another mic and let's do that right now now we are on
the first release from tekzone audio products i believe the tech zone audio product stellar x2
this is 200 and i am six inches off gain still at noon no other changes check the lower third
to see how much i boosted it this is only a cardioid microphone no switches or anything on it
and here is how it sounds 200 bucks versus their 350 offering goody goody gumdrops were
back on the stellar x3 for a third time because we have a bunch of mics to compare and i want
you to hear how this microphone sounds before we jump to another one and what are we waiting for
let's do it jump to the other microphone nothing nothing weird we're not going to do anything weird
weirdo now we are on the tech zone audio product stellar x2 vintage this goes for 270 dollars and
this is more of a mid forward or vintagey sounding microphone not as crisp in the top
end i really like this one i think i said 270 six inches off gain at noon and check the lower third
here is the 270 versus the 350 offering from tech zone audio products let's do some more comparisons
cool again we are on the tech zone audio products stellar x3 really catchy names t-zap and cardioid
only polar pattern it has no high pass filter gain still at noon nothing has changed here's how this
microphone sounds let's do another comparison now we have taken a trip to austria i am on the luit
lct 440 pure this is a 270 dollar microphone as well condenser cardioid no switches nothing fancy
here but quite a different sound much more of the austrian sound we are in vienna can't you tell
but this is how it sounds six inches off again at noon check the lower third let's jump back
to the x3 and do some more comparisons we are back on the tech zone audio product stellar x3
if you had forgotten this goes for about 350. and let's jump to another mic and do a couple
more comparisons that's fun now we are on the rode nt1 one of my all-time favorite microphones
270 dollars cardioid condenser and i am six inches off gain at noon here is how it sounds this is
another rather neutral sounding microphone no big boost in the treble presence or air
just relatively flat and very easy to listen to that's the rode nt1 let's go back to the stellar
x3 and do a couple more comparisons alright we are back on the stellar x3 again kinda sounds like
a spaceship doesn't it stellar x3 going to the moon whatever okay stellar x3 same distance same
gain everything let's do another mic or not do one let's listen to another one and you can compare it
now we have traveled to england and the last microphone we travel down under down under to
australia mate sorry rose very offensive but here we are in england blimey the aston spirit
this goes for 450 multi-pattern condenser microphone i am just on the cardioid mode
no high pass filter no pad no nothing six inches off gain at noon and there you go
and i apologize if i said verse earlier people get mad about that i mean versus
when i'm saying that obviously it is me just having a vocal quirk i guess let's go back to
the stellar x2 x3 and i think this is going to be the last mic that we're comparing it against but
this is the stellar x3 again no changes no high pass no pad 6 inches off gain at 12 check the
lower third and let's do that last microphone comparison and last up we have the shure ksm
which is a 500 cardioid only condenser microphone i am six inches off of this thing no high pass
filter no pad gain at noon check the lower third to see how much i boosted it in post and this
concludes the comparison section let me know in the comments down below which of these microphones
did you like the best did you like the at2020 stellar x2 stellar x2 vintage luit lct 440 rode
nt1 aston spirit sure ksm 32 or the stellar x3 comments down below type it up type it up type it
up do it and now let's go ahead and do the music test then i'll give you some more homework to
do
hey
if you had a million bucks will you tell me what you buy just wait a second keep it a surprise
but if i had a trillion bucks i'll tell you what i'd buy i'd buy a mic for everyone and i
everyone and i not everyone and die i want the praise that accompanies buying everyone
a microphone i even just did the math in my head seven and a half billion people assuming a hundred
dollar microphone at2020 sm58 sev7 seven and a half trillion bucks we got to start saving now so
investment ideas comments down below somebody else do the math what could we get for a trillion bucks
if we just want to go that route let me know comments okay bye conclusion time all right you
know what time it is it is conclusion time and it's a boring sounding microphone i like that
and first up in terms of pros is the relatively neutral sound of it
that is something that i am always partial to also the pretty low self noise of only 8 dba
that is excellent also the high pass filter on this thing seems to be really well suited for
spoken word so if you're eating the microphone and you have a lot of proximity effect and you
engage that high pass filter it doesn't ruin the sound of the recording and i really like all of
the accessories and the quality of them that came with a microphone but then as far as cons
on the note of accessories i would love to have seen a regular microphone mount in the package as
well that just makes miking up in limited space areas a little bit easier and the microphone is
quite roomy if you are in an untreated space this microphone is going to pick up all of the room and
that could negatively affect your recording then as far as my overall thoughts and opinions of
this microphone on the electric guitar i liked it the low end was not overpowering it was not
anemic sounding it was controlled the mids were neutral and the top end was overall nice
but when i started to get to the upper register of the guitar i did start to notice the mic sounding
a touch sharp a little bit unpleasant sounding not bad but just a little bit unpleasant then on the
acoustic guitar again i liked it there was nothing offensive nothing horrible about it just a middle
of the road boring great sound that i love the low end had a bit of body to it but it wasn't anemic
it wasn't overpowering really nice down there the mids they did not sound scooped they did not sound
over boosted nice and neutral the top end also relatively neutral it had a bit of air to it a bit
of openness to it but it doesn't fall prey to that over boosting over hyped sound which can be a bit
grating at times so overall on the acoustic it may be boring but i liked it next up for singing what
a shocker again i enjoyed it i don't know how many ways i can describe a neutral sound i will say
it may come across a little bit more mid forward than some other microphones to me that's because
it does not have a massive treble and air boost or presence boost like many other microphones
this is more of a neutral top end meaning the mids will sound a little bit more accentuated because
there's nothing overpowering them if that's not what you're looking for look elsewhere but that's
what this microphone is offering and lastly for spoken word as i already said it is boring and
i like that the thing that stands out to me is it is not trying to do too much in the treble
and air region which seems to be a downfall of a lot of condenser microphones at least
in my opinion this one keeps a relatively tame top end and i really enjoy that i do understand
that a lot of folks with deeper voices may not be too partial to this type of microphone tone
because it will be a bit darker it doesn't have that same accentuation in the upper end which can
offset your really boomy and huge sounding voice but if you have a a more obnoxious voice like me
it can do you a bit of favors there and to wrap up what i recommend the texone audio products
stellar x2 both yes and no there's really not anything that i dislike about it i think it's
a great sounding microphone i think that it is techzone audio products best sounding microphone
and there's very little that i dislike about it but here's the problem it's the exact same
story with the rode nt1 where there's very little that i dislike about it extremely low self noise a
relatively neutral sound to it and it is eighty dollars cheaper but there are a few different
tonal characteristics of the two which i think will help you decide on which one you want
i do find the nt1 to be a bit more sibilant than the stellar x3 so if you have a much more
sibilant voice the nt1 may cause some problems there but at the same time i think the nt1
offers some smoother mids some more pleasing midsections then on the stellar x3 at least on
my voice i heard a bit less sibilance in the top end a little bit more tameness up there
but then in the mids it's a little bit less pleasant to my ears a little bit more forward
and i like the mids on the nt1 a bit better so it's a pros and cons there on which one you choose
and i'm not doing all the outro stuff this week so that's the microphone i will be back next week bye