greetings earthlings today we're gonna find out what all the hype is about this brand
new microphone so today we're reviewing this guy the tech zone audio products stellar x2
really catchy name guys if you are interested in this microphone it will cost you around $200
like always I'll throw some links down below and for this review I have the microphone connected
directly to my focus right 18 I 20 second gen with the gain set just at around 11:30
I will not do any kind of post-processing but I may boost the audio and post so check
the doobly-doo to see what I did Lee did now let's talk about what comes in the box
first off you will get this hardshell flight case of course you'll get the microphone a
shock mount a 5/8 to 3/8 inch microphone stand adaptor a foam windscreen a carrying pouch and
documentation including a QA checklist then as far as the build quality it feels alright for $200 I'm
fairly certain that the body of this thing is the exact same as the NW 708 hundred but it does have
a metal body as well as a metal grille as you move around the microphone you won't find any kind of
switches it is just a plain XLR microphone and on the bottom you'll find the XLR port then as
far as the specs this microphone has a cardioid polar pattern a frequency response of 20 Hertz
to 18 kilohertz a sensitivity of around negative 31 decibels a max SPL of 130 DB a self-noise of
13 DBA and an impedance of 140 ohms now I am spinning around the stellar x2 to 90 degrees
to show you what the off-axis rejection and coloration is will continue around the microphone
to 180 degrees show you what it sounds like from the rear continuing around the microphone to the
second 90 degree angle and then we will rotate and end at the front of the microphone now let's
go ahead test the plosive rejection of the stellar x2 please bring Pizza pronto please
bring Pizza pronto please bring Pizza pronto now let's go ahead and see how much the provided foam
windscreen affects the tone of the microphone right now I am speaking about three inches off
of the microphone with no foam windscreen on it and now I'm at the exact same distance with the
exact same gain setting but I have installed the provided foam windscreen and here is how the audio
sounds now I am right on top of the stellar x2 to show you the proximity effect on this thing three
inches off of the microphone with it pointed at the corner of my mouth and here is how it sounds
one foot away from the microphone do you feet away from the microphone from the microphone
now I am typing on a keyboard with cherry MX blues to see how much of my voice versus how
much of the keyboard it picks up and for you sad boy gamers now I am typing on the leet W
keys now to see how well the provided shock mount works I am bumping on the desk to see how much of
that noise it rejects and then I will bump the boom arm to see how much of that it can reject
here is how the stellar x2 sounds in a well treated room and now I'm speaking into the
microphone in a completely untreated room and here is how the audio sounds now I am going to
do a comparison between the stellar x2 and a lot of other microphones because this microphone has
so much hype around it I want to see how it compares to its competition right now I am
speaking into the stellar x2 3 inches off of the microphone and here is how the audio is sounding
now I am 3 inches off of the 20 or $30 nywhere NW 700 with the exact same gain settings and here is
how the audio sounds to make the comparisons a little bit easier I'm switching back to the
stellar x2 now and I am still 3 inches off of the microphone and here is how it sounds next I
am on the audio technica at2020 which is a $100 XLR condenser microphone 3 inches off with the
exact same gain setting but I will have to boost this a lot more so check the dooblydoo and this
is how the audio sounds Wow we're back on the stellar x2 again so you can hear how it sounds
Before we jump to this next microphone to hear how it compares to this next microphone hm and
here we are on one of my favorite microphones the rode nt1 were 3 inches off of the microphone with
the exact same gain setting check the doobly-doo for how much I boost it and this is how the audio
compares to the stellar x2 surprise-surprise I am back on these stellar x2 3 inches off of the
microphone and here is how the audio sounds so you can compare it to this next microphone next up in
the comparison I wanted to include another one of these modded NW 700 body microphones so this
is the Roswell mini que 47 which if I remember correctly is around $300 I am at the exact same
distance with the exact same gain setting and here is how the microphone compares to the stellar x2
and again we are on the stellar x22 cleanse your palate and to make comparing the microphones a bit
easier I am three inches off of the microphone and here is how it sounds now I am speaking into the
noi minh TLM 102 which is a $700 XLR condenser microphone i am at the 3 inch distance exact
same gain setting check the dooblydoo and this is how the audio compares to the stellar x2 who
would have thunk it we are back on the stellar x2 3 inches off of the microphone and this is how it
sounds compare it to whatever's next do that now it really is starting to get expensive here now I
am speaking into the anointment e LM 103 about 3 inches off of the mic this is an $1,100 XLR
condenser microphone and tech zone audio products says that the stellar x2 is in between 80 LM 103
and au 87 so here is what the t LM 103 sounds like compared to the stellar x2 oh good we are
back on the stellar x2 to cleanse your palate and let you hear what this sounds like before we jump
to this next microphone right here remember to breathe when you are speaking and now I'm
officially bankrupt because it is super expensive and now I am speaking into the NOI Minh u87 AI on
the cardioid mode 3 inches off of the microphone with the exact same gain setting and here is how
the audio compares to the stellar x2 which is supposed to be in between a TL m103 and a u 87
is the hive really real is it as good as you think could it be a u-87 or does it just taste it
I don't know what I'm doing but is it a u-87 let me know in the comments down below alright so is
this a decent sounding microphone yes but is it even close to a TL m103 or u-87 no and first up
in terms of pros the microphone has an extremely healthy output level at negative 31 decibels and
the shock mount did incredibly well at rejecting bumps of the desk and bumps of the boom arm but
then in terms of cons the upper frequencies of this microphone seem to be a little bit sharp
and a little bit sibling and the microphone just didn't do a very good job with plosive rejection
so what are my overall thoughts of this microphone on the electric guitar I think it is pretty usable
it does seem to capture some frequencies below 100 Hertz and get a little bit bumi so you will 100%
need to add a high-pass filter to the recording and the upper frequencies got a little bit sharp
and piercing when we got to the upper register of the guitar then on the acoustic guitar it sounds
very very bright to my ears and it captures all the attack of the guitar strings but in
the lower frequencies it seems to be lacking a little bit of body which leads to it sounding
a little bit thin then for singing I liked it for that application it has an open and crisp
sound to it and it's also not overly bassy so it's not going to clash with the other instruments in
the mix and lastly for spoken-word I think it is very top heavy and sharp sounding and also
a little bit sibling and if you have a higher pitched voice like mine it is not going to do
you any favors in the lower frequencies so what I recommend to these stellar x2 it is a soft ax
maybe from me and I will explain because I know a lot of people are going to be ticked off with
me for that to put it bluntly of all of the microphones that I compared this thing to the
one that it sounded the most similar to to my ears was the audio technica at2020 it does have
a slightly more pleasing low-end and the upper frequencies are ever so slightly smoother but of
all the microphones it sounds the most similar to the at2020 to my ears according to tech zone
and a lot of reviews that I have seen online it is compared to the u-87 and the TL m103 and I
just don't hear it the upper frequencies on the stellar x2 are just much more sibling much more
over boosted and much more sharp to listen to now let me be clear I don't think that a 200-dollar
microphone should sound anywhere near as good as an 1100 or a $3,600 microphone but based
on the number of people that I have seen raving about this online saying oh my god it's just like
a u87 it's just like a TL m103 I just feel the obligation to point that out that I don't think
it's anywhere near as good as a TL m103 or u-87 I think it is much closer to an audio technica
at2020 now with all of that being said why am i kind of recommending this microphone because it
does sound somewhat similar to the at2020 but it does have some improvements over the tone in the
lower frequencies and in the upper frequencies if you like the sound of that and you are looking for
a 200-dollar microphone then I would recommend it but on the other hand if you listen to the at2020
to the stellar x2 and you heard no difference whatsoever just get the at2020 and save yourself a
hundred bucks alright that is going to wrap up for today so if you found this video fun interesting
or helpful go ahead and give me a thumbs up if you hated it give me a big ol thumbs down if you want
more videos go ahead and subscribe by clicking that logo down beneath me but before I sign off
for all the people who are still watching you may want to head over to podcasters calm slash
giveaways because you can enter to win some free stuff now if you want to support the channel and
become one of these amazing people I love them so much you can do so by clicking that joint
button and joining it the $5 tier or higher it real does help me continue to bring you
these videos so until next time thank you so much for watching thank you so much for listening bye