Considering a cardioid mic for DRC with REW, any suggestions?

[dweeeeb2]

Like many here I’ve been playing around with REW and a UMIK mic for DRC. I regularly come to question direct v indirect importance and also the impact of my speakers directivity. By question I mean wonder how to find the happy medium between direct and indirect sounds.
I’ve been playing with the idea of using a directional mic to see how this impacts EQ. Will it provide a better measurement of the direct sound? will it be a good way of removing side and rear reflections from the measurements? I don’t know. So I was wondering if people could share their experience or thoughts on this endeavor. Is it a good idea? what mic would you suggest (prefer usb for ease of use)?
Thanks

 

[DVDdoug]

It won't be calibrated so you won't know the true frequency response. And low frequencies, which are the major room-related issue, aren't directional. Y

Your ears aren't that directional either and they aren't directly pointed at the speakers. Most of the ear/brain's directional information comes from triangulating with two ears.

With all of that said, the Blue Yeti is a popular USB "podcast mic" with 3 polarity patterns. I have no idea about its frequency response.

 

[Keith_W]

Hi dweeeeb2. I should have asked you the last time we met why it's "dweeeeb2", I mean there is no "dweeeeb1". No need to demote yourself, you could claim top spot

Anyway the reason we use omni mics is because cardioid mics vary in how "cardioid" they are. If you use the mic pointing up this can be a real issue - the measurement would vary by a huge amount between mics.

It's less of an issue if your mic is pointing at the speaker. And you are right, it would suppress reflections. However, as Geddes (or was it Griesinger?) pointed out, we do not want to suppress reflections with room treatment, etc. We want them to stand out so that we know where to window to remove them.

The other issue with cardioid mics is that the diaphragms are huge. This makes them "large" with respect to short wavelengths, and it is likely that the size of the mic itself will interfere with the accuracy of the measurement.

 

[dweeeeb2]

Hi Keith, I ended up as dweeeeb2 on another site because I forgot my log in details. I just stuck with it, besides it seems consistent with the whole dweeeeb inference.

Thank you and @DVDdoug for the info