Umik 1 Vs umik 2

[Phorize]

I'm going to buy a umik to use with REW. I'm anticipating generating eq settings to use with Camilla DSP on my 2 channel set up. Is there any practical reason why I should choose the umik 2 over umik 1 for this? I can see that the version 2 is essentially more modern with lower noise and higher sampling rates, but I can't see a practical advantage for my use case. I was interest in linearity of frequency response-version one is with 1db across 20 to 20000 Hz, but I can't find this spec for version 2.

Anyway-I'll probably get version 1 unless someone chimes in with a good reason to go for version 2 instead.

 

[abdo123]

If you want to use the microphone for anything other than Room EQ then it might be worth it.

The noise levels are too high to record something like vocals or voice overs or anything really with the UMIK-1.

 

[Blumlein 88]

The Umik 1 does have some issues at low levels and distortion as measured. Is it enough to matter in terms of audibility? At best it would be borderline to say yes. OTOH, the Umik 2 is a larger capsule and will become a bit directional at higher frequencies. In this respect it is inferior to the Umik 1. I go with the Umik 1, the fact it is cheaper is a cherry on top.

Yes, as abdo123 says it might be better with the Umik 2 if you also wanted to record music with it.

 

[Matias]

UMIK-1 is good enough for room EQ,. IMO spending more on an UMIK-2 only makes sense for nearfield measurements of speaker and drivers.

 

[Phorize]

UMIK-1 is good enough for room EQ,. IMO spending more on an UMIK-2 only makes sense for nearfield measurements of speaker and drivers.

I' ll certainly do some measurements at the 2-4 metres mark, but would be good to measure the nearfield to as I'm interested in hearing the Harbeths with the middle frequency dip eq'd out. I'll only be using the mic for room eq, nothing more specialised than that.

 

[Phorize]

Thanks @abdo123 @Blumlein 88 @Matias. Version 1 it is then.

 

[ccc118]

I tried a UMIK 1 a few years ago, but couldn't get it to work. I couldn't get it to pick up any signal. The box was a little roughed up, so I assumed it might have gotten damaged in shipping and sent it back. I wish I was able to get it to work becuase a regular non-USB measurment mic requires a separate interface, which I otherwise don't really need. It seems like it would be a lot more convenient.

 

[Phorize]

I tried a UMIK 1 a few years ago, but couldn't get it to work. I couldn't get it to pick up any signal. The box was a little roughed up, so I assumed it might have gotten damaged in shipping and sent it back. I wish I was able to get it to work becuase a regular non-USB measurment mic requires a separate interface, which I otherwise don't really need. It seems like it would be a lot more convenient.

I went with a umik 1 in the end, I have a boom coming so will be set up shortly.

 

[Chromatischism]

If you want to use the microphone for anything other than Room EQ then it might be worth it.

The noise levels are too high to record something like vocals or voice overs or anything really with the UMIK-1.

Do what I did and add a Rode Videomic NTG to your kit

 

[TheAVInsider]

Who knows anything about the cross-spectrum UMIK-1 pre-calibrated mics, and what about this stuff from the FAQ's?

• What is the down side?
  The major issue we have discovered with the UMIK-1:
  
  • The microphone may not work properly with software that expects the input device and output device to share the same clock source (for example, ARTA has issues when averaging multiple measurements with the UMIK-1).
  
  
  Feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions.
  
  
• What about microphone sensitivity?
  We provide sensitivity values for our EMM-6 Premium+ products which can be directly determined by measuring the voltage output of the microphone for a given SPL input. For USB microphones like the UMIK-1 this process is more complex as we have found that computer hardware, OS settings and program settings can affect the sensitivity value. Therefore we do not provide this information with our calibration files.
  
  We do provide calibration files that include the MiniDSP factory sensitivity values on the USB drive. Please note that we do not endorse or support those senstivity values.

Cross·Spectrum - Calibrated MiniDSP UMIK-1 Microphones for Sale

Purchase calibrated MiniDSP UMIK-1 measurement microphones, low-cost option for performing precise and accurate sound measurements

cross-spectrum.com

 

[sam_adams]

What is the down side?
The major issue we have discovered with the UMIK-1:

• The microphone may not work properly with software that expects the input device and output device to share the same clock source (for example, ARTA has issues when averaging multiple measurements with the UMIK-1).

REW has a setting, "Adjust clock with acoustic ref" in the Analysis option Preferences, that will adjust impulse results for differences in clock timing between devices.

What about microphone sensitivity?
We provide sensitivity values for our EMM-6 Premium+ products which can be directly determined by measuring the voltage output of the microphone for a given SPL input. For USB microphones like the UMIK-1 this process is more complex as we have found that computer hardware, OS settings and program settings can affect the sensitivity value. Therefore we do not provide this information with our calibration files.

We do provide calibration files that include the MiniDSP factory sensitivity values on the USB drive. Please note that we do not endorse or support those senstivity values.

In order to calibrate the sensitivity of the mic capsule, Herb would have to disassemble the UMIK to gain direct access to the voltage output of the capsule while using a calibrator. The wiring inside the UMIK to the mic capsule is all thin solid core and the risk of breaking the wires is probably not something he is willing to risk.

 

[Chromatischism]

Who knows anything about the cross-spectrum UMIK-1 pre-calibrated mics, and what about this stuff from the FAQ's?

When I got mine in 2015, I did so because the calibration extends to 5 Hz and gives me the SENS factor. I don't remember if the MiniDSP calibration gives the SENS factor, but it doesn't have corrections that go that low.

 

[ccc118]

I went with a umik 1 in the end, I have a boom coming so will be set up shortly.

Nice! Let us know how it goes.

 

[Overseas]

What would be the recommendation for the most plug n play microphone and free software easy to use for a non technical guy like me? I just want to measure what my system generates in my room, not to eq or make fancy improvements. Just for a bloody simple reliable measurement, I hope.

 

[HarmonicTHD]

What would be the recommendation for the most plug n play microphone and free software easy to use for a non technical guy like me? I just want to measure what my system generates in my room, not to eq or make fancy improvements. Just for a bloody simple reliable measurement, I hope.

REW (free) plus UMIK1. But it comes with a learning curve and I don’t know of a stand-alone pure measurement setup which doesn’t.

 

[NMixes]

I have both, the UMIK-1 works fine, but the 90° calibration file on my UMIK-2 is unusable, I contacted MiniDSP support and told them that the file was wrong and support basically stopped answering after I sent a bunch of measurements to prove it, so I have a useless UMIK-2 and have read other people having the same issue with UMIK-2.

 

[ivo.f.doma]

So is it the right time to buy UMIK2? Or is it still a product where the customer is a beta tester?
CSL sells UMIK1 for 110 and UMIK2 for 200...

 

[NMixes]

So is it the right time to buy UMIK2? Or is it still a product where the customer is a beta tester?
CSL sells UMIK1 for 110 and UMIK2 for 200...

Based on my experience, I would go with CSL just to be sure.

 

[ivo.f.doma]

Because MiniDSP sells UMIK1 for 79 a CSL sells UMIK1 for 110, and MiniDSP sells UMIK2 for 195 and CSL sells UMIK2 for 200, buying UMIK2 from CSL seems like a very good deal to me.

 

[Chromatischism]

I don't think there is a reason to use a UMIK-2 for in-room audio measurements. What is the use case for it?