I've been working with audio for over 25 years and I have to admit: the revolution that's taking place in the equipment area is impressive. More and more 'obscure' brands are presenting products that are low cost and with sound quality equivalent to (in this case) much more expensive microphones. The Maono PD200x and now this Proar, in my opinion, are the best in quality and cost and benefit I've seen so far. Congratulations on the videos and thank you. A hug from Brazil (Rio de Janeiro).
Fantastic comment and a hug back. Heck even in my way shorter experience in audio... I've seen the change in gear to a drastic degree. It's a good time to be making content. Thank you sincerely.
I'm so glad you reviewed this! Your voice is a great Barometer for comparing mics for me. I think this 414 copy is an insane value however I don't love this one on your voice because while it's sounds clear and catches a lot character which would work for a lot of folks, I just don't love it on your voice. It just doesn't catch enough bass in your voice kinda like the 440 Pure does. The OC16 copy does better in this area. So many of the mics made here and Europe are really made by Chinese companies who now know how to make great microphones. I'm glad they are selling them direct themselves and that folks like you and Microphone Assassin and helping us all sift through them to find the unicorn mics!! This company has a bunch of other models and I'm hoping you would consider continuing to explore their other offerings to see if they have other gems.
I actually 100% agree with you on all of this. I definitely wont be using this mic very often because on ME..I have mics that are considerably better, and I do wish it has more low end for ME. But as always, I wont judge a mic just based on my own voice. Good stuff. I appreciate all of your comments....I wish there was a top contributor badge on youtube lol
I got this mic in the Bai Fei Li version 34mm a week ago and it really is amazing. I tried it with a tube preamp and an analog compressor and wow, it brings out its full potential in voiceover.
This is exactly what I wanted to know, Bai Fei Li have both 25mm and 34mm caspules and I want to use them on my drums toms and room mics instead of much more expensive mics, I love large condensers on toms for the hi-fi quality. I thought the 34mm would be a perfect contender for that job, better than the 25mm. I'll probably go for 1x 34mm first then go all the way with another order of x3 :)
Im glad you did this. I got one of these with the coupon and immediately shot it out with my 414xl ii. The proar is lacking in the bottom end. Its very apparent on things like acoustic guitar and paino. Way less with spoken words. On vocal… it sounds great if youre not directly comparing it to the AKG. With the coupon, theres just no reason to not try it out.
Right on. No one should be expecting a real 414 sound. But to expect solid results given the price... That's a good Outlook. I gotta say.... At $99...im actually less impressed with the mic itself.. Without the hakkan rip off. But it's still pretty good....just not a must buy
I bought the Ali Baba version Bai Fei Li. Nice housing and build, self noise did not stand out as being unacceptable compared to other low cost condensers e.g., AKG P420, Lewitt 240, etc.. Overall, I just wasn’t all that impressed with the tonal quality, it is detailed but a bit lackluster overall and has that low cost electret character. Thanks Bark!
So glad you reviewed this one! I've been tracking it for a while now. It does sound really good for the price (that seems to be rising). I do love the look of the second one.
Hummm, a new name for me to be aware of - thanks. They are unapologetically cloning a swath of classic mics. At first listen, I was not in love with the C414 clone, but it kind of grew on me a bit. Not bad. Then I saw the listed frequency response plot and it makes sense why I was hearing what I heard. When you plugged in the Austrian Audio clone (it needs a new name - they call it the Proar Fangdong), that made my ears perk up. Very intrigued. Based on its listed frequency response, I am surprised how it sounds. Sounds good on you, Bark. But wait a minute, something caught my eye. When I visited one of their sales websites, I did a side-by-side specs comparison. The 414 and Austrian clones both feature a 25mm diaphragm, both have a frequency response of 40Hz - 16kHz, both claim a Equivalent Noise Level: ≤18dB A, and if you look at the claimed polar pattern and charted frequency response, they are identical.... well that doesn't seem likely. Certainly they hint in their semi-xray vision photos of the two models that the boards are different. But I would bet the frequency response listed on the Austrian Audio clone is not accurate. Something to ponder. Interesting finds, though, for sure. Thanks. Bill
Oh yeah, never a surprise when the specs are not correct on these mics from small companies - as they clearly sound different. Fangdong is actually...I BELIEVE the name of the parent company, not the mic model
Apparently, that mic has two variations: 25mm capsule and 34mm capsule. That's actually pretty nice that they give us those options that most brands won't do.
The first one with the hakkan (idk how to spell it) style pop filter is an insanely good deal. I have the actual genuine filter and it has been great for plosive rejection but man do I wish I had paid less for it lol. Also the other proar mic you showed sounded fantastic for the price in my opinion. I have skimmed over a review or two on Amazon talking about high self noise apparently but honestly for the price alone you could just get the mic for the pop filter and give the mic away to a friend that needs on for discord voice chat for example or even use it for that yourself as it's more than good enough for just chatting to friends.
Absolutely. I am of the opinion that high self noise is a no go for things like Voice Over, but honestly not a big deal for anything else....so this ones a go for me
Is still only about $62 right at the moment....i have one of these and a V5 professional on the way right now. Ridiculous value!!! (Aliexpresso... Didn't find out about the rebrand on Amazon until after I ordered)
They sound preety good for the price man. I like the Auatrian Audio Clone as well a little bit better. You did a short a while back saying ' lets put that windscreen on this SOB' Love the accent on it. Would you be able to do another version with that accent pls as it was so funny.
There's a whole thread on the groupdiy forum called "C414 body". There's pictures of the circuit board and the components seems fairly good quality, the transformer is an EL14038 (same as AT 3035) and I don't know if replacing some of the SMD capacitors will really improve the sound. The larger 34mm electret diaphragm will certainly be the best upgrade IMHO especially if it's the same as JLI-3412 which is really good.
I bought the Bai Fei Lei a while back.......... I am yet to plug it in. 😜 I actually bought that Proar Hakan clone pop filter for like $15 recently. I'll be doing a short on whether or not the Hakan and Proar work the same or not. What I noticed: SLIGHT difference... Not much, though. Definitely not a $75 difference. NOTE: I did not buy the Hakan; someone gifted it to me haha.
This sounds good on you. Definitely worth the $40 pricetag but also just sounds good overall. Not just a 'good for the money' but also good overall. Interesante.
That pop filter looks like it could be made cheap with 20mm (approx 0.8") coarse aquarium foam. Some testing obviously needed to get the right coarseness of foam but I'm seeing some pretty promising options on Amazon.
@ObscureMics so I found the stuff on Ali. $5 shipped for over 1sqft at 2cm thick. Works like a charm. Even replaced the headbasket foam on a Rode Broadcaster (end address) and it reduces plosives significantly.
lol you sound like me....I told my wife this would never be funded from our money, only money made from the channel and my side hustle of buy/sell. DONT DO IT MIKE!
These XLR cables you get with a microphone of a somewhat off kilter provenance, they really need to be tested, because sometimes they're not correctly wired up and use the wrong type of wire, using 2-conductor unshielded wire or 1-conductor shielded, neither of which is sufficient for the microphone to operate correctly.
I don't understand what's going on. Why are so many people calling it the 4-1-4? It's pronounced FOUR FOURTEEN. We've been calling it the four fourteen for half a century and now all of a sudden it's the 4-1-4? Stop that! And even though the extension is "wav" it is and always should be pronounced "wave". Thank you.
Good video I liked the "pickled Pepsi, pineapple" test of the plosive syllables and the 90 degree off axis. Some times I'll jangle my key ring in front of a mic , another common test.
For a while now I'm looking for a budget friendly way to record my acoustic piano (Upright). I've been thinking about getting two pencil mics and almost placed an order, but during my digital quest I also stumbled across some professionals using two AKG's. I liked the results very much because to my ears it sounded richer. Question: Do you think two of these mics will work well to record an upright piano? Or would I get better results using a matched pair of pencils?
@@ObscureMics So far the only switchable cheap mic is the CAD m179, and I don't know if they are still in production. We need some of these great Chinese manufacturers to create one!
Just thought of it ... did you ever hear those Viking microphones that were around a few years back. They were very cheap but I thought they sounded good and bought a bunch of them. I think they changed the name to Orpheum and then went out of business. @@ObscureMics
![EST Gee - NEVER NEED (Feat. Selfpaid Savage) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/f2cRtr52HXI/mqdefault.jpg)
I've been working with audio for over 25 years and I have to admit: the revolution that's taking place in the equipment area is impressive. More and more 'obscure' brands are presenting products that are low cost and with sound quality equivalent to (in this case) much more expensive microphones.
The Maono PD200x and now this Proar, in my opinion, are the best in quality and cost and benefit I've seen so far.
Congratulations on the videos and thank you. A hug from Brazil (Rio de Janeiro).
Fantastic comment and a hug back. Heck even in my way shorter experience in audio... I've seen the change in gear to a drastic degree. It's a good time to be making content. Thank you sincerely.
What a crazy time to be a content creator. Gear pouring out of every corner of the globe at affordable prices. Thanks for this video.
The golden age Hank!
I'm so glad you reviewed this! Your voice is a great Barometer for comparing mics for me.
I think this 414 copy is an insane value however I don't love this one on your voice because while it's sounds clear and catches a lot character which would work for a lot of folks, I just don't love it on your voice. It just doesn't catch enough bass in your voice kinda like the 440 Pure does.
The OC16 copy does better in this area.
So many of the mics made here and Europe are really made by Chinese companies who now know how to make great microphones. I'm glad they are selling them direct themselves and that folks like you and Microphone Assassin and helping us all sift through them to find the unicorn mics!!
This company has a bunch of other models and I'm hoping you would consider continuing to explore their other offerings to see if they have other gems.
I actually 100% agree with you on all of this. I definitely wont be using this mic very often because on ME..I have mics that are considerably better, and I do wish it has more low end for ME. But as always, I wont judge a mic just based on my own voice. Good stuff. I appreciate all of your comments....I wish there was a top contributor badge on youtube lol
I got this mic in the Bai Fei Li version 34mm a week ago and it really is amazing. I tried it with a tube preamp and an analog compressor and wow, it brings out its full potential in voiceover.
I have a nice new preamp I am eager to throw on it!
@@ObscureMics I would like to hear that
This is exactly what I wanted to know, Bai Fei Li have both 25mm and 34mm caspules and I want to use them on my drums toms and room mics instead of much more expensive mics, I love large condensers on toms for the hi-fi quality. I thought the 34mm would be a perfect contender for that job, better than the 25mm. I'll probably go for 1x 34mm first then go all the way with another order of x3 :)
Im glad you did this. I got one of these with the coupon and immediately shot it out with my 414xl ii. The proar is lacking in the bottom end. Its very apparent on things like acoustic guitar and paino. Way less with spoken words. On vocal… it sounds great if youre not directly comparing it to the AKG. With the coupon, theres just no reason to not try it out.
Right on. No one should be expecting a real 414 sound. But to expect solid results given the price... That's a good Outlook. I gotta say.... At $99...im actually less impressed with the mic itself.. Without the hakkan rip off. But it's still pretty good....just not a must buy
Got it at $40 based on your community post, Bark. This thing is awesome for that price 👌
You are one of the lucky ones!
I bought the Ali Baba version Bai Fei Li. Nice housing and build, self noise did not stand out as being unacceptable compared to other low cost condensers e.g., AKG P420, Lewitt 240, etc.. Overall, I just wasn’t all that impressed with the tonal quality, it is detailed but a bit lackluster overall and has that low cost electret character. Thanks Bark!
I do not disagree much with that. It needs just a bit more bottom to balance out that high detail
So glad you reviewed this one! I've been tracking it for a while now. It does sound really good for the price (that seems to be rising). I do love the look of the second one.
Proar could be the best new copy cat! Lol
Hummm, a new name for me to be aware of - thanks. They are unapologetically cloning a swath of classic mics. At first listen, I was not in love with the C414 clone, but it kind of grew on me a bit. Not bad. Then I saw the listed frequency response plot and it makes sense why I was hearing what I heard. When you plugged in the Austrian Audio clone (it needs a new name - they call it the Proar Fangdong), that made my ears perk up. Very intrigued. Based on its listed frequency response, I am surprised how it sounds. Sounds good on you, Bark. But wait a minute, something caught my eye. When I visited one of their sales websites, I did a side-by-side specs comparison. The 414 and Austrian clones both feature a 25mm diaphragm, both have a frequency response of 40Hz - 16kHz, both claim a Equivalent Noise Level: ≤18dB A, and if you look at the claimed polar pattern and charted frequency response, they are identical.... well that doesn't seem likely. Certainly they hint in their semi-xray vision photos of the two models that the boards are different. But I would bet the frequency response listed on the Austrian Audio clone is not accurate. Something to ponder. Interesting finds, though, for sure. Thanks.
Bill
Oh yeah, never a surprise when the specs are not correct on these mics from small companies - as they clearly sound different. Fangdong is actually...I BELIEVE the name of the parent company, not the mic model
Dude! Totally Bark-tastic. I'm now going with the P being silent in ProAr. Great video, man.
Thanks Mark - great find on your end. We are living in the age of cheap mics ACTUALLY BEING GOOD
Got myself the 414 34mm and the V5. Also, both sound great on your voice.
Thanks! I wanna try the V5!
That is a beautiful package man. Mic looks great and that hakan style pop filter I wasn't expecting in the package.
It's insanely nice for what I paid. Thanks for watching!
Apparently, that mic has two variations: 25mm capsule and 34mm capsule. That's actually pretty nice that they give us those options that most brands won't do.
Oh man.... Now I need to find the 32mm
I have the second ProAr you looked at. I like it a lot. This one sounds good too.
Did a member early release on that proar at the time of this video
@@ObscureMics mine is on my desk now but not hooked up. I'm using the worker bee 🐝 right now.
@@onlymyopiniontech Gotta love the Bee!
The first one with the hakkan (idk how to spell it) style pop filter is an insanely good deal. I have the actual genuine filter and it has been great for plosive rejection but man do I wish I had paid less for it lol. Also the other proar mic you showed sounded fantastic for the price in my opinion.
I have skimmed over a review or two on Amazon talking about high self noise apparently but honestly for the price alone you could just get the mic for the pop filter and give the mic away to a friend that needs on for discord voice chat for example or even use it for that yourself as it's more than good enough for just chatting to friends.
Absolutely. I am of the opinion that high self noise is a no go for things like Voice Over, but honestly not a big deal for anything else....so this ones a go for me
Is still only about $62 right at the moment....i have one of these and a V5 professional on the way right now. Ridiculous value!!! (Aliexpresso... Didn't find out about the rebrand on Amazon until after I ordered)
And there’s more(baifeili) on AliExpress anyways so I get that
That's... a hell of a lot of value for not a whole lot of money.
EDIT: It seems to be $80 currently.
Right.... 10% coupon not there now?
You bet I got both of them, and the Proar V7 XLR/USB, too!
I have the proar v7 too....i need to do that video
They sound preety good for the price man. I like the Auatrian Audio Clone as well a little bit better. You did a short a while back saying ' lets put that windscreen on this SOB' Love the accent on it. Would you be able to do another version with that accent pls as it was so funny.
I'll emphasize my accent plenty more in the future lol
I've heard this mic several times now. One wonders how much better it would be with better electronics inside?
There's a whole thread on the groupdiy forum called "C414 body". There's pictures of the circuit board and the components seems fairly good quality, the transformer is an EL14038 (same as AT 3035) and I don't know if replacing some of the SMD capacitors will really improve the sound. The larger 34mm electret diaphragm will certainly be the best upgrade IMHO especially if it's the same as JLI-3412 which is really good.
I bought the Bai Fei Lei a while back.......... I am yet to plug it in. 😜
I actually bought that Proar Hakan clone pop filter for like $15 recently. I'll be doing a short on whether or not the Hakan and Proar work the same or not. What I noticed: SLIGHT difference... Not much, though. Definitely not a $75 difference. NOTE: I did not buy the Hakan; someone gifted it to me haha.
I wanna see this short!
@@ObscureMics +1 on that one - would love to see a shoot out!~
This sounds good on you. Definitely worth the $40 pricetag but also just sounds good overall. Not just a 'good for the money' but also good overall. Interesante.
Absolutely. I have definitely heard better mics, but I definitely think this could easily work for most everything
Great work as always dude :)
Thanks maaaaaaan. I will start dancing with these mics one day in honor of you
@@ObscureMicsThat's a great idea. I look forward to it :)
That pop filter looks like it could be made cheap with 20mm (approx 0.8") coarse aquarium foam. Some testing obviously needed to get the right coarseness of foam but I'm seeing some pretty promising options on Amazon.
My thoughts as well.
@ObscureMics so I found the stuff on Ali. $5 shipped for over 1sqft at 2cm thick. Works like a charm. Even replaced the headbasket foam on a Rode Broadcaster (end address) and it reduces plosives significantly.
Great vid… now I gotta embezzle some more money from the main checking account to add this to my arsenal. Lol. 😂
lol you sound like me....I told my wife this would never be funded from our money, only money made from the channel and my side hustle of buy/sell. DONT DO IT MIKE!
@@ObscureMics gotta keep the dark voices in my head under control! 🤯 🤪This G.A.S. thing is a monster! 😂
These XLR cables you get with a microphone of a somewhat off kilter provenance, they really need to be tested, because sometimes they're not correctly wired up and use the wrong type of wire, using 2-conductor unshielded wire or 1-conductor shielded, neither of which is sufficient for the microphone to operate correctly.
Truth - they are hit or miss
I don't understand what's going on. Why are so many people calling it the 4-1-4? It's pronounced FOUR FOURTEEN. We've been calling it the four fourteen for half a century and now all of a sudden it's the 4-1-4? Stop that! And even though the extension is "wav" it is and always should be pronounced "wave". Thank you.
okedoke
That's an English language quirk , not a pronunciation problem or problem with mikes. Learn your mice!,@@ObscureMics
Good video I liked the "pickled Pepsi, pineapple" test of the plosive syllables and the 90 degree off axis. Some times I'll jangle my key ring in front of a mic , another common test.
Bro if you say "that's what she said" one more flipping time!!! 😆 🤣 😂
Uh oh......don't watch any other videos then 😬😬😬
Nice pop filter but, Still better to speak/sing off axis
Agree 100% as I don’t really use pop filters
Dude this is fantastic
I dig it quite a bit
For a while now I'm looking for a budget friendly way to record my acoustic piano (Upright). I've been thinking about getting two pencil mics and almost placed an order, but during my digital quest I also stumbled across some professionals using two AKG's. I liked the results very much because to my ears it sounded richer. Question: Do you think two of these mics will work well to record an upright piano? Or would I get better results using a matched pair of pencils?
That's a tough one. I'd say a matched pair of pencils would be the safer bet
Is the pop filter similar to a plastic scrubby pad? Like the green scrubby side of a sponge?
It's more coarse and airy than that.... Think sponge daddy
Is there a switchable version like the AKG 414?
To my knowledge no
@@ObscureMics So far the only switchable cheap mic is the CAD m179, and I don't know if they are still in production. We need some of these great Chinese manufacturers to create one!
No polar pattern switching...
negative
The name of your channel should be "That's What She Said"!
Considered it
Just thought of it ... did you ever hear those Viking microphones that were around a few years back. They were very cheap but I thought they sounded good and bought a bunch of them. I think they changed the name to Orpheum and then went out of business.
@@ObscureMics
Are proar and bai feili the same?
Yes. ProAr is basically the American branded version
Is the other Proar mic BaiFei Li V10 or V5?
V10
Woof
Woof bad.... Woof good?
@@ObscureMics Could be just woof for the Bark. I mean, a woof by any other name is a bark, yes?
I like this Mic a lot. Build quality seems preety good. Whats not to like.
Bingo