Sony ECM F8 Electret Condenser Microphone with Flat Boundary Effect Design
Posted: December 27th, 2009 | Author: Condenser Microphone Reviews | Filed under: Condenser Microphone Reviews | Tags: Bad Quality, Boundary Effect, Cheap Construction, Condenser, Cr2025 Lithium Battery, Directional Microphone, Electret Condenser Microphone, Electret Microphone, F8, Frequency Response, Low Noise, Mini Plug, Noise Signal, Quality Output, Sony Cassette Recorder, Sony Ecm, Sony Microphone, Sound Source, Speech Frequencies, Strong Signal | No Comments »Sony ECM F8 Electret Condenser Microphone with Flat Boundary Effect Design
Designed specifically for recording meetings, the ECMF8 from Sony is an inexpensive electret condenser microphone with a high-quality output and a small, inconspicuous design.
As a tabletop omni-directional microphone, the ECMF8 picks up sound from all directions, ensuring that speech is easily discernable, even in multiple sound source environments. As a boundary microphone, the ECMF8 is able to offer a flatter frequency response than many other microphones by reducing frequency distorting reflections, providing a low-noise signal even when the microphone is at a distance from the sound source. A frequency response of 50 to 12,000 Hz captures the most important speech frequencies, while a -51 (+/-4 dBm) effective output level delivers a strong signal to the recording device. Output impedence is 1.6 kohms (+/- 30%, unbalanced).
The ECMF8 operates on Sony’s CR2025 lithium battery, which has a life of approximately 100 hours. The mini plug connects directly to most portable recorders, while its L-shape helps ensure that it doesn’t come disconnected during use. Small and unobtrusive, the ECMF8 weighs just 0.88 ounces (including battery and cord) while its 3.3 foot long cord lets you position the mic a reasonable distance from your recording device. The ECMF8 also comes backed with a 90 day limited warranty on parts and labor.
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star BAD QUALITY
I am a musician, I bought one, it is so bad , the sound is so small, it is not sensitive, I cannot use it. just throw away. Do not waste your money even it is 1 dollar.
Luke Thanh Hoang
1 Star Cheap construction
This product was not what I expected it to be. It was so light weight, it never would have stayed in one spot for very long. I threw it in the garbage.
5 Stars Great Little Microphone
I purchased this to use with my Sony Cassette Recorder. It greatly enhanced the recording. You do need to purchase the battery separately.
1 Star DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS MICROPHONE
DO NOT BUY THIS MICROPHONE IF YOU CARE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE ACTUALLY RECORDING A SESSION OR NOT. Steer clear!!! These mikes might look great, but of what use are they when they need a battery and there is no low battery indicator? There is absolutely no way to know that you’re not getting a recording until you try to play something back and there’s nothing there or it’s faint sounding. What a useless microphone!! You also have to turn the microphone on and off on the bottom which is difficult to do because of the switch design and if you forget to turn it off, you’ll run your battery down. Arrh!! This is the worst waste of money of my whole life… Thankfully, I only bought two, and they are not terribly expensive.
As a court repoorter, I’m always looking for new equipment and thought I would try these mikes for court as they looked low key and would be a nice addition to my microphone stable. I didn’t see in the specs that they also require batteries (which by the way, don’t come with the microphones) and I bought them only to find they would be of no use to me in my work as I can’t run the risk of not getting a perfect recording each time.
Do not buy these microphones — any microphone that needs independent batteries and doesn’t have a low battery indicator is worthless. I highly recommend the Labtec VERSE 333 MON MOUNT MIC ( 980184-0403 ) which are available on Amazon and are cheaper than the Sony. They have identical plugs and are about the same size. I have three of them and they work great. I have never had a problem. I take down courtrooms, public meetings in large rooms, depositions — and I get everything clearly enough to be able to provide a perfect transcript to my clients.
1 Star Don’t Buy!!
I picked this small mic to use with collaboration tools at my desk…and since it was Sony figured it would be a great product. WRONG!! Unless you hold the mic almost against your mouth, it won’t pick up your audio. I tried adjusting my mic levels and nothing seemed to work. I ended up at Radio Shack to buy a lapel mic that actually works!! This is buy far the WORST Sony product I have ever used.
Leave a Reply