Customer Reviews

Sony ECMMS907 Digital Recording Microphone

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have used the ECMMS907 to fill about 150 mini discs since I bought it three years ago. It runs lovingly on one AA battery (unlike it's watch-battery-dependent predecessor) and allows for two polor patterns 180 and 90 degrees. The casing of the unit is rugged. It includes wind screen, travel pouch, stand clip, and four foot cloth encased cable. I have been able to record everything from street musicians to Dave Bruebeck concerts.

In pro audio it isn't considerd cool to like Sony gear as it often uses digital tricks to achieve a bogus sense of higher fidelity, but Sony electronics are bulletproof and work exactly as designed until you lose them or back them over with your car. That said...

Lots of people I have spoken with purchased this microphone thinking they could jack into the 1/8" input on thier laptop computer and get desirable results. This might work if your microphone is inches away from a blaring guitar amp, but won't do well with amient recordings or speaking as the output gain is far too low. Most people are not happy in this situation.

Overall, worth every penny. Perhaps there is a modification out there to improve the output gain.

The other reviewers wrote some great info about this Microphone. Some drawbacks are the relatively bulkyness of this unit as compared to others.

The sound quality is sufficiently clear when recording, but is not sensitive enough to satisfy the most demanding users such as musicians or professional reporters. As the other reviewers have said, you need a relatively loud source as there is no sensitivity switch or zoom feature. It does have the 90-120 degree switch, so you can toggle the range depending on what you are recording.

This microphone is very compatible with many different devices. MD is the best though.

Here's one MD player recorder that I know has the microphone jack and works great with this microphone:
'Sony MZ-NF810CK Net MD MiniDisc Recorder with Car Kit'

However, don't be fooled. Not every MD player has the appropriate Mic Jack. Double Check the technical documentation to make sure. Units that definitely do not have it are:
'Sony MZ-NE410 High Speed Net MD Walkman Recorder'

Notice the deceptive "Recorder" moniker in the product name. Don't be fooled! Very few MD "recorders" actually record with a microphone!

Not sure about these:
'Sony MZ-NF610 High Speed Net MD Walkman Recorder'
'Sony MZ-N510CK NetMD Walkman/Recorder with Car Kit'
'Sony MZ-N505 Net MD Walkman Player/Recorder'

Do your research before purchasing any MD player. All in all, this is a good value and pretty good quality for a digital microphone.

I use the MS-MS907 microphone on a weekly basis. My main use of this microphone is to record lectures and it does a good job of it. Of course microphone placement is the key to a good recording but the MS907 provides a good pickup at this price point. It operates on a single AA battery and is highly efficient with energy consumption. Another feature I like about this microphone is that it provides two pickup pattern (90degrees for an individual speaker and 120degrees to accomodate a chorus).

I would recommend investing in either a minidisc recorder or a MP3 recorder.

I purchased this microphone to record piano playing in my living room via the Griffin iMic to my Mac iBook using the software "WireTap Pro" version 1.11. I have mounted the Mike on the side of my grand piano, where the wall curves. I have made very good recordings, and I am happy with the unit and it's price. I didn't find the recordings to be as good when I attempted to record from some distance away from the piano. Recording from close up and adjusting the sensitivity in the software to avoid distortion seems to be the best way to accomplish my purpose. The unit seems to be a cost-effective solution for my kind of use. I have given it a 4/5 rating although I purchased it with little knowledge of the field overall, and I am not able to make any comparisons.

This works well with a sony digital camcorder, and it is the same product as a similar looking mic marketed for camcorders specifically. This works poorly with a computer mic input. I Compared a cheap (cheaper than this mic) XLR vocal mic with this sony one. I connected both to a USB audio interface (mbox 2/protools le) and the vocal mic outperforms the sony mic by a significantly noticeable degree for instrumental recording. If you're not using this with a minidisc recorder, spring for a usb/firewire AD converter interface for a computer with an xlr mic instead of a minidisc with this mic.

If you look around you'll see that this mic is one of the most popular for recording concerts, lectures, etc. I found it to be clear when recording, although there needed to be moderate volume. There is no sensitivity switch. It does have the 90-120 degree switch, so you can increase the scope of recording. The unit is built well, and comes apart easily to allow replacement of the battery, which should last a long time. When using this microphone, make sure if the volume level reaching you is not high enough, position it better, like one other reviewer said, or spend the extra money and get a zoom microphone. Also an mp3 player that allows digital recording comes in really handy.

This has been a wonderful microphone for me. I heard it as the microphone used on the cd The Kitchen Tapes by Lori McKenna. I asked other fans what microphone she used, because I loved the stereo sound she got. They told me this was the microphone she used, and I bought it. I use it with my minidisc recorder when I need to record my live performances. I've found that the best way to use this is to set it on the floor between my feet, using a low profile microphone stand from Musician's Friend. Low profile is the name they give it. While you're ordering, get their spring clip microphone holder to hold this microphone. For my best results, extend the low profile stand all the way, clip in the microphone, and face it away from you. Now point it straight up, and you'll get a nice recording of your singing and playing, while capturing the ambience of the room. This setup doesn't overpower the microphone, thus it doesn't engage the limiter to chop down the sound. If you use the setup I've detailed, you'll get a nice recording, and if you need to hear how this sounds, go to www.CDBaby.com, type in Lori McKenna, and listen to the samples of the Kitchen tapes in high-fi, and you'll hear how good this microphone sounds.

I like the results I have gotten with this microphone, both in a concert setting and recording myself and friends playing music with my minidisc recorder.

My only reason for giving this mic 4 out of 5 stars is that the thread size on the holder that comes with it does not fit the threads of any microphone stand I am aware of. Also, the body of the mic has a somewhat oblong shape instead of being perfectly round. As such, you'll have a hard time finding any standard mic holder to attach this microphone to a stand.

The solution is to go to Radio Shack and get their spring-clip style microphone holder. I think it cost me about $6, if that. It has standard threads to attach to a stand, and the sides of the holder have foam padding where they contact the mic, to give a good grip.

Of course, the holder is designed to act as its own "stand" if you want to set it on a table or desktop while recording. However, the mic can easily fall over if the table/desk is bumped or if the cord gets tugged inadvertently.

Otherwise, the mic has a nice, solid feel and appears to be well-constructed.

I love this little microphone. It works considerably well with my MD recorder. The stereo lapel mic that came with the recorder worked great, but 1. It looks funny for video applications... and 2. If I wasn't using for a video application, it just felt wierd to use it as it was. So this mic is just perfect. And the carrying bag that comes with it is extra large so... I can fit my MD recorder, a few accessories, the spring-loaded mic holder for my stand, and the microphone itself inside like a glove. I call it my "mini-studio in a bag".

And for reference the MD Recorder I am using is a HI-MD SONY MZ-M100.

It works great. I wanted to have a quick way to record musical ideas, a rehearsal or a live show with my Sony minidisc recorder and this mic does the trick! Sure, it's not going to be perfect or the "best possible sound quality", but that's not the intent of the product in the first place.

I have had great results so far and highly recommend this product!