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MicroViews

Samson Resolv 50a Active Reference Monitors, Sony ECM-88 Miniature Electret Condenser Microphone, and Apple 40GB iPod

by Frank Beacham

Samson Resolv 50a Active Reference Monitors ($279.99). Forget the list price, these compact powered speakers are being sold virtually everywhere for the amazing price of $219 a pair! At first because of the low price I didn't take them seriously. Then I heard them in the Sam Ash store in New York City. No nonsense solid, rich, accurate sound for the price of a cheap boombox stereo. A musician friend bought a pair on the spot for a small recording setup. We set them up. Again, disbelief that speakers this cheap could sound so good!

Samsons Resolv 50a monitors are biamped with 50 watts for the 5.25-inch woofer and 25 watts for the one-inch ferrofluid-cooled titanium tweeter. And there's an active crossover. The ported, tuned cabinets are bookshelf-sized and fit in very tight spots. Each speaker has input connectors for a 1/4-inch TRS phone plug and RCA jack. They are sold in pairs only.

The 50a model is the entry level to a new line of Samson Resolv speakers. Each sounds much better than its price indicates. A good addition for any Resolv monitor is the Resolv120a powered subwoofer, a 10-inch speaker coupled with a 120W amp that drives bass in the 40 Hz - 180 Hz range. This sub, with a street price of about $200, has a built-in active crossover, phase switch, auto sleep mode and a mute control allowing easy on-off switching on the fly.

Sony ECM-88 Miniature Electret Condenser Microphone ($440). It was 1969 when Sony made microphone history with the introduction of the legendary ECM-50 electret condenser lavalier microphone. Despite being a bit boomy and unfriendly to moisture from sweating humans, the ECM-50 forever changed microphone design, transitioning the audio industry from bulky, insensitive neck-worn cigar-sized dynamics to instruments so small they disappeared on a television screen.

Sony has added many ECM models over the past 34 years, but the latest and greatest, the ECM-88 sets new standards for low handling noise, wetness protection and sonic quality. Designed for broadcasting, theatre and field production, this new omni condenser has a completely sealed dual-diaphragm design that makes it not only resistant to sweat but allows total immersion of the microphone in water.

And talk about tiny, the ECM-88 is only 3.5mm in diameter about half the size of its predecessor, the ECM-77, and not much larger than its own super-strength, ultra thin cable. Upon first listen, this microphone gives the impression of being big, as in a large diaphragm studio mic.

This is because Sony's designers extended the frequency response of the ECM-88 well beyond the range of speech reproduction, and into the realm of a full performance pro microphone of subminiature size. The specs: frequency response is 20 Hz to 20 kHz, sensitivity is -52 dB, and inherent noise (<26 dBA ref 20Pa) is best yet in a Sony ECM-series mic.

The ECM-88 has a Sony four-pin connector (SMC9-4P) ready for use with WRT-8B or WRT-822B wireless transmitters. A pigtail version (ECM-88PT) is also available, as well as an optional DC power supply unit (DC-78, $100) containing a XLR three-pin output connector.

Apple 40GB iPod ($499). Okay, perhaps the 40 gig iPod is the ultimate audio toy. And, damnit, Apple doesn't discount the hefty $500 price. It takes a really good excuse for most of us to justify this kind of dough for just a MUSIC PLAYER.

But what if I told you that Apple's top-of-the-line iPod is MORE than just a machine to conveniently access and listen to over 10,000 of your favorite songs? That it's actually a good investment that can offer protection to your business computer. Now do I have your attention?

Note the new iPod can double as a FireWire or USB 2.0 hard drive for your Macintosh or Windows PC. Now you can transfer nonmusic files and applications from your computer to the iPod and take them with you wherever you go. This feature offers off-site backup of valuable data when your iPod is away from home base, and comes without sacrificing the iPods capability as the world s best music player.

iPod is smart enough to keep your data files separate from your music collection so that they will not be accidentally erased when you are updating your music. With 40GB in storage capacity in a 6.2-ounce pack, I use an iPod to house a 14GB collection of AAC music files, some master files from audio documentaries and clips, several gigabytes of photo files, plus a complete backup of the documents folder from an Apple iBook.

In addition, the iPod supports vCalendar, iCalendar and vCard files that can be exported by several PIM applications, as well as a notes reader that allows the iPod to read an inventory of text files made by any computer. This makes the iPod a very decent PDA.

When viewed at its full capability, the iPod can be not only an elegant portable for accessing your music collection, but a backup device for your most valuable computer files. Hope this helps with the excuse.

For more information contact:

Samson at 516-364-2244, www.samsontech.com
Sony at 800-472-7669, www.sony.com/proaudio
Apple at 800-692-7753, www.apple.com/ipod