At Earthworks we are concerned that unfamiliarity with omni microphone use may be precluding some people from trying out our omnis. Before Earthworks, most of us never gave omnis a second look much less a serious listen simply because of their lack of directionality. They cause feedback, right? How do you get any separation? They pick up everything, don’t they? And what about their imaging in stereo? It turns out that omnis do have very positive strengths for recording and even sound reinforcement applications. They sound great! They add very little phase distortion or coloration. You just have to know how to use them. Don’t let the discussions of technical issues throw you off, skip ahead to the specifics that interest you.
Why omni? – Omnis have some inherent advantages over directional mics. They sample sound at a single point in space, capturing it exactly – directional mics use a combination of sounds sampled at several different points to achieve rear rejection, creating phase problems in the process. The omnis do not exhibit any proximity effect or off-axis coloration. They have extended accurate low frequency response.
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