M-Audio Nova

I was using the Nova by M audio back in 09 and have been having my eye on it from about 2007. I just didn’t want to crack down and spend the money to actually get it but after I finally broke down and spent the money I was glad that I decided to spend it. It is a large diaphragm condenser mic that we where using in the studio. I actually tried using it at home and really didn’t like the way that it was sounding at the time because my home set up back in 2009 wasn’t equipped for it and I had no room treatments. If I had this mic at home now it would probably sound so much better because I have a dedicated recording room in my basement with padding on the walls to really help with the sound and provide overall better quality. So back in 2009 I decided to take this mic to the larger studio across town and just use it there. When used in a real acoustic environment the M Audio Nova really will give you a great quality recording and it will shine its best in that situation. I have also heard people say that they have used this mic in live settings which I don’t recommend because it’s a much better studio mic than it is anything else.


OVERALL OPINION

After using it for a year in the main studio, we decided to start using a different set up so this mic kind of got pushed to the side. Though we do still have it and probably will keep it for a back up mic. But the price of this mic is really appealing and if you find one used I can only imagin how cheap the price will be so it will be worth the price now. Also, I am not too sure if they are actually still making and manufacturing this mic so you may have to purchase it used. But either way its worth it.

The M Audio Nova is a modern version of the Rode classic NT1. This mic is very cheap to buy, but honestly it sounds way better than it should for this price. Value is definitely the defining characteristic on this mic. It's a large diaphragm condenser, so you will need to hook it up with phantom power. The pickup pattern is cardioid, with a medium or average sized width to the pickup pocket. Unfortunately the pattern isn't switchable, so you won't be able to use these as omni room mics or figure 8's. There also is no bass roll off switch, so make sure you enable that on your preamp or make a high pass filter in your DAW later on. There is also no pad switch, but one of the great things about this mic is its insanely high SPL tolerance for such a cheap mic. You could blast a huge Marshall stack into this and it wouldn't distort. That basically gets rid of the need for a pad switch. It has a pretty thick mesh built-in pop guard around the capsule, but you will likely still need another pop filter in front of this to avoid plosive problems.


OVERALL OPINION

Overall, this mic sounds very good. At this price point I am very hard pressed to think of a better mic for recording vocals. It sounds very detailed and smooth, and most other mics for this price tend to get very harsh on sources with a decent amount of high frequency content like the human singing voice. It's no Neumann or anything, but it is definitely a quality mic and a superb investment for the recording beginner looking to upgrade their main vocal mic. It's a fantastic value and I would recommend it for beginners as a main large diaphragm mic, or to pros as a good choice to have available for the right source.

The M-Audio Nova is a Large Capsule Cardioid Microphone which can be used for recording vocals. It's cheap and perfect for anyone looking to experiment or anyone who is new to vocal recording. It is user friendly and easy to use and it looks decent. It is slim and average sized and it comes with a small microphone stand which is useful if you are looking to place it on your desk. It is a USB microphone so it connects directly into your computer and works well with most programs. I use Audacity for recording and the microphone flows brilliantly with it. This is the best microphone you can get for its price.

OVERALL OPINION

The M-Audio Nova is a great microphone for its price, it would definitely be a good purchase for anyone starting to venture into vocal recording. It is rather simple to use and gives a good quality recording which is at par with many microphones that are higher priced. Before the M-Audio Nova, I was using an Audio Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphone and compared to it, the M-Audio Nova delivers at par quality with a lower price. I have been using it in my home-studio for about a year now and am pleased with the quality it delivers. I have not tried to record instruments with this microphone but you can try. I do believe that this is the ideal home-studio microphone if you are on a budget and would recommend it to most people as I have been pleased with the quality, I was skeptical at first when I purchased this microphone due to it's price but I have grown to love it. The M-Audio Nova is must have for anyone who is looking for a good starting microphone or a cheap microphone that delivers great quality

The M-Audio Nova is a large diaphragm condenser microphone that is designed for use in the recording studio. I've only used it in the recording studio and I wouldn't recommend using it for anything else unless you are doing a live show in a remote place. This being said, if you want to get creative and use it for live shows it wouldn't be too bad as this microphone is cheap enough where you could experiment with it if you wanted to.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been using the M-Audio Nova for about a year or two and while there are ton of other microphones that I would rather use, this microphone is a great deal for the price. It is perfect for home studio owners looking for a dirt cheap microphone to add to their collection or for the project studio owner who has a small set up and needs a cheap condenser microphone to get ideas down. M-Audio isn't exactly known for making microphones, but they provide the home studio world with a cheap line of microphones that sound pretty good for the price. Don't get me wrong, the sound quality of the M-Audio Nova is far from perfect, but the price makes up for it in every way as it is pretty much as cheap as it gets when it comes to large diaphragm condensers. Even so, I would really only recommend it for those who really have nothing to spend but need a microphone to get ideas down or to record demos with as there are some other microphones for the same price or for a little bit more that I would recommend before this one, including the Rode NT-1A which although is more expensive, has a superior sound quality. Overall, the M-Audio Nova is a decent microphone for an extremely cheap price.