Can you tell the difference between ~£60 and ~£3000 in recording gear?

[MDV]

Kickass test.

I actually (being odd) dont like the sound of r121s that much (or havent knowingly heard them used well) so went for the ones I liked the least (i.e. thought were an r121), or at least I'd convinced myself of that - I still got it wrong 1 time in 5.

http://www.recordingreview.com/quiz/signal-chain.php

[JDC]

2 out of 5 but since I'm not listening with pro audio gear it's probably more luck than anything

just shows you how you don't need to spend loads on gear though

which one did you like best? I picked #5

[MDV]

I couldnt decide.

[hunter]

I listened with my Laptop, got 3 out of 5 right and my Fav was R121 into M-Audio Octane.

But they are very close, and tbh most of the times I prefer an SM57 or SM7 for guitar.

[gordiji]

I heard a radio prog a few years back when they played 2 piano's. A top range yamaha electric and a steinway
grand(wooden one), needless to say over the radio there wasn't a discernable difference .Another blind test(taste) of top champagnes against sparkling chardonay's had the 'expert's' equally confounded.I certainly wouldn't bet my
own money on choosing a top vintage les paul say over a re issue in a blind test.
Unsurprisingly i can't hear much difference in the recording gear.What is interesting is i always choose the sm57 as
the best or equal which is probably why they're so well recomended
Even if you can tell the difference in all the situations , to say which is superior is only subjective.

[38thBeatle]

I got 3 out of 5 right but I was pushed for time.Took me about 3 listens to each and I concentrated on the guitar sound.

[Davey]

1 out of 5 for the cheaper.. but to be honest, unless you listen to these back to back, or on a REALLY high end system, you cant hear the difference for shite

[Dr. Stein]

I picked 2 out of 5 cheaper ones, and picked a cheap one as my overall favourite but to be honest it's really hard to pick out any difference listening through fairly standard headphones.

What I've always wondered about is doing a quiz where the participants are told that two clips come from different gear (cheqp vs expensive) but are in fact the exact same clip. I wonder how many of us wold fall for it?

[MDV]

I think, given that there are differences, it shows three things

- That you can make good recordings with modest gear
- That (arguably) that little difference between good and great (which none of these were IMO, but in principle at least) can be achieved with the top hardware
- Its an illustration (by what can be done with modest stuff) of when to go for the top gear - theres a lot to be done with lesser stuff if you know how, and the top stuff is likely useless to you if you dont know what youre doing.

[HTH AMPS]

I chose the cheaper gear 4 out of 5 times - the midrange had more snarl, thats what did it for me.  More expensive stuff is typically more refined, but thats not what I like.

[Bainzy]

I think with this its a cumulative effect - you might not be able to tell the difference with one component, but if everything was made with cheap gear the end result would be a stark contrast.

[Davey]

I think, given that there are differences, it shows three things

- That you can make good recordings with modest gear
- That (arguably) that little difference between good and great (which none of these were IMO, but in principle at least) can be achieved with the top hardware
- Its an illustration (by what can be done with modest stuff) of when to go for the top gear - theres a lot to be done with lesser stuff if you know how, and the top stuff is likely useless to you if you dont know what youre doing.

pretty much, yes

[_tom_]

They all sound the bloody same to me!

[Lew]

It's interesting to read a few posts saying they got it 'right' if they chose the expensive gear. Value has huge control. Like HTH I prefered the cheaper mics mostly because of the top-end, it was ever so slight though.

[gingataff]

I noticed a difference but for me the big question was "In what way does expensive gear differ from budget gear?" and I suppose the answer, as HTH said, is it's refinement. So I thought it fairly simple to guess that the flat boring sounds were the high end gear and the more exciting but rough around the edges clips were cheaper.

You can have too much of a good thing you know, and this is why multiple mic setups are usually used.

I'm sure a SM57/R121 mix would be best it's just a case of finding the right blend for you.