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May 2012

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First Look: Lampifier 111 and 711 Microphones

Each sells for the same price, but has different sound qualities, with the same compression and gating processing.

by Dustin Whitt

Lampifier Microphones look like any other hand-held microphone, but there's more to them than meets the eye.

These microphones have compression and gating built in. This is a pretty cool idea, especially for smaller sound systems where you don't have the luxury of outboard compressors and gates. Lampifier microphones allow you to control your compression and gating thresholds, as well as the gate release time and output level.

Lampifier makes two models: the 111 and 711. Each sells for $155.95. The 111 and 711 offer different sound qualities, but with the same processing inside. The compression in the microphones works great. It is a pleasant-sounding compressor that does not significantly color the sound. Changing the compression and gating settings involves a small flat head screw driver and some needle-nose pliers. You pull out the XLR connector along with a little circuit board with jumpers on it. The jumpers allow you to change the compression and gate thresholds, as well as gate release time and overall output level. Lampifier's website has an Online Programming Tool that tells you where to place the jumpers to achieve your desired settings.

I found the gate to be a little less useful than the compressor. Setting the threshold on a gate requires more precision and fine-tuning than a compressor. Because of this I found myself having a hard time finding just the right threshold setting. On the gate release time you have a fast and slow setting, which I found to be appropriate. In the right situation the gate could be useful, although I feel like the gate is a secondary feature to the compressor.

I was able to demo both the 111 and 711 side by side and found the 711 to be the most pleasant-sounding mic, in general. It has a very pleasing warmth, while retaining plenty of clarity. The 111 was a bit noisy and seemed to be lacking in the low-mid frequency range. In addition, the 111 has a "Bass-Boost Ring" that you can remove to increase low-frequency response. It uses proximity effect to add low frequencies by letting you get a bit closer to the mic. I didn't really find it highly useful, as it only works if the singer or instrument was already right up against the windscreen in the first place. My choice for most applications would most certainly be the 711.

Being used to traditional compressors, I have always found that compression settings need to be tweaked on performers-as they frequently sing or play differently once in front of a live audience than they do at sound check. Therefore, I'm a little skeptical of the idea that one can set a compressor embedded in a microphone and forget it. However, Lampifier states that their microphone's compressor adjusts its compression ratio based on the input signal level and, of all things, a small light bulb inside the mic designed for audio processing. Thus, using their website to choose settings based on a general application is purported to yield results beneficial to most situations in the chosen application.

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Dustin Whitt is a co-founder of OwnTheMix.com, an online audio training resource for churches. He is also a freelance audio engineer and has spent much of his career on staff at North Point Ministries. Todd and his wife Esther live in the northern suburbs of Atlanta with their son, Anderson.