TZ Stellar X2 Large Diaphragm Cardioid Condenser XLR Microphone

Ladies and Gents, if you're looking for a top quality mic for a pittance of a price, this is it. Holy cow... the sound is beautiful. Like a couple of the other reviewers, I listened to the Booth Junkie comparison and instantly fell in love. I got myself on the wait list, especially seeing that they'd "fixed" two of the major issues he had with noise floor and decibel spread. I am absolutely not disappointed. Hands down one of the best mic purchases I've made. So, now that I have the glowing praise done - let's talk comparison. I don't have a Neumann to compare this to. I own four mics now: Shure SM7B, CAD E100S, Rode NTK (which I upgraded the tube for to a Telefunken Black Diamond E88CC), and this one. Let's say that the CAD isn't in the running simply because it is flat - which is a great thing for using your board as you can really color it any way you see fit. The Shure didn't get a head to head for me, as I feel the SM7B is beautiful for bass note/deep voices - very warm. So it was down to the NTK, which can be considered unfair as a tube mic already has an edge (IMHO) since, once it warms up, it spreads honey over everything. For my voice (contralto), the Rode still is my favorite. The X2 by contrast is brighter and touch more shimmery (even after adding not only it's foam head, but a pop filter in front of it), which doesn't make me sound my best. THAT SAID... the moment my baritone-voiced son got on it... it was absolutely beautiful. His voice sounded like a million bucks. It lifted his vocals and added a shine that nothing else I have has done. Even then... my own vocals through it are still nice and it is my solid second in the four I have. I did not send any vocals through my Mackie board for the comparison. They were straight into my Zoom H4N using Kopul Studio Elite 4000 XLRs. In conjunction with those cables, the sound was pristine and super clear. I will rave about this mic until the sun sets for a final time, because for the price this mic is ABSOLUTELY out of this world. I would snatch this up in a heartbeat before they raise prices, because once they figure out they're sitting on a mic that people would pay over 500 for (potentially more - as once this is put through a board, I'm certain the true magic will shine through), I'm sure it won't be this price for long. Get it, get yourself some quality cables, and pat yourself on the back for being the smart cookie who jumped on a tremendous deal for a... ahem... "stellar" mic. ;)

Fantastic Mic! Really. It's just, right! Instant satisfaction for female vocalist. This mic is staying out for vocal duty that is for sure. There are 3 mics I also use most often. The Aston Origin and Spirit, also the WA87r2. This is tied with my favorite, which is the Origin. I also have a Blue Baby Bottle, Blue Spark, AKG c214, Rode nt1a, WA 47jr, MXL V69, etc....So I have some decent mics. The x2 is very impressive. Great tone and clarity. You just can't lose with this mic. It's inspiring and sounds like "me". Yet makes "me" sound better. Quality and hard work at TZ that comes shining through. Thank you for producing such a great mic! UPDATE: I forgot I already wrote a review! Hah. Ok, since I am here. Reminded again that this is an absolutely amazing microphone people. I don't care if it was made on the moon. I have a TLM 103 and I like this better. Sure, looks cheap, not attractive but who cares! It's about the sound. WOW, get one. Using it with a dbx 286s channel strip, a WA73 eq and a Fredenstein V.A.S. Likes the clean preamp/dbx. So if you are just starting out, get a pro sound by adding a preamp/channel strip like the dbx 286s, about $220 and the mic is $199, The channel strip has compression, a gate, eq...So fast and easy you have a fantastic sound without a lot of fuss. I am talking singing vocals here not broadcast or voiceover although check out Booth Junkie and see just how impressed he is with this mic. It's true. Really. You'd be a fool not to get this mic is all I can say.

Let me start by saying that I was skeptical of the reviews upon hearing this microphone compared to the mighty Neumann U87. There also seems to be some conflicting videos out there about this thing. While I do not own a U87, I do own a Neumann TLM103 which I have used extensively (the manufacturer claims that the Stellar X2 is "in between" the TLM103 and the U87). I set the mics up to do a 1 take, A/B listening test and here are my findings: This microphone is ABSOLUTELY an incredible mic at this price point and far beyond anything else you can get, even compared to mics 2-3 times the price. It is a very, very similar sound to the TLM103. Is it exactly the same? No, but it is close enough that most people would not be able to tell the difference. It is slightly more sensitive than the Neumann (about 2db of difference), and also slightly less sensitive to plosives (a good thing). The biggest audible difference is that the X2 has a slight boost in the presence/sibilance end, as well a very slight low end bump around 200hz. It is not harsh or muddy compared to the TLM103, but that little bit of presence is the only main giveaway that it is not the Neumann. Pros: - Incredible sound quality - Great value (especially considering it comes with shock mount and hard case) Cons: - Build quality does not feel as robust as the Neumann mics, but that is to be expected. - The very slight boost on the bottom and top end may not be the right thing for all applications - A tiny bit higher noise floor than the TLM103 In summary, buy this mic! Remember that a microphone is not a 1 stop shop, it is a tool and you use different ones for different needs. This thing is killer, and despite having several much more expensive microphones, this will be added to my arsenal to use for the right application. Also worth noting that they came out with the Stellar X2 Vintage model, which I would LOVE to compare to my Neumann U47 if I can get my hands on one. Expect a more mid-forward presentation with that model.