This is within an acceptable range and it does not appear to be significantly affecting the overall rating for this product.Unverified purchases may be the result of Kindle Unlimited readers, buyers who didn’t pay full price, or reviewers who did not purchase the product at Amazon.
SubZero Headset Mic, Compatible with Sennheiser Wireless Systems, Tan at Gear4music
Please note: This is only available on orders placed via the website consisting of a single delivery, and is not available in store or via phone currently. If you wish to purchase warranties, please choose another payment method or contact us after placing your order and we’ll be happy to help you.
Midland SubZero Headset Review
The SubZero Midland Headset is a clever melding of two bits of ear furniture – it’s a pair of headphones and a set of earmuffs in one. The mechanism of the band isn’t great, with one side of our review sample much stiffer than the other, but it held its position reliably enough.
They grip fairly tightly onto your head, but because the pressure is distributed across the 10cm diameter circular-ish ear pads, there are none of the comfort issues we often see in on-ear headphones. With just an inch of padding, they won’t leave your earphones exactly toasty and warm in sub-zero temperatures, but they do make the aural discomfort of chilly weather melt away.
However, we did find that the neckband doesn’t get on too well with scarves and bulky coats, requiring some fiddling about with fit to stop them from vying for the same space. This little metal cylinder sits roughly 25cm down from the right ear pad and lets you take calls with an iPhone.
The Midland SubZero Headset is sure to get headphone purists looking down their noses for its central conceit alone, but the sound produced is perfectly pleasant. It avoids the harshness and muddy low-end of flat-out bad headphones and gives the impression of being fairly well-balanced. They fail to cater for both extremes of the frequency spectrum, lacking top-end treble sparkle and power down in the lower bass register.
However, they still sound surprisingly good, with decent warmth thanks to a pleasant swell in the parts of the bass make-up the headset is better at supplying.
SubZero SZ-V12C
The SubZero mic brand is exclusive to UK retailers Gear4Music, and most of their models seem to be about offering visually similar alternatives to classic microphones, but that cost less than the VAT you’d expect to pay on the originals. How it stacks up on sound remains to be seen, but the valve circuitry and the presence of the transformer output stage promise some degree of tonal warmth. This particular model comes in a wooden box packed into an aluminium camera case, complete with power supply, long multi-pin cable and elastic suspension shockmount.
A polished, dual-layer nickel grille protects the capsule, and below this are mini toggle switches for an 80Hz, first-order low-cut filter and a 10dB pad. The exact shape of the curve in the higher registers varies a little depending on the pattern selected, but this general rising characteristic remains consistent. Its highs certainly aren’t as refined-sounding as those of more sophisticated microphones, and there isn’t quite that same sense of airiness and space, but given its price the SZ-V12C puts in an impressive performance and it responds well to EQ if you need to sweeten the sound.
The SZ-V12C also does a pretty good job on acoustic guitar, capturing just a slightly brighter version of how I hear the instrument while playing it, though being critical there’s still a hint of brashness that needs EQ to tame it. The other polar patterns retain a reasonable tonal consistency, allowing for changes in the proximity effects and the amount of room ambience picked up in the omni and figure-of-eight modes.
Be First to Comment