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Want to record your performances or start a podcast? You can get started on a shoestring, but for really good results you need good gear. Gear like the terrific Beyerdynamic Fox USB microphone and perfectly paired Beyerdynamic DT 240 Pro headphones. Both of which are conveniently packaged in the Beyerdynamic Creator 24 Recording Kit, along with a license for the terrific Cubase audio recording and editing app too.
Tech expert Dave Taylor of https://www.AskDaveTaylor.com/ checks out the Creator 24 package and finds that the individual components are very good (no surprise from Beyerdynamic) but that the bundle might not quite be your best option if you're just looking for a microphone & headphones for your studio...
Check out the Fox mic on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Hw5Who
and the DT 240 Pro headphones on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Wp5PfT
or the full Creator 24 bundle: https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/creator24.html
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0:00
A recording studio in a box? Let's have a look
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Dave Taylor here, and I'm looking at this
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This is the Beyerdynamic Creator 24 bundle. Now, Beyerdynamic has a variety of different packaging
0:21
where it's headphones, plus their really cool Fox USB mic, plus some other stuff
0:27
This is the one that I think is more sort of the entry level. It's a lower price point, but let's look at what's inside
0:34
Now, the idea of this is whether you're a musician or a podcaster
0:38
you need various gear, and for, you know, to be able to record
0:43
and get everything going nice and easy, it's easy to have it all matched and set together
0:48
So, we have this, which is the DT-240 Pro headphones. They're wired headphones, not Bluetooth
0:56
and they're really nice, we'll come back to them. And then the other important piece of this is, whoops
1:02
we have this, which is the Fox USB condenser mic. So, in the interest of making things easier, we'll get rid of that box
1:10
So now we have the headphones, we have the microphone, and we have a certificate for a copy of Cubase
1:17
which is about a hundred dollar piece of software that helps you with sound editing and mastering and all that
1:24
It's sort of like GarageBand++, and it works on Windows and Mac
1:29
but we'll come back to that too. So, let's start with the headphones
1:33
I will pull them out so you can see what they look like, and they're pretty nice
1:37
So, these are the DT-240 Pro headphones, and they're wired, even though they look wireless
1:45
and then on the back you have the cord, and this is a coiled 1.25 meter coiled
1:56
stretches out to 3 meter cable, with a 3.5 millimeter jack on one end
2:02
and of course an adapter to a quarter inch, and then there's also, tucked into the back
2:08
there's a very nice little cloth carrying case for your headphones, in case you want to use those
2:15
And those are the headphones, and basically you can plug in on either side of the top
2:21
and then your cord then lets you plug into any audio source
2:28
but more importantly it lets you plug into the microphone itself, and that ends up working really well
2:34
But let me tell you just a little bit about these headphones. So, these are 32 ohm impedance
2:38
5 to 35,000 hertz frequency response, with 99 decibels of sound pressure level
2:45
Long and short of it is they're actually very nice little headphones. Now, the biggest issue I had with them when I was using them
2:51
is that they don't isolate noise very well, but that's probably okay
2:56
because if you're podcasting or you're recording your latest song or something
3:00
you're probably in a pretty quiet environment, so these will work great. And the idea is that they're sort of a monitor headphone
3:06
so you can hear what's being recorded. So, let's now jump into perhaps the more interesting half of this
3:13
which is this microphone. And I have to say, Beyerdynamic has a ton of experience with microphones
3:18
and this is a real sweet one. I've actually reviewed this before. I have a completely separate review of just this
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the Fox USB Condenser microphone. You can go check that out. So, I'm going to just give a sort of summary review here
3:31
and let's see. So, here's the main piece of it. If I can get it out of the box
3:38
Okay, we're almost there. There we go. Okay, so here's the microphone itself
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and you can see it is a pretty big, heavy, substantial device
3:47
It comes with what's known as a pop shield. So, if you have a lot of issues with P's
3:55
and pronouncing your P's a little bit awkwardly, this helps that not be so bad
4:00
It comes with one of my favorite cords. This is just a USB-C cord
4:05
but I just really like the orange color. It's very cool. It's sort of their signature piece
4:10
And then it comes with this base that you screw the microphone onto the base
4:14
which is a slightly tricky maneuver. And then you have the ability to have it on a table
4:19
or however else, of course, you want to use it. And since it's a standard quarter-inch thread
4:24
that you can put it on a microphone stand or whatever you want anyway
4:28
Then, obviously, you plug this into the computer, and then there is actually a headphone jack
4:34
right on the microphone. So, the idea would be, more likely than not
4:38
I would be doing something like this and talking to myself, maybe having it sitting here
4:44
and then I'd be doing my podcast and saying, hey, thanks for listening to my podcast
4:48
Let's get on to our next guest, right? It's all designed to work together just that way
4:53
Now, the microphone is a 24-bit 96 kilohertz microphone with a large diaphragm condenser on top
5:01
which gives you really nice sound. The headphones have zero latency, so you're not going to have any weirdness with lag
5:07
and I can tell you, even like a 10 millisecond lag is going to sound really strange
5:12
if you're listening to yourself playing or talking or interviewing someone. It has mute and gain controls
5:19
As you saw, the low-profile stand. So, lots to like here. Very cool microphone and, frankly
5:28
very cool, if somewhat, entry-level headphones. So, all of that fits together
5:33
And then, like I said, the third piece of this Triumvirate is the coupon that you can download
5:40
and get yourself a copy of Cubase from a company called Steinberg
5:45
and it's music creation software. It comes from Mac or Window and this gets you a license for their version called Elements
5:52
and that's a $100 license. So, the question then is, does this make sense as a bundle
5:59
Because I think all the pieces are really great. But, does it work as a bundle
6:03
And the answer is, yeah, it works really well. I have to say that, you know
6:07
I have tried this microphone before and I've actually plugged these headphones
6:11
into the other Biodynamic Fox microphone that we use. Actually, my son uses it for gaming
6:18
So, it gives him really, really excellent sound. Way better than anyone else that he's playing with
6:23
But, that's great, right? And plugs the headphones right into it with that zero latency
6:29
It all works really, really well. But then, you get into the question of
6:33
well, how does this all price out? And does the pricing actually make sense
6:37
And the answer is, sadly, that Biodynamic really gets how to build this stuff
6:43
but I'm not sure they really understand basic economics. Because, here's the deal
6:49
is that you can buy the DT240 Pro headphones on Amazon for $78, right
6:55
They're actually a pretty good deal for $78. You can buy the Fox USB condenser microphone
7:01
on Amazon for $148.98. So, if you just get those two things
7:07
then that's what? $150 plus $78, that's about $230, right? So, keep that number in mind
7:15
Because, on the big box, it says that the license for Cubase
7:20
is a gift to you for buying the package. Now, why they wouldn't just say that's part of the package
7:27
I'm not sure. But, the problem is, the gift for you worth $99 is really nice
7:33
If you want all three of these pieces, then the economics work out really well
7:38
Because then you have the $78 headphones, the $148 microphone, and the $100 software license
7:47
which would run you $326, versus $258 at Biodynamic.com, which is how much it will cost for you
7:56
to buy the whole Creator24 bundle. But, if you're not going to use this
8:01
and you really are just going to stick with GarageBand, or whatever software you already have to work with
8:06
or you don't even need software, you're just doing straight recordings and sending them to someone to stitch it together
8:11
to make a beautiful podcast, then the numbers don't really work. Because you can buy these two things for $226
8:19
versus buying them in a really big, nice-looking box for $258 at Biodynamic.com
8:26
I don't know. Maybe they just haven't quite done all the numbers
8:30
or maybe we're not supposed to actually be looking at it that way. And I will say
8:34
if you just want to get nicely paired components, and you want to just click a button
8:39
and have something show up that you can just jump right into podcasting
8:43
or to give someone so they can start doing really nice recordings of their music, or their vocals, or something
8:49
then this is a great solution. And then, don't be looking at those nickels and dimes. But, if like me
8:55
you do have an inherent tendency to look at prices and compare things
8:59
and look for the best deal, then I would say, these are really nice
9:03
It's really nice to know that they go well together. Pick them up separately
9:07
You will save yourself $25-30. And again, you know, there's no question that this Cubase software is terrific
9:14
You should definitely go check it out. But, if you're not going to use it
9:18
then it's not really going to be adding much value to that box. So, that's sort of what I have to say about this deal
9:25
and the Creator Bundle is they're really nice components. The headphones sound good
9:31
Not amazing, but they're also $78. So, you don't expect to have huge sound out of them
9:36
But, it is certainly very much enough that you can record your favorite, you know
9:42
whatever, singing. You can take this into the shower with you, though it's not waterproof
9:47
You can play guitar, or violin, or whatever it is that, you know, you do to produce music
9:52
this is going to capture it. And, you know, that'll work great. Podcasting, whatever else you want to do
9:58
Really nice setup. So, you know, is it something you should pick up as separate components
10:05
Or is it something you should pick up as a boxed unit from Beyerdynamic? I'll let you actually think about
10:10
how those numbers apply to you. But, now you know all the numbers. Now, before we're done
10:15
can I ask if you can subscribe to my channel? Really appreciate that. Cool
10:19
Now, that's all I got. So, I am going to put the headphones back on
10:24
We're going to plug into the microphone. Actually, I'm going to set the whole thing up
10:28
And, I am going to do some recording. So, that means I will catch you in my next video
10:49
You're awesome. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye
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