What is the current situation with the distribution of Oktava mics?

Their one time distributor A&F Mckay Audio Limited is listed on
www.ukdata.com as in liquidation. Their web site has dissapeared.

Oktava themselves seem very much in business, and the Russian language site
oktava.tula.net lists several interesting new models I've not seen befo
the tube model MKL4000, and the MKL319A, which looks like a tube version of
the 319 condenser.

The best source of the mics here in Europe seems to be oktava-online who
only sell on ebay, but display authorized dealer credentials on their web
site, or the German mail order giant, Thomann. I recently bought a pair of
ML012s from Thomann (perfectly good quality) and noticed the were both
labeled ASM - formerly a sign they were sourced from McKay.

After a recent bid for an Oktava-online auction on Ebay I received a weird
legalese letter from Ebay about trade mark infringement in the UK. All very
interesting since I don't live there, I only bid on the mic, I didn't even
win it.

Anyone have the facts?

A

Aiden Humphreys wrote:
What is the current situation with the distribution of Oktava mics?

Their one time distributor A&F Mckay Audio Limited is listed on
www.ukdata.com as in liquidation. Their web site has dissapeared.

I had not heard this, but I would not be surprised if they had
litigated themselves into bankruptcy. They were definitely around
six months ago, though, but we've been having trouble getting information
out of them for a while.

Oktava themselves seem very much in business, and the Russian language site
oktava.tula.net lists several interesting new models I've not seen befo
the tube model MKL4000, and the MKL319A, which looks like a tube version of
the 319 condenser.

Yes. I have not tried the MKL4000, but the MKL319A still has all of the
319 resonance problems.

The best source of the mics here in Europe seems to be oktava-online who
only sell on ebay, but display authorized dealer credentials on their web
site, or the German mail order giant, Thomann. I recently bought a pair of
ML012s from Thomann (perfectly good quality) and noticed the were both
labeled ASM - formerly a sign they were sourced from McKay.

I do not know oktava-online. I know that Vladimir, who used to post here
now and then, will ship mikes directly from Russia and seems to be a good
fellow.

In the US, the main vendor of the Oktava mikes was Guitar Center, which
was getting them from McKay. As far as I can tell, GC seemed to be getting
worse than normal production, so McKay may have been using them as a dumping
ground as well. In any event, GC went for about six months without any
new Oktava mikes and claimed a "factory shortage." They now have most of
the usual models back in stock, so I am assuming that they are now sourcing
them from some place other than McKay. All of this is just surmise.

After a recent bid for an Oktava-online auction on Ebay I received a weird
legalese letter from Ebay about trade mark infringement in the UK. All very
interesting since I don't live there, I only bid on the mic, I didn't even
win it.

Yes, probably because one of the suits that McKey brought against Ebay.
The guys at McKay like to threaten lawsuits all the time. They claim
exclusive use to the name in the UK, but they are unable to do so in the
US because other folks got there first. (The Sound Room even managed to
grab up oktava.com before they had a chance... and they threatened to sue
of course.)
--scott

Anyone have the facts?

A


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Scott Dorsey wrote:

Their one time distributor A&F Mckay Audio Limited is listed on
www.ukdata.com as in liquidation. Their web site has dissapeared.

I had not heard this, but I would not be surprised if they had
litigated themselves into bankruptcy. They were definitely around
six months ago, though, but we've been having trouble getting information
out of them for a while.

Hi Scott, here is the link:

http://www.ukdata.com/creditreports/...anyId=03070756

But this gets stranger and stranger, I've been surfing since I posted and
found this story about fake Chinese Oktavas mk012s. Is this already well
known here? Maybe its old news.

http://debris.com/journal/1274

here is the link to the official Oktava web site fake warning

http://oktava.tula.net/fake/

Well downer!

Looks like I'm going to be returning my pair of MK012s to the mail order
supplier in Germany as they look identical to the fakes on the Oktava site
and totally unlike the genuine photos. They also lack the 10db pad. I
thought they sounded a bit harsh in the upper mids, which I associate low
end Chinese made capsules.

My pair didn't come from Oktava online or Oktava USA who I'm now pretty
convinced are offical distributers. So much for my wisdom in buying from a
"name" company. Shame I found this out 4 days after the easy return period
expired.

(The Sound Room even managed to
grab up oktava.com before they had a chance... and they threatened to sue
of course.)

Hmmm. Sounds like McKay were totally out of their depth. I like Oktavas, I
have a MKL2500 and a pair of modified ML52s. I think the manufacturer
deserves better than this.

Aiden

how restocked is guitar center on oktava mics? i tried buying the
mk012s from them a couple months ago and they had only a handful of
matched pairs in the entire chain. i wasnt prepared to buy them
without hearing them first so i found a store near me that had one
single mic left and it looked just like the one on the counterfeit site
and didnt pass signal. i picked up nt-5's.

jake

The link to :

http://oktava.tula.net/fake

is pretty interesting. I bought a pair (not matched) of MK012's from GC in
September 2001. They came in the gray plastic (Russian) boxes, each one has
all three capsules, plus the -10dB pad, neither has a TEF, both had the
cheap satin finish metal (Russian) mic clasp, Both are badged with Oktava
and A.S.M. and neither has a serial # so in this respect they are exactly
like the pictured Chinese mic, but both have the white screws like the
Russian mic, both have a silver sputtered contact dimple like the Russian
mic, both have a silver sputtered contact pin like the Russian mic and they
both sound extremely good. Since I only paid $100.00 each for them at the
time, I was pretty shocked. It appears that due to their age and other
characteristics, they may be Russian built with shells similar to the ones
represented as being Chinese knockoffs. I've never really had a problem with
their sonics, so considering what I paid and what I got for the $$$, I guess
it's a non-issue with me.

DJ

"Aiden Humphreys" wrote in message
...
Scott Dorsey wrote:

Their one time distributor A&F Mckay Audio Limited is listed on
www.ukdata.com as in liquidation. Their web site has dissapeared.

I had not heard this, but I would not be surprised if they had
litigated themselves into bankruptcy. They were definitely around
six months ago, though, but we've been having trouble getting
information
out of them for a while.

Hi Scott, here is the link:


http://www.ukdata.com/creditreports/...anyId=03070756

But this gets stranger and stranger, I've been surfing since I posted and
found this story about fake Chinese Oktavas mk012s. Is this already well
known here? Maybe its old news.

http://debris.com/journal/1274

here is the link to the official Oktava web site fake warning

http://oktava.tula.net/fake/

Well downer!

Looks like I'm going to be returning my pair of MK012s to the mail order
supplier in Germany as they look identical to the fakes on the Oktava site
and totally unlike the genuine photos. They also lack the 10db pad. I
thought they sounded a bit harsh in the upper mids, which I associate low
end Chinese made capsules.

My pair didn't come from Oktava online or Oktava USA who I'm now pretty
convinced are offical distributers. So much for my wisdom in buying from a
"name" company. Shame I found this out 4 days after the easy return period
expired.

(The Sound Room even managed to
grab up oktava.com before they had a chance... and they threatened to
sue
of course.)

Hmmm. Sounds like McKay were totally out of their depth. I like Oktavas, I
have a MKL2500 and a pair of modified ML52s. I think the manufacturer
deserves better than this.

Aiden

Aiden Humphreys wrote:

But this gets stranger and stranger, I've been surfing since I posted and
found this story about fake Chinese Oktavas mk012s. Is this already well
known here? Maybe its old news.

http://debris.com/journal/1274

here is the link to the official Oktava web site fake warning

http://oktava.tula.net/fake/

Well downer!

Looks like I'm going to be returning my pair of MK012s to the mail order
supplier in Germany as they look identical to the fakes on the Oktava site
and totally unlike the genuine photos.

Would that be Thomanns? They sell Oktava with pictures matching the
"original", but are "new revised series". I'm interested in those
Oktavas. I sincerely doubt Thomanns would knowingly mislead its
customers.

So where is the real Oktava website? If you go to oktava.tula.net as you
suggest you end up in a german site (http://www.oktava-online.de/), not
a russian site. How do you know that this is the real Oktava site? How
do we know what site is the russian Oktava site? How does one get in
direct contact with the russian manufacturer without using their foreign
distributors?

It could also be that Oktava actually did revise their mics... How do we
know?

Lars


--
lars farm // http://www.farm.se
lars is also a mail-account on the server farm.se
aim:

Lars Farm wrote:

Would that be Thomanns? They sell Oktava with pictures matching the
"original", but are "new revised series". I'm interested in those
Oktavainfringementttely doubt Thomanns would knowingly mislead its
customers.

I'd rather not mention the supplier until I phone them in the morning. I
think you can figure it out.

In any case my understanding of the allegations is not that retailers are
misleading their customers, but rather the official distributor started
delivering mics under the transliterated trade name Oktava, a trademark
which he owned. There mics were actually not manufactured by the Russian
OktaBa company by rather someone in China. How was the retailer to know the
source of manufacture if they came through the official distributor?

Similarly how are we to know if the distributor did something wrong? There
were plenty of complaints about QA. May be his contract allowed him to
offshore manufacture of parts of the mic in order to ensure quality.

So where is the real Oktava website?
If you go to oktava.tula.net as you
suggest you end up in a german site (http://www.oktava-online.de/), not
a russian site. How do you know that this is the real Oktava site?

Goto

www.oktava.tula.net

and click on the Russian links. This was always the address of the Oktava
site AFAIK. I can't read much Russian but enough to figure out Novoste,
Produktua, Kontakt, Historea and so on. Looks pretty genuine to me.

do we know what site is the russian Oktava site? How does one get in
direct contact with the russian manufacturer without using their foreign
distributors?

It could also be that Oktava actually did revise their mics... How do we
know?

Good point. Well, "Kohtaktbl" (Contact) leads to their email address and
phone number. You could ask them in English and see if they reply.

But to be honest, I believe them. A few weeks ago I saw the notice on their
site about breaking their relationship with Oktava Ltd (McKay I guess) due
to copyright infringment, and now they have a page on the site showing the
copies. My mikes are def. those cited as copies and they are branded with
the Oktava ASM marks indicating an origin of McKay Audio. Conclusive for
me.

Similarly Oktava USA have this on their site ( www.oktavausa.com )

We carry the complete line of genuine Oktava microphones. Don't be fooled
by the Chinese Manufactured Nock-Offs being passed off as "real" Oktava
Microphones by a large national music store chain!

How does it look to you? I would certainly like to hear Mr McKay's version
of events.

A

Animix wrote:

the cheap satin finish metal (Russian) mic clasp, Both are badged with
Oktava and A.S.M. and neither has a serial # so in this respect they are
exactly like the pictured Chinese mic,

Does it say Oktava or OktaBa on the mic?

I'd be pretty confident you have the genuine article from your description
of the box etc. My Oktava mics are identical in every respect to the
Chinese "fakes" in the picture, down to the screws, rubber clasp, missing
pad and block polythene box.

A

Aiden Humphreys wrote:

How does it look to you? I

.... interesting ... that's how it looks to me! I looked at
oktava.tula.net english and russian (no I don't speak russian) and can't
find any link to the http://oktava.tula.net/fake/ page. It's clearly
there, but how was it found?

would certainly like to hear Mr McKay's version of events.

I'm more interested in what Oktava themselfs have to say - that is the
russian manufacurer not any distributer or other that consider the name
theirs regardless of what rights they think they have or even have...

Lars


--
lars farm // http://www.farm.se
lars is also a mail-account on the server farm.se
aim:

Aiden Humphreys wrote:

here is the link to the official Oktava web site fake warning

http://oktava.tula.net/fake/


Eek! Just saw this and checked out my five.

2 of them (the first pair I bought) are marked Oktava MC-012 (ASM), and
have no serial number on them. They didn't come with any documents
(certainly not a plot!). But they did come with pads, and the proper
clip, and have silver screws etc..

So which is it? They seem to have properties of both the originals and
the 'fakes'!

Cheers,
Ben.

"Ben Bayliss" wrote in message
...
Aiden Humphreys wrote:

here is the link to the official Oktava web site fake warning

http://oktava.tula.net/fake/


Eek! Just saw this and checked out my five.

2 of them (the first pair I bought) are marked Oktava MC-012 (ASM), and
have no serial number on them. They didn't come with any documents
(certainly not a plot!). But they did come with pads, and the proper
clip, and have silver screws etc..

So which is it? They seem to have properties of both the originals and
the 'fakes'!

Mine are the same, and I bought them from GC some years ago so I'm pretty
confident that they are the real thing. They sound good, so I don't care
anyway.

Sean

The name is spelled Oktava on mine.

DJ

"Aiden Humphreys" wrote in message
...
Animix wrote:

the cheap satin finish metal (Russian) mic clasp, Both are badged with
Oktava and A.S.M. and neither has a serial # so in this respect they are
exactly like the pictured Chinese mic,

Does it say Oktava or OktaBa on the mic?

I'd be pretty confident you have the genuine article from your description
of the box etc. My Oktava mics are identical in every respect to the
Chinese "fakes" in the picture, down to the screws, rubber clasp, missing
pad and block polythene box.

A

Lars Farm wrote:

... interesting ... that's how it looks to me! I looked at
oktava.tula.net english and russian (no I don't speak russian) and can't
find any link to the http://oktava.tula.net/fake/ page. It's clearly
there, but how was it found?

The matched pair I purchased four years ago from, and
discussed considerably with, Taylor Johnson, owner of Sound
Room, are printed the same as the "fakes" shown at that
site, but have everything else like the "real deal" photos.


Bob
--

"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

A. Einstein

"Sean Conolly" wrote in message

Mine are the same, and I bought them from GC some years ago so I'm pretty
confident that they are the real thing. They sound good, so I don't care
anyway.


So maybe this 'fake' story is a crock of **** , and all the variations are
valid ?

geoff

Bob Cain wrote:


Lars Farm wrote:

... interesting ... that's how it looks to me! I looked at
oktava.tula.net english and russian (no I don't speak russian) and can't
find any link to the http://oktava.tula.net/fake/ page. It's clearly
there, but how was it found?


The matched pair I purchased four years ago from, and discussed
considerably with, Taylor Johnson, owner of Sound Room, are printed the
same as the "fakes" shown at that site, but have everything else like
the "real deal" photos.

Oops. They are also missing the stamped serial number.


Bob
--

"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

A. Einstein

Aiden Humphreys wrote:

Lars Farm wrote:

doubt they would knowingly mislead its
customers.

I'd rather not mention the supplier until I phone them in the morning. I
think you can figure it out.

Well, I called them. I don't speak german and the person in the other
end does not speak swedish so it had to be in some kind of english with
all the potential for confusion that brings...

They have recently become aware of the situation. The MK012 they sell is
from "the english guys", "clearly marked as MKII" and "new and
revised"... He confirms that they are NOT manufactured in russia. They
are from China. The english firm claims the name Oktava is theirs so
i'ts all right... The russian manufacturer has recently made them aware
of the conflict. They are in contact with the Russian firm trying to
find a solution. We'll see what happens. As of right now they think they
are not missleading anyone...

I've tried to call the russian telefone numbers on their web site, but
got no reply (almost thankfully i don't speak russian either...:-). I
tried e-mail, no reply...

Anyway, I have confirmation that the MK012 sold there TODAY are indeed
chineese by way of the english Oktava-nameholder and have nothing to do
with the russian microphone manufacturer.

I asked them to make their advertising clearer on this point...

Lars


--
lars farm // http://www.farm.se
lars is also a mail-account on the server farm.se
aim:

"Lars Farm" wrote in message
news:1gwao0v.1wfhh062g51lkN%see.bottom.of.page@far m.se...
Aiden Humphreys wrote:

Lars Farm wrote:

doubt they would knowingly mislead its
customers.

I'd rather not mention the supplier until I phone them in the morning. I
think you can figure it out.

Well, I called them. I don't speak german and the person in the other
end does not speak swedish so it had to be in some kind of english with
all the potential for confusion that brings...

They have recently become aware of the situation. The MK012 they sell is
from "the english guys", "clearly marked as MKII" and "new and
revised"... He confirms that they are NOT manufactured in russia. They
are from China. The english firm claims the name Oktava is theirs so
i'ts all right... The russian manufacturer has recently made them aware
of the conflict. They are in contact with the Russian firm trying to
find a solution. We'll see what happens. As of right now they think they
are not missleading anyone...

I've tried to call the russian telefone numbers on their web site, but
got no reply (almost thankfully i don't speak russian either...:-). I
tried e-mail, no reply...

Anyway, I have confirmation that the MK012 sold there TODAY are indeed
chineese by way of the english Oktava-nameholder and have nothing to do
with the russian microphone manufacturer.

I asked them to make their advertising clearer on this point...

Lars


Thanks Lars, for investigating and clarifying matters. A lot of people
around here gravitate towards Thomann when it comes to purchase of the
equipment.

Predrag

In article ,
"Animix" wrote:

The link to :

http://oktava.tula.net/fake

is pretty interesting. I bought a pair (not matched) of MK012's from GC in
September 2001. They came in the gray plastic (Russian) boxes, each one has
all three capsules, plus the -10dB pad, neither has a TEF, both had the
cheap satin finish metal (Russian) mic clasp, Both are badged with Oktava
and A.S.M. and neither has a serial # so in this respect they are exactly
like the pictured Chinese mic, but both have the white screws like the
Russian mic, both have a silver sputtered contact dimple like the Russian
mic, both have a silver sputtered contact pin like the Russian mic and they
both sound extremely good.

This is going to get stranger and stranger. I got mine used, so I don't
know where they were from originally. I've had them for several years
now and are as described above, but in black boxes, of the russian
style. One clip was missing of the pair.

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http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
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Bob Cain wrote:


Oops. They are also missing the stamped serial number.


Disposable microphones, not all that important.

Geoff Wood wrote:
"Sean Conolly" wrote in message

Mine are the same, and I bought them from GC some years ago so I'm pretty
confident that they are the real thing. They sound good, so I don't care
anyway.

So maybe this 'fake' story is a crock of **** , and all the variations are
valid ?

The problem is that there have been a _lot_ of variations over the years.

So if there _are_ fakes, they may be hard to detect.

On the 219, there are at least four major PC board revisions, with individual
changes here and there within each one.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Segensreich Maschinerich wrote:

I think that, if they need to be *asked* to not deceive the public,

Here it seems they were victims too. What matters most is how they
handle the situation from here on.

Lars


--
lars farm // http://www.farm.se
lars is also a mail-account on the server farm.se
aim:

Lars Farm wrote:

Anyway, I have confirmation that the MK012 sold there TODAY are indeed
chineese by way of the english Oktava-nameholder and have nothing to do
with the russian microphone manufacturer.

I can back this up. I spoke with Thomann this morning and the story was the
same, the mics are from China and distributed through a British company ( I
guess they bought a consignment from A&F McKay as part of their stock
liquidation).

But the good news was they agreed to take mine back and refund me. I'm happy
with that solution and I think it does Thomann credit.

A

"Aiden Humphreys" wrote in message
...
I can back this up. I spoke with Thomann this morning and the story was
the
same, the mics are from China and distributed through a British company
( I
guess they bought a consignment from A&F McKay as part of their stock
liquidation).

Out of curiosity, are these Chinese mics inferior, or is it that they're
made in China that makes them undesirable?

--
Bob

http://www.bobsavage.net

Bob Savage wrote:
"Aiden Humphreys" wrote in message
I can back this up. I spoke with Thomann this morning and the story was
the
same, the mics are from China and distributed through a British company
( I
guess they bought a consignment from A&F McKay as part of their stock
liquidation).

Out of curiosity, are these Chinese mics inferior, or is it that they're
made in China that makes them undesirable?

I can say that the Oktava guys know at least two things about consistent
tensioning of the diaphragm that none of the Chinese factories have shown
signs of knowing. Not that their production consistency seems much
better.

I would be VERY curious what this British company was, though.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"JP Gerard" wrote in message
...

The Oktava MK012 capsules are actually quite nice. Too bad the head amps
gave these mics such a bad reputation...

I would assume you're speaking of the Russian built modules, not the so
called counterfeits?

--
http://www.bobsavage.net

"Aiden Humphreys" wrote in message
...
Looks like I'm going to be returning my pair of MK012s to the mail order
supplier in Germany as they look identical to the fakes on the Oktava site
and totally unlike the genuine photos. They also lack the 10db pad. I
thought they sounded a bit harsh in the upper mids, which I associate low
end Chinese made capsules.

My pair didn't come from Oktava online or Oktava USA who I'm now pretty
convinced are offical distributers. So much for my wisdom in buying from a
"name" company. Shame I found this out 4 days after the easy return period
expired.

I am *so* glad I found this thread. I ordered a couple of "MK012's" from
Guitar Center, since they're listed in the current sale ad. The ad has the
picture of the mic with the metal clip and specifies a -10db pad comes with
the mic. Well, when I showed up today to pick them up, the guy pulled out
two plastic mic carriers. We opened them up and just like indicated on the
site, a plastic clip, no pad, no documentation.

I'm curious about something. I've seen that these mics are referred to as
MK's *and* MC's, but are the MK's the only Russian made version? I really
want to get a pair of these mics, but I can't dish out the money I see them
going for on ebay and sound room.

--
http://www.bobsavage.net

"Bob Savage" writes:

"Aiden Humphreys" wrote in message
...
Looks like I'm going to be returning my pair of MK012s to the mail order
supplier in Germany as they look identical to the fakes on the Oktava site
and totally unlike the genuine photos. They also lack the 10db pad. I
thought they sounded a bit harsh in the upper mids, which I associate low
end Chinese made capsules.

My pair didn't come from Oktava online or Oktava USA who I'm now pretty
convinced are offical distributers. So much for my wisdom in buying from a
"name" company. Shame I found this out 4 days after the easy return period
expired.

I am *so* glad I found this thread. I ordered a couple of "MK012's" from
Guitar Center, since they're listed in the current sale ad. The ad has the
picture of the mic with the metal clip and specifies a -10db pad comes with
the mic. Well, when I showed up today to pick them up, the guy pulled out
two plastic mic carriers. We opened them up and just like indicated on the
site, a plastic clip, no pad, no documentation.

I'm curious about something. I've seen that these mics are referred to as
MK's *and* MC's, but are the MK's the only Russian made version? I really
want to get a pair of these mics, but I can't dish out the money I see them
going for on ebay and sound room.

--
http://www.bobsavage.net

There must be more to this story, right? It just seems strange that a Chinese
company would *independently* clone such a niche product. Popular consumer
products, yes, but these are not even normal mics, they have an unusual
appearance. I'm inclined to believe it is some kind of "inside" job, but
noone is admitting to it, right? Like perhaps someone is getting extra casing
from the Russian factory and inserting Chinese electronics/caps in them?

Richard

wrote in message ...
There must be more to this story, right? It just seems strange that a
Chinese
company would *independently* clone such a niche product. Popular
consumer
products, yes, but these are not even normal mics, they have an unusual
appearance. I'm inclined to believe it is some kind of "inside" job, but
noone is admitting to it, right? Like perhaps someone is getting extra
casing
from the Russian factory and inserting Chinese electronics/caps in them?

It's certainly quite odd, and it does seem there must be more to the story.
Now I'm sitting here with a $200 (plus or minus $50) budget, and needing
some decent overhead micas. If I can't find a couple Octava's, I may end up
with the Studio Projects C4's, or look into the AT 2020's that TY
recommended.

--
http://www.bobsavage.net

"JP Gerard" wrote ...
Chinese small diphragm capsules are pretty bad.

In general, or specifically the Chinese "Oktava" clones?

The construction is incredibly goofy. It results in poor signal to
noise ratio, and consistency is a problem.

I took a sample apart and I just couldn't move for a few seconds.
I was shocked. Pure crap.

I've been told that there's a 797 Audio capsule that's better than
what I've seen - but I don't expect much.

The Oktava MK012 capsules are actually quite nice. Too bad the
head amps gave these mics such a bad reputation...

So this is the only posting in the thread that said anything about the
quality of the mics of Chinese vs Russian origin.

Are we just assuming that the Chinese clones are better/worse than
the Russian ones? than the (selected) SoundRoom ones?

wrote:


There must be more to this story, right? It just seems strange that a
Chinese
company would *independently* clone such a niche product. Popular
consumer products, yes, but these are not even normal mics, they have an
unusual
appearance. I'm inclined to believe it is some kind of "inside" job, but
noone is admitting to it, right? Like perhaps someone is getting extra
casing from the Russian factory and inserting Chinese electronics/caps in
them?

Lets keep poor OktaBa Russia's name clean since they seem to be the victims
here. Take a read of the post at

http://debris.com/journal/1274

the implication is that the former distributor contracted a Chinese firm to
build clone mics and then marketed them under his brand Oktava without
OktaBa (Russia) approval.

Also, these are no mix and match mic. From the case finish I would judge
that the entire mic including caps and body were manufactured at the same
place.

OktaBa are not involved, indeed their "how to spot a fake" web page
identified what was going on.

A.

Richard Crowley wrote:

"JP Gerard" wrote ...
Chinese small diphragm capsules are pretty bad.

Are we just assuming that the Chinese clones are better/worse than
the Russian ones? than the (selected) SoundRoom ones?

I'll put up an A/B WAV link in a few days when my replacements arrive. To be
honest, my Chinese mics sound quite nice, detailed, low noise, a tad too
bright in the upper mids but certainly OK for the money, just not what I
thought I was buying.

A

"Bob Savage" wrote in message
news:BBUfe.5278$Fa1.2337@fed1read02...
wrote in message ...
There must be more to this story, right? It just seems strange that a
Chinese
company would *independently* clone such a niche product. Popular
consumer
products, yes, but these are not even normal mics, they have an unusual
appearance. I'm inclined to believe it is some kind of "inside" job, but
noone is admitting to it, right? Like perhaps someone is getting extra
casing
from the Russian factory and inserting Chinese electronics/caps in them?

It's certainly quite odd, and it does seem there must be more to the
story.
Now I'm sitting here with a $200 (plus or minus $50) budget, and needing
some decent overhead micas. If I can't find a couple Octava's, I may end
up
with the Studio Projects C4's, or look into the AT 2020's that TY
recommended.


Soundroom still does them. Cheaper ones are likely to be dodgy wherever
they were made.

Russian ones can be MC or MK.

If there really are MC(hino)-012as, I wonder if the preamps are actuallly
better than the Ruskie ones ?!!

geoff

Aiden Humphreys writes:

wrote:


There must be more to this story, right? It just seems strange that a
Chinese
company would *independently* clone such a niche product. Popular
consumer products, yes, but these are not even normal mics, they have an
unusual
appearance. I'm inclined to believe it is some kind of "inside" job, but
noone is admitting to it, right? Like perhaps someone is getting extra
casing from the Russian factory and inserting Chinese electronics/caps in
them?

Lets keep poor OktaBa Russia's name clean since they seem to be the victims
here. Take a read of the post at

http://debris.com/journal/1274

the implication is that the former distributor contracted a Chinese firm to
build clone mics and then marketed them under his brand Oktava without
OktaBa (Russia) approval.

Also, these are no mix and match mic. From the case finish I would judge
that the entire mic including caps and body were manufactured at the same
place.

OktaBa are not involved, indeed their "how to spot a fake" web page
identified what was going on.

A.

OK, thanks for clearing that up.

Richard

"Aiden Humphreys" wrote in message

the implication is that the former distributor contracted a Chinese firm
to
build clone mics and then marketed them under his brand Oktava without
OktaBa (Russia) approval.

The name "Octava" is equally valid for the Rusian mics.

geoff

"Geoff Wood" wrote in message
...

"Aiden Humphreys" wrote in message

the implication is that the former distributor contracted a Chinese firm
to
build clone mics and then marketed them under his brand Oktava without
OktaBa (Russia) approval.

The name "Octava" is equally valid for the Rusian mics.

And "MC"

geoff

In article BBUfe.5278$Fa1.2337@fed1read02 writes:

It's certainly quite odd, and it does seem there must be more to the story.
Now I'm sitting here with a $200 (plus or minus $50) budget, and needing
some decent overhead micas. If I can't find a couple Octava's, I may end up
with the Studio Projects C4's, or look into the AT 2020's that TY
recommended.

Well, has anyone determined that the supposed Chinese copies of the
Oktava mics are really bad? I can't see a problem with a plastic
holder rather than a metal one, and no documentation (how much do you
need?).

Sorry if I missed anything that wasn't just scandal material here.



--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

On Tue, 10 May 2005 19:10:02 +1200, Geoff Wood
wrote:


"Aiden Humphreys" wrote in message

the implication is that the former distributor contracted a Chinese firm
to
build clone mics and then marketed them under his brand Oktava without
OktaBa (Russia) approval.

The name "Octava" is equally valid for the Rusian mics.

geoff



Octava is actually spelt something like OktaBa in russian. So OktaBa is
probably as good a way as any of signifying true Russian mics.

Cheers.

James.

Richard Crowley wrote:
So this is the only posting in the thread that said anything about the
quality of the mics of Chinese vs Russian origin.

Are we just assuming that the Chinese clones are better/worse than
the Russian ones? than the (selected) SoundRoom ones?

Yes, but I think that is a safe assumption. Especially if A&S McKay
was responsible for the Chinese production.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1115693809k@trad...
Well, has anyone determined that the supposed Chinese copies of the
Oktava mics are really bad? I can't see a problem with a plastic
holder rather than a metal one, and no documentation (how much do you
need?).

It would be nice to at least get the pad and a graph with the mic. The
metal clip would also be a nice "bonus."

Sorry if I missed anything that wasn't just scandal material here.

No need to apologize, if you're that interested, read through the thread
again.

--
http://www.bobsavage.net

Bob Savage wrote:
"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
Well, has anyone determined that the supposed Chinese copies of the
Oktava mics are really bad? I can't see a problem with a plastic
holder rather than a metal one, and no documentation (how much do you
need?).

It would be nice to at least get the pad and a graph with the mic. The
metal clip would also be a nice "bonus."

I'll send you all the graphs you want.

One Chinese factory just picks a microphone, runs a plot on it, and then
sends xerox copies out with each production mike.

As long as you don't need them to be accurate, it's very easy to send
all the measurements you want out.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."