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Reviews For: Heil Goldline

Category: Microphones for ham radio

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Review Summary For : Heil Goldline
Reviews: 101MSRP: 140.00
Description:
Truly, the full-range microphone for all occasions - FM - AM -
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.heilsound.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
001014.6
KE4WY Rating: 2000-12-26
Excellent Mic Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I use the Goldline on the Icom 756 PRO and have received excellent audio reports.

I use 0 to +2 on the bass setting and +4 to+5 on the treble. The Compressor is set to either [ON WIDE] or [OFF WIDE].

I have used Bob Heil products since the early 1980's has have always been very satisfied with his first class service.

73 de KE4WY Jim
K0FUN Rating: 2000-12-20
Great Product & Service Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Early 2000 I purchasd the Gold Line setup to use with my TenTec rig. The microphone works very well and best of all is the professional quality feel of all the hardware. I don't solicit audio reports but I have occasionally received compliments on the audio.

Having worked with Bob Heil for more than 25 years (including his Rock & Roll years) I have nothing but the best to say about his ethics and professional approach with his clients.
G0UUT Rating: 2000-12-19
VERY BAD SERVICE Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I HAD THE GOLD LINE ON MY 505DSP KACHINA
IT WAS SO BAD I DID SEND SOME EMAIL TO MR BOB HEIL , WELL HE DIDNT LIKE TO KNOW THE PROBLEM
IM IN england UK IT LOOK LIKE THE SERVICE IN USA CAN BE GOOD BUT NOT OUTSIDE USA IT IS SO BAD THAT I DID SEND IT BACK TO KACHINA THAT DID SAY THAT
THE GOLDLINE IS NOT TO GOOD THEY DID HAD PROB WITH
SOME OTHER HAM HAVING SAME OUDIO PROB THE HAND MIC
OF THE KACHINA WAS MUCH BETTER FROM HEIL
NEVER AGAIN . MUCH BETTER MIC OUT THERE
N5EG Rating: 2000-12-07
Good Microphone Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Purchased a Goldline MIC with the additional DX-element ('punchy' audio) from Heil after Dayton last year. Initial reports indicated 'breath-noise', so a standard slip-on foam cover was purchased at Radio Shack which was a perfect fit to the MIC. The foam cover eliminates the pop-ing noise (mostly from the letter 'P'). The cover may be supplied by Heil on newer units, not sure.

Initially, it smelled like the MIC was in a fire (smoke), but that has dissipated mostly.

The weak point is the PTT slide switch, the good points are: everything else. The DX-element works very well, and is used the majority of the time - along with a little RF processing it seems to penetrate pileups well. The wide-range Gold line element also works well, and excellent audio reports are received with it.

The mic is being used with a Yaesu FT1000MP, which is capable of very-low end transmit frequency response when configured to do so. The mic is mounted on the desk stand that was purchased from Heil. When the amplifier is turned on, the fan in it produces low-frequency mechanical vibrations through the table top to the MIC, and this is easily heard. Ended up setting the MIC desk stand on a spare mouse-pad of the soft-foam type, and this is VERY effective at eliminating the low-frequency rumble from the MIC (also makes a great non-skid pad for the CW key). A more elaborate suspension holder for the MIC would totally eliminate this problem, of course.

The connector on the Gold Line MIC is a 4-pin XLR, which is non-standard. Heil supplied the MIC with a Yaesu adaptor cord, so normally connection to the 4-XLR is not necessary. However, if one wanted to add additional MIC processing (such as audio-gate, de-essing, equalizer, compressor, etc.), then it might be useful to adapt from the 4-XLR to the more common 3-pin balanced XLR found on standard audio equipment. Found the 4-XLR connector in the Digi-key catalog, but have not ordered or tried it yet. Received audio reports so far indicate that only a small amount of improvement could be expected from additional processing, so that has not been pursued.
G3ZZS Rating: 2000-12-07
SUPER MICROPHONE Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I am delighted with the Heil Goldline GM5, I have only been using it with my TS870 for a few week and I now realise that the Goldline is the best microphone I have used in 30 years as a Ham.It took me a couple of week of trial and error with the DSP settings, getting audio reports from stations that know my voice to achive the audio quality I desire .The service from Bob Heil is `second to none`. I am aways being complimented on the excellent audio.Thanks Bob for a SUPER MICROPHONE.
73 Martin. G3ZZS.Plymouth.UK. g3zzs@g3zzs.eurobell.co.uk
CT2HME Rating: 2000-11-30
Didn't work for me Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought one to go with a Kenwood TS-870S.
Out of the box the smell was not very nice. It went away after a couple of weeks. Well... almost.
Sounded to sharp on my 870 with the settings recomend by Heil. Tried other settings. Still to sharp.
Bob Heil gave great support and allways answered my questions. Good company to deal with.
In my opinion this is a good contest mike. But it stops there. At least with the 870, a MC-60A will sound so *much* better.
Sold it after a few months.
73s.

John, CT2HME
K1BRF Rating: 2000-08-07
Great Microphone System Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Mechanically, the ability to have a suspension-mounted microphone on a studio boom with a footswitch is an ergonomic dream. Simple to use for hours on end, easy to swing out of the way, and positioned perfectly to keep the mouth-to-microphone distance just right.

The audio quality is just like Heil's article in QEX said it would be. The response suppressed the elements which inhibit clarity and boosted those narrow slivers which are critical to clarity. I think reading that article is critical before buying a microphone because this poorly understood area can, if properly addressed, significantly - and I mean significantly - enhance your ability to work stations.

I couldn't be happier and would be lost without it. The best evidence is that (i) people go out of their way to mention audio quality or clarity and (ii) I can routinely work stations in very difficult situations. Mine was excellent quality, simple to put together but make sure to go to their web site if you want some hints on how to set your audio for maximum warp.
KB9UMT Rating: 2000-07-09
STUDIO AUDIO..VERY NICE Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Do you want great audio....get one of these! Remember that on some radios you may have to really experiment with the tx tone or filter controls but if you do hours of testing and get this mic right you will not be sorry...very nice studio quility audio!! I love mine but the mic gain must be a tad higher ...used it on a 570d, 1000mp, and a ICOM 746 all with good results! The Yaesu MD-100 is about the same on the Yaesu..these mics are tops I think..73' DON KB9UMT PEORIA IL
N6DUR Rating: 2000-03-26
A great mic for rag chewing and DX Time Owned: unknown months.
Running GL4 to W2IHY Equalizer/Noise Gate with FT-1000. Please realize equalizer freq response must be set to produce the sound of your choice, however your particular transceiver as in the case of the FT-1000, if unmodified, may filter freqs below 100 Hz and above 2500 Hz. In the case of the FT-1000, trying to force base levels(100 Hz) above +10 db, will produce a muffled sound. Also, driving 2400Hz and 3200 Hz +8 and +12 db respectively, will start to distort. I have found the following settings work fine; going from low to high: +4, +8, +2, 0, -2, -2, +8, & +10. Remember. monitoring the audio at the Equalizer does not tell you what your SSB audio sounds like, unless your transceiver passband supports the full range. These settings work great for me and I am pleased with the Mic/W2IHY Equalizer Noise Gate combination. I'm on 20M most evenings with a KW
K0SRO Rating: 2000-03-26
Fills the bill. Time Owned: unknown months.
Now that I've had a few weeks to use my Goldline, I'm really pleased with it. It was a rocky start, probably not due to Heil, but my audio reports are now very satisfying. A fine, well-made, and good-looking product at a reasonable price, and I highly recomment it.