Today I’m taking a look at the Alctron PF8 that was kindly provided by the folks over at Banggood.com. It’s a portable alternative to treating an entire room with acoustic panels which also has a much smaller footprint than other acoustic isolation shields.
The Alctron PF8 is actually a knockoff of the Kaotica Eyeball, and both products are basically spheres (or semi-spheres in the case of the PF8) of dense acoustic foam that are meant to shield your mic from audio reflections as well as prevent them in the first place. There is a sizeable cavity inside the PF8 that is more than large enough to fit a Blue Snowball, though the main focus is on side address mics in the 45-60mm diameter range.
Of course, there are plenty of acoustic isolation shields on the market that do the same thing as the PF8. However, the PF8 has a few advantages over those. First off, as I mentioned earlier, the PF8 has a smaller footprint than the other isolation shields. It’s also made out of lightweight foam, so you can easily use the PF8 without having to worry about whether or not your usual mic stand can handle it I’ve used the PF8 on my cheapo boom arm with no issue.
The next advantage of the PF8 is the price. Admittedly, the Kaotica Eyeball is a wee bit more expensive (okay, actually 10x the price), but the PF8 comes in at around $30-40 depending on how long you’re willing to wait to get it. Banggood charges a little over $35 for the PF8.
Now, as for how well it works, I’d say it does a bang up job. If you have a room that has a bit of noise reflection and you can’t put up acoustic panels due to budget or lease limitations, the PF8 will help you out. Just keep in mind that products like this work best when you’re closer to the mic. Fortunately the PF8 has a built in double layer pop filter, so plosives won’t be much of an issue at that range. I do have a couple of sound tests in the above video if you’re interested.
If you want to check out the Alctron PF8 for yourself, you can find it here:
Alctron PF8 on Banggood: http://bit.ly/2S0tAIO
Find more microphones here: http://bit.ly/2RID4sP
Download the Banggood APP to get an extra 10%off: https://banggood.app.link/sZmbUBO2HT
