DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

Fans of the Oktava/Guitar Center/McKay microphone controversy, told here in 3 parts (I, II, III), should check out this 127-post-long thread on rec.audio.pro, somewhat innocently titled Oktava update?

A few nuggets:

• A & F McKay Audio Limited of the UK is “in liquidation.” Some folks on that board speculate that this is an effort to escape legal obligations: shut down one company, then open another to continue the business of the first. I wonder if this affects the warranties previously issued by the McKay brothers for Oktava products.
• Aidan Humphreys conducted an A/B test of Russian and Chinese MK012 mics and posted WAV files of both. His site is set up to allow you to listen to the samples blind — it’s very well-done and worth checking out if you’re shopping. See: http://www.sound-patterns.com/mk012/
• Update 2005-09-05: not from r.a.p., but relevant, is the detailed review of the Chinese vs. Russian MK-012s on the gearslutz.com forum (may require registration)

Some interesting background information can also be found in the rec.audio.pro archives, such as this post full of legal actions and brimstone from Fergus McKay in February 2001, which itself spawned 120+ responses. Fergus McKay’s post struck a nerve, or 120 of them, and a lot of people who seem to know what they’re talking about posted some revealing facts.

On a side note, I’m happy to have re-discovered Usenet this weekend… I’d given it up for dead in 1992 when recruiters infested ba.jobs.