Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes
Reviews Home

Reviews For: Heil Proline PR-20

Category: Microphones for ham radio

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Heil Proline PR-20
Reviews: 14MSRP: $169 USD
Description:
40 ~ 18000 Hz Frequencie respond Cardiod Type MIC
Replacement Of the Goldlinepro.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.heilsound.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00144.8
K4FX Rating: 2018-10-06
Excellent Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
The PR-20 is an excellent Mic. I got mine used and paid very little in comparison to what a new high end mic cost. Using it with a Flex 6300, I get regular comments on the audio quality. If you run across one of these, grab it!
SQ5TSS Rating: 2017-05-04
Great Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
This is an Excellent Mic and performs


----------------------
Earlier 5-star review posted by SQ5TSS on 2017-05-01

This Mic pr 20. is unreal.. I have even tried it on old radio's and it sounded so good I couldn't even believe it. Just mic and radio.. it is so nice to hear how great you can sound with this mic.
W4KVW Rating: 2017-04-13
AWESOME Microphones Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have been using the HEIL PR-20 since 2006 & I now own three of them.Best bang for the buck for a microphone that does NOT require any EQ.I use one on my ICOM 7600 & two on my sound system when I'm performing as a solo vocalist.This microphone is NOT for anyone who does not have great vocal skills as a performer because it will let everyone know just how poor your vocal skills are.If you have great vocal skills then it's dollar for dollar the best you will find without breaking the bank & it's a top performer.Bob Heil has a WINNER with this microphone & it's solidly built & does not transfer the sounds associated with being handled when performing & cuts the background audio out in the shack as well.Blows as RE-20 away at a cost that you can buy many of these for the price of one of those overpriced & overrated microphones.Two of mine are labeled PR-20 & one says Goldline Pro & the are the same microphones inside & out.
K8JHR Rating: 2012-03-12
Very Nice - but overkill Time Owned: more than 12 months.
HEIL PR-20 is a very nice microphone, and it works well with all my radios, and music studio recording equipment. Nice tone, balanced, linear pickup through the vocal frequency range. Very attractive fit and finish, it looks and feels expensive.

Unfortunately... it is overkill for this application. At approx $140 typical street price, it is a fairly costly and expensive option, considering nearly ANY decent dynamic microphone can faithfully reproduce the human voice within the 3 KHz frequency bandwidth of a ham radio transceiver. Almost any microphone will be sufficiently linear (i.e., have a flat frequency response) over the 150 - 3500 Hz vocal frequency spectrum, so there is no need for a microphone with a 50Hz-18kHz frequency response. An AudioTEchnica MB-1000L for $45 will sound more clear and crisp, and have equally linear response over the vocal frequency spectrum, as the PR-20.

Nevertheless, the PR-20 IS a particularly handsome, attractive piece of equipment and looks good in the shack. It WILL sound good, and work well with a ham transceiver. It WILL be an excellent vocal microphone, or microphone for general recording, if you ever employ it for other purposes.

So, while you cannot go wrong with the HEIL PR-20 microphone, I feel one can do just as well with many lower cost microphones and use the savings to purchase other goodies for the shack. How do I know? Because I have been a microphone product tester and reviewer, testing a great many different microphones for a different, but closely related commercial purpose, for more than a decade. I received MY PR-20 as partial compensation for writing a product review of it compared to a Sennheiser e835, which costs 2/3 the price of the HEIL PR-20 and is every bit as good. So, while I think the HEIL PR-20 is a very good microphone, it is, ultimately overkill for ham radio purposes, and about $40 over priced compared to the competition.

This is, of course, just MY take... // James - K8JHR //
KI6AKR Rating: 2006-06-19
Studio sound at economy price. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I'm running the PR-20 through an equalizer to provide that needed boost in volume that most non-preamplified mikes require. Given that, the non-solicited modulation reports I receive now are "studio quality."

As far as pop filters are concerned, just do as the old-time radio singers/announcers and recording artists did - turn your head (move your mouth) slightly away from the mike momentarily before you pronounce any word with a "P" in it. Works like a charm!

73 from KI6AKR
W7LDG Rating: 2006-02-27
Great Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It's GREAT. Words cannot say. Liston to one next to a stock one and you will hear the difference.
KE4KVW Rating: 2006-01-19
GREAT "NOW" Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I said "NOW" because things started out BAD with the PR-20 on Christmas 2005.I was VERY pleased when I connected the PR-20 into my ICOM 756 PROII BUT then after about 20 minutes that stopped!It then sounded as if a lightning storm was going on every time I transmitted.(SEVERE static) I contacted the dealer where the mike was purchased & he sent me another NEW PR-20 & CC-1XLRI cable.I contacted Bob Heil & he suggested the problem was the ICOM 756 PROII & "NOT"the microphone or HEIL cable at fault.I sent the mike & cable to Heil for a checkup & found it was the HEIL CABLE that was defective & NOT the ICOM 756 PROII.The second cable sent by the dealer was ALSO defective & returned to him for shipping back to HEIL for repair or replacement.I NOW am VERY happy with the way the PR-20 sounds & get GREAT audio reports WITHOUT any help from external mixers or afte market EQ setups as I did with the ICOM SM-20 I was using before I went to a hands free operation. Looks as if their may be some QUALITY control issues at HEIL but the PR-20 does work GREAT with a GOOD cable installed!
W4HWD Rating: 2006-01-08
Typical Heil. Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
After owning a BM-5 and BM-10 (and loving them!) I decided to go for a broadcast-type mic, and I settled on the PR-20. This mic going straight into the radio didn't do much for me but coupled with the W2IHY 8-band EQ it's one half of a stellar duo! A smooth flat response, quality build and rugged, plus pleasing to look at and talk in to! Get one. I don't think there's much of a difference between it and it's bigger brothers, except price...it's a keeper!
KG4-CXA Rating: 2005-12-08
good sound! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
i decided to listen to alot of bob's microphones before i got this and honestly it isnt far behind the pr-30"my opinion".im not familiar with the mod but if it makes it sound better than ill give it a try.of course most of the time i run the w2ihy 8 bander and the eq plus.this mic gives me more bottom end which is what i like."sounds killer on every kenwood ive heard as well as the icom pro series"
G4MJA Rating: 2005-12-08
Not Impressed! Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I previously owned a Heil GM5 with the Studio insert & ran this in combination with a W2IHY 8 band EQ into a TS870S with great results. Having had such good results I bought the PR-20- bad move. The first one I had was faulty & gave the audio a very restricted sound - I returned the mic to the dealer who replaced it with a new one. This mic was better but again sounded restricted & 'boxy'no matter how I ran it either straight into the rig or EQ'ed. I sold the mic & bought a studio electret condenser, an Audio Technica AT4033A.The difference is outstanding!! End result is, I would happily buy another GM-5 but not a PR-20 & it does seem I am not alone.