Topic: Difference between 2.2k & 4.7k Mods?

[Will_S]

Well, I modded my MKE2s with apparent success, although still need to see how they do with concert level SPLs and hope my soldering work is durable enough to withstand field use.  I'm not sure I'd recommend the cheap earbud cable approach to anyone else...it's nice having the tiny RA miniplug and the thin wires going into the R09 at the end, but the wires inside the cable are TINY and not fun to work with.

I'm kind of tempted to mod my AT853s as well, it would be nice to do away with my 3 wire battery box, but wonder if there is any loss running off the Edirol R09 or iRiver's PIP (which I've seen stated as anywhere from 1.8 to 3.7 V!) compared to 9 volts from the BB.  Is anyone out there running 4.7K modded 853s directly into an iRiver?

[Will_S]

I decided to go ahead and do the 4.7k mod to my AT853s (with U853 capsules) and tried out the 2.2k modded MKE2s and the 4.7K modded Franken853s into both my R09 and my iRiver.  The crowd was annoyingly chatty and there were other tapers there  so I felt no problem swapping cables between recorders mid-song.   

Venue was the Brookdale Lodge, quite a small room with a modest PA.  (Descriptions at http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,63211.msg882267.html#msg882267 and http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,70148.0.html).  Band was David Nelson and Friends.  MKE2s were run baffled on a ~6" by ~6" beam mysteriously jutting out a bit beyond the edge of the balcony, about 7.5 feet high.  Franken853s were run DIN clamped to the balcony railing at about 8.5 feet high, directly over the MKE2s.  Mics were 25-30 feet back from the stage and 5-10 feet left of center.

Samples here (no post processing beyond adding quick fades in and out, may want to normalize for a fairer comparison):

853's > iRiver (at  +24dB, the max of the "analog" gain range for the iRiver preamp)
http://homepage.mac.com/satterwill/PIP/iRiverATU853.flac

853's > R09 (mic in, low-sens, rec level 25)
http://homepage.mac.com/satterwill/PIP/R09ATU853.flac

MKE2's > R09 (mic in, low-sens, rec level 18)
http://homepage.mac.com/satterwill/PIP/R09MKE2.flac

MKE2's > iRiver (started at +18 dB, bumped down to 17.5 and then 17 by AGC safety due to screamers)
http://homepage.mac.com/satterwill/PIP/iRiverMKE2.flac

My thoughts:

Either set of mics straight into the R09 should do fine for any moderately loud show with a PA, although a preamp certainly wouldn't hurt with the 853s. 

MKE2s into the iRiver seems to work fine as well.  Franken853s into the iRiver would do in a pinch but I'd rather have a preamp even at moderately loud rock shows like this.  Note also that the U series caps are a few dB hotter (4ish) than the old version.

I think I'm gonna like the MKE2s when I get a chance to use them without a bunch of drunk chatty asshats around.

It still remains to be seen how well these mic / powering scheme combinations stand up to truly loud rock concert SPLs with just PIP.

Edit:  Would I gain much sensitivity redoing the AT853s with 2.2k resistors vs. 4.7k?