Topic: bound to happen, old dpa's fail!

[ilduclo]

    the set I got off the Broadway sellers finally gave it up, I think. They actually lasted 12 years!

 30db drop on one side. Question, dpa will bench test for free if I pay shipping both ways, does anyone think it's worth it??

[aaronji]

My condolences!  Always sad to see a good DPA go down...

Maybe it's in the connector and not the mic?

[yousef]

I think my 4060s lasted about ten years until something similar happened - not as much as 30dB but probably a good 10dB drop on one side.

At the price I paid, I'm more than happy with what I got out of them.

I didn't even think of sending them back to DPA for a check but I imagine they might not want to touch them, given that they've been re-terminated to a 3.5mm miniplug. Plus a repair may well cost much more than a "new" ex-Broadway one...

[Gutbucket]

I've had it happen.  It's the standard and ultimate death of these. Unlike a cable intermittency it's not repairable.

You can try the distilled water swizzle cleaning method, which has a chance of fixing them if its simply dirt or other stuff clogging the openings.  The effect of which can be similar in decreased sensitivity.

If you send them to DPA they will check them, but will cut off the miniplug to do so.  I've sent mics back for them to check and do that, knowing that they will not be able to fix them, just because they've always then offered to sell me a replacement directly at reduced cost.  Not nearly as inexpensive as a used "Broadway" mic, but not quite as painful as buying a new one from a reseller.

[ilduclo]

I am going to get a brand new set as well. Might as well, since they've been so rock solid for so long. Just wondering about the repair, I thought the 30db drop sounded like the one was dead? I might try the water dunk trick. I did get some beer spilled on me a couple of shows ago, but they worked great on the show after that. I tried various tests to the recorder/battery box/mic system I use, it's for sure in one mic.
 

[Gutbucket]

Impermanence.  Nothing tangible lasts forever.  But consider of all the great recordings you've made over the past 12 years.  That's a good run for second hand lavs! 

On the bright side, now you'll have a backup, and/or can try 3 mic techniques. The miniature DPAs are so delicious that way!

[phil_er_up]

Had a short on my DPA4060 on the XLR side and called DPA longmont and they said I could drive out there that morning. Took mic and got there and they said if its on the XLR side they can fix it right there in 10 minutes. I wait. He comes back with fixed cabled and reinforced better then the original. There is no charge.

So I call DPA at 8AM drive out at 10AM. Come home at 11AM with fixed cable and no charge. Wish all transactions went that way. 

DPA said if the short was on the mic side they probably could not fix it and would offer me a reduced price on a new one. This was 2 weeks ago.

[ilduclo]

yeah, they're pretty great for service. With the steady 30db drop I have on the mic, though, I speculate it is not a short. No amount of wiggling of any wires yields any change whatsoever. And I tested my battery box and recorder using other input devices, and they're ok. A short, or bad wiring would seem to me to yield an irregular signal with no signal and spikes where it  comes back, or no signal at all. This isn't that. I think, therefore, that it's probably in the mic itself and, although I could get a single mic cheaper than a set, there's a pretty good chance that the other is nearing the end, too. 

[John Willett]

Plus a repair may well cost much more than a "new" ex-Broadway one...

I would *NEVER* buy an ex-Broadway (or ex-West End in the UK) or any tie mic. that has been used in the theatre.

They only sell them when they have been "sweated out" or damaged by make-up and are well below par.

[ilduclo]

The set I had for 12 years was ex-Broadway, Tommy Tune's old set 

[yousef]

I would *NEVER* buy an ex-Broadway (or ex-West End in the UK) or any tie mic. that has been used in the theatre.

They only sell them when they have been "sweated out" or damaged by make-up and are well below par.

I dunno. I was more than happy with mine. Certainly well above the performance I could expect for the same outlay.

[voltronic]

Plus a repair may well cost much more than a "new" ex-Broadway one...

I would *NEVER* buy an ex-Broadway (or ex-West End in the UK) or any tie mic. that has been used in the theatre.

They only sell them when they have been "sweated out" or damaged by make-up and are well below par.

I was considering theater-used DPAs at one point, but I was worried about getting something that would not be working to spec.  Luckily there was a member here selling a brand-new set of 4061s at a reasonable price, so I scooped them up.

Still, some have definitely had success with these used mics.  I'm sure some companies are selling off the "below par" mics as you say.  I also believe there are companies who replace their lavs on a regular basis, so that they are further avoiding the chance of failure during a show.  The trouble is, you have know way of knowing which it is on eBay, and you're rolling the dice.