Gear / Technical Help > Microphones & Setup

Toa K2 info?

(1/1)

jagraham:
So I recently acquired a pair of Toa K2s from the YS and am going to try them out soon. I really can't find a lot of info on the boards about these mics, so I'm curious if anyone has examples of their setups with K2s. I record with Nak CM-100s and 300s and AT-853s usually. Should my Toa setup differ any from how I use the Naks? The info I have collected from YS threads indicates to use the K2s with AAs or phantom power. The ancient Nak instructions also indicate to use AAs but I have always used 2 6V batteries taped together in my Naks. Which would be better for the K2s? I record with the DR-70D, which I believe offers 24 or 48V phantom via the XLR outputs. Would this be appropriate for the K2s, or is that way too much voltage for mics that only are supposed to require 1.5V?

One last thing - Should I expect similar sensitivity with my K2s compared to the Naks? Or does that depend on voltage used?

billydee:
I have the K2 mics and use them exactly like I would Nak 100/300's and Teac/Tascam clones when I want a cardioid pattern. They seem to sound the same using AA battery or phantom, I hear no difference and have phantom powered them with both the DR-60 and DR-70. I've never tried powering the K2's with the two 6v batteries like some of us use for Nak 300's. The K2 spec sheet might give some insight there.

Although I've never measured it, the sensitivity seems about the same as the Naks and Nak clones.

They're a really heavy duty mic and produce what I'd consider a nice warm sound. You can't beat them for the price out there these days.

I typically use them with a soundboard feed in a four channel matrix but here's one recording I made using just the K2's- https://archive.org/details/ej2014-03-19.TOA_K2.billydee

I have the TOA K2 spec sheet and brochure and would be glad to send you a PDF scan of them if you're interested. Let me know.

ArchivalAudio:
From the Service Guide that KirkD shared with me...
 as billydee mentioned it exists in pdf - I believe sent it to him too.

edit: I know that in the K1's (as true in many battery/phantom mics) they offer a slightly higher max SPL level with 48v Phantom vs the 1.5v AA.
PS I have always preferred the sound of my TOAk1's over the sound of nak300's - but that of course is just a flavor preference. I'll need to run them sometime again soon... though they are a bit road worn... purchased new by me in 1986 for $99 each. :)

enjoy
--Ian

Navigation

[0] Message Index