Topic: Best electret omni's?

[Javier Cinakowski]

Yeah, the nerf ball idea is something i have thought of, BUT, I would also like to do wide split omni recordings.  Such as a 4'-8' split.  Or, I would like to simply just clip them on a Tbar. Or hide them in a hat for stealth.  I am looking for the best Omni directional microphones for use with my Church Audio ST-9000 preamp.  So it has to have a 3.5mm-1/8" mini plug termination and be non-sensitive enough not to overload the preamp.  It is looking like the Senn-MKE2's and the DPA's are the only options at this point.  I wish someone knew more about the Senn-MKE2's by microphone madness.  I wonder if they sound any better then my mke40's.  I am assuming they do simply becasue of the fact they are omni, but i just don't know.  I would love to hear a AB compairison with the mke2's and the DPA's.

I have also been looking at single point omni's, but I will not buy a sony mic and they are not that many PIP mics out there.  Oh well, as of now I am almost ready to pull the trigger on the mke2's from Mic Madness.  nobody knew anything about the mic madness mke40's when I bought them.  they turned out to be a great purchase, maybe the mke2's will be the same. 

I would buy Church Audio's omni's but I am looking for something from a major microphone manufacturer.  That might sound wierd, but I do have a taping ego to uphold here. 

 

[Jimna]

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/pdfs/mke2pc.pdf

here is the technical specs for the mke2.  says its a xlr3 pin w/ phantom power.  i bet you would be happy with them.

+t on the thread

[Javier Cinakowski]

Here is my conversation with the microphone madness people.  They responded quickly.  I also read through some other threads and it seems that these mke2's by MM are very good. 


Hi windorabug,
 
To be honest, we have never done a side by side comparison with any DPA microphones.  They are very good microphones but as you know they are very expensive.  The MKE-2's(which we build) are excellent performers and are well under priced in the field, they are by far the best omni we offer!
The MKE-2's straight from Sennheiser come with the XLR connector(which is a phantom power converter) and are wired slightly different for that setup. We set them up to interact with any bias power device as well as any one of our batter/filter modules.
Omni and uni-directional microphones are totally different animals and cannot be compared in the same category. 
 
Hope this helps,
Mike
www.microphonemadness.com
- Hide quoted text -


Javier Cinakowski <windorabug@gmail.com> wrote:
Howdy,

I purchased a pair of your hlsc-1s and have been very happy with them.
I am in the market for a pair of Omni's now and had some questions
about your mke2's.

The MKE2s sold by Sennheiser are 12-48v phantom powered and terminate
in a 3-pin xlr. How do you get these capsules to perform so well
using a two wire 3.5mm plug and Plug-In-Power? Do you do a mod to
them so they can handle higher SPL's? I am assuming these mke2's will
outperform the mke40's simply because they are Omni? Do these
microphones compare to the DPA-406X microphones? I am very interested
in these mke2's because they seem like the best mini-microphone that
terminates to a 3.5 plug and can be powered via 9v plug-in-power. The
DPA's are the only other option, but are 3 times the price.

I know your opinion about these microphones might be biased, but I
would appreciate you comments in a response.

Thanks,

windorabug
Team Johnstown/Pittsburgh

[Jimna]

Nice!  so what are you gonna do?

[Chuck]

I bought some Panasonic (off the top of my head... I remember wma-063?? maybe) capsules about ten years ago and finally want to make some stealth microphones with them soon. When I get the proper part #'s, I'll be looking for some circuit ideas.

[Chuck]

That's weird. I'm sure that is the exact circuit I saw when I bought the capsules for a project so long ago. Small world I guess...
Is this still the best circuit for this type of capsule? I'm sure I have Panasonic elements. I'm not sure about the part #. They could very well be the 60AT's noted on the drawing. I'll be check when I get home from work.

Thanks & +T Chris.

[Chuck]

I'm sure I'm going to want to put a casing of some sort around the capsules so I can at the very least minimize noise, but also so I can put wind screens on them too. If I remember right, since you are soldering onto the mic element itself, there may be some scapped capsules due to heat etc... Any tips on doing any part of this would be appreciated.

[poorlyconditioned]

I'm sure I'm going to want to put a casing of some sort around the capsules so I can at the very least minimize noise, but also so I can put wind screens on them too. If I remember right, since you are soldering onto the mic element itself, there may be some scapped capsules due to heat etc... Any tips on doing any part of this would be appreciated.

Here is the "trick", coutesy of some people on the Yahoo "micbuilders" group.

- use "copper wick" to remove solder from the negative terminal.
- use an exacto knife to scrape/cut the copper pad in half.  You should cut so that the transistor/FET lead from inside the capsule is
    on one side of the cut, and the connection from the pad to the case/ground is on the other side
- now you have three terminals to solder to and you can either run 3-wire, or using the 2-wire Linkwitz method

Enjoy.  Expect to sacrifice a few capsules.  Also expect a few cuts/burns and associated curses during the process...

  Richard

[Chuck]

It turns out that I have (4) WM-60AT capsules. Hopefully I'll be able to get two working mics from these.
Is there any advantage in using the 3 wire set-up vs the two wire? Does one sound or work better?

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/images/graphics/microph1.gif

That conductive epoxy sounds weird. What if I wrapped some aluminum foil around the elements and just shrink wrapped them with permanent cables? 

[poorlyconditioned]

It turns out that I have (4) WM-60AT capsules. Hopefully I'll be able to get two working mics from these.
Is there any advantage in using the 3 wire set-up vs the two wire? Does one sound or work better?

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/images/graphics/microph1.gif

That conductive epoxy sounds weird. What if I wrapped some aluminum foil around the elements and just shrink wrapped them with permanent cables? 

Two wire (Linkwitz) and three-wire are equivalent in sound quality.  Both are much better than standard two-wire.

I don't think aluminum foil will work for contact to the capsule body.  Read my above post about removing the solder from the ground tab and slicing it in two.  This works quite well.  After soldering, encase the back in epoxy to make it solid and prevent any leaks out the back.  After that, go ahead and encase in pipe or just heat shrink the thing.

Now, all said and done, I only recommend this to hard core gear hackers.  This requires both electrical and mechanical skill.  And best to visit the Yahoo "micbuilders" group for some "group therapy" too.  Otherwise just get some Church Audio or AT853 mics.

  Richard

[Javier Cinakowski]

good luck with the microphone building project.


I think I am going to buy the mke2's from MM.  I am going to go grocery shopping first and try to get everything I need and still have the $250+ for the mics.  It will be close.  Next pay I am going to pick up some rycote mini-windjammers for the mke2s/40s.   I gave the dead rat DIY a try but found it was hard as hell for the small mics. Too small to sew the elastic and fur together.   

 I found a sweet mini-daypack at Wal-Mart last night.  It fits my gear perfectly.  It has an empty pocket waiting for some omni's   

[corsair]

I'm just about to kill the people at MM, for a faulty left capsule....

[Javier Cinakowski]

I'm just about to kill the people at MM, for a faulty left capsule....

what is wrong with the capsule?  Send it back!!

[corsair]

From my recordings, the left capsule is on the average consistently 3 dB louder than the right capsule..

Shit hits the fan 2 weeks ago, while taping Simple minds, left of board, about 20 metres from stack.
The left channel hits occassional distortion from the low notes...while the right channel remains mint..shame.

these Mics are 3 wires...but I really wonder will 3 wire powering be a big improvement... My buddy opened
up the housing, and saw the 3rd wire soldered onto the housing of the miniplug..

[Javier Cinakowski]

Im not sure how they match their capsules , but I did some testing on mine last night and they are extreamly well matched.  I cannot get any readings that show any difference in the capsules. 

That being said, I just bought the mke2's from MM and a pair of Rycote mini-windjammers from B and H.   


Woo Hoo!!!