To have them perform to their potential you really need a 3 wire bbox or a 4.7k mod then overloading is not an issue anymore.
Anybody want to tell me how to build these fixes? Are there plans here on the board? And if the 4.7k mod is neccessary, why hasn't AT done this?? What does the 4.7k ohm resistor do? Just curious and would welcome any help on the mods. Also, I use OKM II's now without any overload problems. I do not listen to heavy metal and the like.
Cheers B)
The resistor mod increases the headroom of the mics so that they can handle the really high sound pressure level shows. This mod isn't required for the mics to work for you. I don't have it on my mics and I recorded at least 100 shows with my SP-CMC-4 (which I typically just call AT-853s). I only had maybe 3 shows booger up on me. The thing is, the resistor mod is so cheap that it's really silly not to have it done. I just make sure that if the show is really loud, I don't setup close to the speakers. Also, if you're in a really big room where the bass can sometimes fool you with the amount of SPL, that's a situation where these mics fall down a little without the mod.
Chris Church on this list is the person to talk to about the mod. He does it for $10 excluding parts and shipping. He's in Canada, so the mod costs around $25 or $30 (when you include shipping back to you in the States). I will have it done to my mics just to have peace of mind that they won't sound OD on me in the future.
BTW, you mention that you don't listen to metal...the shows that I tape successfully with these mics are more in the vein of jam bands at club shows. The volume can get fairly loud, but not to where the ears ring when you leave the club. Generally, at that 'fairly loud in the club' level, the SPLs are OK, but that's when I start to worry that the AT-853 are on the verge of going over the edge. Like I said, $30 would be worth it to me. Incidently, I've only been reading here for the last several months and I have upgraded my rig but I still have the AT-853s...this is why I haven't sent Chris my mics yet...just hasn't reached the top of my rig investment priority list.
Another BTW, I think if you PM Chris he can give you details of the mod. I know it's been written about many times in the mic forum, so if you do a search...say on '4.7 resistor' or something similar you might hit paydirt.