Topic: The AKG Actives Project

[terrapinj]

well don't most people who have ck1x caps already have the mk46 cable, I mean one is useless without the other after all; but regardless, it would seem there would be huge interest in an active cable machined at one end to fit onto the ck61/62/63 cap and also onto the 480 body, but only  limited interest in an actual battery box/preamp type set up, look at how few of the JK Labs boxes are in use today; I guess it just seems logical for this project to produce a cable that can be put into instant and wide use, such as a cable that connects the ck63 cap to the 480 body, who wouldn't want that cable? and its exactly what connects my ck1x cap to my 460 body, I guess I thought that is what people wanted and why this thread started, my bad

i'd still check with Chris K

i would think that they could get some valueable info from your set-up. perhaps they can compare the mk46 to the cable design that jk labs uses perhaps there similarities in the basic structure? if they end up not wanting your cable I still appreciate your offering it up! +T

[musicsherlock]

I'm down with the Active Cable scenario..I just wanna run the caps low-profile...

[grider]

I'm down with the Active Cable scenario..I just wanna run the caps low-profile...

I hear you brother, after years of happily running my 480's, last month I instead ran my ck1x>mk46>460>interconnect cables>preamp, and CLAMPED onto another taper's stand, whew what a relief that whole evening was, no stand, no mic bodies, just a tiny set up on someone else's stand and I pulled a fat tape, I just think if this could be done with 480s(like its been done with the 460s) most people would line up to buy such cables

[OFOTD]

I hear you brother, after years of happily running my 480's, last month I instead ran my ck1x>mk46>460>interconnect cables>preamp, and CLAMPED onto another taper's stand, whew what a relief that whole evening was, no stand, no mic bodies, just a tiny set up on someone else's stand and I pulled a fat tape, I just think if this could be done with 480s(like its been done with the 460s) most people would line up to buy such cables

I agree with you.  Let me try and ask though. 

If you had the choice of having a cap > cable > box available in 1 month or a fully active set of cap > cable > body in 12 months which would you prefer?   

The way I see it I'll take option #1 and then when development reaches a point to allow for option #2 to become a reality i'm sure i'll upgrade at that time.  So either way for me is a win-win situation.   Obviously the fact that there are only a handful of active type systems out there goes to show that this is not an easy or quick development.  While I think its cool that there are options currently for the 460's it is not a deal breaker for me to give up my 480's for 460's. 

+T's around as we're all on the same team on this one!

[Charlies]

How can we help?

as someone wrote earlier on this thread, the secret is in the cables & heads, not the box.

we need someone from here:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=59577.msg787072#msg787072

to let us inspect the cables and heads of thier setup. a couple on the list live within road trip distance of nick, mike and myself. we could arrange for pre-paid shipping too, and supply a backup set of mics (akg, geffell, mk4>nbox)

I am here...I just had one question, which was ... is this a for profit enterprise? -Charlie

[grider]

some of you may know Bob Wiely of Santa Cruz, I know he runs the ck61 stock cap into JKLabs cable into JKLabs DVC battery box, might be impossible to get at his gear but you never know, he's a long time bay area taper who has some interesting torrents going right now on etree that shows his equipment in the torrent itself

[sygdwm]

I'm sending Nick my MG active cables > JK Labs ECMS-23 tomorrow.

awesome +t.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I am here...I just had one question, which was ... is this a for profit enterprise? -Charlie

There has been some discussion that this project would pool the resources of the community to create an open solution.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I am here...I just had one question, which was ... is this a for profit enterprise? -Charlie

There has been some discussion that this project would pool the resources of the community to create an open solution.

Can anyone working on this confirm the above?   Should we expect to see photos and schematics of the gear that people are loaning for reverse engineering?

[mhibbs]

OK folks, just got off the phone with Richard at AKG.  His take on the VR tube thing is that it *could* be possible, but the tube provides ground to the circuit. 

So find an alternate grounding source and maybe it could work? (these are my conclusions, not his).

His take on it was that the demand wasn't there, so there wasn't any reason to do it.  He definitely did not come out and say "it can be done", but once I explained the thought process to him he did concede that it might be possible.

So there you go.

Thanks for the info.  I don't understand how they don't see the demand.  I can't believe that studios aren't interested in the remote capsules?

In the past, the discussion always centered around there not being the appropriate connection on the head of the mic body to support the connection necessary to run the caps separate from the body.  If I remember correctly, the discussion was separating the two would require soldering the connection to a point INSIDE the c480 or completely re-creating the head of the body w/ a connection to that same internal point in the c480.  So it wasn't at all a demand type of issue w/ AKG...the bodies simply weren't engineered in a manner that lends itself to build a Schoeps style active cable w/out major work to the bodies themselves.  That previous discussion is somewhere on the net...perhaps in the archives of the Oade forums.  At any rate, just adding to the history of this discussion.  I'd love to see it become a reality...I eventually sold my 480s and moved to the Schoeps just b/c of the active setup.  Personally I think the bodies are critical to the 480 sound...to me, the JK Labs box doesn't sound true to the c480b/ck6x combination.


Mitch

[it-goes-to-eleven]

The MG bodies also lack any connectors or provision for supplying a buffer circuit with power.

Can you guys post some pics of the gear you've been reverse engineering?  Curious about how others have done custom MG and akg collette connectors, etc.

[thepassionofyonder]

bump...
are we getting anywhere?
~justin

[Brian Skalinder]

are we getting anywhere?

Seems things have slowed down a bit.  But thanks for volunteering to complete the remainder of the project!  When do you anticipate you'll finish?

[Sanjay]

Just a note to grider's mention of the ck1x and mk46 cable being useful for the cable to connect the capsule to the 480's.  In fact niether of these items would be useful, the mk46 cable will not work with the 480, it has different connections and a different anchor (which the 480 is missing) so if one were to model the new one after the mk46 it would not work. 

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Seems things have slowed down a bit.  But thanks for volunteering to complete the remainder of the project!  When do you anticipate you'll finish?

Not surprising with warmer weather coming..

But so far, it does not seem like an open hardware project in the same way that many other open hardware and software projects are run.  Maybe we're not seeing pics and schematics of the reverse engineered JK Labs stuff (collettes for example) because this is just a period of intensive work?

Also, if the current focus is in extending the capability of the nbox, how does that eventually become open?  Or am I mistaken that this was all about building an open actives platform?