Topic: Seeking sensitive microphones

[Gutbucket]

I got excited back in 2008-ish when the 5100 was announced because it was somewhat similar to my arrangement.

A couple threads from back then:
dpa 5.1
Re: DPA 5100 into a hat?

In the first thread I was trying to figure out what's going on inside and even drew a speculative drawing based on the published polar-patterns for each of the 5 primary channels of the 5100.  I've never actually seen one in person, much less looked inside. As I recall, this was prior to DPA offering miniature cardioids and supercards.  The 5100 was likely the first DPA product to use them, in the coincident center position if not in all five positions.  If so it probably uses a miniature omni for the .1 output channel. Output is 5.1.

My arrangement is different in not using any directional mics, instead boundary mounting the omnis on separate faces of the baffle, and that makes the omnis quite directional from the mid-range up.  The mics face forward, back, and left/right.  The baffle is considerably wider in the L/R dimension so the front and backward facing omnis end up being more directional than the L/R pair that are mounted on much narrower curved baffle faces, but are spaced farther apart to compensate.  Output is L/C/R/S.

Edit- if DPA (or anyone) made a miniature figure-8, I'd really love to turn each of those omnis into a on-baffle-boundary-mounted M/S pair, which would require 8 channels total, but would be great fun to play around with, would provide a lot of additional flexibility and potentially make it even better.  But I love this arrangement as is for any seated performance from the right location, especially classical.

[voltronic]

Gut, you said the 5100 may have been the first DPA product to use mini directional mics, but I believe it uses all omni capsules according to what you said earlier in your linked posts. I really would love to see inside one too, to get a look at the interference tubes and baffles. From what I've heard it's sewn shut. The only thing removable is the optional outdoor furry cover.

[Gutbucket]

Heh, thanks. I had to go back and read my own posts again and look at the polars.

Right, does seem all omnis in there, along with what seemed their first use of the tiny interference tubes which later became standard on all of their then-still-to-come miniature directionals, using at least two different very short tube lengths depending on model.  In the 5100, the omnis with the interference tubes installed remain omni until pretty far up, then go increasingly directional with frequency. A 5100 upgraded with their later super/hyper miniatures in the coincident L/R and C positions would probably work better! ..but even that is not really directional enough for 3 coincident forward facing channels.

My apologies to the OP for the OT tangent.