Topic: Who says DPA doesn't make a Hyper?

[noahbickart]

Any thoughts on this:

http://www.dpamicrophones.com/en/products.aspx?c=Item&category=129&item=24376

[page]

4017 > 4088

look at the rear lobe under 300hz. 

[Gutbucket]

I wonder what that low freq sens to the rear actually translates to soundwise.  I'd like to hear more of these.  4099 looks to be the same with higher sensitivity and a different mount.

[SmokinJoe]

If you happen to be in a place where there is slapback off the wall/building/whatever behind you, I think it's going to be mostly low frequency stuff and it looks like that rear lobe is only rejected by about 4db on the low end.  The reality is I hear it when I'm walking around at a show, but I rarely hear it on tapes, even with omnis, so maybe it's not a real problem unless you happen to be in the worst possible spot... and if you are in the worst possible spot, don't blame the mic.

I predict a bigger issue will be weak bass response, which will make it unpopular with tapers.  Look at the notes on the response chart... measurements are at 20cm=7.9", so response is flat for close micing, which I think means they are rolling off the low end heavily to compensate for proximity effect.   That's the same situation as Earthworks cards like SR77, which I am very familiar with... crystal clear, but sometimes the low end is really thin when used as general room mics, it starts rolling off around 300hz at 1meter.

[WiFiJeff]

These are the same as the 4099s with a different mount, I was told by DPA US.   I have been using the 4099s for three years.  As I reported, in my opinion the 4099s alone were much better than any other mini-cardioid I have tried, whatever the curves say.  However, the bass reponse is weaker than the 4060s and I have been taping 4 channel mostly.  Each 4099 has a 4063 next to it (a "Strauss Pair"), and I low pass the omni signal to roughly balance the curve of the roll-off at the largest distance DPA gives a curve for.  I am very happy with the setup.

Jeff

[Gutbucket]

I'm with you Joe.  The low end rolloff at any distance we'd use them from is the bigger deal with these.  WifiJeff matrixes these with 4060s to bolster the low-end.

Even if the low freq sensitivity was high enough that it did make the pattern down ther matter more, the back wall thing might be less of a problem, and also harder to qualify- in any typical setup with the mics angled apart, the lowest sensitivity part of the under 300hz rear lobe will face rearwards anyway, with the 'rear' lobes actually facing more to the sides than back.

(Hey, there's Jeff to post his own thoughts while I was typing)

[John Willett]

It actually looks like a very small interference-tube microphone (gun mic.) rather than a pure hyper-cardioid.

As the interference-tube is so short, though, it will behave like a hyper at most frequencies.

But a true hyper would be more frequency coherent than this.

By the looks of it, it is designed as a higher quality on-camera mic. to compete with the small Sennheiser, Røde and Ambient.