Topic: Cleaning mke2 or dpa 406x caps

[M]

Anyone have any good/bad experiences doing this? Does anybody have any pointers on how to do it? 

I have read that you can soak them in distilled water (I don't know for how long).  I have also been told to use a 100% alcohol bath after this step (again I don't know the lenght of time needed) and then let them dry for a couple days. 

I know that many of us have bought these mics used from theatres and it would be nice to get rid of possible sweat, makeup and whatever else can get on them there.

Thanks

[TNJazz]

My suggestion:  unless you're experiencing capsule performance issues (drops, crackles, etc) you should just leave them alone because most of that stuff won't harm a capsule.

I recently asked Bill Bradley about cleaning a pair of my mics because the diaphragms looked dirty and had some surface gunk and this was more or less his response.

[M]

I actually haven't had a chance to use the mics in the field yet but I had a recommendation that they be cleaned when I had them rewired.  They are working fine as far as I can tell.

Is this a risky procedure?

I would still like to hear from anyone who has done this.

[CHURCH-AUDIO]

 
Hi its Chris I would call sennhieser USA and talk to the technical department that’s where I learned about this method. I soak sweated out mics in de-mineralized water for about 20 minutes then right away I put the mics in to 100% alcohol for about 10 minutes. Then I let them sit upside down capsule opening facing towards the floor for 2 days at least. Before I hang them I give them a good shake to try and get most of the water out. Most people don't know this but the Sennheiser MK2 has a plastic membrane over top of the capsule this is how they "sweat proof them". This secondary diaphragm allows the sound to be transmitted thru air compression of the space between the real capsule and this protective diaphragm. So its the plastic that is the problem it gets coated with sweat and loses its sensitivity or compliance over time. Thus reducing its sensitivity to high frequency’s this is the only method that will help.  If for some reason that plastic membrane is broker (impossible to tell) and you do this method for the times I mentioned you might damage them. I know these were used mics that came out of a theater, so I know they were sweated out if you can afford to replace them try it, if not don't. If you do try it and it works NEVER DO IT AGAIN as your mics will never become sweated out, since you don’t tape them to your hair line they will never need to be "bathed again ".

Chris Church

Anyone have any good/bad experiences doing this? Does anybody have any pointers on how to do it? 

I have read that you can soak them in distilled water (I don't know for how long).  I have also been told to use a 100% alcohol bath after this step (again I don't know the lenght of time needed) and then let them dry for a couple days. 

I know that many of us have bought these mics used from theatres and it would be nice to get rid of possible sweat, makeup and whatever else can get on them there.

Thanks

[M]

Thanks Chris.

Im going to first give the mics a good test run and depending on how they perform I will then decide wether it's worth the risk of damaging them.

I was looking forward to using these mics & your pre amp for the first time the other night but the concert was cancelled at the last minute. 

[yates7592]

Hi its Chris I would call sennhieser USA and talk to the technical department that’s where I learned about this method. I soak sweated out mics in de-mineralized water for about 20 minutes then right away I put the mics in to 100% alcohol for about 10 minutes.

Would you / could you use pure alcohol on DPA 406x as well? I read only distilled water for those mics.

[ilduclo]

I'd avoid giving any mic a "good shake".

[Church-Audio]

Hi its Chris I would call sennhieser USA and talk to the technical department that’s where I learned about this method. I soak sweated out mics in de-mineralized water for about 20 minutes then right away I put the mics in to 100% alcohol for about 10 minutes.

Would you / could you use pure alcohol on DPA 406x as well? I read only distilled water for those mics.

You have to use distilled water first and then you can use isopropyl if you cant get all the water out. But that has a tendency to redeposit dirt back onto the capsule. Some capsules like DPA 4060 cant really be cleaned because of the plate over the diaphragm. These mics can be soaked in demineralized water. And then dried for several days. Then you can put them into a canister with a dry pack to suck out the remainder of the water. Again this does not work on all mics.. And if you really dont know what you are doing its not a good idea. Isopropyl can cause more issues than it solves. Remember most MKE2 have a Mylar diaphragm in front of the capsule so its most likely the eq grid that just needs to be replaced. As you really cant clean the MKE2. Unless its just dirt over top of the Mylar that is the issue.