Not stealth but open.. One reason I converted my open-taping 8 microphone multichannel rig to all miniature DPA (except a single Naiant X8S) is not having to worry about the environmental impacts of field use damaging the microphones- the impact of dust, humidity and rain primarily. I only need to concern myself with the short term sonic issues of minimizing rain droplet noise and keeping the windscreens from becoming saturated. The 4098 and 4061 microphones I'm using in this rig are the legacy versions, so I'm not sure they achieve the same IP58 rated resistance to dust, moisture, and immersion of the newer CORE versions (see below), yet the 4061 pair which that rig evolved around have survived total immersion for at least an hour.. while still recording.. believe it or not without appreciable audible effect!
Story on that (which I've posted elsewhere at TS, years ago)- Before I trusted exposing the 4061 pair to rain I used to occasionally put finger cots over them and their miniature windscreens. I did that because due to the wide omni spacing I was using it was impractical to use either a single huge-diameter stand umbrella, or to try an mount individual tiny umbrellas over each microphone. This seemed a good solution to effectively "water-proof" the microphones and indeed it kept the mics dry in several heavy rain situations, yet once at an outdoor festival in Northern Florida I had run back to camp, and while away from the rig the only non-taper-friendly act of the festival took the stage requiring all stands to be lowered to chair height. The sound guy and other tapers helped lower my rig, including lowering the hinged telescopic arms at the end of which were the 4061s in taped-sealed finger cots, so that the arms no longer extended out horizontally but instead hung on either side of the stand pointing straight down. During that set a heavy rain storm moved in and copious amounts of water ran down the folded telescopic arms and made its way past the seeming tight tape-seals of the finger cots, slowing filling them with water until they formed miniature water balloons with the microphones inside. The recorder was buried in the recording bag, placed inside a thick plastic garbage bag, with cables routed so as to form a drip-loop, and carried on recording. I expected the microphones to be completely waterlogged, requiring a night packed in desiccant to be operational the following day, yet they were not only operational, the recording didn't even seem to suffer for it (it did of course suffer from the mics being lowered close to the ground, below a row of chairs, separated only by a few inches). That evening I gave them a distilled water swizzle cleaning and let them dry out completely overnight. The recorder was buried deep in its bag inside a thick plastic garbage bag and carried on recording. They are still going strong now ~10 years later. To me this served as good, if unwanted proof of their environmental toughness.
Copied from the DPA website-
4. How durable is the CORE by DPA technology?
DPA miniature microphones are used in a wide range of environments, some rougher than others. For this reason, we go a long way to ensure that they have the durability that our users have come to expect. Durability and robustness are inherent in the mechanical design of the mics, which is aimed at minimizing the impact of exposure to heat, cold, tension, water, sweat, and dust, to mention a few.
This durability is achieved through a number of defense mechanisms. Water-repellant nano-coating of the cover and housing, hermetic sealing of the sensitive amplifier at the core of the microphone, and dual gold plating of the diaphragm ensure maximum stability and performance under the toughest environmental conditions.
With the introduction of CORE by DPA technology, DPA's miniature and subminiature microphones have been tested* against the international standard IEC 60529:2013 edition 2.2: “Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code)” resulting in a IP58 rating:
First digit: Solid particle protection = class 5
Ingress of dust does not interfere with the functionality of the microphone and will produce no permanent harmful effects.
Second digit: Liquid ingress protection = class 8
Submersion of the microphone into one meter of water for three hours will produce no permanent harmful effects. Note that the frequency response and sensitivity will be naturally affected by the water during submersion.
All DPA d:screet™ , d:fine™ and d:vote™ series microphones with CORE by DPA technology are IP58 certified.
*The test was carried out by Force Technology, a third party, certified institute in Denmark.-----------------------------------------------------------------
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http://www.dsmt.com/resources/ip-rating-chart/Ingress Protection (IP rating) and what it means
The IP Code (or International Protection Rating, sometimes also interpreted as Ingress Protection Rating*) consists of the letters IP followed by two digits and an optional letter. As defined in international standard IEC 60529, it classifies the degrees of protection provided against the intrusion of solid objects (including body parts like hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact, and water in electrical enclosures. The standard aims to provide users more detailed information than vague marketing terms such as waterproof.
The digits (characteristic numerals) indicate conformity with the conditions summarized in the tables below. For example, an electrical socket rated IP22 is protected against insertion of fingers and will not be damaged or become unsafe during a specified test in which it is exposed to vertically or nearly vertically dripping water. IP22 or 2X are typical minimum requirements for the design of electrical accessories for indoor use.
*Explanation of the letters IP is given in IEC 60529 (Ed. 2.1), clause 4.1
First Digit: Solids
The first digit indicates the level of protection that the enclosure provides against access to hazardous parts (e.g., electrical conductors, moving parts) and the ingress of solid foreign objects.
Level Object size protected against Effective against
0 Not protected No protection against contact and ingress of objects
1 >50mm Any large surface of the body, such as the back of the hand, but no protection against deliberate contact with a body part.
2 >12.5mm Fingers or similar objects.
3 >2.5mm Tools, thick wires, etc.
4 >1mm Most wires, screws, etc.
5 Dust Protected Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment; complete protection against contact.
6 Dust Tight No ingress of dust; complete protection against contact.
Second Digit: Liquids
Protection of the equipment inside the enclosure against harmful ingress of water.
Level Object size protected against Effective against
0 Not protected –
1 Dripping water Dripping water (vertically falling drops) shall have no harmfull effect.
2 Dripping water when tilted up to 15° Vertically dripping water shall have no harmful effect when the enclosure is tilted at an angle up to 15° from its normal position.
3 Spraying water Water falling as a spray at any angle up to 60° from the vertical shall have no harmful effect.
4 Splashing water Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect.
5 Water jets Water projected by a nozzle (6.3mm) against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.
6 Powerful water jets Water projected in powerful jets (12.5mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects.
7 Immersion up to 1m Ingress of water in harmful quantity shall not be possible when the enclosure is immersed in water under defined conditions of pressure and time (up to 1 m of submersion).
8 Immersion beyond 1m The equipment is suitable for continuous immersion in water under conditions which shall be specified by the manufacturer. Normally, this will mean that the equipment is hermetically sealed. However, with certain types of equipment, it can mean that water can enter but only in such a manner that it produces no harmful effects.[/b]