Taperssection.com

Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: bagtagsell on October 26, 2005, 06:27:47 PM

Title: dpa dilema
Post by: bagtagsell on October 26, 2005, 06:27:47 PM
Here is my newest dilema.  I bought the ebay DPAs, and when I got them one of the screens fell off.  That's replacable.  But I really want to test them out to make sure they work.  Here are all my options

1. 1/8 jack.  Basically free.  And build some sort of 9v battery box.  Anyone got a schmeatic?
2. Send them to DPA for microdots.  $150 and buy MMA6000 for $500.  I'm in for $650 now.
3. Buy the Ad20 in the yard sale and solder 1/8 jack.
4. Currently I have a modsbm-1, mp-2 that I could use for stealthing.  But I am having trouble interfacing my DPAs with either of those boxes.

These are tiny, but I can't wait for the big sound.  Anyone got any ideas?
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: KingReptile on October 26, 2005, 07:09:29 PM
You will be real happy with the AD-20 Steelcorner_27 runs that combo ebay bought Dpa's..He makes some outstanding tapes many of them of been on dime..A lot of guys are using the Sound probox hopefully someone will chime in here for ya!!! One thing with that AD-20 is you can real wail in the levels with real no chance of brickwalling..
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: setboy on October 26, 2005, 11:33:14 PM
if you have the money i would "Send them to DPA for microdots.  $150 and buy MMA6000 for $500.  I'm in for $650 now."

i think

dpa 4061 > MMA6000 >modsbm-1 > recorder

would sound really nice

but if you dont want to put that much $$ into it. i would go with the ad-20


Here is my newest dilema.  I bought the ebay DPAs, and when I got them one of the screens fell off.  That's replacable.  But I really want to test them out to make sure they work.  Here are all my options

1. 1/8 jack.  Basically free.  And build some sort of 9v battery box.  Anyone got a schmeatic?
2. Send them to DPA for microdots.  $150 and buy MMA6000 for $500.  I'm in for $650 now.
3. Buy the Ad20 in the yard sale and solder 1/8 jack.
4. Currently I have a modsbm-1, mp-2 that I could use for stealthing.  But I am having trouble interfacing my DPAs with either of those boxes.

These are tiny, but I can't wait for the big sound.  Anyone got any ideas?
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: BuddyGoodness on October 27, 2005, 04:54:57 PM
what is an ad-20?
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: modmike on October 27, 2005, 04:58:13 PM
what is an ad-20?


http://www.denecke.com/prod04.htm
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: pfife on October 27, 2005, 05:01:42 PM
Here is my newest dilema.  I bought the ebay DPAs, and when I got them one of the screens fell off.  That's replacable.  But I really want to test them out to make sure they work.  Here are all my options

1. 1/8 jack.  Basically free.  And build some sort of 9v battery box.  Anyone got a schmeatic?
2. Send them to DPA for microdots.  $150 and buy MMA6000 for $500.  I'm in for $650 now.
3. Buy the Ad20 in the yard sale and solder 1/8 jack.
4. Currently I have a modsbm-1, mp-2 that I could use for stealthing.  But I am having trouble interfacing my DPAs with either of those boxes.

These are tiny, but I can't wait for the big sound.  Anyone got any ideas?

Here's the main thing, IMO - do you forsee needed to seperate them - such as to attach them to a j-disc?

If not, save the cash and go miniplug.  If you do need to seperate them, maybe you can solder them in a way that would allow that to happen?

I ran 4061->  Sound Pros bb -> mSBM-1 -> NJB3 for about 11 months.  It sounds nice.  All you need is a cord that is 1/8" female on one end and 2 rca's on the other (make sure its stereo) to go from the bb to the sbm-1.  Using a bb, you kinda gotta use a Sound Pros bb, or at least one that has the same specs - someone way smarter than I (JKLabs) told me to make sure that it was an SP box... something about 10ohms or something like that.   Sorry, it was kinda jibberish to me (I had no clue what he was talking about, just trusted him!), but he said other ones may not be safe for the mics, but the sound pros ones are cool.  You can get into that rig for prolly $75 more than what you have right now ($50 or so for the bb, $25 for the cable from sp).

I think getting the AD-20 would be purchasing an inferior A/D to the one you already have, and I'm not entirely sure why you'd want to do that, unless you like the sound of it, at which what I've said about it can be ignored.  It would definately be the polar opposite of the mSBM-1 though.  It, imo, is quite transparent, whereas the mSBM-1 is (most likely) going to be warm.

One benefit of having the microdots is that you can get the micro-dot to XLR adapters and run them off any phantom power preamp.  I suspect there are other ways to get to this too, but I don't know how.  I'm going to give the MMA6000 a spin tonight for the first time, so I can't really report on my thoughts about it yet sonically.  My initial reaction is that its slightly bulky for stealthing purposes, but its still definately doable.

Congrats on the mics - the DPA 406x series are awesome, and I will fluff them endlessly.
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: Genghis Cougar Mellen Khan on October 27, 2005, 05:22:16 PM
what is an ad-20?

@48v your mp-2 would be a DPA fryer.

You can't send 48v to the 406X DPA mics.  The DPA adapter steps the voltage down to 5v if I'm not mistaken.

The MPS6010/6020/6030 boxes are around $100-150.  What voltage/s does the MT2496 supply?  There are some relatively simple designs for a battery box IE: CS HEB's.
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: pfife on October 27, 2005, 05:24:15 PM
what is an ad-20?

@48v the Denecke would be a DPA fryer.

You can't send 48v to the 406X DPA mics.  The DPA adapter steps the voltage down to 5v if I'm not mistaken.

The ad-20 doesn't have phantom power.  The mod'd one they are talking about basically is a sound pros bb (+4 to +5 volts) wired into an ad-20.  Here's the link:  http://www.soundprofessionals.com/cgi-bin/gold/item/DEN-AD20-MINI


Relatedly, the ad-20 does have +17dbs of gain even when turned all the way down.  Keep that in mind.


I'm under the impression that the MT sends enough power to power the DPAs.  See Freelunch's MT dongle in the rigpics section for a swank-ass idea.
 (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=51031.0)
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: Fisherking on October 28, 2005, 03:58:12 AM
I run both DPA4061->SP batterybox->D100
and
DPA4061->bb-mod AD20->JB3

I must say that the 4061 needs the 17dbs of gain the AD20 provides.
Off course there are better sounding mic-amps and ad-converters than the AD20 but I am happy with it.
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: Evil Taper on October 28, 2005, 04:45:26 AM
I'm pleased with my rig:

DPA 4061s>SP-SPSB-7>Oade Edirol R1

With my limited experience so far with this rig I'm definately impressed.  With the +6 mod on the R1 you can easily achieve a full resolution recoring without the need of an external pre-amp.  Some other tapers have expressed that the MMA6000 actually adds a sonic quality more than just resolution, but it adds a more direct sound.  I haven't used one so I'm not sure if there's truth to this or not, but I definately like how my current rig sounds.  If I had the option to upgrade, I'd invest in some high end stealth cards (neumann, mbho, scheops) because the 4061s sound stellar for omnis.

For what it's worth also I'm not sure why Mr. T is saying that you need to have the mics terminated seperately to run them on a J-disc.  Mine are terminated to a gold 1/8" but I still find it really simple to mount them on my disc.  All that I'd like is a bit of an extension on the cord so I can run the disc higher without having a table to set my Battbox/R1 on (although a clamp on shelf could very easily be fabricated to solve this sort of issue).
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: fuzn on October 28, 2005, 05:07:39 AM
what is an ad-20?

@48v the Denecke would be a DPA fryer.

You can't send 48v to the 406X DPA mics.  The DPA adapter steps the voltage down to 5v if I'm not mistaken.
I'm under the impression that the MT sends enough power to power the DPAs.  See Freelunch's MT dongle in the rigpics section for a swank-ass idea.
 (http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=51031.0)
We'll see! I picked up the dongle that Sound Pros uses that does the same as freelunch's dongle. Takes power from the 5V Mic-In but uses the Line-In. Going to try it out next weekend going DPA 4061s>Microtracker... Hopefully it'll be awesome. Can't wait till I get the mics in as well!
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: olyrc on October 28, 2005, 06:07:59 AM
Just got back from my first run with my DPA 4061s (4061 > mma6000 > jb3).  I'm tracking the show out now and I must say I am impressed.  (Yeah, I think this qualifies for the "you know you're addicted" thread since it is 3:00am and I have to get up for work at 6:30am).  Even without an external A/D, this tape sounds pretty damn nice.
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: madman on October 28, 2005, 03:50:10 PM
I just ordered an MMA6000 from Cascade, will report back to how it affects the sound.  Nothing like a hobby related purchase to kick off a weekend.
Title: Re: dpa dilema
Post by: desertsky on October 29, 2005, 05:46:09 PM
Just got back from my first run with my DPA 4061s (4061 > mma6000 > jb3).  I'm tracking the show out now and I must say I am impressed.  (Yeah, I think this qualifies for the "you know you're addicted" thread since it is 3:00am and I have to get up for work at 6:30am).  Even without an external A/D, this tape sounds pretty damn nice.

Glad to hear your new rig is working out nicely.  Can't wait to give mine a spin.  What kind of show did you record?  rock concert?  When setting your levels how much gain did you end up applying on your MMA6000?  I have my MMA6000, currently waiting for my DPA 4061's to arrive from DPA on Tuesday.  I'd like to get a feel for how much gain I'll need to apply when setting my levels for an arena rock concert FOB.  I'm recording U2 next Friday and Saturday in Vegas and don't want to screw up either recording by having the gain levels on the MMA6000 set too high.  Up to this point, I've been using SP-CMC-4 AT853's with battery box when recording shows with my Microtrack.  The signal coming from the battery box when recording rock shows is usually so "hot" that I need to set the recording level on the MT to the lowest level to avoid clipping, or one notch above minimum.  I'm curious if it'll be a similar situation when setting the gain on the MMA6000.