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Gear / Technical Help => Microphones & Setup => Topic started by: Teen Wolf Blitzer on December 14, 2006, 03:42:37 PM
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Has anyone ever heard anything with this done? What's the best way to talk to Jim about it? I emailed a couple times last month and never got a reply.
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what would be done to the mic's?
mod them for what? phantom power.
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You probably need to call him and I'm sure he'll explain what he does. Mostly changing out coupling caps, resistors, etc? If they're transformer based he sometimes rips it out and makes them TL (not always though).
I'm planning to send my Beyers to him sometime after the New Year. Should be interesting to see how that fares...
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You could try to get in touch with him over on the Gearslutz board he is a very active member on that board.
Try starting a thread on that board most likely he will reply.
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/
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he talks about it in this thread..
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=67479
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he talks about it in this thread..
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=67479
He does?
He mentions he's tweaked his, but he doesn't say what he does to them. He also mentions that he doesn't care for the new surface mount ones. Since he does not mod 480's for this very reason, it's quite possible he won't mod a newer 414. Not sure how old yours are Mark, but PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL HIM. ::)
BTW - did the Beyers ever come in?
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A few years ago I undertook an experiment with three people who modify condenser microphones--I sent a U 87 to Stephen Paul, a pair of KM 84 to Klaus Heyne, and a pair of AKG C 414-B ULS to Jim Williams for each one to "do his thing" with. I'd gotten to know each of these people to some extent and wanted to find out whether there were sonic miracles to be had this way.
Mr. Williams' modifications included removing the output transformers, upgrading various other circuit components and removing one of the two layers from the grille around the capsule. The result was a definite improvement in dynamic range--about 4 dB lower noise--and an increase in the high frequency response (about 2 dB at the top end). In addition, the microphone's output impedance was reduced somewhat, which is helpful when driving very long microphone cables.
I lent one of these microphones to a knowledegable friend in Germany for testing--someone who is generally skeptical about modifications. He made direct listening comparisons with his unmodified microphone of the same model, and with some mixture of surprise and reluctance, admitted that the modified microphone sounded better.
The one down side: My friend happened to make a call on his cell phone call from across the room and found that huge amounts of noise appeared in the microphone's output signal. The unmodified microphone didn't have this problem; it may have been due to removing half the protective metal grille around the capsule. So that part of the modification may not be entirely advisable. But otherwise, I think it's a change for the better.
--best regards
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Aren't the newer AKG 414 already transformerless? So you may want the new ones.
But then there are claims that the older 414's have the original (brass) CK12 capsule, and the newer (teflon?) capsule is not as good.
Well, I would check your exact model with AKG first. You can download service documentation for every mic they make and find out what is inside.
Richard
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Aren't the newer AKG 414 already transformerless? So you may want the new ones.
Yes, both the XLS and the XL-II (the newer models) are transformerless.
It looks like Mark has the TL-II's which are transformerless as well. Hence the 'TL'.