Topic: DPA 4061's: Best Playback through Stereo Speakers?

[jmz93]

Hi folks. 

I regularly tape, stealth or open, with just a pair of DPA 4061's, Church Audio "Ugly" preamp, R-09HR line in.  It's simple, low profile, and it works great.

I'm trying to learn how to get the best recording for playback through loudspeakers though. 

For this discussion, let's assume I am always in the best spot in the room - not always possible, but it eliminates one variable.

What setup have you guys found gives you the nicest stereo imaging/separation through speakers?

1. Mics taped to shirt collar, either side of my neck, facing forward. (I'm imagining this would use my neck/head as a baffle?)

2.  Mics attached to sides of baseball cap, near ears, but mics facing forward. (is there any advantage over #1?)

3.  Mics taped to shoulders, facing forward, almost 50-60 cm apart. (widest separation possible from seated/stealth position)

4.  Mics attached to 7" or so diameter foam ball (haven't tried this yet), homemade Jecklin disc, fake head, etc. sitting in front of me on table.

I was thinking that one of those stirofoam heads you find at hat/whig shops would be perfect, except tapping on one with a finger showed me how resonant it is. I need something really dense and absorptive instead, right?

All comments gratefully received!

[boojum]

The 4061's are absolutely omni up until 16KHz.  From there on there is the tiniest dip.  I doubt it can be heard.  The direction they face is therefore not important.

Williams recommends a spacing of 38 - 41cm on omni's.  So I would go for shoulders.  However, you are going to get a good recording regardless.  Williams charts are for optimizing the sound field recreation instrument spacing.  I am sure they would work fine on a hat, too.  But I would prefer to run them at ~40cm.

They are great mics.


PS - DPA recommends never removing the grids.  They are there to protect those tiny diaphragms.  You can correct for the response bump in the upper mid range during post processing.

[mfrench]

The grids are fine to remove. You'd have to work exceptionally hard to get anything into the diaphragm. They're actually more for frequency response equalization than anything.

What I see as problematic here is the continuing discussion of stealth techniques.

[acidjack]

Assuming you're standing in a crowd, the mics will sound better the higher up they are. Preferably, headworn or on a stand with a baffle in between...

Hi folks. 

I regularly tape, stealth or open, with just a pair of DPA 4061's, Church Audio "Ugly" preamp, R-09HR line in.  It's simple, low profile, and it works great.

I'm trying to learn how to get the best recording for playback through loudspeakers though. 

For this discussion, let's assume I am always in the best spot in the room - not always possible, but it eliminates one variable.

What setup have you guys found gives you the nicest stereo imaging/separation through speakers?

1. Mics taped to shirt collar, either side of my neck, facing forward. (I'm imagining this would use my neck/head as a baffle?)

2.  Mics attached to sides of baseball cap, near ears, but mics facing forward. (is there any advantage over #1?)

3.  Mics taped to shoulders, facing forward, almost 50-60 cm apart. (widest separation possible from seated/stealth position)

4.  Mics attached to 7" or so diameter foam ball (haven't tried this yet), homemade Jecklin disc, fake head, etc. sitting in front of me on table.

I was thinking that one of those stirofoam heads you find at hat/whig shops would be perfect, except tapping on one with a finger showed me how resonant it is. I need something really dense and absorptive instead, right?

All comments gratefully received!

[Cheesecadet]

What I see as problematic here is the continuing discussion of stealth techniques.

Agreed

[acidjack]

I agree re: discussion of stealth, but I'm not really sure what in the OP's post is a "stealth technique".  He is just asking where on your body mics sound best.  And if he is talking about using a homemade jecklin disc or a fake head, well, that wouldn't be stealth at all, would it? 

[mfrench]

there is nothing in stealth that cannot be expressed as if it were any other legitimate, open technique, in stereo recording.

[Sam Edwards]

An attempt to get back to the OP's question:
The beauty of recording with omni mics placed near the ears is that when you pump that sound directly into your ears in can sound just like 'you are there'. So headphone are the best way to listen to these recordings.
Interestingly Meridian audio gear like my 568 surround sound decoder has an 'ambisonic' decoding mode. Unfortunately it requires at least 4 speakers, so it doesn't meet your 'stereo' criterea. It really sounds amazing with the kind of recordings you make. If you're in LA you can PM me and we can try to set up a time for a demo. Or just track down a Meridian dealer. It's a surround-sound recreation of what was around your head. Fleabay has a lot of very nice meridian gear for about 20 cents on the dollar. I imagine other surround sound receivers have a similar mode.
If you're using stereo speakers and want the best reproduction of binaural recordings try spacing the speakers widely. Sit equal distances from the stereo pair. Do everything you can to cancel the reflections from the side walls.
If you have access to a high-end audio shop I would stop by and by all means bring your own recordings. These places are a bit of a dying breed but there are still a few around. Make sure they play for you their favorite tube amp.
Lastly you can use a pair of pro powered monitors. Just about any record you buy is at least checked on some kind of Genelecs at some point in the production. I'm sure you can find some powered monitor review on the web.
I hope this helps! Good luck.
Sam