Sonic Studios DSM-6SEH- couple of questions

[kenf.sound]

Hello- I'm new to this forum. Thanks for all the great shared info.
I just pulled out my old set of DSM6s and powered them up w/ my Sony M-10. I remember an email w/ Guy about 5 years ago and he said the M-10 was perfect for powering the DSM mics. It's been about that long since I fired them up. I was surprised to hear that the mics have become really good 60Hz/EMR/noise pickups! I could barely find a place in the house that did't buzz like crazy. Every wall outlet was a source for hum and noise. I don't remember the DSMs doing that before. Could a component have failed in that crazy/cool custom jack assembly that Guy did? Any info is appreciated.
Also- I searched the forum for DSM/Sonic Studios and found a thread asking if anyone has the ability to service all the SS equipment out there since Leonard retired? I didn't see a response. Any info is appreciated.
Thanks again for this forum.
Cheers- Ken

[beatkilla]

What do you usually record with those ? Nature?

I have 2 pairs of the DSM 1H.

I'll have to test mine out.

[Gutbucket]

Hi Ken, welcome to the forum.

Every wall outlet was a source for hum and noise.

The quick and easy "get the recording done" remedy may be to simply power the M10 with batteries rather than AC.

Furthering your troubleshooting, I'd begin by cleaning the contacts of the DSM plug and M10 jack well with isopropyl alcohol or electrical contact cleaner. Next try an alternate recorder to help determine if the noise pickup is in the M10 if you have access to one.

[dyneq]

Agreed on Gutbucket's advice. AFAIK, Leonard is retired and no longer working on his products.

[kenf.sound]

Hello- Thanks for the replies. Gutbucket- Sorry if I was unclear- the M-10 is battery powered. I meant that every wall outlet I get near is a source of hum I can hear in my phones. I'll try cleaning again. Thx. Beatkilla- Yes. I'm a sound designer and have used the DSM6s for ambiance capture and some 1st person SFX recording. I've also done some 1st person dialog recording. The mics can decode in an interesting way when mixed/played in various surround/"spatial" formats. They are just another cool tool in the toolbox! Thanks again, everyone. I'll update if I figure out what the problem is. Cheers- Ken

[Gutbucket]

Happy to help.

The mics can decode in an interesting way when mixed/played in various surround/"spatial" formats. They are just another cool tool in the toolbox!

I recall that Lenard used to talk about that quite a bit.  I mostly do surround recording and played around with those aspects quite a bit before moving on to multi-microphone surround recording arrays.  A pair of alternate small omni mics will produce the same results when used in the same way. 

A few top quality alternates popular around here that are even smaller are DPA 4060 and AKG Sennheiser MKE2.  They provide a significantly increased SPL range of operation with similar self-noise to DSM, and although they use a similar unbalanced connection (can be used with balanced phantom power adapters), they have good shielding which outperforms some other miniature omni's I've used.  There are others and a number of less costly alternates, but those more or less define the top of the category.

[Gutbucket]

Yes Sennheiser MKE2, thanks for the correction.

[jefflester]

A few top quality alternates popular around here that are even smaller are DPA 4060 and AKG Sennheiser MKE2.

And the Countryman B3 and B6.

(I'm a long time DPA4061 user)