Maybe I'm searching wrong, but I can't find them on ebay...?
just do a general search for "DPA" and you will find many singles, usually, apparently they used widely but briefly on Broadway for plays and such, when the plays wrap up their tours the mics and such get auctioned off, and the process begins anew, one upside is that they are often beige colored and very stealthy
Be careful of these. They are *likely* worn out. I mean, what sound guy would get rid of these if they still worked? And at the prices they go for, it just seems like too much money to spend on a questionable item.
Richard
I am not trying to sell anything here first and formost.
I agree with Richard. As a sound man if I ran a theater company I would never in a million years get rid of a DPA microphone unless I thought something was wrong with it.
The problem is this many people buy these used DPA mics. They take them out to record a show and even a broken down DPA mic still sounds good to one degree or another. But when you compare it to a new DPA the choice becomes obvious. That is a luxury most people that buy used DPA mics cant afford, because they dont usually have a pristine mic to compare it against.
In the theater there is always a turn around of microphones I did 8 weeks last summer mixing Jesus Christ Super Star and Kiss me Kate. We used 25 Lav mics for that show. In 8 weeks 10 mics went down. So things change all the time.
One thing is for sure I am not going to talk to the owner of the theater company and ask him to replace a bad mic $300-$700 unless its really bad because doing so would be unprofessional.
Sometimes you get lucky and the DPA mics you get used are ok, but sometimes you dont, and the funny thing is until you have a nice new pair to compare them too you might not even notice.
Its easy to say one mic is better then the other. If you want DPA get them they are the best out there better then any mic I make.. If you really want them get them new, save up your cash.. Don't get my mics if you really want to go that way.
I think there is always a fine line between what is the best and what you can afford to spend. You have to in the end do what is right for you. A lot of the advice here is very good, But in the end its your $$$.