Topic: Defective mic (Beyer MC833): diaphragm damaged?

[illconditioned]

I recently purchased a Beyerdynamic MC833 (MS/XY) mic.
It is a single point mic with three capsules, L, R, and M, for mid.  (The side is formed from L-R.)

The mic sounds good at low volume, but at higher volumes (PA recording), I hear terrible distortion, like tearing or clipping.  This is in the Mid channel in MS recordings.  XY (L and R caps) sound fine.

OK, I looked at the diaphragms.  They are 1/2" gold mylar diaphragm, open inside the head of the mic.

Well, the M channel has some "decay" at the edge of the diaphragm.  I can't tell if the gold is come off, or just colored/oxidized somehow.

OK, what could be the cause of this.  This was a "B stock" mic, so maybe it was broken by someone else?
Could I have caused this damage, eg., by leaving it my car out in the cold (in the box).  I know I did that once, but I have not otherwise abused the mic.

Thanks for any help...
  Richard

[bugg100]

So did UPS/FedEx getting it to you....  You probably hit up the Beyer B stock from Ebay recently, right?  Call Beyer promptly.

[muj]

sounds more like the output of the mic is too hot for your recorder, have you tried padding the input on your recorder?

[illconditioned]

sounds more like the output of the mic is too hot for your recorder, have you tried padding the input on your recorder?

I ran line in on Edirol R4 (with phantom power on).  At a fairly quiet show I could hear the clipping.
I also tried UA5>NJB3 and got the same results.  Did not clip on XY, just MS, and only the M channel.

  Richard

[illconditioned]

So did UPS/FedEx getting it to you....  You probably hit up the Beyer B stock from Ebay recently, right?  Call Beyer promptly.

Yes, I got it from Beyerdynamic USA, B stock.  Shipped via FedEX.
Do you have any idea of the cause?

  Richard

[muj]

fair enough..definitely have someone look into it

[stirinthesauce]

It most likely was sitting on the shelf quite awhile.  Call beyer usa and see what they can do for you.  I want to hear this mic in full working order    I want one.

[bugg100]

Yeah, that looks sweet and lusty!  Give them a call, pronto.  Good luck and +t.
Joe