What's inside your microphone???

AudioHipster · Post by **AudioHipster** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 5:36 pm

Hi my Name is Doyen Keaton owner of AudioHipster, and to support a analog studio and my family and to keep tape rolling, I do web design etc for my wife. I am a stay at home dad. and recently started selling Pro Audio Gear to keep the door's of the studio open. why am I disclosing this??? I do not want to be called a D***weed spammer, but want to talk upfront about Gear and hopefully this wont turn into a Abbey post.. but truthfully they are very funny. So why do I ask what is inside your microphone?

Well this is something I ponder myself, as I look at the spec's of a mic I am wanting to buy, and sometimes all I see is "Condenser" what is this telling us well maybe it is some type of transducer??? and needs voltage. "Wow I am sold" shouldn't they tell us a little more, or some more expensive brands will tell us Pressure gradient transducer, Ok what the he double tooth pick is it exactly???

A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy to another. The conversion can be to/from electrical, electro-mechanical, electromagnetic, photonic, photovoltaic, or any other form of energy. While the term transducer commonly implies use as a sensor/detector, any device which converts energy can be considered a transducer." Ok the Pressure Gradient part please...The behaviour of a Pressure Gradient transducer is somewhat different because the incoming pressure wave reaches both sides of the diaphragm. Remember that the lower the frequency, the longer the wavelength. Also, consider that, if a sound source is on-axis to the transducer, then there is a path length difference between the pressure wave hitting the front and the rear of the diaphragm. That path length difference remains at a constant delay time regardless of frequency, therefore, the lower the frequency the more alike the pressures at the front and rear of the diaphragm because the phase difference is smaller with lower frequencies. The delay is constant and short because the diaphragm is typically... Ok Ok I don't need any more info: like this...
What i would like to know Spec's as it implies: to Type: True condenser, or somewhere in-between or cheeper electret? what it the diaphragm size 1/4, 1.2 or 1 inch??? (I do the easy thing and open it up.) What is it made of Mylar PVC is there Brass Plastic??? what is the micron 3 or 6 or 9??? Ok now we may have to hire a specialist... while some companies Heil Sound, Gefel & Superlux and others respond with full details) They Rock...

The most important part of the mic is the Diaphragm and this is the mystery in most spec sheets and it seems to me the more money we spend the less we know... or some tell us it is a exact clone of a type. Ok so the type in question was made for many years and the spec's changed thru out the manufacture, so is it exactly as the original or later versions and which one is it to be exact here since we are being so exact. :>) Here is a great link on 12 mics that made history and we can glean amazing info: http://www.coutant.org/12mics/

The spec sheet leaves me in bewilderment. so lets open a few mics up and see for ourself... if you don't mind I will continue this on a reply post. Thanks for your time,

Doyen Keaton
doyen@audiohipster.com
www.audiohipster.com
http://www.myspace.com/audiohipsterdoyenkeaton

Tape will respond to instantaneous sounds at any time, where digital forces these sounds to line up with the position of a sample.

woodhenge · Post by **woodhenge** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:04 pm

What the hell?!?

Thanks... you just gave me a massive headache from attempting to decipher that mess... probably had a few brain cells commit suicide or something...

Jay Reynolds · Post by **Jay Reynolds** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:05 pm

My SM7 have magic inside it.

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:14 pm

CMV563 can haz TUUBZ?

AudioHipster · Post by **AudioHipster** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 6:36 pm

I am reading really great reviews on this microphone... Class A sounds great on everything and out of the many posts, only one guy said the case is made by (~!**) and the inside is made by (~*) and it is Junk.. long story short Jed a friend of mine gives me one new in the box. Ok I have used it a couple of CD's but I am still wondering where is the depth so I open it up, and I cant stop laughing... so I call my friend up and I ask hey you have a ( *a*di*a*) don't you? please open it up and tell me what you think? He in disbelief said it looks like something I made when I was sixteen from Radio Shack components. so we had a good laugh... BTW the mic is used on his upcoming CD and is keeping it in his mic locker. The real question here is... why is this not disclosed on the spec sheet, make fun if you want but we deserve to know more then it's a Condenser... stay tuned more to come and more microphones to open. (sorry I wish not to disclose the brand names in the post and the mic was very clean and pristine construction.)

thegeek · Post by **thegeek** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:05 pm

Hipster I can't understand what you're trying to say...

And all of my mics have wizards and elves inside of them making them work. I don't every take them apart because I'm worried that one of them might escape and my mics won't work anymore.

signorMars · Post by **signorMars** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 9:41 pm

i guess the short answer is that they give as much information as their target market requires. lower end condensor mics only have to say condensor because the consumer typically purchasing them only knows the guy at Guitar Center said you have to use a condenser mic for vocals. They don't know anything or care to know anything about the actual electronics or diaphragm characteristics. Higher end mics seem to disclose a little more because they are typically being purchased by a more educated customer base.

plus, the audio world is rife with copycats and ripoff artists, so i'm sure many companies are a little hesitant to give a full set of schematics and construction diagrams. sure, there are some downright scam type mics out there (Telefunken M16 comes to mind) but i don't think most of them are trying to hide anything.

The Scum · Post by **The Scum** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 10:53 pm

So one of my mics fell out of the refrigerator after dinner this evening. It fell out, hit the ground, and broke wide open.

Part of me is thinking "aw, crap," and at the same time, the curious, technical part of me is thinking "now's my chance. I can peek inside and see what's in there."

So I scooped it up and took it over to the work bench. I carefully pried it open, got my loupe, and peered in the hole.

Know what I found?

Syntax.

Seriously, the price you pay for something and the amount of information that the manufacturer makes available have very little correlation. I certainly don't know the dimensions of the brake discs in my car, let alone the elastomer of the engine mounts, or the specifics if the exhaust system.

Mane1234 · Post by **Mane1234** » Mon Dec 21, 2009 11:00 pm

I think somewhere in your original posts there are some good questions but they're a little difficult to decipher. You should have all the information presented to you in order to make an informed decision but very few products in any aspect of life are going to do that and that's why there is marketing. Cheaper products can't always compete with more expensive products, although at times it really doesn't matter and especially in audio if it sounds good to you and your client then that's what's important.

So maybe that 100 dollar cheapass condensor looks like a vintage whatever but there's probably some very good reasons why they don't actually sound the same, however it's the marketing folks job to make sure that the 100 dollar mic is presented to you as a usable alternative and for that reason they're not going to disclose to you all the facts about what's under the hood. To me the thing to remember is that you don't have spend one cent until all your questions are answered and if they can't be or won't be then find someone else to do business with.

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:52 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragraph

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:05 am

double post weirdness

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:06 am

sorry, triple post weirdness, must have entered a negative reality inversion or something...

woodhenge · Post by **woodhenge** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 6:19 am

Babaluma wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragraph

+1,000,000,000!

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 6:57 am

Has anyone ever looked inside the legendary RSEQ? Not a mic, but still...

Babaluma · Post by **Babaluma** » Tue Dec 22, 2009 7:00 am

yeah it's kinda like trying to read moby dick, or something by yukio mishima. but i'm an english teacher by day and have to deal with this stuff all the time - no offence to the OP!

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