012 capsules

Question Has anyone opened the lomo MK101 and MK102 head assemblies and looked at and took a picture of the capsules.

Different sites have different specs one has 33mm other has 27something mm.

Is it the same capsule as a 219/319?

From what i've read the 101 capsule is like the 219 capsule, and the 102 capsule is like their tube mic capsule. Weather or not that is fact I can't say. I am looking to get one of them in the new year, so maybe I'll have a look.

I'd PM Michael Joly. He might know.

Whenever I need solid information, I take a look at my old articles :wink:
I reviewed the MK-101, MK-102, MK-105, MKL-2500, MKL-5000 and the ribbons ML52-01, ML-53 in Sound & Recording (Germany) last year. Among other things I looked at the individual capsules and entered the sizes into a table. Yeah, German nerdiness, I guess.

The MK-101 has a 1 Inch (2,54 cm) capsule with a HF resonator disk like the MK-219. The cardioid-only tube mic MKL-2500 has the same capsule.

The MK-102 has a slightly larger 2,8 cm capsule without a HF resonator disk. The MKL-5000 multipattern tube mic has the same capsule size but as a dual diaphragm capsule.

Interestingly enough, the MKL-5000 in cardioid mode sounds very similar to the MKL-2500, despite the different capsule design.

The MK-105 has a 2,8 cm capsule that looks like the MK-102 capsule, but it sounds very different. The MK-105 sounds much brighter & hifi than the other Oktavas. Kind of like an attempt to immitate the Neumann TLM103.

BTW: the sizes refer to the inner diameter, i.e. the diaphragm, not the whole capsule.

I mentioned to Gus that my testing of mc012 and 219 concludes that they sound very similar to begin with, same general tonality, I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the same company designed them.

I believe the casule used in the heads they provide at Soundroom are supposed be be Lomo-desiged and are ~33mm. Ie. these ones: http://oktava.com/inc/sdetail/477

Mmmm.... Lomo.

If someone could get photos then that'd be cool.

By the way, Rossi, I believe the MK105 uses a standard MC012 amp.

not to hijack much but has anyone heard or tryed these?
http://www.vintagemicrophone.com/JShop/product.php?xProd=46&jssCart=9e1033d1a0db21b759cdeed2bc307476

[quote author="rodabod"]

By the way, Rossi, I believe the MK105 uses a standard MC012 amp.[/quote]

According to Michel Joly's website, the MK105 uses a "revised version" of the MC012 preamp. Whatever that means. But there certainly is more room for larger components or a slightly more complex circuit.

I just got a used M3 it need to be cleaned and worked on a bit when it works it sounds nice it is not a 219 design capsule. I like what I hear so far.

I an not a fan of the 219 capsules. I have two older 219s. Years ago I damped the bodies and upgraded parts even moved a capsule(removed the resonators) to another homemade body and circuit. I guess I don't get what people like with the 219.

Gus,

Are you using the M3 inside the stock head. That's definitely unique, I was wondering how it sounded. Also what type of amp are you using with it?

Craig

[quote author="Gus"]
I an not a fan of the 219 capsules. I have two older 219s. Years ago I damped the bodies and upgraded parts even moved a capsule(removed the resonators) to another homemade body and circuit. I guess I don't get what people like with the 219.[/quote]

Hmm, maybe the build quality back then wasn't what it should be. I recently got an MK-219, and it's quite nice even without any mods. Very low noise, too. The grill design sure isn't optimal, though. The MK-101 which uses the same capsule sounds really good, much better than similar priced chinese mics.

Interesting photos here of one of the new RTT mics:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Russian-MK205L-Studio-Valve-Microphone-No-Reserve_W0QQitemZ140067768879QQihZ004QQcategoryZ64449QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[quote author="redear"]not to hijack much but has anyone heard or tryed these?
http://www.vintagemicrophone.com/JShop/product.php?xProd=46&jssCart=9e1033d1a0db21b759cdeed2bc307476[/quote]

The response chart shows you need 3 ft. distance from the capsule to avoid a big 5dB proximity effect. Is that normal?

for many mics, yes it is.

Interesting photos here of one of the new RTT mics:

Click to expand...

Didn't Flash Gordon have one of these? Seriously, though, I think I'd rather have air around the capsule than aluminum.

[quote author="emrr"]for many mics, yes it is.[/quote]

Thanks. I guess this is why some MXL tube mic I auditioned sounded so bassy. I was probably too close to the capsule to give it a fair shot.

another side note. I have been tracking vocals with my stock mic from 3 feet or so and have been very pleased with both femail and male vox.