Anyone ever pimped a Behringer ECM8000???

I bought a Behringer ECM8000 Measurement Microphone hopefully to help sort out some anomalies with the Nakamichi sound system in my Lexus RX-300 (anomalies? Who am I kidding? The thing sounds like Sh*t! No wonder Nak went bankrupt putting out overpriced crap like that! But that's another thread on another site...)

I hooked it up just to test it and it sounds like it has potential except it's really noisy. Just wondering if anybody has any ideas for upgrades to the electronics.

Thanks!!!

Try Gus or Marik.

Also, search Google.

I think the noise will be from the capsule, and the fact that it's tiny-diameter.

There are a few threads on the web about the Linkwitz mod, take a look and see if your mic has it... then see if it will work on yours; it might help, but that's about all of any significance.

Keith

I know this thread is old.

But I just did the described at:

http://www.directap.com/audio.htm

Here is a clip stock:

http://www.intensemetal.com/~aortizjr/projects/ECM8k/ECM8k-stock.mp3

Modded:

http://www.intensemetal.com/~aortizjr/projects/ECM8k/ECM8k-modded.mp3

Not the same performance. But back to back since I have two mics.

Bill Walls mod is easy to do using the same PCB. Basically just ripping a lot of parts out, a couple jumpers, new Zener, and of course a new Panasonic WSM-61A with a 3-wire linkwitz mod.

But this is completely dry running through a modded SMPro Audio PR8 (caps clipped with NE5532's), into a stock MOTU 828 MKII firewire in to Cubase SX.

I will get pictures up and such as well soon.

Hey aortizjr,

I have one of these mics too, so I was interested when I saw this thread kick back up.

But I have such mixed feeling about these kinds of A/B situations. I always *want to hear* more than I *actually do hear.* This always leads me to question my ears. Then again, I do music as a hobby and not a profession, so I’m certain there are people out there who have trained their ears to hear nuances that I just can find yet.

What I *think* I’m hearing is a little more low end on the second version. But since it’s not the same performance I don’t know if you’re just accentuating the bass a little more the second time around. Also the levels don’t seem to be quite matched, so that might be confusing my brain.

Don’t take my thoughts as a criticism. They are actually more like self-reflection on my part. I’m very glad that there are people out there trying to take audio to the next level (even if I can’t always hear it).

It’s probably good that I listen to these A/B’s *without* hearing earth shattering differences. Otherwise I’d spend all my free time at the workbench instead of any time actually playing music. And at the end of the day, we should all be lucky enough to be doing things we enjoy – whether inhaling solder fumes or strumming some chords!

-Jed

Jed,

I understand where you are coming from.

A/B shootouts are always difficult. But recording them is better than not. Really your brain forgets really quickly. And the placebo effect can really be great when you know price, name, etc.

So I do A/B sorta stuff with my gear a lot.

Also when you are listening, the environment plays an important part. In my treated studio with my Dyns and the MOTU, I can really hear a difference. I can use a lot of terms. Funny enough, more lowend was not one of them. I also try and match the volume.

But on my relatively nice computer speakers in my office on a Soundblaster 16, I can't really tell much of a difference. It is really subtle, more detailed.

In this case, I did these to basically answer the question: Should I do the mod to my other one?

Hopefully too, this will answer the question for others: Is it worth the effort?

Well you can hear the results. There is definitely more output. If you match the levels, you may hear more, which would lead you to possibly mod. Or you may not, in which case leave it alone.

Then you have to consider the mix. I am always amazed when you get a good mix and solo out the instruments. A lot of the time it isn't what you would expect.

I just figure more information is better than none.

Thanks for reviving this thread. I'm definitely going to try your mods on my ECM8000 at some point in the future, probably after Christmas. One question: have you ever considered replacing the zener diode with a 78L12 regulator? That would accomplish the goal of removing the zener but would still maintain 12 volt regulation. IIRC, you can get the 78L12 in a surface mount package that would fit into the same space as a zener with a little ingenuity.

PS - I definitely hear more low end in the second clip.

Well the capsule is only rated for 10V.

So actually I used a 10V Zener.

I am sure a regulator could be used. To be honest, you could probably fit a TO-220 package in there with no heatsink. With everything cleared out, there is quite a bit of room.

But you start figuring out that you would be better off just building a new PCB. In this case, no new PCB and simple jumpers.

And for the record, this is really not "my" mod. I just followed the directions found on this site, homerecording.org, and Bill Wall's site. All in the META:

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=21266

Bill's (http://www.directap.com/audio.htm) was the only one that didn't require major reconfiguring. Just removal and a few jumpers.

http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=250431#250431

see behringer section down page

That Behringer uses the same panasonic capsule as one of the T.H.E. reference mics - I believe the KP-6M See: THE Microphones

I spoke to Taylor their engineer on the phone several years ago and in his estimation, the QC on those capsules was pretty bad. They (T.H.E.) rigidly test the capsules before use and he told me "we throw away more capsules than we keep..."

Behringer I imagine, uses every capsule they buy. :? Maybe you should start by replacing the capsule? Only a few bucks from Digikey...

Oh yeah.... changing the capsule to the Panasonic WM-61A and doing the linkwitz mod (increases the Max. SPL and gives a more linear response) is essential.

They are cheap enough.

I thought I read somewhere that they didn't use Panasonic capsules. But used some that were similar, but cheaper. Also it could be different for different versions.

On the various sites there have been different PCB layouts. Some with transformers.

I thought the only way to pimp this out would be to install 22's and give it a gold grill?