M-Audio Nova

Hi all,
I just bought an M-Audio Nova microphone off eBay recently. It said it was for parts or repair. However, upon receiving it, i found that it works perfectly well. Go figure.  Not a bad sounding microphone with what i believe is a  Shanghai 797 capsule with that typical high end nastiness. Remedied that by changing for a Mic-Parts RK47. Sounds much better now, but i was wondering if there is anything else i could do to improve it even more (could never leave good enough alone How bout changing the transformer?..modding the circuit?...it's a hybrid of surface mount and through-hole. Anyone have any experience with that mic? Thanks a lot.

Not a bad sounding microphone with what i believe is a  Shanghai 797 capsule with that typical high end nastiness.

Click to expand...

797 is in Beijing and their capsules aren't so nasty sounding IMOAE.

Not that it matters much now.  ;D

797 is in Beijing and their capsules aren't so nasty sounding IMOAE.

Click to expand...

Maybe 'nastiness' was a bit harsh ( no pun intended you're right. The low end is nice, but it is a little too bright, at least compared to the RK47

fsalter said:

Maybe 'nastiness' was a bit harsh ( no pun intended you're right. The low end is nice, but it is a little too bright, at least compared to the RK47

Click to expand...

If it's a K67, which is usually the case, then it needs de-emphasis. And that is often omitted in such mics.  A K47 is a better fit for a flat circuit. But the actual problem likely is (was) the inappropriate circuit.

There's more than one way to "skin a cat", of course.  I remember a shootout between two modded MXL V67s.  The Joly mod had the capsule replaced for a K47 and the JJ Audio mod had the circuit altered (with the capsule left in place). In this particular case (!) I preferred the  latter.

But some Chinese capsules are indeed nasty, no matter what circuit is used.



.

Suppose i wanted to use my Shanghai 797 in a typical Schoeps / Alice circuit.  To de-emphasize it, would the ' 68pf cap across the drain resistor' mod do the job?

Not sure 68pF would be enough, you might need to  get closer to the nF range.

For what it's worth, this is another method, which doesn't imbalance the circuit:
http://audioimprov.com/AudioImprov/Mics/Entries/2014/2/8_EQ_Pt.3_-_Transformerless_Mics.html

I know of a company who sells those 'upgrade kits' (2 resistors, 3 capacitors and a trimpot) for $69...  ;D

Hope you saved the capsule. I've had a few of these, and think the circuit is the problem with the Nova. Don't like that they used an electrolytic for the output capacitor.
I put the Nova capsule in an MXL 9000 (that had some minor circuit changes), and really liked the results. Ended up making another just like it to have a stereo pair. The 9000 has a circuit based on the M49 (hope I have that right, it's late, and I'm too tired to check), where both halves of the tube are used to allow for a less expensive output transformer. Similar to the circuit in the HT-11a mics, but cardioid only.
My fave mics for acoustic guitar now.
The Oktava MK-319 circuit is easy to build, and might be a fun thing to try with your RK47, though it wouldn't surprise me if somebody has tried this already and could attest to their results.

tchgtr said:

The Oktava MK-319 circuit is easy to build, and might be a fun thing to try with your RK47, though it wouldn't surprise me if somebody has tried this already and could attest to their results.

Click to expand...

MK319 circuit isn't any special, there are other simple circuits which sounds better. Modified MK319 circuit? Yes, ok - not necessary in Dorsey style

Microphone-parts just came out with a new circuit kit just for the nova and other mics that let it fit.