Please tell me the internal frame is not plastic ... James
AKG Perception P220 to Neumann u87 5 min mod ( p200, p100, p400, p420? )
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Please tell me the internal frame is not plastic ... James
The rails are plastic but they're thick and seem sturdy, and they don't flex. The end part is metal, and the shell is thick metal, and when you screw it together it feels very solid. (The rails are in a bit of tension holding the end cap in place, but once it's there, there's metal to metal contact between the end cap and bottom shell, screwed together, and between the bottom & top part, in contact, and it feels very solid. ("Like a tank" as somebody upthread said.)
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Slanted_and_Enchanted
New member
Hello - thanks to kingkorg and everyone else who contributed to this thread!
I just bought a perfect used AKG p420 for $50 specifically to do this excellent mod. Based on what I read on the previous pages and not having any appropriate spare capacitors on hand, I decided to order three surface mount capacitors from digikey, 470pf to solder in, in parallel -- (I referenced the link a few pages back (p16 by @ccaudle -- I ordered three because shipping was an order of magnitude greater than the cost of the capacitors and I felt it couldn't hurt to have a couple of spares or can give to a friend who may want to try the mod).
So my question: literally all the videos and pictures I've seen of this mod have all been through-hole capacitors and not surface mount. I've never dealt with surface mount. In the package, the ones I ordered look nothing like the surface mounts already on the board or others I have seen. They don't even look like the picture on digikey (I'll attach). It's just a piece of plastic with a bit of metal on the underside. Unless the plastic is basically a container for the capacitor which has to be removed from it to then work with, I'm not sure what's going on here -- I suspect something along these lines, but I'm not sure. They are very tiny.
I will post a screenshot of the caps I ordered which has a photo of what they're supposed to look like (but don't appear to look like at all...).
Please forgive me as I am a novice to this. Thank you.
I just bought a perfect used AKG p420 for $50 specifically to do this excellent mod. Based on what I read on the previous pages and not having any appropriate spare capacitors on hand, I decided to order three surface mount capacitors from digikey, 470pf to solder in, in parallel -- (I referenced the link a few pages back (p16 by @ccaudle -- I ordered three because shipping was an order of magnitude greater than the cost of the capacitors and I felt it couldn't hurt to have a couple of spares or can give to a friend who may want to try the mod).
So my question: literally all the videos and pictures I've seen of this mod have all been through-hole capacitors and not surface mount. I've never dealt with surface mount. In the package, the ones I ordered look nothing like the surface mounts already on the board or others I have seen. They don't even look like the picture on digikey (I'll attach). It's just a piece of plastic with a bit of metal on the underside. Unless the plastic is basically a container for the capacitor which has to be removed from it to then work with, I'm not sure what's going on here -- I suspect something along these lines, but I'm not sure. They are very tiny.
I will post a screenshot of the caps I ordered which has a photo of what they're supposed to look like (but don't appear to look like at all...).
Please forgive me as I am a novice to this. Thank you.
@Slanted_and_Enchanted
It does not matter if the capacitor in the NFB circuit is smd or through-hole, single or composed of several capacitors.
The important thing about
@kingkorg 's mod is the value (chosen to everyone's preference)
Simply place one of the 3 capacitors from the picture, on top of the stock smd capacitor on the PCB and solder their armatures (metal ends)
That's all.
Good luck!
Can you attach a photo with what you mean?
Surface-mount components do indeed come as standard "taped" (and on reels, but that's only for 1000pcs and up).
https://shop.tvsat.com.pl/environme...oductGfx_100354/ECJ2FF1E225Z_KCSU002.205P.jpg
Either way, you WILL want at least a pair of thin-tip tweezers for surface-mount passives...
Sidebar Comment - Good Day Mr. @Slanted_and_Enchanted . I giggled quietly reading your post as it reminds me of the number of people who sign contracts before engaging a lawyer to review and comment on the agreement! Sort of a cart before the horse or closing the barn door after the horse escapes, scenario.
Serving suggestion - You might consider asking about the various types of component form before ordering and spending your hard earned brass, as it might have altered your purchase decision.
I DO NOT intend to sound critical or snarky - really I don't - I merely suggest there is a world of real world practical experience available from members of this group, and asking questions before shooting might have suggested a different course, especially considering the variety of packages these components have. Purchasing one form before asking, essentially presents a "fait accompli," precluding an informative discussion of the relative merits of each package form type - a really good question! Again, I do not mean to be snarky - merely suggesting unsolicited practical advice from the sidelines.
JHR
Every SMT ceramic cap I have dealt with looks just like those pictures you attached.
I think you will have to find a way to take a picture of the devices you have to understand what you mean, but as Khron implied perhaps you have confused the packaging for the part.
Hello everyone,
I'm brand new to the forum so allow me to briefly introduce myself. I'm relatively new to microphone modification and, after some research, came across the AKG Perception 100 (P100) which I plan to modify to approximate the sound of the Neumann U87AI.
Currently, I'm looking to replace the original capsule with a 34 mm 797 Audio K87 capsule, a fairly popular modification on mics of this type. However, I have a few questions:
Will installing this capsule on a P100 really result in a sound close to the U87AI? Are the differences perceptible, especially to a layman like me?
I've seen posts about similar modifications on models like the P220, but nothing on the P100. Has the modification ever been tried on this model?
As the sound curves of the P220 and P100 are close enough, would modifications on the P220 be of interest in my case?
If some people have already made this modification or have advice to give in this direction, I am interested in their feedback, thank you in advance to all of you and to all suggestions !
Thanks and see you soon !
I'm brand new to the forum so allow me to briefly introduce myself. I'm relatively new to microphone modification and, after some research, came across the AKG Perception 100 (P100) which I plan to modify to approximate the sound of the Neumann U87AI.
Currently, I'm looking to replace the original capsule with a 34 mm 797 Audio K87 capsule, a fairly popular modification on mics of this type. However, I have a few questions:
Will installing this capsule on a P100 really result in a sound close to the U87AI? Are the differences perceptible, especially to a layman like me?
I've seen posts about similar modifications on models like the P220, but nothing on the P100. Has the modification ever been tried on this model?
As the sound curves of the P220 and P100 are close enough, would modifications on the P220 be of interest in my case?
If some people have already made this modification or have advice to give in this direction, I am interested in their feedback, thank you in advance to all of you and to all suggestions !
Thanks and see you soon !
Welcome @Estabrock !
The stock capsule in the Perception series is closer to the K87 than a 797. Just do the mod described in this thread.
The capsule of Perception100 is similar to those of Perception 200 and P220.
Read the whole thread, you can get a sound very close to the U87ai.
https://groupdiy.com/threads/akg-pe...in-mod-p200-p100-p400-p420.67473/post-1179934
Hello,
Thanks for the info ! However, I must confess that I don't really understand this part of the thread. I'm looking for a mod kit under $100 that could help me get a sound close to the U87ai. Do you have a suggestion for an affordable mod kit or pieces ?
Just checking because AKG's product naming/numbering is confusing...
Are you talking about an ice-blue AKG Perception 100, or an ice-blue AKG Perception 120, or the newer black AKG P120? I have never heard of a "P100"
As I understand it Perception 100 already has a K67-type large-diaphragm capsule (but with the rear diaphragm not metallized and no center pin in it), made by Beijing 797 Audio.
The P120 is a different kind of mic; it is a medium-diameter electret condenser. Some people over at Gearspace swear by it (unmodified) as a very good mic on some voices, but it does not have the K67-type capsule.
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What's confusing is that the 100, 200, 220, 400, and 420 all have a K67-type capsule with a Neumann-type circuit, but the 120 is something else. The number looks like it'd be right at home in that sequence, but that particular mic is an anomaly internally despite its very similar numbering (and external appearance).
http://recordinghacks.com/microphones/AKG-Acoustics/Perception-120
Merci beaucoup pour l'info ! Si je comprends bien ces graphiques, mon micro délivre actuellement un son très proche du TLM103. Je m'excuse pour la confusion du début, je débute. Pour clarifier, je parle du AKG Perception 100, la version légèrement grise qui est sortie il y a plus de 15 ans, si je ne me trompe pas.
Mon objectif serait de le faire sonner un peu comme le Neumann.
Quelles améliorations recommanderiez-vous pour mon AKG Perception 100 ? Pensez-vous qu'il vaut la peine de modifier quoi que ce soit ?
Mon objectif serait de le faire sonner un peu comme le Neumann.
Quelles améliorations recommanderiez-vous pour mon AKG Perception 100 ? Pensez-vous qu'il vaut la peine de modifier quoi que ce soit ?
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Don't pay too much attention to the frequency response graphs on recordinghacks... as I understand it, they're usually just regurgitating the graphs from the manufacturers, which are often idealized and sometimes just fictitious, and different vendors measure things somewhat differently.
The frequency response curves on AudioTestKitchen seem to be more real and they claim to have a consistent measurement methodology.
If you want your Perception 100 to sound like a Neumann, but don't particularly want it to sound like a TLM103, you may be better off targeting a U87Ai or a TLM67 (transformerless solid state descendant of U67) sound. Both of those mics have a K67 type capsule with front and back diaphragms. The TLM103 does not; its capsule has the front half of a K67, but no rear diaphragm.
(The cardioid-only Perception mics' capsules do have a rear diaphragm, even though it is not electrically active. That does affect the sound by affecting how vibrations propagate through the capsule.)
The only improvements I'd make to the Perception 100 would be to roll off the treble to make it sound more like a U87Ai or TLM67, as discussed in this thread. You can do that with EQ in your DAW, without modding the mic, or if you want to permanently mod the mic to do that, just do the simple piggyback capacitor mod. That is, you only need to change one capacitor, and the easy way to do that is to piggyback one (NP0/C0G ceramic) surface mount capacitor onto one that's already installed on the circuit board.
Edited to add: If you want to look at the frequency responses (and listen to samples) on AudioTestKitchen, the closest thing to your mic is the AKG P220. That is the successor of the Perception 200 and Perception 220; your Perception 100 is basically a Perception 200 with the pad & high pass filter circuits left out.
The frequency response curves on AudioTestKitchen seem to be more real and they claim to have a consistent measurement methodology.
If you want your Perception 100 to sound like a Neumann, but don't particularly want it to sound like a TLM103, you may be better off targeting a U87Ai or a TLM67 (transformerless solid state descendant of U67) sound. Both of those mics have a K67 type capsule with front and back diaphragms. The TLM103 does not; its capsule has the front half of a K67, but no rear diaphragm.
(The cardioid-only Perception mics' capsules do have a rear diaphragm, even though it is not electrically active. That does affect the sound by affecting how vibrations propagate through the capsule.)
The only improvements I'd make to the Perception 100 would be to roll off the treble to make it sound more like a U87Ai or TLM67, as discussed in this thread. You can do that with EQ in your DAW, without modding the mic, or if you want to permanently mod the mic to do that, just do the simple piggyback capacitor mod. That is, you only need to change one capacitor, and the easy way to do that is to piggyback one (NP0/C0G ceramic) surface mount capacitor onto one that's already installed on the circuit board.
Edited to add: If you want to look at the frequency responses (and listen to samples) on AudioTestKitchen, the closest thing to your mic is the AKG P220. That is the successor of the Perception 200 and Perception 220; your Perception 100 is basically a Perception 200 with the pad & high pass filter circuits left out.
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Barry Hufker
Well-known member
Translation for @Estabrock: Thanks a lot for the info! If I understand these graphs correctly, my mic currently delivers a sound very close to the TLM103. I apologize for the confusion at first, I'm a beginner. To clarify, I'm talking about the AKG Perception 100, the slightly gray version that came out more than 15 years ago, if I'm not mistaken.
My goal would be to make it sound a bit like the Neumann.What improvements would you recommend for my AKG Perception 100? Do you think it's worth changing anything? (via translate.google)
My goal would be to make it sound a bit like the Neumann.What improvements would you recommend for my AKG Perception 100? Do you think it's worth changing anything? (via translate.google)
All AKG "Perception" and "P" series(photo) have the large k87 type capsule and can be modded to sound u87 style (keeping the stock capsule), except for the blue Perception 120, black AKG P120 model pictured.
Attachments
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The earlier ice blue Perception 120 also has the medium electret; the P120 is essentially the same mic in black.
(AKG also uses the Perception name for various other mics, like small diameter condensers and wireless dynamics. But among the ones that share that large-diameter condenser body style, AFAIK only the Perception 120 and P120 are medium-diameter electrets.)
Try to read everything carefully.
In posts #367 and #369
@mafach78 described the mod:
https://groupdiy.com/threads/akg-pe...in-mod-p200-p100-p400-p420.67473/post-1179934
https://groupdiy.com/threads/akg-pe...in-mod-p200-p100-p400-p420.67473/post-1179943
