Another CK12 Thread - what's available in 2023?

[youngshu]

I actually wanted to share that video, I thought it was insightful, and shows very well what goes into product pricing. It serves well as a reality check for customers to realize they are not paying just for the sum of parts but logistics, brandname, R&D...

However the reason i haven't posted it, is some things i think Josh gets wrong. He says every product, even a pure rip-off costs money to develop, and has some R&D involved. This is true. However, why would I spend my money paying US wages for an US company to "reverse engineer" and "R&D" someone else's stuff, if i can support any company anywhere on the planet that makes truly unique products that involve real engineers, scientists with serious education and heritage in a certain area.


It's like paying a hacker for hacked software.

I'm not saying JHS hasn't created unique stuff.

He puts also weight on the fact he produces stuff in the US, which nobody cares about except people living in the US.

I like Josh a lot, he had guts to put that video out!!!

Its very interesting people dont understand the point of my post and see a name they dont like and talk about that. But I guess that was naive on my part I have a feeling people dont even understand what I was referencing earlier in this forum post. The point is to not get mad and bash someone whos product you like and want. These CK12 capsules everyone wants are small companies if not one person. The video recommendation was for context on how hard it is to run businesses and to give an explanation on why communication is so lacking from these capsule manufacturers. It feels weird to have to explain that as it seemed very clear in my post. People see JHS or any company they dont like and immediately forget context. JHS made a video about it and it was insightful. Im not saying they are the example for the best company in the world lol.

 

[kingkorg]

Its very interesting people dont understand the point of my post and see a name they dont like and talk about that. But I guess that was naive on my part I have a feeling people dont even understand what I was referencing earlier in this forum post. The point is to not get mad and bash someone whos product you like and want. These CK12 capsules everyone wants are small companies if not one person. The video recommendation was for context on how hard it is to run businesses and to give an explanation on why communication is so lacking from these capsule manufacturers. It feels weird to have to explain that as it seemed very clear in my post. People see JHS or any company they dont like and immediately forget context. JHS made a video about it and it was insightful. Im not saying they are the example for the best company in the world lol.

I think you misunderstood me. I got your original post, and i agree with you. I just wanted to point to one thing even Josh seem to not realize. I am not bashing either Josh or JHS.

When it comes to the capsules, especially CK12 i know exactly what goes into making one, and i apploud anyone who pulls it off well. They have all the right to charge whatever they like for it. On the other hand i am also trying to encourage all of them to make their own stuff, not based on someone else's design.

 

[youngshu]

I think you misunderstood me. I got your original post, and i agree with you. I just wanted to point to one thing even Josh seem to not realize. I am not bashing either Josh or JHS.

When it comes to the capsules, especially CK12 i know exactly what goes into making one, and i apploud anyone who pulls it off well. They have all the right to charge whatever they like for it. On the other hand i am also trying to encourage all of them to make their own stuff, not based on someone else's design.

I agree with you that wasn’t pointed toward you I accidentally hit reply on your post lol

 

[thomasdf]

Sorry I was fast on the trigger I am really angry at companies making money out of other people's designs. To me, JHS are mostly doing this. So I thought it was funny to refer to their "washing" videos and put it up against meticulous single man operation craftmanship.

That being said, I think we all are agreeing on the same things since a few pages ago.

I personally wish there was more transparency in the capsule making industry, rather than stuff made to more or less rigid tolerances in obscure factories, sold as premium boutique parts which in fact a marketed crap. I like to know what I pay for, and I am ok to pay more for quality & ethically made parts. I'll also add that the same way I hate JHS, I hate Mic & Mods (plain thieves) and Microphone Parts, and all these scammers stealing other people's work.


Also, I am looking for a good quality CK12.


Cheers

 

[youngshu]

Sorry I was fast on the trigger I am really angry at companies making money out of other people's designs. To me, JHS are mostly doing this. So I thought it was funny to refer to their "washing" videos and put it up against meticulous single man operation craftmanship.

That being said, I think we all are agreeing on the same things since a few pages ago.

I personally wish there was more transparency in the capsule making industry, rather than stuff made to more or less rigid tolerances in obscure factories, sold as premium boutique parts which in fact a marketed crap. I like to know what I pay for, and I am ok to pay more for quality & ethically made parts. I'll also add that the same way I hate JHS, I hate Mic & Mods (plain thieves) and Microphone Parts, and all these scammers stealing other people's work.


Also, I am looking for a good quality CK12.


Cheers

I fully understand and agree with you as well. That’s also why when we have a Tim, Heiserman, Ben beeskneez we gotta give them grace. It’s ok to be upset too don’t get me wrong but I think bashing them on a forum is crazy. Also if any of my messages came off rude or mean it’s all due to the text nature of forums. I believe in asking question to understand someone’s point better and that can come off wrong over text.

 

[kingkorg]

Since we mentioned pedals, Bill Finnegan even went to apologize for the success of his pedal in a way. The hype created lots of trouble for him. Maybe worth having in mind when talking about boutique capsules.

 

[Migs 31]

Its very interesting people dont understand the point of my post ...

To answer the first sentence of your post : welcome to GDIY brother ! (Sister or whatever you identify with)

Microphone capsules 101

M

 

[Di_Sousa]

Haun was the first company to make "brass" CK12 capsules after AKG stopped producing this ( it was hard getting a Haun capsule even as far back as 2004), then Josephson, then me, then Telefunken, Dale Ulan produced a few right around this time also. I may be confusing the exact order but I believe after that it was Heiserman, OPR, then Beesneez.

I think the order on the last three were Hiserman, Beez, then O.P.R .

Thanks

 

[Tim Campbell]

JHS has a staff of several people, as do many capsule makers. I think the idea that everything is done by one person is not so accurate.

Yes my real downfall is to have remained a 1 man company. Not many manufacturers are that foolish.

 

[OPR]

Yes my real downfall is to have remained a 1 man company. Not many manufacturers are that foolish.

I know the feeling.... foolish one man show here too haha!. It's very difficult finding the right people to expand and grow with as well as survive in a quirky little niche. There's a lot of sacrifice being a one man show that's for sure.

 

[OPR]

This is excellent! Thank you. And they look awesome! Omni and f8 show considerably different curve changes contra cardioid compared to how k67/k47 would look like.

Just something to keep in mind. I used to use MM1 as a reference mic, however i found that the calibration file they provided with my serial was not accurate, it performed more accurately without the cal. file.

Just if you feel comfortable sharing, no pressure, what is the capacitance between the backplates in your CK12?

The capacitance at the center is 65pf in this case not that it's completely relevant as it can be different from unit to unit. The final decider is done though the measurements.

I didn't bother with the cal file as it was working really well as is.

 

[wafelki]

Hi everyone. Nice to see this as Im just trying to choose a CK12 that will take all that really intense and wide frequency wise "cz", "dż", "sz" etc. polish sound nice and easy. For now this (dirty at first as you see) Sondelux (P-251 i think) was the best at that. It's supposed to be a Haun, right? Very relaxed and even sounding, like a less tension on the diaphragm, or maybe a softer foil? Not very present or articulate though, magnifying-glass-inside-your-thoroat thing is not happening, not much wow factor too... Tim, have you ever tried to measure CSD if I may ask? Can I order one capsule from you anyway? I kinda believe that we capsule people could use some waterfalls However making te procedure accurate (excluding resonances of the room and speaker) seems quite challenging...

 

[Delta Sigma]

I bought an OPR CK12 that showed up yesterday. I had a Beesneez aluminum CK12 in an Ela M 251 build that is meant to be primarily a vocal mic. I haven't measured anything, but I did a quick test last night. I also have two TC CT12s, a Beesneez gold CK12 from 2016 that was overly bright (aluminum was the replacement) but I only directly compared the OPR and Alu BN last night. My completely subjective findings:

The BN Alu CK12 has incredible low frequency translation and has the most of the "3D" CK12 effect of all the capsules I have. Higher frequencies tend to sound more surgical, or mechanical than mids/lows. I don't care for its sibilance and its hyped high frequencies reach lower than OPR/TC, making it a much brighter sounding capsule. It is an incredible capsule, but I needed to install a plate filter to use it as a vocal mic. I plan to design a different circuit for this one, likely a cathode follower.

I had hopes of the OPR CK12 being the best suited for a vocal mic out of currently CK12s. When I powered it up, I instantly loved it and wondered if it was confirmation bias. I had to walk away, and come back because I wasn't trusting my ears. I listened again in the morning, and I'm pretty certain I now have the best vocal mic I'll ever get to hear in my life. It has such nice hyped highs without being sibilant. Someone posted earlier in this thread that they found it warmer than other CK12s, which I agree with, but it doesn't sound dark.

This is just my first impressions, but so far, wow. I'm really looking forward to trying it on more sources.

 

[OneRoomStudio]

I have a pair of OP12's on the way to put into a pair of C414 EBs. Different application, I know, but I'll share my thoughts when they get here.

I'm glad to hear good things about them!

 

[Recording Engineer]

I have a pair of OP12's on the way to put into a pair of C414 EBs. Different application, I know, but I'll share my thoughts when they get here.

I'm glad to hear good things about them!

It’ll probably at least take a few months, but I’m finally getting around to having Barbaric put my OPR CK12 pair (first time trying them) to use for a C12A -inspired design in an MP S-Series body with a Moby U11 and a 8532W / CV5311 tube.

 

[facardi]

Hi. Does anyone have a photo of an rk-12 capsule taken apart ? And why it differs from a ck-12 ? The resistance plates ?

Also the rode nt2 seems to use a ck12 capsule that is closer in look than the RK12, but does it sound close

Thank you.

 

[ElSmurf]

The BN Alu CK12 has incredible low frequency translation and has the most of the "3D" CK12 effect of all the capsules I have. Higher frequencies tend to sound more surgical, or mechanical than mids/lows. I don't care for its sibilance and its hyped high frequencies reach lower than OPR/TC, making it a much brighter sounding capsule. It is an incredible capsule, but I needed to install a plate filter to use it as a vocal mic. I plan to design a different circuit for this one, likely a cathode follower.

Thanks for sharing your experience, I'll take this into account when I finally start building my 251 with the aluminum BN that's been sitting on my shelf for almost a year now.

 

[HerbertR]

I bought an OPR CK12 that showed up yesterday. I had a Beesneez aluminum CK12 in an Ela M 251 build that is meant to be primarily a vocal mic. I haven't measured anything, but I did a quick test last night. I also have two TC CT12s, a Beesneez gold CK12 from 2016 that was ov......

I lowered the capsule voltage from 60V to about 52V for the Beesneez BN12 by using the voltage divider in the 251 circuits. To my ears, this sounds very, very good - it reduces the sibilance, takes the highs down a bit and pushes the microphone more "in your face", really fat. The increased noise floor is minimal. I simply change the 120V voltage divider from 60V/60V to 52V/68V using a resistor soldered in parallel. Takes less than 5 minutes.

 

[Jim50hertz]

I lowered the capsule voltage from 60V to about 52V for the Beesneez BN12 by using the voltage divider in the 251 circuits. To my ears, this sounds very, very good - it reduces the sibilance, takes the highs down a bit and pushes the microphone more "in your face", really fat. The increased noise floor is minimal. I simply change the 120V voltage divider from 60V/60V to 52V/68V using a resistor soldered in parallel. Takes less than 5 minutes.

Which value did you use? And across which resistor? R3? Thanks H

 

[Mikael-ange]

I bought an OPR CK12 that showed up yesterday. I had a Beesneez aluminum CK12 in an Ela M 251 build that is meant to be primarily a vocal mic. I haven't measured anything, but I did a quick test last night. I also have two TC CT12s, a Beesneez gold CK12 from 2016 that was overly bright (aluminum was the replacement) but I only directly compared the OPR and Alu BN last night. My completely subjective findings:

The BN Alu CK12 has incredible low frequency translation and has the most of the "3D" CK12 effect of all the capsules I have. Higher frequencies tend to sound more surgical, or mechanical than mids/lows. I don't care for its sibilance and its hyped high frequencies reach lower than OPR/TC, making it a much brighter sounding capsule. It is an incredible capsule, but I needed to install a plate filter to use it as a vocal mic. I plan to design a different circuit for this one, likely a cathode follower.

I had hopes of the OPR CK12 being the best suited for a vocal mic out of currently CK12s. When I powered it up, I instantly loved it and wondered if it was confirmation bias. I had to walk away, and come back because I wasn't trusting my ears. I listened again in the morning, and I'm pretty certain I now have the best vocal mic I'll ever get to hear in my life. It has such nice hyped highs without being sibilant. Someone posted earlier in this thread that they found it warmer than other CK12s, which I agree with, but it doesn't sound dark.

This is just my first impressions, but so far, wow. I'm really looking forward to trying it on more sources.

Really curious to hear your through about opr vs tc.