Banzai's KM84 DIY Body & PCB kit build thread

[thomasdf]

Curious to know what you think about the omnis.
How expensive are the 3U capsules ?

 

[McIrish]

The cardioid capsules (2) cost about $210 to Chicago. There was also some customs fees that had to be paid before the post office would let me have it. That was under $10. The capsules were worth the investment.

 

[doqmemory]

Curious to know what you think about the omnis.
How expensive are the 3U capsules ?

The group buy organized by @klem still has omni capsules available, AFAIK.

 

[McIrish]

I believe that is for the 3mm version. The ones that fit the bansai km84 are the .5mm versions

 

[DSpenceATL]

Where is anyone still getting PCB’s for this build, or does everyone still have kits from the first couple of runs?

 

[JMan]

I don't think there is a current run of boards. You can occasionally find this project for sale in some form on the black market here. Much of the recent discussion here has been about using alternate capsules, as many folks (like myself) found it to be an upgrade to swap out the stock capsule for another manufacturer's.

 

[evanmurphy]

Is there a way to test the chinese capsules independent of the preamp/body, to confirm whether they're working?

My boards and caps are from the first run (including the cinemag transformer groupbuy) but I've never been able to get my two mics to pass signal. When trying to bias the fet using these directions, I can hear the sine wave from the signal generator but doesn’t pass anything audible with the capsule installed.

Where would you all begin to troubleshoot?

 

[TLRT]

Is there a way to test the chinese capsules independent of the preamp/body, to confirm whether they're working?

My boards and caps are from the first run (including the cinemag transformer groupbuy) but I've never been able to get my two mics to pass signal. When trying to bias the fet using these directions, I can hear the sine wave from the signal generator but doesn’t pass anything audible with the capsule installed.

Where would you all begin to troubleshoot?

You have a short between mic body and pcb somewhere. Fet can be calibrated when body tube is off?

 

[Ricardus]

Where is anyone still getting PCB’s for this build, or does everyone still have kits from the first couple of runs?

You might hit up Graeme and see if he has any PCBs left for this conversion. I built two with upgraded capsules and they are incredible.

https://groupdiy.com/threads/mxl-603-km84-replacement-pcb.72711/

 

[DSpenceATL]

You might hit up Graeme and see if he has any PCBs left for this conversion. I built two with upgraded capsules and they are incredible.

https://groupdiy.com/threads/mxl-603-km84-replacement-pcb.72711/

Thanks for the lead, hopefully I’ll hear back from him! Did you go with the 3U capsules? I’ve been hand-wringing over this project for so long, I’m ready to finally make it happen.

 

[Ricardus]

Thanks for the lead, hopefully I’ll hear back from him! Did you go with the 3U capsules? I’ve been hand-wringing over this project for so long, I’m ready to finally make it happen.

Yeah, I went with the 3U capsules and used some bondo to fill in the MXL logos, but haven't repainted the bodies yet.

I've heard blind A/B comparisons to this mic and a real KM84 and could not tell the difference.

 

[DSpenceATL]

Yeah, I went with the 3U capsules and used some bondo to dill in the MXL logos, but haven't repainted the bodies yet.

I've heard blind A/B comparisons to this mic and a real KM84 and could not tell the difference.

Very nice! Have you decided on a paint color yet? I find BramK’s white painted pair with the Neumann logos to be quite striking, I hope I can get mine to come out that clean. I’m painting some ribbon bodies right now but it’s slow going, lots of weather interruptions.

 

[mrgrooves666]

I took mine with a friend that does cerakote for guns, painted mine and love the result. This is not your normal aerosol lacquer, it is very durable.

 

[TwentyTrees]

I took mine with a friend that does cerakote for guns, painted mine and love the result. This is not your normal aerosol lacquer, it is very durable.

Got mine cerakoted too and also love the finish, they look fantastic. Well worth looking into.

 

[Ricardus]

Very nice! Have you decided on a paint color yet? I find BramK’s white painted pair with the Neumann logos to be quite striking, I hope I can get mine to come out that clean. I’m painting some ribbon bodies right now but it’s slow going, lots of weather interruptions.

I'll probably go with some boring silver or grey color.

 

[DSpenceATL]

I'll probably go with some boring silver or grey color.

Hey man, classics are classics for a reason. I haven’t ruled out that option, that’s for sure.

Lemme see these cerakotes in delicious detail, friends! Sounds like some military grade hardware.

 

[mrgrooves666]

Here are mine

 

[TwentyTrees]

Here are mine

Very nice! How did you do the "84" label, is that waterslide decal or similar? The case also looks great.

There's a pic of mine earlier in the thread - here's another:

 

[Barry Hufker]

You folks do some mighty handsome work!

 

[Ricardus]

Are you spraying that stuff or going to someone to get it done?