Dynamic mics - why so difficult to reproduce?

[MicMan]

soapfoot said "The M380 is a bidirectional, single-pattern moving coil with (I believe?) a headphone driver as mic element".

The UK outfit 'Aston' sold a cheap mic with a so-called 'revolutionary' mic element inside - the mic was called 'Element' - made of (patented, no less! ..we-ell, the name was apparently patented) 'Ridyon capsule technology'. Inside mine was half a headphone.

So it's recently been done, but the quality was gruesome.

 

[engineerkyle]

soapfoot said "The M380 is a bidirectional, single-pattern moving coil with (I believe?) a headphone driver as mic element".

The UK outfit 'Aston' sold a cheap mic with a so-called 'revolutionary' mic element inside - the mic was called 'Element' - made of (patented, no less! ..we-ell, the name was apparently patented) 'Ridyon capsule technology'. Inside mine was half a headphone.

So it's recently been done, but the quality was gruesome.

The Beyer M380 you mention is literally “half a headphone” wired to the xlr jack. No transformer, no electronics.

I’ve purchased a clone made from NOS beyer parts as well as made 2 of my own from (very) used old stock drivers and they all sound very similar. The Alien8 is another headphone driver mic that sounds fantastic, though less flexible than the M380, imho. But on kick drum with both capsules on…

I haven’t used that Aston, but I wouldn’t knock anyone for using headphone drivers.

I suspect that a company like Beyer (read - self serious and giant) would not retool their machining to make a mic that they’ll sell 1000 of. They stopped making that driver/capsule in the 80s when they changed the DT 770/880/990 construction apparently. For all we know the mic could have been a happy accident out of already in-use parts.