MXL to KM84 project troubleshooting.

[SparkleBear]

So that first recording above is the mic with 3u cardioid capsule and the chinese ali express t8. The recording below is with a cinemag 5722. Needless to say, both recordings were a multitrack of the same performance.

I placed the mics like so:


Here is the km84 recently serviced and checked over by Klaus:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ghxjgfsv6m5pgm6/Neumann KM84 (shootout).mp3?dl=0
Here is my DIY KM84 with 3U cardioid capsule and cinemag cm5722:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8psphp546p91isy/DIY KM84 (shootout).mp3?dl=0
These are completely unprocessed... just bounced as is...

To my ear they sound pretty close in the midrange. the 3u has a bit more lift on the top... Low end is pretty close too...

Im pleased with the results so far. So glad I figured out the issue with the mic. I still have yet to properly bias the FET but it sounds pretty dang good where it is right now... So I will likely take a measurement of the fet bias settings and still try to properly bias it and see which I like better.

Still would like to do more tests on more sources. Word on the street is that the magic of the kk84 is in its off axis response.... so I'll need to compare those qualities too.

Thanks for all the support fellas.

cheers!


-Eric

 

[Ricardus]

They sound completely interchangeable to me. Which is good, since i just built a pair.

 

[SparkleBear]

They sound completely interchangeable to me. Which is good, since i just built a pair.

You built @GraemeWoller 's pcb yes?

I think the only difference between our builds is that I am using a film cap for output decoupler and my layout is slightly different. They really do sound close to indistinguishable. After listening to the tracks for a few days I've determined that the top end of the neumann is a bit more controlled and pleasant in the way it handles transients. It's just slightly less pokey in some parts. The relaxed sound of the Neumann is just slightly "sweeter". Not sure what to attribute this to technically. But in post I think a slight bit of compression would do the trick...

Granted that recording was with the fet biased at 10v. After doing the trough biasing by ear i ended at 9.7v. So maybe that slight adjustment tamed the distortion characteristic enough to mellow it. Gotta test it out though.

 

[Ricardus]

You built @GraemeWoller 's pcb yes?

I think the only difference between our builds is that I am using a film cap for output decoupler and my layout is slightly different. They really do sound close to indistinguishable. After listening to the tracks for a few days I've determined that the top end of the neumann is a bit more controlled and pleasant in the way it handles transients. It's just slightly less pokey in some parts. The relaxed sound of the Neumann is just slightly "sweeter". Not sure what to attribute this to technically. But in post I think a slight bit of compression would do the trick...

Granted that recording was with the fet biased at 10v. After doing the trough biasing by ear i ended at 9.7v. So maybe that slight adjustment tamed the distortion characteristic enough to mellow it. Gotta test it out though.

Yeah, I used Graham's boards.

I sent those clips to a friend without identifying them. Our internal biases are so strong that simply knowing which is which will affect outcomes.