Observations over the years

Gus · Aug 21, 2022

It seems people ask questions that have older threads that can answer or help answer their question.

Microphone builds
I think a good first build is a circuit using an opamp and it can sound better than you might think.
Rogs posted a nice link to a strip board build and there are others at the old yahoo microphone group people should try.

Transformers
They matter a lot in a transformer out circuit. Small inexpensive ones might not be what you want.

Flatpicker · Aug 21, 2022

I was intrigued enough by Kingkorg's thread (link below) and a previous hint you dropped about op amps sounding good in mic builds that I decided my next DIY was going to be a dual output mic head amp design using OPA1641/2s.

https://groupdiy.com/threads/quick-diy-dual-output-ldc.69193/

k brown · Aug 22, 2022

Gus said:
It seems people ask questions that have older threads that can answer or help answer their question.

Microphone builds
I think a good first build is a circuit using an opamp and it can sound better than you might think.
Rogs posted a nice link to a strip board build and there are others at the old yahoo microphone group people should try.

Transformers
They matter a lot in a transformer out circuit. Small inexpensive ones might not be what you want.

Indeed - my favorite upgrade to the less expensive Audio Technica mics is to replace the transformers with impedance-balanced outs.

Pariah Zero · Aug 23, 2022

Gus said:
It seems people ask questions that have older threads that can answer or help answer their question.

I'm certain of this; so far, however, there are a few observations as a newbie to the site:

I certainly know that the first thing I do is go to the search function and search for an old thread, because I know I'm not special, and My question isn't new.

My two key observations: The search function is ineffective, and there are no stickies (something I've seen in every other forum on the internet) for FAQ's.

Even the curated list of "Useful Threads" I was given when I joined GroupDIY was a list of dead links -- none of which I could actually find when searching for the exact thread name. (That's just how bad the search is).

Gus said:
Microphone builds
I think a good first build is a circuit using an opamp and it can sound better than you might think.
Rogs posted a nice link to a strip board build and there are others at the old yahoo microphone group people should try.

And that strip board build is a thing of beauty. Ditto with his RF Condenser design.

Gus said:
Transformers
They matter a lot in a transformer out circuit. Small inexpensive ones might not be what you want.

I have no problem taking it at face value, but perhaps more explanation would be helpful. I mean, I'd search, but... as I just explained, the search is slightly less useful than asking an orangutan to throw darts.

MicScharf · Aug 23, 2022

Gus said:
Rogs posted a nice link to a strip board build

and if you don't like strip boards, I made PCBs for it

emrr · Aug 23, 2022

Pariah Zero said:
My two key observations: The search function is ineffective, and there are no stickies (something I've seen in every other forum on the internet) for FAQ's.

Even the curated list of "Useful Threads" I was given when I joined GroupDIY was a list of dead links -- none of which I could actually find when searching for the exact thread name. (That's just how bad the search is).

Yeah, links got broken recently, like last 2 months. Don’t know if it’s fixed. There were stickies, there are also meta…..possibly all full of orphaned links. You should have seen how bad search used to be! It’s the best it’s ever been currently. Used to be a google specific search option window to have them search the forum and it usually worked better.