Replacement capsule recommendation oktava mk102

[Ploki]

I’m looking for capsules for my mk102 pair.
One was really badly oxydized and started rumbling. (Factory error, because studio is dry and nice).

Since the capsule was bad anyway i thought it would be a good learning project.

I took it apart and cleaned it and swapped the back and front plates.
I got it within 1dB of the other one.
I also accidentally scratched the gold foil with screwdriver.

Somehow i also managed to scratch the good capsule of the other as well (because i’m a moron).
they still sound surprisingly fine, but my OCD is nagging me.

I’m looking for two decent capsules that would work well with the mk012 preamp.
I sort of liked the originals, but they were harsh compared to MK105 i have. But at the same time not as forward as oc818, so i’m frankly not bent in having a similar tone and it sounds like a fun experiment.

Any suggestions?
I searched around and saw some options but a lot of them are unavailable (takstar, maiku).

Saw a bunch of stuff over at Ali, but worried about consistency.

I’m even thinking of going edge terminated because why not (although a drop-in would be center terminated cardio)

 

[Ploki]

looking at these two. Are they gonna be the same level of quality as stock?
Stock build didn't look that great btw, one was corroded and the other had rear mylar torn in the middle.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005133720880.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005997124664.html

 

[emrr]

Watching with interest. You don't hear much about these. I like mine as close tom mics in a drum kit. Excellent pattern and off axis rejection. Very little cymbal bleed.

 

[Ploki]

Watching with interest. You don't hear much about these. I like mine as close tom mics in a drum kit. Excellent pattern and off axis rejection. Very little cymbal bleed.

I like them a lot as well, but QC was a bit poor lately.
Got the MSP8 pair and MK105 from thomann about five years ago, I had to send MK105 back because it developed noise.
Then i had to send MSP8 back because one of the small capsules stopped working.
Then later, one of the small capsules lost contact so i had to open them and bend the little pins to increase contact. (warranty ran out)

Al the while my original MK012 from 2008 that went through hell and back never stopped working.

I also bought 4 additional preamps to cheaply increase microphone count lol.
Also my gf has a MK102 in her room.


Then most recently, one mk102 capsule finaly gave in and when i opened it saw a bunch of corrosion then took it apart to clean it but i never got the same gain as the other one, and then when being careless dinged both gold foils. It's a really small ding and i don't really notice an audible difference in the good one, but still, i'd prefer to have a stereo pair
The sound still intact enough so i can compare with the new capsule at least.

I'll update this thread when i decide what to get

 

[Paul W]

What is up with the gold pattern on the purple one? Why is it a set of connected spots, rather than one big spot?

Seems like the main effect would be to reduce sensitivity.

 

[OneRoomStudio]

I have bought K67-style capsules from AEG before through Microphone Boutique. I think they are very similar if not identical to the Oktava ones. They are incredibly smooth for K67-types, without the typical top-end lift. I like them with flat circuits.

 

[Ploki]

I have bought K67-style capsules from AEG before through Microphone Boutique. I think they are very similar if not identical to the Oktava ones. They are incredibly smooth for K67-types, without the typical top-end lift. I like them with flat circuits.

should’ve said i’m in europe and would rather not import from USA, gets pricey :/

 

[OneRoomStudio]

should’ve said i’m in europe and would rather not import from USA, gets pricey :/

Microphone Boutique does business in the US and Russia from what I understand. I don’t know how the war might affect that though.

 

[Ploki]

Microphone Boutique does business in the US and Russia from what I understand. I don’t know how the war might affect that though.

Considering Oktava mics are getting expensive and basically non-existent in europe i’d wager the war has had some effect.
Thomann completely dropped oktava mics and just sold old stock that’s gone now.

Not sure if i can even buy directly from Russia

 

[Ploki]

adding pics of original capsules

The corrosion here is already cleaned, it used to be black and it was so bad it pressed against the membrane causing rumbling.
There’s also corrosion in between plates.

These are from a matched pair! One looks great the other looks like it’s been in a damp basement for months.

The bad one also has rear mylar punctured so badly it’s basically not covering one of the holes.

damage i did on both of them is marked. Wish I didnt ding the good one but it’s not perforated so i guess i’m good.

You can also see how much more patina on brass rings on the bad one.

 

[Ploki]

Also 797 are now 100€ on Ali, eep

 

[OneRoomStudio]

adding pics of original capsules

The corrosion here is already cleaned, it used to be black and it was so bad it pressed against the membrane causing rumbling.
There’s also corrosion in between plates.

These are from a matched pair! One looks great the other looks like it’s been in a damp basement for months.

The bad one also has rear mylar punctured so badly it’s basically not covering one of the holes.

damage i did on both of them is marked. Wish I didnt ding the good one but it’s not perforated so i guess i’m good.

You can also see how much more patina on brass rings on the bad one.

Just as a point of comparison, here's one of the AEG K67's. They sure look similar!

 

[Ploki]

Just as a point of comparison, here's one of the AEG K67's. They sure look similar!
View attachment 136436View attachment 136437

They do!

But holes on yours dont looked chipped and there’s no corrosion.
And little screws look more consistent. Wonder if they outsorced production at some point?
I have to open my Mk105 as it apparently has the same caps.

I also noticed that on the good caps, the screws go all the way in - but on on the bad one.

 

[Ploki]

I decided to pull the caps out of my MK105 for comparison.
They look really similar, but MK105 looks better made somehow.
These were purchased around the same time in around 2020-21 from thomann.

looks like there's more gold on MK105

 

[emrr]

You might have just received "drunk day" production, as is so often referenced with Russian manufacturing.

 

[Ploki]

Oh, so that's the russian "monday"?

 

[kingkorg]

You might have just received "drunk day" production, as is so often referenced with Russian manufacturing.

In my experience Americans are at least as drunk and reckless as Russians, both in the states, and especially abroad. I don't see the point of your post, but there are for sure people whom appreciate Russian manufacturing, and are not biased against it by place of birth, or political indoctrination.

Just like anywhere else there are great people in Russia, and there are politicians making us all look like fools. Don't mix up the two.

 

[Ploki]

In my experience Americans are at least as drunk and reckless as Russians, both in the states, and especially abroad. I don't see the point of your post, but there are for sure people whom appreciate Russian manufacturing, and are not biased against it by place of birth, or political indoctrination.

very fair point, but being a different breed of slav, i honestly chuckled a bit

But it does appear i got a bad batch unfortunately. warranty is out and thomann hasn't been stocking them since the war broke out anyway. What's left of Oktava in europe is either crazy expensive (twice the price compared to pre-war) or unavailable.

When i was eyeing MKL5000 around the same time it was around 1000€, now it's 1600€

Austrian audio was 999€ then, and it's 999€ now

I really hope i manage to find some decent capsules for these

I do have to say, f*&k these flathead screws. Opening MK105 was a pain in the butt, i'm getting replacement hex screws before putting it back together.

 

[kingkorg]

very fair point, but being a different breed of slav, i honestly chuckled a bit

I live and work in crazy varied, truly diverse comunity of highly educated, great people whom are honestly sick and tired of stereotypes pushed around. I am sure you understand.

 

[emrr]

In my experience Americans are at least as drunk and reckless as Russians, both in the states, and especially abroad. I don't see the point of your post, but there are for sure people whom appreciate Russian manufacturing, and are not biased against it by place of birth, or political indoctrination.

Just like anywhere else there are great people, and there are politicians making us all look like fools. Don't mix up the two.

Right. And the bad people were working that day. That's the point.