Soliloqueen's k87(k67) and k47 capsules

[Андрій Чубака]

in some future i want to do some mic with Neumann style capsule. With akg style i am already have. So this solution from this shop maybe i can use in future.

 

[Icantthinkofaname]

in some future i want to do some mic with Neumann style capsule. With akg style i am already have. So this solution from this shop maybe i can use in future.

I'd definitely recommend these over other Chinese made capsules, including "premium" ones.

 

[Андрій Чубака]

I happy when i can not buy Chinese. But i have not enough money for it in mostly case. Also i did some mic first time in my life and i don't sure about my possibilities in this case. No big sence to buy something expensive but later have no success with it. In other case i prefer not buy from china when i have possibilities on it. Chinese manufacturers sometime sales also something not bad but not always like this also. So if you bought something bad in China wich is very possible also in this case you don't save any money on this and more like just waste your money. In case with this capsules difference in price for me is acceptable for try get not Chinese product. I anyway need only one this capsule and this will be last what i can do about this mics. Everything other have no sense for me.

 

[soliloqueen]

I happy when i can not buy Chinese. But i have not enough money for it in mostly case. Also i did some mic first time in my life and i don't sure about my possibilities in this case. No big sence to buy something expensive but later have no success with it. In other case i prefer not buy from china when i have possibilities on it. Chinese manufacturers sometime sales also something not bad but not always like this also. So if you bought something bad in China wich is very possible also in this case you don't save any money on this and more like just waste your money. In case with this capsules difference in price for me is acceptable for try get not Chinese product. I anyway need only one this capsule and this will be last what i can do about this mics. Everything other have no sense for me.

These capsules are still made in china, but I outsourced production of my own design there rather than just picking an existing one, so they're pretty good.

 

[Icantthinkofaname]

I happy when i can not buy Chinese. But i have not enough money for it in mostly case. Also i did some mic first time in my life and i don't sure about my possibilities in this case. No big sence to buy something expensive but later have no success with it. In other case i prefer not buy from china when i have possibilities on it. Chinese manufacturers sometime sales also something not bad but not always like this also. So if you bought something bad in China wich is very possible also in this case you don't save any money on this and more like just waste your money. In case with this capsules difference in price for me is acceptable for try get not Chinese product. I anyway need only one this capsule and this will be last what i can do about this mics. Everything other have no sense for me.

They're Chinese but they're high quality. I haven't bought any personally yet (IRL commitments and issues are limiting my ability to do DIY stuff), but the users so far all seem very impressed, the tolerance is high, and they measure identically to the real thing, probably as close or closer than Neumann's own capsules in matched pair.

 

[cfanzalone]

Very interesting to read... I also don't like to buy Chinese anything, but they have the tooling or, in this case, will make the tooling apparently. However, the 'Flat47' IS a very nice capsule...Kudos for at least overseeing the designing, manufacturing and QC....A darn shame we can't make these here in the USA!!

 

[soliloqueen]

Very interesting to read... I also don't like to buy Chinese anything, but they have the tooling or, in this case, will make the tooling apparently. However, the 'Flat47' IS a very nice capsule...Kudos for at least overseeing the designing, manufacturing and QC....A darn shame we can't make these here in the USA!!

Once I get all my accessibility tools done, there will probably be a second tier available that I make here.

 

[cfanzalone]

Good for you!!!...(It may cost a bit more, but I'd pay it gladly!!)...Keep us advised as to (I think I read this earlier..) about a capsule that has the original K47 'mid-range bump'...I think many are interested in that!!

 

[Horizoneer]

Just as a little follow up, I've been using my two Arienne Audio capsule equipped U87 clones for a lot of recording over the past few weeks. They've mostly been doing drum overhead duty, but also seen a lot of use right up on guitar amps. Definitely need the -10dB pad for that role, but I'm really happy with the sounds being captured. As the project goes on I think these are going to be used all over the place - I suspect they're going to be great on bass cab, and so far in the mic shootouts we've done they're leading the field for vocal tracking too.

 

[ElSmurf]

I did some test recordings a few days ago with both my D-EF47 and D87, sporting the flat K47 and K87. A friend of mine played acoustic guitar and did some vocals over a karaoke version of Journey's Open Arms he found on YouTube.

I recorded both vocal and guitar in 4 different configurations : using both mics and using two preamps for each mic. The preamps used are my EZ1073 with AMI tranformers, and my Orange86, the REDD47 clone developed by Guavatone. They are quick and dirty recordings, not focusing too much on great performance, as that allows for a more honest appraisal of the tonal characteristics of the signal chain IMHO. The eq section was bypassed in the 1073. Everything was recorded into Luna at 88.2, through an Apollo X6 with the internal preamps bypassed.

I exported all of it as stems in 88.2/24, and when imported straight into your DAW you should have everything lined up and ready for comparison. I also added the karaoke version we used to track everything, as it gives a quick impression of how each take sounds in a mix scenario.

Here's the link : Open Arms Stems.zip

 

[rock soderstrom]

@soliloqueen

I'm not sure if this has already been asked, are there plans to produce and offer a single-sided Flat 47 capsule for cardoid only use?

It feels wasteful to use a double sided capsule for this purpose. Perhaps it would also be a little cheaper to produce?

 

[ccaudle]

It feels wasteful to use a double sided capsule for this purpose.

If the capsule is not double sided, then it is not a K47 capsule and will have different behavior.
See for example this Shure paper (originally presented at an AES conference, but available from the Shure web site now):
Unique Directional Properties of Dual Diaphragm Mics by Torio and Segota

Perhaps it would also be a little cheaper to produce?

If you need to install and tension the back diaphragm anyway, the only savings is one wire.

Perhaps the right question is whether there is enough interest to manufacture a (hopefully less expensive) single diaphragm capsule in the future, but if sticking with the old classics I'm not sure which model to use. And I wouldn't count on a single diaphragm capsule being that much less expensive, there are a lot of fixed costs that go into producing and shipping something that don't really vary with parts count.

 

[Андрій Чубака]

Possible save gold plating on film from not active side. In real life there is not too much gold. But process of plating is bit expensive and Chinese want more money on this. All this film production for mics is interesting because for example in pure akg mics with high price is not too much gold on film. I guess they just using more thin film and can get more sensitivity of capsule without too much gold plating on it. Looks like sound is bit more live if film is thin and without too much gold plating on it. As my opinion more gold plating is better for preamp but if preamp is enough sensitive then possible get good sound without too much gold on capsule and in this case sound will be bit more live. Also can be like back side film without gold plating is better because it is can give tiny bit more clear response without additional layer of gold.

Edit: why is film on capsule needed on back side? I guess most reason for it this is keeping pressure of air behind front side film with gold plating. This is make response of active film in front more stabilized and it is can cach low freq with maximum clarity. So if back side of capsule will be solid it is will give more flat but acurate sound. But if back side will be empty will be more distortion in final sound record. And if distance between front and rear side is smaller then more low quantity of air in space between front and rear side and for example bass response can be bit different in this case. This is all just my opinion and i don't know for sure just i guess it with my experience with acoustic.

 

[rock soderstrom]

If the capsule is not double sided, then it is not a K47 capsule and will have different behavior.

Right, no doubt. Please reread may post. There is no K.

See for example this Shure paper (originally presented at an AES conference, but available from the Shure web site now):

Thank you!

Perhaps the right question is whether there is enough interest to manufacture a (hopefully less expensive) single diaphragm capsule in the future, but if sticking with the old classics I'm not sure which model to use.

Are you deciding what the right question is now?

And I wouldn't count on a single diaphragm capsule being that much less expensive, there are a lot of fixed costs that go into producing and shipping something that don't really vary with parts count.

Are you an active capsule producer or just a customer? Please don't get me wrong, I just wanted to take the opportunity to ask an active capsule producer the question I asked .

 

[ccaudle]

Please reread may post. There is no K.

OK, I think I understand. So a variant based on the flat K47, but consider it a different product so there is no expectation that it behaves (i.e. frequency response and transient response) exactly the same as using just one side of the flat K47?

Are you deciding what the right question is now?

Beginning a phrase with "perhaps" indicates suggestion or speculation, not a dictate or command. Just offering a comment to the conversation.

Are you an active capsule producer

I do not produce microphone capsules, but I have been involved in design of commercially sold equipment for nearly 30 years. There are many things in common between selling any type of product, but point taken, of course Soliloqueen would be the only one in a position to make any specific estimates in this context.

 

[kingkorg]

If the capsule is not double sided, then it is not a K47 capsule and will have different behavior.
See for example this Shure paper (originally presented at an AES conference, but available from the Shure web site now):
Unique Directional Properties of Dual Diaphragm Mics by Torio and Segota

I have to point to important difference. While k47 with only one side center screw terminated will perform slightly differently than regular k47, it is by construction still technically dual diaphragm capsule. Both sides are covered with a diaphragm.

The Shure paper shows difference between something like k47 and say KSM32 capsule which is truly one sided. Or something like km84. In this case one side is covered with diaphragm, the other is just open vents.

 

[rock soderstrom]

I do not produce microphone capsules, but I have been involved in design of commercially sold equipment for nearly 30 years. There are many things in common between selling any type of product, but point taken, of course Soliloqueen would be the only one in a position to make any specific estimates in this context.

Well, I just wanted to ask a manufacturer's perspective on whether that makes sense. No guessing even if you're probably right. That's why my @soliloqueen at the beginning of my post. No offense.
I also have a career behind me and unfortunately I'm no longer in my mid-30s, which is a shame.

 

[soliloqueen]

i think rock just means the gold, which is possible. i'll see what savings it offers.
Sorry for the delays, guys. I've got a bunch of procedural stuff just kind of...falling apart on my end. I was delaying the K87 shipping by a few days originally to see if I could get the screws in just for my peace of mind, but I ended up anaphylactically allergic to the insulation I ordered and had to deal with that. Now my packaging foam contractor is a few weeks late... I have capsules just sitting here, waiting to be shipped.

We're getting double the amount of flat k47s done this time, so I shouldn't run out of stock again. This next batch will also be glued diaphragms + different colors for the front and rear wires, since a few people (5/300, but it's weird that it even happened) were running into slipping issues.

 

[flyingfadr]

i think rock just means the gold, which is possible. i'll see what savings it offers.
Sorry for the delays, guys. I've got a bunch of procedural stuff just kind of...falling apart on my end. I was delaying the K87 shipping by a few days originally to see if I could get the screws in just for my peace of mind, but I ended up anaphylactically allergic to the insulation I ordered and had to deal with that. Now my packaging foam contractor is a few weeks late... I have capsules just sitting here, waiting to be shipped.

We're getting double the amount of flat k47s done this time, so I shouldn't run out of stock again. This next batch will also be glued diaphragms + different colors for the front and rear wires, since a few people (5/300, but it's weird that it even happened) were running into slipping issues.

I am interested in a pair of the K87's... please PM me with details... ( long time member, but not enough posts to send PM ). Thank you !

 

[Khron]

I am interested in a pair of the K87's... please PM me with details... ( long time member, but not enough posts to send PM ). Thank you !

How about grabbing one from the webshop?

https://www.arienneaudio.com/