Superlux S502 MK2 test, teardown and improvements

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Regarding some RFI problems reported by several people (affected S502 MKII and NOT S502 1st version) there may be an issue with the housing.
If you remove the 2 screws on the bottom side you will find 2 plastic space holders which bridge the gaps between top and bottom of the housing. These gaps can act as slot antennas to the inner part of the housing...
This issue can be repaired easily. Cut 2 pieces of kitchen aluminium foil and wrap them into the space holders at their inner side. After screwing the housing together top and bottom should have no interruption of the Faraday cage :)
PLS take this advice with a grain of salt. I am not able to execute EMC measurements at home...
Thank you so much, it's working for now!
I just wrapped the 2 plastic pieces with aluminium foil, I'll re-do it cleaner later
I don't have time right now to go outside for extended tests, but in my home it's working whereas without the aluminum foil I have RFI...
Took me exactly 3 minutes and gives a funny style to the microphone :)
 

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Thank you so much, it's working for now!
I just wrapped the 2 plastic pieces with aluminium foil, I'll re-do it cleaner later
I don't have time right now to go outside for extended tests, but in my home it's working whereas without the aluminum foil I have RFI...
Took me exactly 3 minutes and gives a funny style to the microphone :)
Wow, thats fine (y) Never expected a so short term implementation. Thanks for the experiment :)
 
Wow, c'est bien. (y) Je ne m'attendais pas à une mise en œuvre à si court terme. Merci pour l'expérience:)
Merci beaucoup, ça marche pour l'instant !
Je viens d'envelopper les 2 morceaux de plastique avec du papier aluminium, je le referai plus proprement plus tard
Je n'ai pas le temps en ce moment de sortir pour des tests prolongés, mais chez moi ça marche alors que sans le papier aluminium j'ai des RFI...
Cela m'a pris exactement 3 minutes et donne un style amusant au microphone:)
...donc, je n'hésite plus à acheter un MKII
 
Yes i will when i mount the new board. Then you get also a lot more information ;)
I have adhesive cooper foil 5mm & 10mm width (for DIY pcb's grounding) : would be ok for RFI suppression ? (and cooper on black would be more "cosmetic" to me)
I also have standard thin aluminium adhesive (60mm width)

Anyway great ! Now we've got the solution (finally !!!) to eradicate these nasty RFI's 🥳 (y)
Bravo @MicUlli !
 
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Hi !
I had a recording today of a classic sextet (1 cello + 1 double bass + 2 violins + 1 viola violin + 1 accordion) playing Vivaldi Four Seasons and I had planned to take the opportunity to make a comparison between the S502 1RST version and a pair of Schoeps CT30 (I'm not sure about the reference) with selectable cardio / omni directivity by a switch from the capsule.
In parallel with these 2 ORTF pairs I had planned to install a pair of Line Audio OM1 in order to compare these 3 stereo tracks but more particularly the superlux vs the schoeps, according to this thread.
Unfortunately !!! The left preamp of the superlux broke down. :( :mad:
I have of course exchanged XLR cables, the capsules, but it was a preamp problem...

I was very disappointed because it was an nice opportunity to present a comparison in conditions of a very interesting acoustic recording, especially since the room was acoustically treated and sounded very well.

So I will still post the same excerpt with the Schoeps and with the Line Audio OM1 with some technical infos (which configuration, sound card, distances, etc...)
The sound is very different (as expected) and I would like to receive your comments!
 

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Oh thats a pity :(
Probably one of the output transistors is broken..
I would like to listen to your recording too, i am very curious about the differences :)
MicUlli
Well, here we are, where reliability has a cost ! A Schoeps does not break down on its own, for no special reason, or very very rarely I guess...

That's what professionnals pay for : reliability ! A friend of mine, sound engineer for documentary all aroud the world (so in extreme situations, humidity, sand, dust...) agrees that some other mics sound as great as Schoeps, but for his project he told me he would never exchange his Schoeps for any other ref at any cost.
 
Well, here we are, where reliability has a cost ! A Schoeps does not break down on its own, for no special reason, or very very rarely I guess...

That's what professionnals pay for : reliability ! A friend of mine, sound engineer for documentary all aroud the world (so in extreme situations, humidity, sand, dust...) agrees that some other mics sound as great as Schoeps, but for his project he told me he would never exchange his Schoeps for any other ref at any cost.
For extreme conditions including humidity Sennheiser might be a more reliable solution than Schoeps
 
Here we are : Line Audio OM1 (omni) vs Schoeps CT30 (I wait for my friend, the owner, to tell me the right model) cardio/omni but set in ORTF cardio.
All 4 mics are on the same line, 4 meters away from the center of the ensemble. 2,5m high. The 2 onmis are separate by ~2 meters. I've drawn a plan attached.
The sound card is a Behringher X Air 18. Recording in 24bit / 48kHz.
Samples are straight from record : no Fx but omnis are a bit panned to center (so not full L & R but (say) 90%) because phase was "moving" if fully CCW & CW

Schoeps

Line Audio OM1
 

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I hear about this with Schoeps a lot; I wonder what it is that makes them so susceptible.

I have a bunch of cheap mics, all manner Audio Technicas, Oktavas, etc. have never once had an issue with humidity; and I live spitting distance from the Pacific Ocean!
 
For extreme conditions including humidity Sennheiser might be a more reliable solution than Schoeps
More reliable, I don't know, but indeed Sennheiser makes great products (so does Beyer) but most of the Tv documentary sound engineers rely on Schoeps...
 
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I hear about this with Schoeps a lot; I wonder what it is that makes them so susceptible.

I have a bunch of cheap mics, all manner Audio Technicas, Oktavas, etc. have never once had an issue with humidity; and I live spitting distance from the Pacific Ocean!
Some say that DPA is even more "solid" regarding climatic conditions because of their electret capsules... 🤷‍♂️
 
An information about my friend's Schoeps used on this recording : he bought them second-hand in the 80's and there are stamped "ORTF" as Office de Radio Télédiffusion Français, so certainly mics built in the 60's and... he told me he NEVER had an issue with both these 2 mics (they run with their own psu powered by two 9v batteries per mic).
They are just "jewelry" :love: (and that can be heard on the recording : a kind of magic regarding the precision of the instruments' sound - the bow of the cello is like playing right beside you)

But it's no sens to compare an ORTF cardio with an omni pair, I know, and the initial goal was to compare 2 ORTF (Superlux & Schoeps).
Besides that, to me, Line Audio OM1 (390€ pair) are really great mics !
 
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About the S502 (but 1rst version, sorry, I ain't got yet the mkII) I recorded a few month ago a string quintet + harpiscord in a very large church. I already posted this in another thread but I can't remember where...
Since it about S502 (even 1rst version) I think it's interesting to repost here an excerpt of the concert.
The S502 is about 4m from the heart of the ensemble and 2,5m high pointing to the musicians (kind of same setup as I did today). I added a close mic (DIY 6AK5 tube) on the harpiscord (because of its low level) that is mixed with the necessary delay. So here is a 3 mics mix. No Fx. Natural reverb of the church...

Church String quintet + harpisc
 

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More reliable, I don't know, but indeed Sennheiser makes great products (so does Beyer) but most of the Tv documentary sound engineers rely on Schoeps...
I do know that master Nature recordist Bernie Krause long ago switched to Senns exclusively because of their reliabilty in humid climates/conditions.

Don't know if it's related to their RF design, or simply their physical construction.
 
Having used Schoeps tube mics and Schoeps solid state mics for about 50 years I have never had a problem with humidity. And while tubes wear out, I have never had a problem with solid state Schoeps' reliability.
 


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