What if you opened up a Manley Reference C and ...

[kingkorg]

Well as the goal is to have lowest possible thd with a mic, that would be highly undesirable. It can not compress it, it can just clip it, and it does happen at high spl, so if you do operate it at those levels it would happen, but it would happen with a fet as well.

I have never tested mics in those ranges and i presume fet and tube would clip differently, but that would be at close mic snare drum levels. U47 for example might get into clipping even with some loud vocals. Transformer might clip low end sooner, and do a kind of multiband compression. But it would happen with a fet as well.

So i guess fet and tube do perform differently in non linear region, but that is not where you usually use a mic, unless it's a kind of a special effect. Which i have done before, but then i just used what sounded right.

 

[dab0815]

Thanks for your input.
Its just what you can read in all those forums like GS and so. That a tube mic would compress the vocal so nice and make it warm and whatnot. Good to see some people see all those things rational. There is soo much esotherism(is that even a word? Lol) when it comes to pro audio equipment and eapecially mics. Even more than with hifi (cable discussion anybody? Lol) sometimes..

I never knew about atk before but after hearing like the sterling against the manley ref and also the 800c and then came some obscure blue mic as the mystery mic that sounded very similar to all of these too it really opened my eyes.. (and that with the full song where all those files stack up and you should hear the differences even more)

Btw is there a way to dl audio files from atk?
I see the audio files look a little different but hear a lot a like and inwould love to test how different processing like eq and compression work different on different mics (like the sterling and manley and the 800c for example)
Because a lot of times people also say that a cheaper mic mic can sound like a expensive one but "it wouldnt take processing" so good like the expensive.. and the different looks of the wavefiles make me curious in how that would apply..
I guess i could record the output of my soundcard but if theres a way to dl those soundfiles it would be way more convenient..

Edit: and isnt the st151 a slightly different capsule too? So i guess the st51 is even more close to the manley right? Even tho from the atk files the st151 sounds already pretty damn close. To my ears at least..

 

[kingkorg]

I pretty much went into mic modding because i couldn't put a finger on what people were talking about, it was confusing, and i just couldn't hear it. So i went for modding and measuring in order to get control over the "mojo". I was doing my own version of ATK long before they started.

What i can tell you with a certainty is that most of the mojo comes from huge variances in production, and a lot of times faulty mics being used without anyone realizing it. Especially U47 M7 capsule equipped mics, those things are all over the place.

 

[Delta Sigma]

I think the compression idea comes from sagging passive power supplies like a guitar amp does. Tube guitar amp compresses for this reason.

The only real current draw for a tube mic comes from the heater so I'm not sure sage is even possible.

I haven't compared a like circuit, SS vs Tube, but my guess is that mic mojo comes from capsule and transformer combos with a major factor being the circuit and small contributions from tubes, caps, etc.

 

[dab0815]

i couldn't put a finger on what people were talking about, it was confusing, and i just couldn't hear it.

Thats me lol. Makes me feel stupid at times or questioning my hearing ability..

 

[dab0815]

You can always make your own with a 30$ Alibaba body, and st51 capsule

How did you get that for 30$? I paid 70€ incl shipping.. but i figured i had to get that just for the looks

 

[kingkorg]

I ordered it the minute they appeared on Ali, they were cheaper. And people were sceptical about ordering it because they were a new company

 

[JoleFIN]

Those draw who have chalk.

 

[kingkorg]

There used to be a white version, like the Anniversary model, which i can't find anymore.

 

[dab0815]

You mean the official white anniversary model? Pictures are on manley webite somewhere..

 

[kingkorg]

You mean the official white anniversary model? Pictures are on manley webite somewhere..

Yup, that one, but there was white version on Ali as well, now it's gone.

 

[dab0815]

There was still a white / pink version there yesterday. Let me see if i can find it..

 

[dab0815]

Its still there. Cant post the link as i found it on the app tho. But that version does not have open/mesh top but flat closed. So i think that version should sound worse..

 

[kingkorg]

Right, bummer...

 

[dab0815]

Theres an ISK mic for about 100 that uses that flat closed top body.. i dont know if its any good tho..
Anyways I might want to change the silicone rings on the shock mount for looks. Trying to find some poppy colors.. it should be 20mm OD if it is anything like the original.
Also the original manley logo would be nice as i like the font and all. But its impossible to make it a stencil..
Ordered my mic yesterday and hope this will actually arrive soon.
For that sphere clone of yours that im still about to build i ordered a mic body in dec last year and still nothing has arrived and i only got problems with the supplier. Already wrote like a hundred messages and still no mic body and no refund

 

[kato]

You can always make your own with a 30$ Alibaba body, and st51 capsule

KingKorg, is that Alibaba body still available? It looks supremely cool.

 

[kingkorg]

If you just search BM-95 microphone, it should show up.

 

[kato]

Found it. Thanks!

 

[bockaudio]

Well as the goal is to have lowest possible thd with a mic, that would be highly undesirable. It can not compress it, it can just clip it, and it does happen at high spl, so if you do operate it at those levels it would happen, but it would happen with a fet as well.

I have never tested mics in those ranges and i presume fet and tube would clip differently, but that would be at close mic snare drum levels. U47 for example might get into clipping even with some loud vocals. Transformer might clip low end sooner, and do a kind of multiband compression. But it would happen with a fet as well.

So i guess fet and tube do perform differently in non linear region, but that is not where you usually use a mic, unless it's a kind of a special effect. Which i have done before, but then i just used what sounded right.

1) One would think lowest thd etc is desirable but nowadays you have companies making gained mics with 12ax's so, perhaps an expensive fuzz box is what's in fashion now.
2) Even in completely linear ranges, I can't say I've heard fet and tube mics sound similar. Not saying it can't be done, I just haven't heard it. My dear departed friend Tim DeParavacini claimed to make this difference inaudible, but I never witnessed or was exposed to it, and always viewed his hybrid circuits as more tube than solid state anyway.
3) The frequencies of induced xfmr distortion on a U47 or M49 are LOW, below 20 Hz. Typically bass doesn't distort them, or, it's not the huge problem it's been painted to be (by agressively marketing against them).

 

[bockaudio]

I think the compression idea comes from sagging passive power supplies like a guitar amp does. Tube guitar amp compresses for this reason.

The only real current draw for a tube mic comes from the heater so I'm not sure sage is even possible.

I haven't compared a like circuit, SS vs Tube, but my guess is that mic mojo comes from capsule and transformer combos with a major factor being the circuit and small contributions from tubes, caps, etc.

None of the classic tube mics, with an original psu, have anything close to power sag in the B+. Non-issue.