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

[dab0815]

In st51.
Connect PIN1 of male xlr on your mic to 4th pin which is where tightening screw of the XLR is. This way you grounded the body. Make sure screw is tightened, and has good connection to the body. Connect pin1 also to ground of the pcb. Connect capsule backplate to pcb ground, don't connect it to the body. Make sure diaphragm wire is connected to the right side of coupling cap. In the past i made mistake and connected it directly to the fet. Positive lead of the capsule should go the side of the cap that is not connected to the fet.

did all that

Check if the transformer is connected right. Primary should be connected to ground and coupling cap, secondary which goes to xlr should not be grounded!

transformer is connected like it was in the old body. didnt unsolder it.. just unsoldered the connection from the xlr and then back to it in the new body..

Go through this schematic, it is basically the same as st51. Check if everything is where it should be. Check continuity with a multimeter.

as i said im not really able to read schematics i try and it makes some sense. and from what i can read everything should be correct..
how to i test the grounding with multimeter? where do i test it? i checked google but everything i could get was for electrical outlets..

EDIT: resoldered everything again just to be sure.. still the same.. i think i officially give up.. :/

 

[ccaudle]

Engineers bash ceramic capacitors because they change their capacitance value as the applied voltage changes.

Engineers know that there are multiple solid dielectric formulations which all fall under the general "ceramic" umbrella, and that you should never use high-K dielectrics like X7R or Y5U for audio signals, but C0G (also known as NP0) in addition to having very low temperature coefficient has almost 0 voltage coefficient of capacitance. C0G capacitors are actually lower distortion than film caps, but single capacitors are only available in pretty small values, you have to make a parallel array in a lot of cases to get the capacitance you need. By that point the C0G array is almost as large and expensive as a film cap, but does have the advantage that they are available in quantity (some film caps have been discontinued or are more difficult to source), and can be manufactured with SMD equipment (important for volume production).

 

[kato]

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

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

So these are actually the same bodies Mangley uses for the Ref. C? Cool eh?



I had to buy one cuz they look cool. Be glad, those of you who got one at $30. They're now $82.13 from Alibaba. No bargain, but I went ahead anyway. It arrived in 13 days.

Electret capsule. In a world where you can get an MXL or Sterling with a full-size condenser capsule for the same price, it's a questionable purchase. But I wanted that sweet anodized pink aluminum.




My hope is this could have a transparent head basket that lets a quality capsule shine without meshy reflections. I dunno if it's open enough. Time will tell.



Thank goodness they shipped it in a silvered paperboard box, because it would've arrived banged up in a padded envelope. (This was shipped in 3 layers of bubble wrap.)




Must desolder ground wire to remove mic from shell.



Circuit board.



They sent an extra free circuit board and 4 screws. They could've saved like 20¢ if they left it out.



Hope that's helpful for anyone else thinking about dropping $82.

 

[hazmatstrat]

Does anyone know the B+ and heater voltage on the Manley Reference C? The model that has the 12ax7 tube.

Thanks

 

[kingkorg]

Here's the final mic. Took a while to complete, due to logo tampon printing in another country. Needless to say the mic is for private use and never going to be sold. Disclaimer for those worried about copyright issues.

 

[shabtek]

whaaat dude?

 

[kingkorg]

With the latest version of the body they nailed the red color, however they screwed up the cap, so i had to cut the hole and make the top grille. Also some grounding issues this time around as the body is made out of aluminium. It was extremely difficult to solder.

 

[Khron]

Here's the final mic. Took a while to complete, due to logo tampon printing in another country. Needless to say the mic is for private use and never going to be sold. Disclaimer for those worried about copyright issues.

In order to totally avoid legal issues, you could've just made it say "Manly" (although i am aware of how sexist that might sound... no pun intended) Or "Manlee"?

 

[kingkorg]

That would bring way too many bad memories from the 90's Reobak, Nikey, Abidas fakes...

I guess I should be ok since it's for personal use.

Not trying to fool anyone besides those who like to look instead of listen to audio gear.

Besides that, this mic sounds nothing like cardioid reference, if i wanted that i'd just use Sterling st51.

 

[vmanj]

Manley Ref C - very little technical information is freely available.
Is it 2 amplification stages with an plate load and feedback?

 

[qspart]

Manley Ref C - very little technical information is freely available.
Is it 2 amplification stages with an plate load and feedback?

Yes . From capsule signal Flows to grid (pin 2 )comes out plate(pin1) Through .01uf cap then back to grid (pin 7) then out the plate (pin 6) to 3uf multicap then to transformer.

 

[Icantthinkofaname]

With the latest version of the body they nailed the red color, however they screwed up the cap, so i had to cut the hole and make the top grille. Also some grounding issues this time around as the body is made out of aluminium. It was extremely difficult to solder.

They just wanted you to be able to stack them like Austrian Audio does.

 

[soliloqueen]

That would bring way too many bad memories from the 90's Reobak, Nikey, Abidas fakes...

I guess I should be ok since it's for personal use.

Not trying to fool anyone besides those who like to look instead of listen to audio gear.

Besides that, this mic sounds nothing like cardioid reference, if i wanted that i'd just use Sterling st51.

蛮力/Mán lì means "brute force" apt for how the microphone was put together and from what...

 

[kingkorg]

Yes . From capsule signal Flows to grid (pin 2 )comes out plate(pin1) Through .01uf cap then back to grid (pin 7) then out the plate (pin 6) to 3uf multicap then to transformer.

So basically Apex460 topology? Feedback is just for pad?

 

[qspart]

Maybe topology ,but I wouldn’t say so ,it’s quite a bit different.
Transformer is dual output for manley with feedback loop to cathode (pin 3) through cap an resistor and other pin of second half of transformer output connected to -10db pad which is connected to ground . Also apex takes signal off cathode ,while manley from plate .
And there are resistor on both sides of the cap between tube pin 1 and 7 connected to ground .

 

[kingkorg]

Maybe topology ,but I wouldn’t say so ,it’s quite a bit different.
Transformer is dual output for manley with feedback loop to cathode (pin 3) through cap an resistor and other pin of second half of transformer output connected to -10db pad which is connected to ground . Also apex takes signal off cathode ,while manley from plate .
And there are resistor on both sides of the cap between tube pin 1 and 7 connected to ground .

Ok, get it, thanks. If you have some time on your hands and you are willing maybe you could do a schematic mockup.

 

[qspart]

I will give it

Ok, get it, thanks. If you have some time on your hands and you are willing maybe you could do a schematic mockup.

I might give it a go at some point. For now I did some internal pictures, maybe you will find them helpful .

 

[kingkorg]

Your mic looks much tidier than those previously posted here. Nice to see.

 

[rod]

With the latest version of the body they nailed the red color, however they screwed up the cap, so i had to cut the hole and make the top grille. Also some grounding issues this time around as the body is made out of aluminium. It was extremely difficult to solder.

Hi,
i´m tired of all the u47 builds and would like to do something different. I cant find any of these mic bodies. Do you have a link for me?

cheers, rod

 

[kingkorg]

Hi,
i´m tired of all the u47 builds and would like to do something different. I cant find any of these mic bodies. Do you have a link for me?

cheers, rod

The ones i ordered are no longer available. But i've seen them around. You need to search harder, Alibaba, Aliexpress. Last ones i ordered had the upper cap closed, no mesh, so i had to lathe the hole and make the mesh.

Edit:
Here's black one. Ask them if they have other models.

https://m.alibaba.com/product/16003...800000","type":"appDetailShare"}&from=Android