[Les Cargill]

wrote:

On Mar 10, 8:20 pm, (hank alrich) wrote:

Mike Rivers wrote:

Ty Ford wrote:

Thanks to Hank Alrich for sending me an MCA SP1.
I have just uploaded some two channel files to my server.
TLM 103 versus SP1 and Rode NT2-a versus SP1

What's an SP1? Is that the cheap mic that Jim Williams mentions every
time someone mentions a more expensive cheap mic?

Yes, it's that one. I finally succumbed to curiousity and spent about
$94 on a pair of them, including shipping and CA state sales tax. Ever
since, I've been seeking shock mounts that don't cost more than the
mics. g I think I've found 'em at BSW, from On Stage, about $25 each.


So, putting on my producer's hat, what did YOU think? I don't have the
patience to download the files and get them to someplace where I can
listen to them over something more useful for comparison than Minimus
7 speakers on my "good" computer.

I think it's sort of stupidly good for the money, and actually not bad
regardless of cost. i wanted to hate it but the times I've put it up the
tracks were entirely usable. I look forward to either modding it myself,
if I can figure out what to put where and where to get the what to put
there, or sending it to Jim for the mods.

I think one of the reasons it sounds decent is that it's
transformerless, using a clone of the Schoeps circuitry. I still hear a
little edge that I don't hear in some much more expensive LDC's (this
has a 20 mm. diaphgram, sort of a smal LDC), and I wonder if the mods
will reduce that. But seriously, for what it sounds like and what it
cost, I can't see paying one cent more for a Chinese cardioid LDC. I've
heard several that cost many multiples of forty bucks that don't sound
as good.

The construction is not on a par with some famous name brands, the
cicuit board being mounted on some leftover Erector Set parts. When
reassembling it one must be careful not to try to tighten the body
solidly, because it will never feel solid in the way a U87 does, and if
one keeps twisting I'm pretty sure the Erector Set parts will give up
the cheese ghost in this particular machine.

--
ha
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam


The hard sound from these is a result of some of the parts they use.
The cap off the casule is a mono ceramic, bad choice. I use a MIT
MultiCap there. I replace the 2sk170 fet which I find to sound cloudy
to a fast J305 from Siliconix. The bipolars are changed to Hitachi
2sa1083's. I up the polarization voltage from 40 to 57 volts which
increases output by around 5 db. That plus the lower noise
semiconductors makes this a very quiet mic. The ouput caps are
enlarged to allow 20 hz to pass and those are bypassed with more MIT
caps. I use Dale RN55 resistors for the audio path. Panasonic FM
electrolytics are used for long term reliability. Some of mine I
installed Kimber black pearls silver teflon wire off the capsule.

I have 14 of these. They are the best cheepo mic made. Many users have
reported that these hold up well against the Fatherland originals. I
agree.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades


Thank you very much, Jim.

--
Les Cargill

[Les Cargill]

drichard wrote:

Hi Les,

Yes, I got one too. For $40 it's worth it just to play with. And
except for the ultra-cheesy packaging, I'm very pleasantly surprised.
I can find things to use this mic on, for sure.


I may leave 'em unmodified as my go-to acoustic guitar
mics. They won't pass a key jingle test, but the resulting
sound from an acoustic is pretty dang useful. I'll try 'em
on overheads after a while, when I can set something up.

They are, in the original, nauseating on mandolin without
some low pass filtering If Albert Collins played
mandolin...

But I'm tempted to attempt Mr. Williams mods as
specififed. Might purchase another pair for that.

Dean

On Mar 16, 10:10 pm, Les Cargill wrote:

drichard wrote:

Pro Sound Stage and Lighting shows them as in stock, for $39.95. I'm
not sure if that's up-to-date, or not.

It is, it is. Mine came in to-day.

snip

--
Les Cargill



--
Les Cargill

[Ty Ford]

On Sat, 17 Mar 2007 19:15:46 -0400, Les Cargill wrote
(in article ):

wrote:

On Mar 10, 8:20 pm, (hank alrich) wrote:

Mike Rivers wrote:

Ty Ford wrote:

Thanks to Hank Alrich for sending me an MCA SP1.
I have just uploaded some two channel files to my server.
TLM 103 versus SP1 and Rode NT2-a versus SP1

What's an SP1? Is that the cheap mic that Jim Williams mentions every
time someone mentions a more expensive cheap mic?

Yes, it's that one. I finally succumbed to curiousity and spent about
$94 on a pair of them, including shipping and CA state sales tax. Ever
since, I've been seeking shock mounts that don't cost more than the
mics. g I think I've found 'em at BSW, from On Stage, about $25 each.


So, putting on my producer's hat, what did YOU think? I don't have the
patience to download the files and get them to someplace where I can
listen to them over something more useful for comparison than Minimus
7 speakers on my "good" computer.

I think it's sort of stupidly good for the money, and actually not bad
regardless of cost. i wanted to hate it but the times I've put it up the
tracks were entirely usable. I look forward to either modding it myself,
if I can figure out what to put where and where to get the what to put
there, or sending it to Jim for the mods.

I think one of the reasons it sounds decent is that it's
transformerless, using a clone of the Schoeps circuitry. I still hear a
little edge that I don't hear in some much more expensive LDC's (this
has a 20 mm. diaphgram, sort of a smal LDC), and I wonder if the mods
will reduce that. But seriously, for what it sounds like and what it
cost, I can't see paying one cent more for a Chinese cardioid LDC. I've
heard several that cost many multiples of forty bucks that don't sound
as good.

The construction is not on a par with some famous name brands, the
cicuit board being mounted on some leftover Erector Set parts. When
reassembling it one must be careful not to try to tighten the body
solidly, because it will never feel solid in the way a U87 does, and if
one keeps twisting I'm pretty sure the Erector Set parts will give up
the cheese ghost in this particular machine.

--
ha
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam


The hard sound from these is a result of some of the parts they use.
The cap off the casule is a mono ceramic, bad choice. I use a MIT
MultiCap there. I replace the 2sk170 fet which I find to sound cloudy
to a fast J305 from Siliconix. The bipolars are changed to Hitachi
2sa1083's. I up the polarization voltage from 40 to 57 volts which
increases output by around 5 db. That plus the lower noise
semiconductors makes this a very quiet mic. The ouput caps are
enlarged to allow 20 hz to pass and those are bypassed with more MIT
caps. I use Dale RN55 resistors for the audio path. Panasonic FM
electrolytics are used for long term reliability. Some of mine I
installed Kimber black pearls silver teflon wire off the capsule.

I have 14 of these. They are the best cheepo mic made. Many users have
reported that these hold up well against the Fatherland originals. I
agree.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

Having heard the one Hank was kind enough to send. I am very impressed. I
don't know if they got lucky with that one mic/capsule or if they have
stumbled on to something they can reproduce.

Jim, I'd be willing to test one of yours against the NT2-a and TLM 103 and
put those files up on my site with the others for comparison.

Regards,

Ty Ford



--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU

[Steve King]

"Ty Ford" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Mar 2007 19:15:46 -0400, Les Cargill wrote
(in article ):

wrote:

On Mar 10, 8:20 pm, (hank alrich) wrote:

Mike Rivers wrote:

Ty Ford wrote:

Thanks to Hank Alrich for sending me an MCA SP1.
I have just uploaded some two channel files to my server.
TLM 103 versus SP1 and Rode NT2-a versus SP1

What's an SP1? Is that the cheap mic that Jim Williams mentions every
time someone mentions a more expensive cheap mic?

Yes, it's that one. I finally succumbed to curiousity and spent about
$94 on a pair of them, including shipping and CA state sales tax. Ever
since, I've been seeking shock mounts that don't cost more than the
mics. g I think I've found 'em at BSW, from On Stage, about $25 each.


So, putting on my producer's hat, what did YOU think? I don't have the
patience to download the files and get them to someplace where I can
listen to them over something more useful for comparison than Minimus
7 speakers on my "good" computer.

I think it's sort of stupidly good for the money, and actually not bad
regardless of cost. i wanted to hate it but the times I've put it up
the
tracks were entirely usable. I look forward to either modding it
myself,
if I can figure out what to put where and where to get the what to put
there, or sending it to Jim for the mods.

I think one of the reasons it sounds decent is that it's
transformerless, using a clone of the Schoeps circuitry. I still hear a
little edge that I don't hear in some much more expensive LDC's (this
has a 20 mm. diaphgram, sort of a smal LDC), and I wonder if the mods
will reduce that. But seriously, for what it sounds like and what it
cost, I can't see paying one cent more for a Chinese cardioid LDC. I've
heard several that cost many multiples of forty bucks that don't sound
as good.

The construction is not on a par with some famous name brands, the
cicuit board being mounted on some leftover Erector Set parts. When
reassembling it one must be careful not to try to tighten the body
solidly, because it will never feel solid in the way a U87 does, and if
one keeps twisting I'm pretty sure the Erector Set parts will give up
the cheese ghost in this particular machine.

--
ha
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam


The hard sound from these is a result of some of the parts they use.
The cap off the casule is a mono ceramic, bad choice. I use a MIT
MultiCap there. I replace the 2sk170 fet which I find to sound cloudy
to a fast J305 from Siliconix. The bipolars are changed to Hitachi
2sa1083's. I up the polarization voltage from 40 to 57 volts which
increases output by around 5 db. That plus the lower noise
semiconductors makes this a very quiet mic. The ouput caps are
enlarged to allow 20 hz to pass and those are bypassed with more MIT
caps. I use Dale RN55 resistors for the audio path. Panasonic FM
electrolytics are used for long term reliability. Some of mine I
installed Kimber black pearls silver teflon wire off the capsule.

I have 14 of these. They are the best cheepo mic made. Many users have
reported that these hold up well against the Fatherland originals. I
agree.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

Having heard the one Hank was kind enough to send. I am very impressed. I
don't know if they got lucky with that one mic/capsule or if they have
stumbled on to something they can reproduce.

Jim, I'd be willing to test one of yours against the NT2-a and TLM 103 and
put those files up on my site with the others for comparison.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Ty, I'd be happy to send you mine. That way you could not only test another
stock SP1 but also be able to test it against Jim's mod, which I would love
to hear.

Steve King

[hank alrich]

Mike Rivers wrote:

On Mar 17, 11:26 am, wrote:

The cap off the casule is a mono ceramic, bad choice. I use a MIT
MultiCap there. I replace the 2sk170 fet which I find to sound cloudy
to a fast J305 from Siliconix. The bipolars are changed to Hitachi
2sa1083's. I up the polarization voltage from 40 to 57 volts which
increases output by around 5 db. The ouput caps are
enlarged to allow 20 hz to pass and those are bypassed with more MIT
caps. I use Dale RN55 resistors for the audio path. Panasonic FM
electrolytics are used for long term reliability. Some of mine I
installed Kimber black pearls silver teflon wire off the capsule.

Not much left of the original than the capsule and the case, is there?
Have you done any experiments with damping the metal parts or opening
up the grill?

Capsule, case, and the circuit board, which is easily accessed and looks
spacious enough and old fashioned enough for folks less skilled and
equipped than Jim to work with.

--
ha
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam

[hank alrich]

drichard wrote:

Hi Jim,

Do you do this as a service for others? If so, how much do you charge
to upgrade an SP1 as you've described? Do you have a website?

Thanks,

Dean

www.audioupgrades.com

Jim is famous, in an underground sort of way compared to Britney, for
his upgrades.

--
ha
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam

[hank alrich]

Ty Ford wrote:

Jim, I'd be willing to test one of yours against the NT2-a and TLM 103 and
put those files up on my site with the others for comparison.

And if you needed a stock SP1 again against which to compare the mod'd
one, holler.

--
ha
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam

[Ty Ford]

On Sun, 18 Mar 2007 17:45:36 -0400, hank alrich wrote
(in article ):

Ty Ford wrote:

Jim, I'd be willing to test one of yours against the NT2-a and TLM 103 and
put those files up on my site with the others for comparison.

And if you needed a stock SP1 again against which to compare the mod'd
one, holler.



either Hank's or Steve's....I'm in.

Ty

--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU

[Arny Krueger]

"hank alrich" wrote in message

drichard wrote:

Hi Jim,

Do you do this as a service for others? If so, how much
do you charge to upgrade an SP1 as you've described? Do
you have a website?

Thanks,

Dean

www.audioupgrades.com

Jim is famous, in an underground sort of way compared to
Britney, for his upgrades.

Unfortunately, there's no entry for the SP1 on the relevant web page:

http://www.audioupgrades.com/pl1.html

[hank alrich]

Arny Krueger wrote:

"hank alrich" wrote:
drichard wrote:

Hi Jim,

Do you do this as a service for others? If so, how much
do you charge to upgrade an SP1 as you've described? Do
you have a website?

Thanks,

Dean

www.audioupgrades.com

Jim is famous, in an underground sort of way compared to
Britney, for his upgrades.

Unfortunately, there's no entry for the SP1 on the relevant web page:

http://www.audioupgrades.com/pl1.html

The Audiogrades website is not a fine example of recent upgrading. g

Email Jim directly or give him a call.

--
ha
Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam

[Les Cargill]

hank alrich wrote:

Arny Krueger wrote:


"hank alrich" wrote:

drichard wrote:


Hi Jim,

Do you do this as a service for others? If so, how much
do you charge to upgrade an SP1 as you've described? Do
you have a website?

Thanks,

Dean

www.audioupgrades.com

Jim is famous, in an underground sort of way compared to
Britney, for his upgrades.

Unfortunately, there's no entry for the SP1 on the relevant web page:

http://www.audioupgrades.com/pl1.html


The Audiogrades website is not a fine example of recent upgrading. g

Email Jim directly or give him a call.


Jim said this in the thread ( message ID
.com

"The hard sound from these is a result of some of the parts they use.
The cap off the casule is a mono ceramic, bad choice. I use a MIT
MultiCap there. I replace the 2sk170 fet which I find to sound cloudy
to a fast J305 from Siliconix. The bipolars are changed to Hitachi
2sa1083's. I up the polarization voltage from 40 to 57 volts which
increases output by around 5 db. That plus the lower noise
semiconductors makes this a very quiet mic. The ouput caps are
enlarged to allow 20 hz to pass and those are bypassed with more MIT
caps. I use Dale RN55 resistors for the audio path. Panasonic FM
electrolytics are used for long term reliability. Some of mine I
installed Kimber black pearls silver teflon wire off the capsule."

That is at least a start. The only thing mysterious to me is
"up the polarization voltage", but I have yet to buzz the card out -
I presume it's a resistor swap, and seems the last thing to try
if it's not.

--
Les Cargill