oops duplicate post.

I mentioned these a while ago, but they arrived. These all work great, but there are a few that need the capsules reskinned.

Aiwa VM-15 (Hi Z) Sony C-55AC, Toshiba Type G, Sony C38B .
And the damaged goods,
.
Sony C38B .
Gefell M930

So how much did that C38B come out to again? I meant to dive deeper into your Japanese auction post but can’t risk the temptation at the moment. That’s kind of a dream mic right now.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Wed Feb 12, 2025 8:26 pm So how much did that C38B come out to again? I meant to dive deeper into your Japanese auction post but can’t risk the temptation at the moment. That’s kind of a dream mic right now.

Don't go rushing to get one, they're common there and you won't miss out by waiting a bit.

The C38B's were sold together, total price was 120000jpy So at 60000jpy each, that's about $390 USD each before shipping and fees and such. I took a risk on these, knowing they could both be bad. I got one good one.

Depending on the condition and whether the seller confirms functionality, 60K~80K jpy seems to be the reasonable range. If you don't mind an ugly one, you can save a bit.

adavidmackinnon wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2025 12:05 pm Ah fuck. That's a bummer. Have you used Colepicksvintage for repairs before?. I'm curious if they will work on a D224E. I've always heard they're unrepairable. It'd be a game changer if that was wrong.
I have a working pair that I love and another with a bad LF capsule that I'd love to have fixed. I've always dreamed of using one on snare but I love them too much to risk it.

If you haven't messaged him about this yet, consider dropping him a quick note—his response time is usually super fast.
I've sent him a pile of EV mics a while back and was super happy with it all. Totally recommend. Kind of amazing that he's fast, good, cheap, and friendly. At least, that's what my experience has been.

That reminds me, I need to get my Coles BBC lip ribbon mic to him as well. The foam the mic rests on in the cool ass case is melting on the mic.

There was a little period where I was buying every ~$100 mic he posted and you have to be FAST to do that. They’re all great.

thecr4ne wrote: Tue Feb 11, 2025 11:30 pm I mentioned these a while ago, but they arrived. These all work great, but there are a few that need the capsules reskinned.

Aiwa VM-15 (Hi Z) Sony C-55AC, Toshiba Type G, Sony C38B

.
And the damaged goods,
.
Sony C38B

.
Gefell M930

Not bad candidates for MicParts.com capsules. I replaces the cap in my TLM103 with one of those and A/B'd it against one at work and I couldn't tell the difference.

Got a USB battery pack and a 5v USB to 9vDC converter plug on its way. My bassist and I have been doing an open mic about once a week while we’re ramping up to being a loud rock band again (currently waiting on final revisions to our upcoming album, locking down a rehearsal space &c), and he whipped up a small board for a tuner, compressor and Sansamp Paradriver running off a USB battery pack. I’ve got a small acoustic board myself but want to slim it down and not have to worry about plugging into power, so I’ve got those components on the way. Probably not gonna be any crazier than tuner, my Palmer acoustic preamp and maybe a Keeley Mag Echo. (I was going to have a bi-amped setup that also included a cheap amp sim pedal going to another channel, but my bassist thinks that’s impractical. He’s not wrong but damnit I think it’d sound cool! But also you don’t want to be that guy who takes a whole fortnight to set their shit up at an open mic.)

Kniferide wrote: Thu Feb 13, 2025 8:53 pm Not bad candidates for MicParts.com capsules. I replaces the cap in my TLM103 with one of those and A/B'd it against one at work and I couldn't tell the difference.

Don't think I'd go that route for these, being significantly different capsule styles than those offered by micparts (and others). Word is $350~$450 each to re-skin the capsules, which, ouch. At that price, I'd just order a new capsule for the Sony, which is a bit over $350, and see if I can sell the bad one to someone who does the re-skinning. I'd probably look into the same approach for the gefell. Not in a rush with those prices though.

defendyachtrock wrote: Fri Feb 14, 2025 8:43 am Got a USB battery pack and a 5v USB to 9vDC converter plug on its way.

I tried to go this route a few years ago and found that the DC-DC converter was so noisy as to make the rig unusable. Audible aliasing of the boost converter switching frequency was making it into the signal path. Sounded like a high frequency whine. A better quality converter might have produced better results.

I've been thinking about building a little box with a 5V - 12V boost converter followed by a linear LDO regulator set to 9 V to get the benefit of the added PSRR. Or maybe a single LLC boost circuit in ZVS mode.