Any body ever notice HUGE inconsitencies with MXL 603 capsules?

S

santiu

Rock-scientist
Hi all. So i just did the capacitor upgrade mod to a pair of 603s that I have. In the process, i tried to get some recordings so i could hear the difference in the upgrade.

Prior to now, i never did any testing to compare my 603 pair. i always assumed, same mic, must sound similar.

After modding one body, i did my first test and noticed an astonishing difference. I found it hard to believe the mod would make such a big difference. I then modded the other body and discovering that i wasn't hearing the difference from the mod, but rather differences between the two capsules.

Attached are two recordings so you can hear what i'm talking about. mic placement is about two drum sticks above the left edge of the snare drum pointing straight down. No processing done. I tried to match the gains as well as I could. I swapped the capsules back and forth a few times (between two modded bodies) and got repeatable sounds every time. I kept the bodies in place, and just swapped the capsules, so i don't think i'm hearing a difference due to the small change in position. One capsule is dark and sounds like it has a lower mid bump; the other is bright and brittle.

anyhow, just wondering if anybody out there has experienced the same thing with 603 capsules. maybe one of mine is defective? For those of you that own 603s, which one sounds more like yours?

Dark 603 Capsule
Bright 603 Capsule
 
This is the general problem with ALL low-end products be they mics or transmissions.

There is very little consistency in the quality control.

Though I do hear its getting better. So they either test more thoroughly or they have lowered the standards so all units pass.

I'm not meaning to pick on MXL in particular, but mean this as a general blanket statement. The older Octavas were wildly different from mic to mic, as are most mics from this era. When Studio Projects came on the scene they did change the way quality control was looked at for a lot of these companies and now we have a better quality of low-end equipment. Whether you like SP or not they did make it better for all of us as far as being able to buy fairly well-built usable economy gear.
 
Michael, it is permissible to have commercial links in your signature, but not in the body of a post where that content is not germane to the OP's question.
 
santiu said:
Hi all. So i just did the capacitor upgrade mod to a pair of 603s that I have. In the process, i tried to get some recordings so i could hear the difference in the upgrade.

Prior to now, i never did any testing to compare my 603 pair. i always assumed, same mic, must sound similar.

After modding one body, i did my first test and noticed an astonishing difference. I found it hard to believe the mod would make such a big difference. I then modded the other body and discovering that i wasn't hearing the difference from the mod, but rather differences between the two capsules.

Attached are two recordings so you can hear what i'm talking about. mic placement is about two drum sticks above the left edge of the snare drum pointing straight down. No processing done. I tried to match the gains as well as I could. I swapped the capsules back and forth a few times (between two modded bodies) and got repeatable sounds every time. I kept the bodies in place, and just swapped the capsules, so i don't think i'm hearing a difference due to the small change in position. One capsule is dark and sounds like it has a lower mid bump; the other is bright and brittle.

anyhow, just wondering if anybody out there has experienced the same thing with 603 capsules. maybe one of mine is defective? For those of you that own 603s, which one sounds more like yours?

Dark 603 Capsule
Bright 603 Capsule
Click to expand...

Indeed, variations between those capsules often are not small. The first reason is the sloppinness of assembly--for example out of hundreds of capsules which went through my hands I saw quite a few instances with the spacers missing.
Another problem is the plastic piece of time delay circuit (you can see it looking at the back of the capsule) is molded and material shrinks (you can even see air bubbles trapped inside), leaving unpredictable tolerances, with response all over the place.
Yet, another reason is the diaphragm tuning is not very precise, so all together gives you what you hear.

Best, M
 
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