freezing temperature and condenser mics - Bad???

teainthesahara

teainthesahara

New member
Hey everyone,
I orded an MXL 603 to be delivered throught he mail...
Unfortunately, the sender forgot to write my apartment number on the package, and the mic sat in someone elses mailbox for about 24 hours - during that time span, the temperature dipped between -10 and -15C!!!! Crap! Today it's above 0. Im letting it warm up before i try it out. Should i be worried ? Will this cause some type of long term damage ?

Thanks,
T
 
Generally electronics and also mics shouldnt have problems with this. The only problem is that if there was moister inside the mic that expanded. But generally they pack cillica gells packets inside the case and stuff to help prevent that. Let it warm up to room temperature and try it. You probably wont have much trouble.

danny
 
According to the microphone designers on this forum, large barometric pressure changes and or extreme temperature changes can damage the diaphragm in a condenser microphone.
 
Last edited:
You know those fedex/UPS trucks aren't heated...neither are their planes or drop stations. Everything you order during the winter is going to get mighty cold during its trip to your door. If this was something really dangerous then I'd imagine we'd see a lot of people complaining about receiving broken microphones.

I understand where you're coming from though. Even though I know dang well that anything I order is frozen before it gets anywhere's near my house, I still insist on picking items up instead of having them sit out in the cold on my doorstep.

Slackmaster 2000
 
If they never heard the mic before it was frozen, they may not know it use to sound different before it was damaged by the cold.
 
You're right, my point is simply that if it were a bad problem, microphones would require special shipping procedures. Remember, even microphones at your local store were shipped there...possibly exposed to even worse conditions than UPS/fedex (e.g. good luck trucking).

Slackmaster 2000
 
Your also right, and when ordering expensive mic's, special shipping instructions may be a good idea.
 
Thanks for the input everyone;
I let the mic warm up, and checked it out. The mic was packaged well, and i didn't see any signs of moisture (externally, or as far as you can see into it from the top). I plugged it in and compared it to my other mxl 603s ordered from the same place. To my relief, they sound identical, and they sound GOOD! I also did some checking around, and on a few spec sheets for some akg condensor's i have, the manufacturer claims that the operating temperature for those mics can be as low as -10C. So, assuming that there was no moisture in the mic, a gradual temperature drop and rise of that magnitude should not normally pose a problem I'm thinking.

Slackmaster: Yeah, i was also thinking that the delivery process would entail some freezing....so im less worried..maybe condensor mics will become a seasonal commodity for me from now on....spring and fall....!


T
 
Well, i left my 603s in my car for a month in februray in South Bend, it didn't get sub 0s, but it was in the single digits for quite a while. I haven't noticed any difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top