
noisedude
New member
alright a hundred bucks then...and sell the stand separately.
DJL said:Of course the trick to selling those cheap budget mics is to trick people into thinking they are as good as other top name brand mics.
What's not possible?arcanemethods said:Care to explain in detail why that is not possible?
Bob
Very good point. Strength in numbers, so to speak...ozraves said:...if you see the same problems coming up again and again then that should be a warning sign.
noisedude said:i think he meant he wanted you to say why it's not possible to make mics as good as expensive ones for $100. but i guess that doesn't really need answering *slaps head*
arcanemethods said:Yes, design of a good condenser mic is a difficult task but in the end there is hardly a simpler device (compare one to a sub $100 hard disk drive, for example) and with today's precision robotic manufacturing processes there is no reason at all that a better mic can't be produced by machines than by hand. With high enough production the price can be quite low without implying _any_ decrease in the quality of the product.
There is nothing about a mic capsule that presents even a modest challenge to existing precision production technology.
Bob
arcanemethods said:
There is nothing about a mic capsule that presents even a modest challenge to existing precision production technology.
Bob
Someone here once said Stephen Pual was the first to make 3 micron diaphragm, and Neumann had a hard time doing it... do you think there was any truth to that... and if not, does that mean the SPA diaphram is not really anything special?arcanemethods said:Actually, it does. I was hoping that DJL could provide some answers instead of his incessant questions and requests for information.
Yes, design of a good condenser mic is a difficult task but in the end there is hardly a simpler device (compare one to a sub $100 hard disk drive, for example) and with today's precision robotic manufacturing processes there is no reason at all that a better mic can't be produced by machines than by hand. With high enough production the price can be quite low without implying _any_ decrease in the quality of the product.
There is nothing about a mic capsule that presents even a modest challenge to existing precision production technology.
Bob
DJL said:Someone here once said Stephen Pual was the first to make 3 micron diaphragm, and Neumann had a hard time doing it... do you think there was any truth to that... and if not, does that mean the SPA diaphram is not really anything special?
cominginsecond said:Good point. I never thought of that. I would guess that the reason why really good mics are not yet being made at the sub $100 level is that the level of R and D dollars are not nearly as high for mics as they are for hard drives.
Thanks Bob, I love learningarcanemethods said:I find it unlikely that Stephan actually cast a 3 micron film but you never know. It may have been difficult to find a film strong enough to be tensioned to the proper compliance at that thickness, I don't know, but doing something the first time and reproducing it in manufacturing are quite different things.
What thinner diaphragms do is shift the knee where operation changes from compliance controlled to mass controled to higher frequencies. This allows the use of lower tension and higher compliance which increases the sensitivity of the mic as well as improving low frequency performance and reducing proximity effect.
Bob
arcanemethods said:What thinner diaphragms do is shift the knee where operation changes from compliance controlled to mass controled to higher frequencies. This allows the use of lower tension and higher compliance which increases the sensitivity of the mic as well as improving low frequency performance and reducing proximity effect.
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DJL said:Thanks Bob, I love learning... and I too wish Alan would focus on helping us learn rather than selling on this bbs because I think he could be a great asset. Peace
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noisedude said:
arcane - there's far more art to the production of musical equipment than there is for computer components. that, after all, is why purists still prefer analog recording methods!! a DA converter is essentially soulless whilst a vintage reel will instill its own sound! the money goes on the R+D i guess, not the physical process!
alanhyatt said:Its not the ability to make it...its the ability to understand it, and to design it correctly. You just don't drill a backplate and slap them together. While some companies in China still do it that way, the good ones don't anymore.
arcanemethods said:I'd appreciate input from Alan as to the degree of automation employed in the production of his mics but I also appreciate the proprietary nature of such information.![]()