Need MK219 info

[EddieRay]

I just picked up an MK-219 from GC. It came in little black bag. No specs or operating instructions. Oktava's website doesn't even mention it, except that the MK-319 is also known as the 219A.

Are there any english lang docs on it? What do the two switches on the back do?

 

[H2oskiphil]

The switches on the back are for the -10db pad and the high-pass filter.

Looks like MF has discontinued not only the 219, but the entire Oktava line.

 

[M Havlen]

That's to bad, I have a 319 and I like it for vocals. Wonder why they are discontinuing?

 

[DJL]

Most likely because they're not selling enough of them.

 

[crazydoc]

Here's a little info on it, including frequency and polar graphs.
http://www.lydsystemer.no/produkter/mikrofoner/oktava/mk219.htm

 

[ozraves]

I like the MK219 for hand percussion.

 

[DJL]

I have a 319.

 

[kid klash]

That's to bad, I have a 319 and I like it for vocals. Wonder why they are discontinuing?

The guys at the local GC said that the build-quality and inconsistency of the Oktava mics is why they're dropping the line. He said that a good 30% of the 319s won't connect to an XLR connector because the mic body casting is so poorly machined. Also, it's nearly impossible to find two 319s that sound alike. He also said that the return rate (yeah... I know... mics aren't "returnable" due to health issues) was waaaaaay too high before they started blowing them out.

Spec-wise, the 219 spec sheet looked almost identical to the 319 spec sheet. They both sound dark to me, and the 219 sounds particularly "boxy" IMHO.

 

[crazydoc]

Spec-wise, the 219 spec sheet looked almost identical to the 319 spec sheet. They both sound dark to me, and the 219 sounds particularly "boxy" IMHO.

I think they are the same capsule and possibly the same electronics, just in a different housing which is supposed to improve the sound of the mic. This is just from memory of something I read, but I certainly could be wrong.

 

[EddieRay]

Thank you!

Thanks for great info guys. I now have a better understanding of why these mics were so cheap to buy. I haven't used it much so far and I don't have a really great LDC mic to compare it to, but it does indeed sound better than the dynamics I have. Even though the XLR connector is a little snug I'm not unhappy with it.

How do they fare over the long haul?

 

[cominginsecond]

Oktavas are great! Even the GC ones. It's too bad they're giving up on them.

 

[ozraves]

Someone posted over at another board that he was told that GC wasn't giving up on Oktava. Has anyone called GC and asked them?

 

[chessparov]

The body of the 219 "rings" audibly at certain frequencies, per Ty Ford, a noted pro engineer and reviewer.

Chris

 

[dejacky]

can this be corrected with slight dampening from inside the capsule?

http://home.earthlink.net/~altaflux12ax7/history/history.html

he says the mk219 capsules sound good.??

-dejacky

 

[Marik]

<can this be corrected with slight dampening from inside the capsule?>

Although I did not play with the MK219, I am sure its sound can be much improved with proper dampening of the grill itself. I remember Michael Jolly's post here and on RAP, where he talks about it.

 

[MichaelJoly]

Oktava mods

Use Google groups. Search: "Oktava Joly" - one "l" only in Joly

 

[Marik]

Sorry Michael, I misspell your name.
I guess because I don't see here it often
Did you get the hint?

 

[dejacky]

MichaelJoly,
THANK YOU! and btw, do you have any sound samples comparing modded mics, etc? Also, does the Oktava MK219 (modded version) have that "harsh-like-edge" similar to the MXL mikes even after the MXL royer is modded?

-dejacky

 

[MichaelJoly]

Marik - yeah I've been absent, real life (job changes, moving) are intervening

Dejacky - Sorry no, samples - the studio is packed up for a while

The modified 219's and 319's are never harsh in the way many of the Chinese capsules some times are. That's one of the reasons I like the Oktava capsule.

With the HF boost disc removed, these mics have a nice smooth top end that rises 3dB/Octave from 2.5kHz to 10kHz then rolls off smoothly to 13kHz where it is still +4dB relative to 2.5kHz. Drops like a rock after 13kHz.

With the stock HF boost disc in place, 10kHz is boosted another 3dB but phase cancellations are introduced which notch the frequency response and impair transient response.

I'm always amazed that these mics get slagged off as "too dark". Well yeah, compared to most of the screachy stuff that's out there.

The issue of harshness aside, the 219/319 has, to my ear, a really great lower midrange presence that is very commanding and almost agressive. This gets back to my earlier thoughts about "voicing" - I think these mics were voiced by individuals with very clear aural ideas about what a large diaphragm condensor should sound like on certain sources. Big.

Anyone who heard radio Moscow in the 60's will know what I mean.

Now, If I could only make some money as an Oktava shill...

 

[Robert D]

I'm always amazed that these mics get slagged off as "too dark". Well yeah, compared to most of the screachy stuff that's out there.

I think these mics were voiced by individuals with very clear aural ideas about what a large diaphragm condensor should sound like on certain sources. Big.

Very well said. I think the 319 is one of the most under-rated and mis-understood mics around.... not because I own one and don't know any better. Yes, mine has an ill fitting XLR connector too, but it has a smooth and un-hyped sound that works very well for me in many cases, often winning out over my much more expensive LDCs. It's a mic without an identity crisis, one that knows how it wants to sound, and isn't trying to sound like something else, along with a bunch of other cheap imitators.