The NADY, APEX, CARVIN, TELE M-16 all come from the same Chinese factory. It is possible that NADY, CARVIN etc have 3 micron capsules but I don't hear a lot of difference between the APEX 6 micron and the 3 micron. NADY states that they have a 6072 tube but the NADY I have was supplied with a CHINESE generic 12AX7 tube exactly like the one in the 460... which can be noisy and have too much gain for close vocals. I upgrade APEX 460 microphones because they are a Canadian company and have been good to me regarding warantee issues.
I first started replacing them with 5751 tube but found the 6072 is the best fit. It is more expensive than a 12AX7 or 5751 but can usually be bought for around $17 U.S. and will increase the headroom by 8db. The cheap chinese output transformers response is improved with the reduction in output level that the 6072 provides. A selected 12AT7 will also produce the same results with about 2db less output and I use these when 6072 tubes are not available.
These microphones can be bought directly from CHINA for about $85 but have to be ordered in lots of 50 and delivery is probably 8-10 weeks. I just fitted a PELUSO capsule into a 460 and ...WHAT A DIFFERENCE A CAPSULE MAKES.!!!!
I like selected and upgraded 460 microphones with the original capsules on acoustic instruments as the 460 has about a 3db lift at 2.7khz but it also rises slightly at about 8khz while Neumanns and the PELUSO rise slightly at just above 12khz. The Chinese capsules also vary at least + and - 3db in their response and I usually have to go through 3-6 microphones to find a matched pair with Chinese capsules. However, the PELUSO capsules are within + and - 1db of each other. With a PELUSO CEK-12 the response is much smoother and with a CINEMAG transformer fitted you now have as close to a C12 as one can get without putting out $10K ot $15K. With a PELUSO CEK-89 the response is very similar to the Neumann U67 but with 9 different Polar patterns. I also upgrade the NADY TCM 1050 which is a bit easier to fit the CEK 267 PELUSO U47 capsule into and looks strikingly like the venerable U47 tube microphone.
Best regards, Dave Thomas (Advanced Audio)
drthomas@telus.net Quote:
|
Originally Posted by orange I guessing that some of you, like me, are anxious to try out the Apex mic - These are hard to get hold of in the UK - so i did a bit of looking around. I figured that if the Chinese were supplying 2 western "badge manufacturers" with this mic they would also be supplying other companies with the same mic. The cheap ribbon mic doing the rounds as a T.bone/nady/adk/whatever is an example.
anyway i've ordered - http://www.nady.com/products/product...mmics_pg3.html
i'm guessing that it's the same mic - except this was $159. I'll open it up and take some photos when it arrives.
si |