Sennheiser MD 441 repair?

[Ximo]

Hi all,

I recently came across a few 441s in a store selling a lot of old junk. They were all broken, but the guy still wanted around $250ea for them. I'm sure i could haggle him down a bit, but would it be worth getting them and fixing them, or is the going price of $400-500 used on ebay a better bet?

I guess my question is what usually goes wrong with these things? Why would there be 3 or 4 of them all broken in the same store? How much do the standard repairs cost? Or are there any number of things that can go wrong with them so it's not worth thinking about?

I plugged one in and it only produced a very quiet, crackly, trebly signal.

Thanks for your time.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Ximo

Hi all,

I recently came across a few 441s in a store selling a lot of old junk. They were all broken, but the guy still wanted around $250ea for them. I'm sure i could haggle him down a bit, but would it be worth getting them and fixing them, or is the going price of $400-500 used on ebay a better bet?

I guess my question is what usually goes wrong with these things? Why would there be 3 or 4 of them all broken in the same store? How much do the standard repairs cost? Or are there any number of things that can go wrong with them so it's not worth thinking about?

I plugged one in and it only produced a very quiet, crackly, trebly signal.

Thanks for your time.

It depends on what is wrong with them - they could require new capsules, new XLR with bass roll-off switch modules, body parts (EG: the black top and bottom casings), etc.

The price sounds high for broken microphones that could cost a lot to repair.

I would give your local Sennheiser main agent a ring and find out how much a repair may cost - some agents do fixed-price repairs for some microphones, so this may give you an idea - or find out the cost assuming that a capsule will need replacing.

The decision is yours, but you need to go in with eyes open.

[audiotech]

I believe that I would much rather have one good working 441 than two or three broken ones, especially for the price he wants for the non functioning units. Unless it is something very basic like a broken wire or dirty switch, repairs could be costly and I don't know any repair person, including myself, that will be willing to quote you a repair cost without looking at the microphones.

BTW, I didn't want to sound as if I repair microphones, because I don't. I'm just talking repair quotes in general.

Just my opinion,
Dennis

[The Real MC]

That's REALLY high for a broken 441. I paid $250 for a working used 441.

[Ximo]

Originally Posted by The Real MC

That's REALLY high for a broken 441. I paid $250 for a working used 441.

If only I could find one of these!

Thanks for all the advice guys. Even though I'm quite handy with a soldering iron and have modded a few mics before I'll give these a miss as it seems there are too many things that could potentially be wrong with them. Have to keep an eye out for a bargain like the Real MC got.