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Re: at3032 - to buy or not to buy?

Subject: Re: at3032 - to buy or not to buy?
From: "Rob Danielson" danielson_audio
Date: Wed Sep 9, 2009 9:59 pm ((PDT))
At 10:18 AM -0700 9/6/09, Dan Dugan wrote:
>
>
>. m u r m e r . wrote:
>
>>  every now and then i spot an at3032 for sale (on ebay or craig's list)
>>  and i'm always tempted to pick it up. i currently do most of my
>>  recordings with omnis (dpa 4060's) and i'm wondering if buying them
>>  would make any sense, or if i'm just attracted because i know they're
>>  hard to come by. can anyone give me a good excuse to buy another pair
>>  of low-noise omnis, or convince me that i don't need them / won't use
>>  them if i've already got the 4060's? i know the 3032's are
>>  technically
>>  quieter than the 4060's, but i don't know how they compare sound-
>>  wise...
>>
>>  perhaps if i'm going to spend anything at all i should look for
>>  something other than omnis...
>>
>>  talk some sense into me, please.
>
>I have five 3032s, four for surround and a spare. I got the spare when
>#3 of the set started popping in humid atmospheres and was sent back
>under warranty. They changed the capsule, and on the next expedition
>it was noisy again, so then they changed the electronics.
>
>Forward a year or so of reliable performance. The same one (!) started
>giving an occasional pop. It was near the end of a busy series of
>expeditions, so I didn't send it in but used #5 instead.
>
>I was recording in McGurk Meadow (Yosemite). It was my second night
>out in a row, having recorded in Mariposa Grove the night before. I
>woke a few minutes before nautical twilight, my dawn recording
>starting time. The headphones revealed #2 was frying, popping, and
>motorboating! Got up in the cold and swapped in the known-bad #3 for
>the front right just in time. Having been protected from the dew in my
>pack, that mic was good for a great dawn chorus.
>
>I sent #2 and #3 back to A-T. Now out of warranty, they replaced the
>capsules for $90 each. The mics have done one overnight since, but it
>was in a dryer location. I've also bought re-usable dessicant so the
>next time they're out more than one night I'll be able to dry them out
>better during the day.
>
>Just a story.
>
>-Dan Dugan
>

Hi Dan--
Makes one wonder what it is about #1 and #4 that have made them
immune so far, doesn't it? I've had similar experiences with NT1-A's
and NT2000's where the first 3 units are very resistant to high
humidity and getting a fourth unit proves to be a challenge even when
the serial numbers are sequential. I just kept sending them back as
you did. Rich Peet drew a perfect four with his AT-3203's. Burying
all but the capsules in high density foam "cube" might play a role
but he doesn't even cover the array in steady rain!

I've seen mics that produce a single, brief pop (opposed to sustained
fuzziness) improve dramatically in high humidity performance over
time when I can leave them permanently powered-up. Makes me think the
"pop" could be the voltage leaking all at once through an
advantageously placed dirt particle or something. I do think that
there could be subtle, but very favorable physical conditions for
humidity tolerance that manufacturers haven't thoroughly examined
yet.  Rob D.

--










"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause


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