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5. Re: noisy 8020 mics

Subject: 5. Re: noisy 8020 mics
From: "Danny" dannymeltzer
Date: Wed Oct 5, 2011 8:49 pm ((PDT))
The internet is both and good and bad in these situations.  Companies play =
it conservatively to deal with inevitable issues that arise without admitti=
ng unwarranted fault.  One person has a problem, another does and they post=
 about it and the consensus becomes that the item is flawed and the company=
 is trying to pull the wool over our eyes.  That said, people who don't hav=
e a problem do not post or go online looking for solutions so the majority =
of discussions will relate to people who have had problems.  This skews the=
 way things seem.  I'm not saying that these mics don't have problems, but =
it is not correct to say that if a company does not monitor every possible =
discussion forum that they are trying to pull a fast one on us.

--- In  Gregory O'Drobinak <=
.> wrote:
>
> It is really disheartening that Sennheiser is producing mics of such poor=

> quality. I'm not sure at this point that I would even consider buying an =
of
> these 8000 series mics, even if I could spare a kidney to pay the exorbit=
ant
> price that they ask for  pair of them.
>
> I would think that if Sennheiser had any gumption at all that they would =
have
> one of their representatives address these issues to all of the members o=
f our
> list in straight-ahead manner without sweeping it under the rug and givin=
g us
> stupid excuses. It may cost them a momentary loss of face, but I think th=
at
> people appreciate honesty in the long run. Give us the straight dope and =
tell us
> what you're going to do about it.
>
> Then again, maybe this heralds the beginning of the end of the good life =
as we
> know it. Time to buy another pair of AT-4022s (& maybe some 4021s) and ge=
t ready
> for ????. Oh yes: also get some good dynamic mics with high SPL ratings. =
They
> are always good in blast zones!    :>}
>
> Cheers!
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: vickipowys <>
> To: 
> Sent: Wed, October 5, 2011 8:31:16 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] noisy 8020 mics
>
> Antoine,
>
> The whole series may be affected.
>
> Send them back.
>
> Tell your shop that many people have the problem, even Australie!
>
> Give them a sample recording of noise on a CD.
>
> Vicki
>
>
>
> On 06/10/2011, at 12:16 PM, agriboval wrote:
>
> > Sorry for the trouble to listen to the files, put them on the blog
> > as advised. I understand your language poorly, you advise me to
> > send them back for repair or is the whole series that seems to be
> > affected? Thank you for your answer!
> > Antoine
> > http://braconnages.unblog.fr/
> >
> >
> > --- In  bruce seifried
> > <eclairengineering@> wrote:
> >>
> >> Oh, man. I know this issue well. Unfortunately.
> >>
> >> Rather than trust my sometimes quirky memory, I will copy/paste part
> >> of one of my emails to my dealer:
> >>
> >> *********
> >>
> >> "Here's a recap of my MKH8020/8040 adventure:
> >>
> >> =C3=A2=C2=80=C2=A2 Original order was for one pair each of MKH8020 ste=
reo set, and
> >> MKH8040 stereo set. Order date 5/8/08.
> >>
> >> =C3=A2=C2=80=C2=A2 One of the 8020 omnis went bad on my first remote j=
ob. Intermittent
> >> full output noise spikes ruined recording.
> >> This pair was replaced by Sennheiser on approximately 7/1/08.
> >>
> >> =C3=A2=C2=80=C2=A2 New pair of 8020's both went bad before my first jo=
b with them.
> >> Both
> >> initially had low-level crackly noise problems. One of them
> >> subsequently improved, but both were returned to Sennheiser for a
> >> refund.
> >>
> >> =C3=A2=C2=80=C2=A2 The 8040 pair were initially fine, and worked in my=
 studio. They
> >> were set up here prior to a remote job in October, and one developed
> >> the same low-level crackles that the second 8020 pair had. This noise
> >> took about a minute to get going before manifesting itself, and was
> >> then continuous. These were returned to Sennheiser for a refund.
> >>
> >> I returned the 8020/8040 pairs for a refund reluctantly, since I did
> >> very much like their sound, especially the 8020s, but I no longer
> >> trust that these microphones are reliable enough for me to use in a
> >> professional situation.
> >>
> >> As a circuit designer myself, I will hazard a guess as to what might
> >> be the cause of these problems.
> >>
> >> If it were not for the intermittent full-level noise problem with the
> >> first 8020 pair, I would guess that there was some form of
> >> contamination to the high impedance section of the pc boards
> >> happening
> >> during manufacture, perhaps due to incomplete removal of flux during
> >> soldering. Another possibility is a bad batch of FETs or transistors
> >> sneaking into production. Less likely but still possible would be bad
> >> capacitors. Obviously, I did not open these to determine for certain
> >> what the problem(s) was/were.
> >>
> >> However, I did notice that the small circular pc board located
> >> between
> >> the two halves of the microphones was not firmly attached in place,
> >> and was not always accurately centered. In fact, in one of the
> >> mics as
> >> initially received it was so far out of alignment that there were
> >> positions of rotation of the XLR assembly where the pin was
> >> barely, if
> >> at all, making contact with the circular pc board trace. This
> >> might be
> >> a design decision that should be rethought, at least to improve on =

> >> the
> >> dimensional tolerances  involved."
> >>
> >> *********
> >>
> >> My dealer, Steve Remote at Aura Sonic, was a complete saint during
> >> this nightmare, and managed to get Sennheiser to completely refund =

> >> the
> >> cost of these microphones. I have refrained from going public about
> >> all this, since I had not seen any other mention anywhere of anyone
> >> else having these sorts of problems, and I was beginning to doubt my
> >> own sanity. I tried these mics with different mic cables, two
> >> different Sound Devices 702 recorders, the KORG DSD recorder, and the
> >> outcome was always the same. Sennheiser denied that anyone else was
> >> having these problems. Apparently, I'm not insane, as is now
> >> apparent.
> >> Yay!
> >>
> >> I feel your pain!
> >>
> >>
> >> bruce seifried
> >> eclair engineering
> >>
> >>
> >> On Sep 22, 2011, at 4:21 AM, vickipowys wrote:
> >>
> >>> All,
> >>>
> >>> Does anyone else have problems with periodic loud fizzing noise from
> >>> Sennheiser 8020 mics?
> >>>
> >>> Sennheiser replaced one set of mics ('faulty capsule' they said) but
> >>> the noise persists in the replacement mics despite me checking
> >>> absolutely everything by way of leads and phantom power voltage and
> >>> connectors etc. etc.
> >>>
> >>> Help please!
> >>>
> >>> Vicki Powys
> >>> Australia
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> > sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie
> > Krause.
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>








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