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Post by tkaitkai on Jan 22, 2020 22:32:52 GMT -6
Posted about this on GS but figured I'd ask here, too.
Lately, I've been noticing a very subtle distortion with my M149. It's not inherent to the mic itself (I've used M149s in the studio many times), and I've ruled out cables, preamps, converters, outboard, and the room.
It doesn't sound like a dirty capsule, a bad tube, or typical grounding/electrical issues (no noise/hum/buzz, and no intermittent signal). It basically sounds like a veeeeeery slight harmonic distortion.
I'd be happy to send it off for repair if necessary, but first, I'd love some thoughts on clean power. I've had everything plugged into a rackmount Livewire "power conditioner" (basically a glorified power strip) for several years. I get voltage spikes from a nearby AC unit every time it kicks in (visible on my Apollo meters), and the Livewire does basically nothing to shield against this.
Here's a brief clip for anyone interested. I'd recommend headphones, as the distortion I'm hearing is quite subtle.
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Post by winetree on Jan 22, 2020 23:31:16 GMT -6
What units are used in the vocal chain?
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Post by tkaitkai on Jan 23, 2020 3:55:06 GMT -6
What units are used in the vocal chain? M149 -> Wunder PEQ2R -> Golden Age Comp-3A -> Apollo I've tried using no outboard and just going M149 -> Apollo, and I've tried using a different interface, and the issue is still there.  |
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Post by kcatthedog on Jan 23, 2020 5:06:45 GMT -6
Do you have access to another psu and or mike and tube. I’d switch things up first to double check.
How old is mike?
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Post by EmRR on Jan 23, 2020 6:45:18 GMT -6
First thing always is to pull the tube and reseat it. I don't see that in your post. May not change a thing, but rule it out.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jan 23, 2020 8:46:45 GMT -6
Yes, you must first reseat the tube, and if possible, try a new tube. My buddy had a new Warm WA47, The tube was slowly going bad. For a while it just seemed like that was how the mic sounds, it wasn't obviously the tube. But after a while it got worse, and it was easy to hear the tube issue. Warm sent him a new tube, and the mic worked perfectly ever since. Might not be the same in your case, but it''s worth a try.
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Post by spindrift on Jan 23, 2020 10:35:53 GMT -6
I have had problems with Wunder Preamps (PEQ2R, and PAFour+ specifically) popping and making noise while other preamp brands did not. Ultimately, it was due to a crappy ground. The outlet my gear was plugged into was using the conduit as the ground. I re-rerouted my power to an outlet with a copper ground wire connected back to the panel and the issues abated. I’d try a different preamp first.
That M149 is so hot, you can probably plug it into your converters directly and bypass the preamp all together for testing.
Also, If you don’t know how to deal with 120v AC, call an electrician and get him to verify proper wiring in your house.
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Post by spindrift on Jan 23, 2020 12:03:16 GMT -6
Follow-up thought: I wouldn’t worry too much about power conditioning until you know your outlet is wired properly.
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Post by tkaitkai on Jan 23, 2020 16:08:48 GMT -6
Do you have access to another psu and or mike and tube. I’d switch things up first to double check. How old is mike? No other PSU unfortunately, but I might pick up another cheap mic for testing. Good suggestion! Not sure of the exact age, but it has the newer case + PSU, so I’d guess maybe 10 years or so. EmRR and @martin John Butler Unfortunately the M149 (along with the M147) has its tube soldered in place, so any tube swaps need to be performed by a tech. Probably the only thing I don’t like about this mic. I have had problems with Wunder Preamps (PEQ2R, and PAFour+ specifically) popping and making noise while other preamp brands did not. Ultimately, it was due to a crappy ground. The outlet my gear was plugged into was using the conduit as the ground. I re-rerouted my power to an outlet with a copper ground wire connected back to the panel and the issues abated. I’d try a different preamp first. That M149 is so hot, you can probably plug it into your converters directly and bypass the preamp all together for testing. Also, If you don’t know how to deal with 120v AC, call an electrician and get him to verify proper wiring in your house. Funny enough, I also get clicks/pops with my Wunder, but I have to seriously crank it to hear them (i.e. in + out gain maxed out). When I first bought it, I had some very audible crackling noises, but after speaking to Mike at Wunder, it turned it was just oxidation on the push buttons + knobs, and was solved by turning/pushing everything several times. I haven’t tried going directly into the line amp of my Apollo, but I’ll do that today. |
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Post by EmRR on Jan 23, 2020 17:56:14 GMT -6
Ok if it’s soldered in that’s clearly not the problem. You could melt the solder joints in case one has broken free.
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Post by tkaitkai on Jan 23, 2020 20:38:47 GMT -6
So I tried another power conditioner tonight. Picked up a Furman for about $250 and it's making no improvement whatsoever — actually, the spikes when my AC unit kicks in are even worse with this thing.
I also tried the M149 -> Apollo line input. No difference there, either.
At this point, I'm getting super frustrated and I think it's time to just send it off for repair.
Although there's also the possibility that my mic sounds fine and I'm just obsessively overanalyzing... hard to tell!
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Post by christopher on Jan 23, 2020 21:16:25 GMT -6
What you describe reminds me of my Rode Classic. It has a similar cable connector. The connectors like this where there’s pins and screw down are not the best. If the pins aren’t seated perfectly there will be problems. You kind of have to seat the pins, twist and hold the cable to make sure the male pins are making good contact with the female while screwing it down. Eventually the connector fails and even shorts with other wires. I’ve resoldered my connectors a few times, total pain but it works every time. The long term solution I found.. once the pins are seated and working no issues, don’t ever disconnect or put away. I don’t know if this will help.. good luck!
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