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Post by jazznoise on May 15, 2021 5:09:43 GMT -6
Howdy, hope Yr all keeping well.
So I'm back to recording here for the first time in a while. Was doing drums with a band and was distracted talking while mixing up the kit. I had a modded Apex 460 mic on one side and the Wa47 on the other and unfortunately I'd mixed up the PSU's. Whoops!
Both mics seem to be working but I feel the Wa47 is darker now. Have I damaged the tubes in these by driving the heaters too hot? Have I just gotten paranoid? Any advice would be appreciated!
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Post by Guitar on May 15, 2021 5:13:26 GMT -6
It's hard to say exactly what got damaged without having them in front of me, but yeah, some damage is certainly possible. I would trace the voltages, the pinout of the cables, measure the voltage on both PSU rails, check the maximum voltage ratings of the components inside the mic. And just inspect for burning, black colors, smells, things like that. Make sure the power supplies are healthy as well.
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Post by kcatthedog on May 15, 2021 6:10:02 GMT -6
Do you know which was which?
Since the psu would just be doing what is supposed to do and sending power to the mike, isn’t it more likely the mike could damaged?
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Post by EmRR on May 15, 2021 6:49:02 GMT -6
I assume both use 6V tubes, and the high voltage can vary considerably before there’s a problem in many cases.
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Post by kcatthedog on May 15, 2021 7:38:31 GMT -6
I just meant a real 47 psu starts at like 230v and drops down to, is it 105v, not certain if Warm 47 psu does. So, was wondering what the different psu outputs are supposed to be ?
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Post by mike on May 15, 2021 9:32:14 GMT -6
The tube in the WA47 is inexpensive or Warm Audio will likely send you one for free if you call their tech support, should you decide to compare your current tube to a new one.
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Post by EmRR on May 15, 2021 10:55:32 GMT -6
I just meant a real 47 psu starts at like 230v and drops down to, is it 105v, not certain if Warm 47 psu does. So, was wondering what the different psu outputs are supposed to be ? The drop is very common, most tube things do that. I was going through an ancient preamp/PSU set recently that comes up at 600V, drops to 275 as tubes warm up. Still going strong after 85 years. |
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Post by kcatthedog on May 15, 2021 11:08:03 GMT -6
Oh, I understand ad I built Max’s mk-u47, I meant the outputs of his two psu, to establish if they were performing to factory spec? If the outputs are close to each other unlikely it would damage either mike ?
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Post by EmRR on May 15, 2021 12:14:32 GMT -6
I imagine damage from capsule bias sucking a diaphragm down long before I imagine tube damage from B+ differences, assuming filaments are the same voltage rating. Filaments are pretty durable too, ever try to kill one on a tube tester? I've pushed weak 12AX7's up above 30V for several minutes before they popped. In fact, filament 'rejuvenation' is pushing a filament higher than normal, to cook off some garbage and bring some more active elements to the surface, within reason.
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Post by jazznoise on May 15, 2021 13:17:53 GMT -6
I imagine damage from capsule bias sucking a diaphragm down long before I imagine tube damage from B+ differences, assuming filaments are the same voltage rating. Filaments are pretty durable too, ever try to kill one on a tube tester? I've pushed weak 12AX7's up above 30V for several minutes before they popped. In fact, filament 'rejuvenation' is pushing a filament higher than normal, to cook off some garbage and bring some more active elements to the surface, within reason. This is my fear. The output seems fine but the tone does seem to have changed and I'm worried the capsules may have been damaged if exposed to a very voltage. I can easily swap the tubes but I would accept if the gain seems normal that they still work. There's no weird noises like from diapraghm humidity, but I do feel the high frequency response has changed. Likewise the polar patterns seem to work fine. My feeling is the capsules of either are not dead, and the tubes are probably fine as the time was so short. My worry is there was some damage, but I've no real way to test it. The pinouts for both supplies are wildly different but the B+ rails are similar. |
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Post by the other mark williams on May 17, 2021 9:45:42 GMT -6
I imagine damage from capsule bias sucking a diaphragm down long before I imagine tube damage from B+ differences, assuming filaments are the same voltage rating. Filaments are pretty durable too, ever try to kill one on a tube tester? I've pushed weak 12AX7's up above 30V for several minutes before they popped. In fact, filament 'rejuvenation' is pushing a filament higher than normal, to cook off some garbage and bring some more active elements to the surface, within reason. This is my fear. The output seems fine but the tone does seem to have changed and I'm worried the capsules may have been damaged if exposed to a very voltage. I can easily swap the tubes but I would accept if the gain seems normal that they still work. There's no weird noises like from diapraghm humidity, but I do feel the high frequency response has changed. Likewise the polar patterns seem to work fine. My feeling is the capsules of either are not dead, and the tubes are probably fine as the time was so short. My worry is there was some damage, but I've no real way to test it. The pinouts for both supplies are wildly different but the B+ rails are similar. You may have to send that WA-47 back to Warm (or maybe to cdkelly who designed it originally, I believe) to get a proper checkup. Sucks, man. And in the future, maybe use a label maker on the supplies? Easy to do something like this when in conversation with the band. |
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Post by kcatthedog on May 17, 2021 10:32:06 GMT -6
Have you actually confirmed the two psu’s put out significantly different power in volts? You have ‘t mentioned having a MM and confirming the b+ voltage or do you know this from product literature?
While the mike’s are designed to optimize performance at a certain voltage, this can naturally vary in the field and normally the mike wouldn’t be damaged ?
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