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From: Bill Ruys on 21 Oct 2005 02:00
I have a Rode K2 that always seemed to have slightly too much self-noise for
my liking. I recently did some reading that suggested the problem could be
with the tube. I was a little skeptical about this idea, as I'd only had
the mic for a year, and always thought "how much noise can a tube really
introduce"?

I thought, what the heck, I can buy a new tube for not much more than around
US$10, so I placed an order for a couple of JAN Philips 6922 dual triode
tubes. The tube that was originally in the mic was a chinese 6N11J
(equivalent to the 6922).

The new tubes turned up the other day, and I have only today had a chance to
fit one. Before doing this, I recorded some spoken word, along with some
silence. I left the gain on my mic pre alone and then replaced the tube in
the mic, and made another recording (allowing a 10 min mic warm-up both
times).

Comparing the old tube/new tube recordings, I could hear that the gain was
very close with the spoken recordings, but the self noise during the silent
sections was *way lower* with the JAN Philips tube.

One other major difference I hear with the new tube is that when
transitioning between polar patterns (via a continuously variable pot on the
K2 power supply), the mic would "spatter" during the transition. With the
new tube it is completely silent.

Hopefully this is useful to someone else with one of these mics.

Bill Ruys.


From: Frank Vuotto on 21 Oct 2005 17:15
On Fri, 21 Oct 2005 16:52:00 GMT, "Zigakly" <no(a)no.no> wrote:

>
>That's disappointing. I thought they were shipping with Sovtek 6922's
>labeled JAN Philips, which should still be yanked and upgraded,

The Sovtec 6922 is one of the better sounding 6DJ8 types, noise or no.


Frank /~ http://newmex.com/f10
@/


From: Bill Ruys on 21 Oct 2005 19:47

"Fletch" <geoffSPAMarnold(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:djau33$ej8$1(a)news1nwk.SFbay.Sun.COM...
>
> So how is the mic overall, what are it's strengths and weaknesses, since
> you have had it for a year?
>
> Thanks,
>
> --fletch

I like the mic a lot. I'm no big time engineer, but have been doing this
for about 15 years. The K2 lends itself to male vocals. It is not in the
slightest bit harsh, like earlier Rode mics had a reputation for. The high
end of this mic is very pleasing and smooth. The proximity effect when in
cardioid mode is very forgiving and appart from the fact that it picks up
more "room" in figure-8 and omni modes, the mics character doesn't change
much between polar patterns. With the pot on the power supply, you can
customise the polar pattern in any way you like, such as add just a touch of
omni to a cardioid pattern, just to add a little room.

Having had the power supply open, I can also report that the tube is fed
with the proper high voltage plate supply. The tube is doing the impedance
conversion like it should, it's not there as a gimmick. The output stage is
bipolar transistors - no transformer.

Everyone who puts out a cheap LDC mic these days claims to "sound like a
Neumann". I wouldn't say it sounds like any particular Neumann mic, but to
my humble ears, it has the qualities that puts it in that ballpark. If I
had to characterize the mic, I'd say it has a slightly retro sound. It
reminds me of the vocals recordings from Billy Joel albums of the 70's. The
K2 is not what I'd call transparent, but the subtle coloring it adds does
something a little special to vocals.

I would probably not use this mic for drum overheads, or in any situation
where it might be prone to movement. The mic has a very strange electronic
"buzz" when subject to movement. Even the change of air pressure that
results from my studio door being opened and shut can cause this noise. I'm
not sure what that is, but it does make the mic too sensitive for anything
other than vocal or instrument micing. When I first got the mic, it had a
problem and had it's capsual and circuit board replaced. This noise has
been there both before and after that replacement, so I would say it's not a
fault specific to my mic, but rather a design issue.

Pros: *definitely worth the purchase price *excellent vocal mic *better than
any chinese mic I have ever heard *totally variable polar pattern *not hyped
up high or down low *retro character

Cons:*doesn't like movement *factory tube may need replacing *no pad *no
rolloff filter (although doesn't seem to really need one)

Bill Ruys.


From: Bill Ruys on 21 Oct 2005 19:54

"Zigakly" <no(a)no.no> wrote in message
news:Q096f.21710$Y94.21478(a)fe12.news.easynews.com...
>
> That's disappointing. I thought they were shipping with Sovtek 6922's
> labeled JAN Philips <SNIP>

You have me confused. Are you saying that someone is actually labeling a
Sovtek tube as a JAN Philips?!?

The JAN Philips tubes I bought have "USA" stamped on them and are date coded
from 1985. I'm pretty sure they are genuine. I purchased them from
thetubestore.com and they were listed as NOS. To my ears they sound great.

Bill Ruys.


From: Scott Dorsey on 21 Oct 2005 20:21
Bill Ruys <bill.ruys(a)removeme.siliconaudio.co.nz> wrote:
>"Zigakly" <no(a)no.no> wrote in message
>news:Q096f.21710$Y94.21478(a)fe12.news.easynews.com...
>>
>> That's disappointing. I thought they were shipping with Sovtek 6922's
>> labeled JAN Philips <SNIP>
>
>You have me confused. Are you saying that someone is actually labeling a
>Sovtek tube as a JAN Philips?!?

Sure, look on Ebay. A large number of the "NOS" tubes for sale out there
today are fraudulent. You can see folks selling Amperex 6550 tubes, which
were never made. You can see folks selling Telefunken tubes which are very
clearly Chinese production from the photos. Lots and lots of stuff is
being relabelled out there. It's bad enough that there are companies in
Hong Kong printing up Genalex paper labels, and lots of them printing up
new boxes with vintage names on them. Most of the boxes are very clearly
nodern printing jobs if you look carefully too. I have seen plenty of
Westrex tube boxes that were clearly made on a modern offset press with
glossy stock.

>The JAN Philips tubes I bought have "USA" stamped on them and are date coded
>from 1985. I'm pretty sure they are genuine. I purchased them from
>thetubestore.com and they were listed as NOS. To my ears they sound great.

You can't trust any of the labelling any more. But if it sounds good
and the dealer is legitimate, you're probably in the right ballpark.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
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