Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/07 22:57:32
(permalink)
Got an MKL 2500 from Guitar Center, appears to be the Russian version with Chinese power supply and cable.
Ohhey's cable fix removes the extremely loud hum that makes the mic unuseable. (Before doing the fix, I was able to get the hum to go away by flexing the cable near the XLR connector at the mic end).
However the residual hum is still loud enough to make the mic unuseable for some purposes. Seems to have not only the 60 Hz, but maybe harmonics at 120 and 180 Hz. Yeah, you can EQ it out somewhat, but only with 15 db of cut. That's a lot of hassle just to use a cheap mike.
Not sure this is worth keeping with the residual hum issue.
Have you or your friend had any luck with swapping out the power supply?
Or connecting/grounding the unused wire in the cable?
Philo
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/07 22:59:34
(permalink)
One way to tell the difference between the hums:
The cable related hum persists as long as the output cable is plugged from the power supply to whereever it is going, REGARDLESS of whether the power supply is on or off.
The residual hum (post-fix) goes away if the power supply is turned off.
Philo
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/07 23:06:37
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Philo
One way to tell the difference between the hums:
The cable related hum persists as long as the output cable is plugged from the power supply to whereever it is going, REGARDLESS of whether the power supply is on or off.
The residual hum (post-fix) goes away if the power supply is turned off.
Philo
Well wish me luck I'm going to keep trying to find a fix. I'm brave enough to connect pin 3 to ground  Say a few kind words for me if I go "poof". I'll study the thing some more this weekend before I try it. The first thing I'm going to try is just cuting the wire loose at the mic end, no reason to let it be an antena. Then I'll try grounding it.
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/07 23:17:52
(permalink)
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/07 23:22:03
(permalink)
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/07 23:42:14
(permalink)
Looks like the Chinese power supply in your picture is fairly different from the Russian one in the second page of the Prodigy-pro.com link. The Russian PS has a torrodial transformer, which is supposed to reduce radiation. The Chinese PS has a standard transformer.
Looks to me like there are at least 3 variations:
1) Original Russian mic and PS
2) Russian mic and Chinese PS
3) Chinese mic and Chinese PS
Likely an indicator of the importer's relations with the Tula, Russia factory--once they had a falling out, the importer began substituting Chinese parts--first the PS, then the whole Mic.
Anyway, from the schematic it looks like wire 6 is connected to the mic body/transformer case, and intended to be a ground, but is not connected via the mic cable. Grounding it would probably be OK, but don't blame me if it blows up the mic!
Philo
Philo
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 01:10:55
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Philo
.....
Anyway, from the schematic it looks like wire 6 is connected to the mic body/transformer case, and intended to be a ground, but is not connected via the mic cable. Grounding it would probably be OK, but don't blame me if it blows up the mic!
Philo
LOL ! Ok, fair enough.. I have another one if I let the smoke out of the first one. It's a lot of fun for $99.
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 07:03:31
(permalink)
If you have two, the first thing I would try is swapping out the power supplies to see if one is quieter than the other.
After all, non-invasive measures are better tried first, and you might be able to return a humming power supply for a working one.
The bad news is that if the transformer swap in the Chinese power supply is the culprit for the residual hum, then they will all hum and swapping the PS won't work. You'd have to build a completely new power supply from scratch (or adapt one).
Philo
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 10:32:24
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Philo
If you have two, the first thing I would try is swapping out the power supplies to see if one is quieter than the other.
After all, non-invasive measures are better tried first, and you might be able to return a humming power supply for a working one.
The bad news is that if the transformer swap in the Chinese power supply is the culprit for the residual hum, then they will all hum and swapping the PS won't work. You'd have to build a completely new power supply from scratch (or adapt one).
Philo
Yeah.. I tried that. The good news is that both of mine sound (and work) exactly the same so I will be able to compare them.
|
Orwell247
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 7
- Joined: 2005/09/05 23:49:43
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 12:41:14
(permalink)
i think a lot of people are getting confused about these oktava MKL-2500 mics. The actual microphone component(if they appear like the pictures ohhey posted earlier) are legit, straight from russia, Oktava tube mics. If on the other hand, you received a mic which looks like the pictures i posted, i regret to inform you that your mic is Chinese, brother. Reguardless of that, all the power supplies, to my knowledge, are Chinese made and obviously the cables are as well(you don't think that Oktava would ship a cable with a gnarley grounding problem would you?). Anyways, I think Orwell247 was confused about his purchase. If his mic had the russian character on the casing, could be plugged in with the provided cable, and had a hum issue, then he had a Russian 2500(a Chinese PSU and a Chinese Cable). To be honest, i would take a Russian Oktava tube over an MXL tube anyday. Hey Guys, First off, thanks for all your help. You guys have been amazing. The latest: I ended up returning the Oktava to GC BUT I am awaiting a call back from one of the Oktava US Reps regarding how to tell which mics are the fakes and if it is indeed only the PSU and Cable that are Chinese. So I'll keep you posted. Also I ended up bringing home the AKG 100 perception, that I tested 2x's against the MXL 2100 and for my voice type I liked the AKG better, it also seeemed to be a hotter mic as we didn't have to turn up the gain as much as the 2100. I also unexpectedly recieved as a gift from my bro the MXL 997. He got the Mic for $59 at Musicians Friend and it came with a shockmount and a pop screen and it's a pretty decent mic. Nowhere near the AKG but geez for $59 I was really impressed. I'll definitely use it. Thanks again Guys.
|
Orwell247
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 7
- Joined: 2005/09/05 23:49:43
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 13:40:32
(permalink)
UPDATE:
Just spoke with the US Rep for Oktava who was really great and helpful. He's been flooded with tons of calls and is pretty upset with the whole thing. It's a huge deal cuz GC (being one of the largest retail music chains) is continuing to sell these illegal counterfiet mics. The rep also explained that it is tarnishing the name of Oktava to all of the customers that are buying these and have no idea they are frauds.
Anwyay, on to the matter.
Apparently it was a company out of the UK that put together the counterfeiting. All the PSU's and chords are, as you guys know, Chinese. If you buy a true Oktava you get all Russian merchandise, no substitutes.
The counterfeit mics seem to be a mixture of what look to be real Oktava mics mixed in with Chinese Oktava Mics. The way to tell if you have a Russian mic is by looking for a serial # at the base of the mic where the cable plugs in. So far, they think that the counterfeits do not have serial #'s. (And they aren't positive that the mics are true Oktava Mics)
He also mentioned that the Russian PSU is vastly diffferent than the Chinese. By his account the Russian PSU sends more power to the Tube which provides a much higher quality of sound. Where as the chinese unit, even if you get rid of the hum will not give you the power capable to give you the TRUE Oktava sound. And this is where he said it is also creating a bad name for Oktava, cuz you have professionals fixing the hum but they aren't truly getting the full Oktava sound and thus think the mic is inferior quality.
Can any of you "masters of sound" throw down on if you think this is a possibility?
Thats all for now...keep an eye out, cuz we may seem some major stuff happening on this.
|
3MV
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 4
- Joined: 2005/09/08 14:03:53
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 14:27:25
(permalink)
I have what appears to be the Russian version of the 2500 purchasd from GC. It has a noticable hum so I tried the "Ohhey" jumper fix, but it does not fix the hum, at all! The cable and PS connectors are all grounded (I tested the continuity of the ground signal path). When I opened the PS box, the transformer (which was coated with plastic) had been scraped free of the coating around the two bolts that held it in, and it appears to be grounded as well. There is way more hum than you would ever want to try and EQ out. Any suggestions as to what my next course of action might be?
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 14:40:02
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: 3MV
I have what appears to be the Russian version of the 2500 purchasd from GC. It has a noticable hum so I tried the "Ohhey" jumper fix, but it does not fix the hum, at all! The cable and PS connectors are all grounded (I tested the continuity of the ground signal path). When I opened the PS box, the transformer (which was coated with plastic) had been scraped free of the coating around the two bolts that held it in, and it appears to be grounded as well. There is way more hum than you would ever want to try and EQ out. Any suggestions as to what my next course of action might be?
One way to test if my fix will help is to touch the chrome catch button on the 6 pin XLR (mic end) to the case of the mixer or preamp you are using. I was using an Alesis Studio 32 so I was able to touch it to the rim of one of the 1/4" jacks on the back of the mixer and the bad hum went away. However, this is still a tiny bit. But grounding the XLR collar should make a BIG difference. Might want to check the cable to make sure all the wires are soldered good and the pins are all there. See my pinout above for reference. I have two of them and the cable fix has fixed both of them. I'm also in touch with some "real" smart guys (not me) to find out what else can be done. I'm going to try some things this weekend and will report back when I find more fixes that I know will work. We may also be able to improve the sound and noise floor of the mic with a resistor swap, I have some very good quality 1g ohm resistors left over from my last custom mic build that I can try. And since I have two of them I can mod one and do an A/B. If it turns out good I'll post an MP3 of the the A/B test on my web site.
post edited by ohhey - 2005/09/08 14:50:00
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 16:10:08
(permalink)
Orwell247--
I suppose one obvious question is whether the US Oktava rep can sell the Russian power supply/cable separately, and if so what they would cost. From the pictures, they are quite different from the CHinese PS.
Philo
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 16:23:14
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Philo
Orwell247--
I suppose one obvious question is whether the US Oktava rep can sell the Russian power supply/cable separately, and if so what they would cost. From the pictures, they are quite different from the CHinese PS.
Philo
They would have to be cheap for me to do that and I would have to have to option to return it if it was no better then the one I have.
|
3MV
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 4
- Joined: 2005/09/08 14:03:53
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 16:37:44
(permalink)
I checked my cable against the Ohhey "pin out" using continuity, and mine matches. I guess the noise I'm hearing is what Ohhey referred to as "a little bit of 60hz hum". Incidently, is it normal for the 2500 to make periodic loud and thumpy\bassy noises while the tube is warming up? Philo mentioned that there are pictures that ID the difference between a Russian and Chinese PS. Where are they exactly, I can't seem to locate them on this thread and I am thinking I should figure out which one I actually have. I suppose if my PS is Chinese, then that's that, and I probably have to replace it to get a clean sound out of this mic. If I can't solve it, I'll probably take the mic back to Guitar Center with a wild-eyed look as I wade through their "no returns on mics due to health issues" policy with one of their knowledgable staff.
Rick Waldow - video producer
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 17:01:52
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: 3MV
I checked my cable against the Ohhey "pin out" using continuity, and mine matches. I guess the noise I'm hearing is what Ohhey referred to as "a little bit of 60hz hum". Incidently, is it normal for the 2500 to make periodic loud and thumpy\bassy noises while the tube is warming up? Philo mentioned that there are pictures that ID the difference between a Russian and Chinese PS. Where are they exactly, I can't seem to locate them on this thread and I am thinking I should figure out which one I actually have. I suppose if my PS is Chinese, then that's that, and I probably have to replace it to get a clean sound out of this mic. If I can't solve it, I'll probably take the mic back to Guitar Center with a wild-eyed look as I wade through their "no returns on mics due to health issues" policy with one of their knowledgable staff.
Hold on a while and see what I come up with.. rather then return it you could just put it on e-bay, I'm thinking you will get more then you paid for it. The last one went for 139.00 final auction price. I think there are a lot of guys who live in an area that doesn't have a Guitar Center that would love to get one of those to work on. All you need is two of them to keep the bidding going..
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 17:34:58
(permalink)
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 17:44:10
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Philo
Try this link and scroll down to see pics of the Russian power supply.
http://www.prodigy-pro.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=509&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15
Philo
I'm not an expert but the Russian one looks worse then the one I have. No shield between the xformer and the board and cheap funky looking construction. Like I said I would not pay much for that thing. I wonder if the pinout to the cable even matches ?
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 19:18:53
(permalink)
Agree about funky looking construction of the Russian PS, but I also note that the torroriadal (sp??) transformer is supposed to not radiate so much EM energy--which translates directly into hum.
Impossible to weigh the design tradeoffs from pictures, though.
Good luck with your experiments--please report back!
Philo
|
hottlungs
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 4
- Joined: 2005/08/31 19:21:52
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 19:38:20
(permalink)
hey guys, i purchased a Russian MKL-2500 mic and PSU off my friend and returned one of my Russian/Chinese 2500 kits. The difference in quality of sound is unreal. I am also in the process of making some cables for these suckers. Pacific Radio in Los Angeles sells Mogami cable for $1.12 a foot and they also carry 6 pin and 7 pin neutrik connectors for $6.94 and $7.92 respectively(www.pacrad.com). With the Russian PSU there is no lingering hum after the cable mod, and i assume that after a complete cable switch, the quality will continue to get better. Keep in mind that i still have a Russian mic/Chinese PSU combo that I'm dealing with, so I'll look into trying to get the Chinese PSU hum free. Ohhey, if you figure something out let me know, and in the mean time I'll open up my Russian PSU and see how the Russians did their thing.
daniel daniel
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 22:17:37
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: hottlungs
hey guys, i purchased a Russian MKL-2500 mic and PSU off my friend and returned one of my Russian/Chinese 2500 kits. The difference in quality of sound is unreal. I am also in the process of making some cables for these suckers. Pacific Radio in Los Angeles sells Mogami cable for $1.12 a foot and they also carry 6 pin and 7 pin neutrik connectors for $6.94 and $7.92 respectively(www.pacrad.com). With the Russian PSU there is no lingering hum after the cable mod, and i assume that after a complete cable switch, the quality will continue to get better. Keep in mind that i still have a Russian mic/Chinese PSU combo that I'm dealing with, so I'll look into trying to get the Chinese PSU hum free. Ohhey, if you figure something out let me know, and in the mean time I'll open up my Russian PSU and see how the Russians did their thing.
daniel daniel
Cool ! So the pinouts are the same on the power supplys so you can just swap them out ? Let me know how the cable turns out I would like to build one if it helps. I also thought the cable might just be too long and I was going to cut one of mine down. Do you have the stuff from Pacific Radio yet ? Do the connectors fit ? Oh ! and check the russian power supply and see where pin 3 of the 7pin XLR goes, is it connected ground ?
post edited by ohhey - 2005/09/08 22:25:33
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/08 22:28:37
(permalink)
FYI, was just informed that Oktava USA is talking with the factory about importing power supplies as a separate item. No word on likely cost. Philo
|
Orwell247
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 7
- Joined: 2005/09/05 23:49:43
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/09 16:59:29
(permalink)
Orwell247--
I suppose one obvious question is whether the US Oktava rep can sell the Russian power supply/cable separately, and if so what they would cost. From the pictures, they are quite different from the CHinese PS.
Philo
Hey Philo, I shot an email to Oktava. Will let you know what I hear. Orwell247
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/10 03:06:44
(permalink)
Ok, guys I found the problem. The 110/220 swtich on the power supply is in the wrong position ! It's set for 220. Flip it the other way and the hum is all gone. The label stamped on the plastic of the switch is correct the white painted labels on the case are backward. I think you also need to do the ground hack but now mine are both hum free. Enjoy.
By the way I did take one power supply apart and jumper pin 3 of the 7 pin XLR to ground but that didn't do any more good then the cable jumper, the power supply voltage switch got rid of the last of it.
Let me know if that fixes yours.
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/10 09:41:12
(permalink)
Doesn't look like changing the switch made any difference at all with mine.
My Chinese power supply makes an audible ACOUSTIC hum, as well as the electical hum.
Glad this worked for you, though.
Philo
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/10 15:34:18
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Philo
Doesn't look like changing the switch made any difference at all with mine.
My Chinese power supply makes an audible ACOUSTIC hum, as well as the electical hum.
Glad this worked for you, though.
Philo
That should not be.. are you sure the switch is engauged all the way ? There should be NO acoustic hum on a working one, I have two and they both work fine after the mods.
|
Philo
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 14
- Joined: 2005/09/07 22:50:28
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/10 17:01:57
(permalink)
Well some success--but I'm not sure exactly how.
I opened up the power supply and did some looking. The position of the 110/220 switch made about a 5 V difference in the mic voltage (120V to 125V), and raised the heater voltage from 5V to about 6.5V. There may have been some AC on the heaters, but I didn't get a good enough read with the meter to say for sure.
I rerouted the lines carrying the 2 audio signals from the mic cable jack to the output cable jack so they no longed crossed the LED ground and were elevated as high above the circuit board as they would go. (These perhaps could be replaced with shielded cable). Then I put everything back together.
There is still a small residual hum (and a small acoustic hum from the PS), but much reduced from the earlier residual hum (and a lot lower than the original LOUD hum that Ohhey's fix took care of).
The net result seems to be much quieter from a hum standpoint, to the point where the mic is useable.
Not sure whether rerouting the signal wires or just taking apart and putting back together did the trick--but I hope it lasts!
Flipping the AC switch alone did NOT make the difference though.
You're probably right than a new cable would be a good investment, especially if you could shield the signal lines from the lines carring the mic power.
Philo
|
3MV
Max Output Level: -90 dBFS
- Total Posts : 4
- Joined: 2005/09/08 14:03:53
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/10 18:38:29
(permalink)
Philo,
I'd be interested to know which wires you re-routed in the PS [color and pin designation] so I could try that on mine. I guess I already had the right voltage selected 'cause when I switched it, it got real loud. Thanks in advance for any info. Also, I asked about this before but no one answered: are these mics supposed to give off bassy thumping noises as they warm up?
Rick Waldow - video producer
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 2003/11/06 16:24:07
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: Fake Oktava MKL 2500 from GC hum, fixed !
2005/09/10 18:40:17
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Philo
Well some success--but I'm not sure exactly how.
I opened up the power supply and did some looking. The position of the 110/220 switch made about a 5 V difference in the mic voltage (120V to 125V), and raised the heater voltage from 5V to about 6.5V. There may have been some AC on the heaters, but I didn't get a good enough read with the meter to say for sure.
I rerouted the lines carrying the 2 audio signals from the mic cable jack to the output cable jack so they no longed crossed the LED ground and were elevated as high above the circuit board as they would go. (These perhaps could be replaced with shielded cable). Then I put everything back together.
There is still a small residual hum (and a small acoustic hum from the PS), but much reduced from the earlier residual hum (and a lot lower than the original LOUD hum that Ohhey's fix took care of).
The net result seems to be much quieter from a hum standpoint, to the point where the mic is useable.
Not sure whether rerouting the signal wires or just taking apart and putting back together did the trick--but I hope it lasts!
Flipping the AC switch alone did NOT make the difference though.
You're probably right than a new cable would be a good investment, especially if you could shield the signal lines from the lines carring the mic power.
Philo
The other thing you might try is replaceing the signal pins jumpers with a small section of shielded wire and also solder the shield to ground. That way that little section will be shielded too.
|