Modding the Digital Reference DRC100
Modding the Digital Reference DRC100
Monday, July 19, 2021
OK, so what did I do with the DRC100s described in the last installment? I wanted a pair of general purpose small condensers, rugged, neutral sounding, and relatively inexpensive.
The circuit chosen is Schoeps-ish, with 24dB/octave HP filter at 30Hz. These bodies are really skinny inside, same diameter as an XLR insert. My pcb is same width as an XLR, but since it’s slightly below centerline, I had to file a half mm off each side.
After modding one, I compared it to the unmodified one. Roughly 13dB more sensitive, and flatter bass response above 32Hz. Mics side by side in front of computer speaker with “white” noise.
The original sounded slightly muffled compared to Schoeps, so #2 got the same mod. I’ll keep these capsules unless some problem turns up in use.
There are other capsules which will fit a pencil body like this, so if it turns out I don’t like these, there are options from Transound, Primo, and generic eBay or AliExpress items. There are circuit boards with versions of the generic Chinese mic circuit available on your favorite website. I modded a few with different capacitors and noise filtering for my projects.
The generic boards won’t fit into a DRC100 body because the electrolytic caps are too tall, and as mentioned, the boards are too wide. It’s close enough that by moving the printed circuit to the other side of pins 1& 2 and putting one of the added caps on the back of the PCB, it will fit.
I did a quick listen to recorded music, comparing with other mics. Thumbs up. Time will tell how much these get used, but they have the characteristics I am looking for.
