KOKKEDAL, Denmark—DPA Microphones has launched the new 2017 shotgun microphone, designed to capture authentic sound with high directionality even in extreme weather conditions.

“In an industry with a variety of shotgun microphones, we built the 2017 to stand out from the crowd,” said Helga Volha Somava, product management director at DPA Microphones.

“Measuring just 184mm [7.24 inches] in length, the 2017 is more compact than many popular solutions and still offers impressive technological features. From its durable construction and ease of use to its leading acoustical properties, the 2017 can capture the energy of any event. Whether it is used in fixed positions at facilities or on camera systems and booms, our goal was to create a dedicated, optimized broadcast and live sound microphone that rivals the competition and provides exceptional value for professionals.”

Well-suited for broadcast and live events, the 2017 holds up to travel and repeated use in harsh environments. It persists in humid conditions and direct rain showers as well as dry, arid environments, the company said.

The microphone has been tested for use in temperatures up to 104 degrees with 90% relative humidity and down to 140 degrees, it said.

Featuring a specifically designed capsule that is paired with a cutting-edge interference tube and microphone grid, the 2017 offers high performance, both on- and off-axis. It has a high degree of off-axis rejection, which permits the main source to stand out. This heavily attenuated off-axis audio is authentic and extremely usable for mixing into the entire soundscape, the company said.

Audio professionals can now pick up accurate, clean sounds from even the most minute sources. For broadcasts that take place at quieter locations, the 2017’s low self-noise enables excellent a performance, even in the presence of many open microphones, it said.

The versatile 2017 is easy to set up and well-suited for fixed or booming applications in live sports and news broadcasts as well as in theaters on a FOH boom or fly bar, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LOS ANGELES—In the absence of fans at sports events over the last year, Fred Volger launched Sonofans, an immersive sports crowd performance system designed to help broadcasters replicate crowd noise. To do so, the Sonofans sound library used recordings captured by DPA microphones.

Sonofans’ library of crowd reactions have been curated from events over the  last 15 years, recorded by DPA’s 4091 Omni Condenser Mic, 4560 Binaural Mic and MMA-A Digital Audio Interface. Volger had these recordings from previous recordings of USC football games in the mid 2000s.

During the pandemic, Volger has supplied those audio files to professional and collegiate baseball, soccer, boxing, football, basketball and bowling broadcasts on U.S. sports networks.

For some of the sports—i.e., boxing and bowling—Volger recorded new sounds at places like a park or a big box store, particularly using the 4560 Binaural Microphone and MMA-A Digital Audio Interface. Some of these recordings were also blended into sounds for football or baseball.

“It works great for creating the authenticity and realism of a crowd,” Volger said.

ALLEROED, Denmark—DPA Microphones has introduced a new addition to its mic lineup, one that can help broadcasters adhere to current social distancing guidelines, the 4097 Core Micro Shotgun Microphone, part of DPA’s new 4097 Core Interview Kit.

The 4097 Core mic features the same sonic qualities as DPA’s Choir Microphone, enabling operators to capture speech from a distance.

The 4097 Core interview kit features a 4099 Cold Shoe Mount with a 1/4-inch thread; DPA MicroDot cable; transmitter plate; lightweight telescopic boom pole; and windjammer. The 4097 Core mic can attach directly to a transmitter or be used with the 4099 series mount, champs and clips. The mic can also be used as a plant mic for TV production environments.

DPA designed the 4097 Core mic with directional characteristics to allow it to reduce background noise compared to a standard omnidirectional lavalier microphone. When used with DPA’s MMA-A Digital Audio interface, the mic can become a complete remote recording package, per DPA, with a two-channel microphone preamp interface offering mono, dual and stereo capabilities. It is also compatible with iOS devices, Mac or PC computers.

Additional features of the 4097 Core mic are a highly directional pickup pattern, low self-noise, flat off-axis frequency response, 16 mV sensitivity, ability to handle high SPLs, “CORE by DPA” amplifier technology, a MicroDot connector and an integrated shock mount.

For more information, visit www.dpamicrophones.com.  

LAS VEGAS—At the 2017 NAB Show, DPA Microphones will show off additions to its broadcast microphone line, including the GSM4000 gooseneck shock mount accessory and MMP-G modular active cable for MicroDot. These accessories enable the creation of a wireless microphone setup while maintaining high-quality audio during live and recorded broadcasts.

GSM4000

The MMP-G Modular Active Cable is an ultra-transparent preamplifier with active drive for impedance balancing to reject frequency interference. It permits the modular d:dicate capsules, including the d:dicate 4017 shotgun capsule, or 4018 supercardioid capsule for booms, to connect to wireless systems with its fixed MicroDot connector.

The 4.5-inch GSM4000 gooseneck shock mount accessory has an elegant clip at its end where the d:dicate capsule can be mounted with a preamp connected to it, and can be set up in different positions. It features integrated shock mount technology to ensure that high-quality sound is captured, without being affected by handling noise.

DPA will also display its d:fine in-ear broadcast headset microphone, as well as an array of microphones including: d:screet lavalier , d:facto interview , d:dicate 4017BR shotgun, d:dicate 4018C compact supercardioid and d:screet 4080 miniature cardioid lavalier.

The 2017 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 24-27. DPA Microphones will be in boothC3336. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.

Lavalier microphone development seems to be pretty much evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. No earth-shattering design or capability changes are really predictable, as far as I can tell. The arc of development consists of refinements and improvements: smaller, better sounding, lower-power demand and so on. DPA as a company has been focused on close miking in various applications for some 60 years, since being born out of pioneering measurement microphone developer (among other things) Brüel & Kjær.

FEATURES

Even by current lavalier standards, the d:screet Slim 4060 is small and light. The DPA d:screet Slim 4060 Microphone is small and light, slim and discreet, even by current lavalier standards. The microphone itself weights about 8.5 grams, including cable (a bit less than 6 feet long) and the MicroDot connector it terminates in (and which must be adapted for input to a recording device), and about 1/8 inch wide by less than 3/8 inch long and slightly over 1/16 inch thick. The cable exits the capsule perpendicularly, with built-in strain relief, making it very easy to mount and hide.

DPA uses the MicroDot connector as standard, mentioned above, which requires an adaptor for connection with a wireless transmitter or XLR cable. This proprietary connector, in addition to being small and very stable, and the proprietary adaptor provide a kind of future proofing, ensuring that there will always be a properly-wired, stable connection to whatever piece of hardware comes down the pike.

The microphone capsule itself is an omnidirectional, pressure gradient condenser, with a wide frequency response range (20 Hz to 20 kHz with a 3 dB soft boost between 5–20 kHz), roughly 100 dB of dynamic response, very low self noise, and less than 1 percent total harmonic distortion up to 123 dB peak sound pressure levels. There are actually two varieties of this microphone design: the 4060 is high sensitivity (preferred for film and/or TV applications), and the 4061 is lower sensitivity (best for music or special effects work), both designed to better match downstream equipment. This microphone is adaptable to 48V phantom power through the XLR connector and to 50V through DPA’s MicroDot adaptors for various wireless systems (from AKG and Lectrosonics to Sennheiser and Zaxcom): 3-pin LEMO, TA4F mini XLR, XLR or mini jack termination, for approximately an extra $90. The mic has a stated power range of 5–50V, with published power consumption at 1.5mA for the microphone and 3.5mA with the XLR adaptor, which can power up to 300 meters of cable run.

The d:screet Slim 4060 comes in four colors (black, brown, beige or white), and with one mounting accessory: the button hole mount. This small piece mounts to the microphone head, allows mounting with the added feature of a small pipe in the mount that allows sound to enter the mic when fully concealed. Other mounting and concealment accessories are available as well: the concealer for flat mounting, adhesive tape mounts, and a wide variety of clips and double pin (vampire) mounts and windscreens.

IN USE

I primarily used the d:screet Slim 4060 on a number of sit-down interview shoots, with the MicroDot to XLR adaptor. Admittedly, these are less demanding situations than a walk-and-talk with a wireless transmitter, or a serious concealment or a crowd situation, but it winds up being the bulk of the work I do. I primarily wanted to hear and use this mic as directly as possible, with no other adaptors or extenuating factors. The model I was provided with for this review was black, with several clips, a buttonhole adaptor and the concealer, a flat mounting plate that I used successfully and easily with some adhesive tape.

Needless to say, this microphone is very easy to mount quickly and to conceal, mainly due to its size, and has absolutely excellent sound, as expected. A nice touch is the included belt clip on the XLR adaptor, which serves to take the weight and strain off the mic capsule cable and mount, greatly reducing handling noise and the possibility for any kind of disconnect. Handling noise is very low, something I am too often aware of in interviews, as it seems many of my subjects are either in motion or nervous and twitchy, and somehow constantly moving their clothes and/or the mic mount and cable. The extreme lightness and small size of this microphone greatly reduces the subject’s awareness of it, and thus their tendency to fiddle. Despite the fact that the capsule is more exposed and would tend to be more prone to clothing rustle, its size and weight make it easy to secure and protect.

The sound is excellent—natural and very even. Since this is an omni pattern mic, I mostly mounted it center chest, about 12 to 18 inches below the subject’s mouth. Even when there was a fair amount of head movement, the sound stayed balanced and equally present, with a very low level of proximity effect “boominess” and a wonderful resistance to the level changes my subjects always seem to make when they get excited. Side noise rejection and focus were also excellent and very welcome, making the d:screet Slim 4060 extremely useful and appropriate for many interview or close mic situations.

SUMMARY

This mic was easy and quick to apply, secure and conceal and worked seamlessly in connection with my cameras and mixer, and even in multi-adaptor tests with my Lectrosonics and Sony wireless transmitters. This is no surprise, given DPA’s long history of development, refinement and further miniaturization of these tools. DPA microphones are most definitely not in the bargain or even mid-range category. They are, and have been, superior microphones for the highest quality and most demanding applications, at reasonable and professional prices that will work well and continue doing so for a long time.

Michael Hanish operates Free Lunch, a video/audio/multimedia production house near Guilford, Vt. He may be contacted atmichael@freelunchmedia.com.

➤FAST FACTS

APPLICATION
Audio for video/film

KEY FEATURES
Small, easy to hide, omnidirectional, good sensitivity and focus

PRICE
$429.95

CONTACT
DPA Microphones
www.dpamicrophones.com

LAS VEGAS—DPA Microphones will feature two of its most popular broadcast microphones at the 2016 NAB Show, namely the d:fine in-ear broadcast headset microphone and d:facto interview microphone. Show hosts can use the microphones to conduct guest interviews and capture audience commentary, while staying in touch with backstage crew or off-site producers.

d:fine

d:fine consists of microphone and in-ear cables, and the capsules can be omnidirectional or directional. DPA has safeguarded against audio leakage between the in-ear dividers and the microphone capsule. The steel spring construction at the ear hook enables quick mounting, it’s adjustable, with two different size ear pads. The headset mount size is easily altered, and by choosing a left or right ear orientation, it’s possible to give the broadcast host a camera “blind side.”

With its omnidirectional 2006V capsule and pattern, the d:facto mic is well suited for handheld interviews, and a rubber suspension mount built into its head minimizes extraneous noise, such as wind and handling. While traditional broadcast interview microphones are typically wired or wireless, this allows the same mic head to be used in either application, future-proofing the user’s investment in the microphone’s front-end technology as it adapts to wireless brands and emerging wireless standards.

The 2016 NAB Show takes place in Las Vegas, April 18-21. DPA Microphones will be in booth C3336. For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.