Owner's manual

HV-3D

A WORD ABOUT DPA (Brüel & Kjær) MICROPHONES

At present, Danish Pro Audio (formerly Brüel & Kjær Pro Audio Division) manufactures two

families of 4000-series professional recording microphones. One family is +48VDC phantom

powered, the other is +130VDC direct powered. A primary difference between omni families

(4003/4 vs. 4006/7) is that the high voltage microphones are transformerless whereas the

phantom powered varieties are transformer coupled. Millennia Media has used both varieties

extensively with symphony orchestra, choir, jazz ensemble, pop recording, and so forth. We

have found the transformerless high voltage omni version to perform substantially better than

its transformer-coupled omni counterpart. The transformerless version (4003) sounds gener-

ally "clearer" and more true to the source; especially during wide frequency and amplitude

extensions. And this is saying a lot considering that DPA's transformer-coupled microphones

sound extremely pure.

The following is a brief summary of certain DPA high-voltage microphone products and

specifications. Most of this material is taken directly from DPA's documentation is is thought

to be accurate, however, Millennia Media assumes no responsibility for errors or subsequent

changes in the following specifications. Those desiring up-to-date information concerning DPA

microphones should contact DPA directly.

4003 4004 4012

PATTERN Omni Omni Cardioid

SELF-NOISE 15 dB(a) 24 dB(a) 19 dB(a)

SPL (max) 154 dB SPL 168 dB SPL 168 dB SPL

FREQ (-3dB) 8 Hz - 30 kHz 8 Hz - 45 kHz 35 Hz - 25 kHz

IMPEDANCE < 30 ohms < 30 ohms < 30 ohms

SENSITIVITY 50 mV / Pa 10 mV / Pa 9 mV / Pa

A number of options are available for the 4003 microphone. One grid, the 0777, provides

superior omnidirectional response throughout the high frequencies. Another grid, the 0297,

provides a high frequency presence boost. The standard grid provides the most accurate

response on-axis. A development called the APE (acoustic pressure equalizer) tailors the 4003

to respond like vintage M-50 or newer TLM-50 microphones. The various APE attachments

boost mid to high frequencies arriving on axis without exhibiting proximity effect at lower

frequencies. When used with various grids, numerous polar patterns and response curves can

be achieved.

DPA offers a service of factory-matching new pairs of microphones for tight stereo tracking of

sensitivity and frequency response. Millennia Media highly recommends this service and can

assist customers in obtaining these microphones. The HV-3D micamp circuits maintain near-

perfectly flat, inter-channel matched frequency response and less than 1/4 degree of

interchannel phase error — a perfect compliment to a factory-matched pair of DPA micro-

phones.