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Modify a Cheap LDC Condenser Microphone

By DJJules in Circuits > Audio 66.898 239 164 Featured

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About: I started taking things apart when I was 6 started putting them back together at 8 and they actually worked again
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I have been an audio guy for a long time and an avid DIY'er. Which means my favorite kinds of
projects relate to Audio. I am also a rm believer that for a DIY project to be cool there has to be
one of two outcomes to make the project worth doing. It either has to be something you can't
get commercially, or something you can build your self that is way cheaper than buying what is
available commercially. This project is of the second kind. Build a cheap but good LDC
microphone. LDC stands for “Large Diaphragm Condenser”. This project can be built for about
$50 in parts and rivals microphones costing way more. It is quiet, sounds very neutral, and will
handle large SPL (Sound Pressure Levels).

First a little history of microphones.

There are three basic types in use for studio and live sound use; dynamic microphones, ribbon
microphones, and condenser microphones. A dynamic microphone is like a speaker but in
reverse. A small diaphragm is coupled to a coil of wire that moves when sound hits diaphragm.
The coil is in a magnetic eld. When it moves a small electrical signal is generated that you can
then amplify or record that represents the sound. A ribbon microphone is similar except the
ribbon, a thin strip of foil, usually aluminum, is placed in a magnetic eld. Sound waves cause
the ribbon to move in the eld and an electrical signal is generated. Read more here:
Microphones

A condenser microphone starts with a very thin membrane that has metal sputtered onto it so it
conducts electricity. The membrane is stretched and placed very close to a backplate to form a
capacitor. Grandpa Ryckebusch used to call capacitors condensers and now you know that we
should really call them capacitor microphones... When sound waves hit the diaphragm and it
moves, the capacitance changes. If there is a charge on the capacitor, there will be a change in
voltage that corresponds to the sound. Like the other two microphone designs above, if you
amplify or record the voltage, you get the sound. There are two styles of condenser
microphones. Some use a high voltage (50-70 volts) to charge the condenser capsule and others
use what is called an Electret Capsule. The Electret (Electrostatic) has a permanent charge
associated with it read here: Electret.

What this means for us is that if we use an Electret capsule there is no need to apply 50-60 volts
to it, which means simpler circuitry.

one of the bene ts of a condenser microphone is that the diaphragm can be very light and it is
easier to get a smoother frequency response with one. The downside is that you have be very
careful when getting the signal o of the diaphragm without adding noise which brings us to
the electronics.

To pull the signal o of the capsule you need a very high impedance device. Tubes have this one
covered and were the main way this was accomplished 40 years ago. Not to get into a debate on
sonic quality of tubes vs anything else, you have to admit; using a tube inside a microphone
body does not lend itself to simplicity. Or normal DIY skills! After the tube the Field E ect
Transistor or FET was invented. This is how most condenser microphones work today. Even the
really inexpensive mic capsules have one internally mounted. A German company Schoeps.
arguably one of the top microphone manufacturers in the world, designed a circuit for
condensers microphones that de ned how this was done a long time ago. See the Schoeps
Circuit for details. (If you google “Schoeps circuit” this is what you nd!) The circuit runs o of
phantom power from the mic pre-amp. Part of this circuit is used to generate a stable high
voltage to charge the capsule. In our case we wont need that. The DIY community simpli ed this
circuit down to its basic form for electret capsules that is almost identical to the original Schoeps
Circuit. Scott Helmke designed a version of this circuit for his “Alice” microphone. I am using the
same circuit with slightly di erent values and a di erent FET transistor. I chose the J305 which is
used by several of the high end manufactures. I located it here. You can certainly use the parts
list from Scott. His latest list is from 2013 and the parts are available from both Mouser and
Digikey. I built the circuit on a small perfboard which is perfect for tting inside the microphone
body.

Here is how the circuit works; let's look at the signal path then the power:

The 1Gig (Yes one gigohm...) resistor develops the signal coming o of the capsule. The FET and
the two 2.43K resistors form a phase splitter and impedance converter. The two .47uF capacitors
couple the signals to the two bipolar transistors. These are PNP transistors setup as emitter
followers. The two 100K resistors bias the transistors. Uber simple. If you are wondering about
the 1gig resistor, it is key to a condenser microphone. It is also the most expensive component,
coming in at around $2 each from Digikey. On the powering side, we connect the microphone
to phantom power form a mixer or preamp. That brings 48 volts into pins 2 and 3 of the XLR
connector and the two transistors. UPDATE October 2015: I added two 22nF capacitors at the
XLR jacks and two 49Ohm 1% resistors on the inputs to the transistors for RF noise suppression. I
didn't realize this until I used a di erent mic preamp when in a "noisy" environment. Schematic
Updated! The 6.8K resistor and the zener diode take that and drop it to 12 volts. The 10uF and
68uf capacitors along with the 330Ohm resistor lter this and provide a stable voltage to the FET
circuitry. Once again, very simple and elegant. The critical component and one we haven't talked
about yet is the capsule itself. I am using the TSB2555B from JLI electronics. it is a Transound
capsule and is what makes this project what it is. It costs $12.95 and uses nickel instead of gold
on the diaphragm. It is also used commercially in at least one microphone I know of, the CAD
e100s.

Now that we have the capsule and electronics all set, you could actually build one of these into
whatever housing you want. I have tried this and learned a couple things. Because of the high
impedance of the capsule and the FET electronics, the wire between the two acts like an
antenna and unless the whole thing is fully shielded by metal or metal screen, you will have all
sorts of noise.Both 60hz hum and white noise from all the RF leaking into it. In essence you need
to put the capsule and electronics inside a Faraday cage.

I found an easier way than building my own. It turns out that there are several Chinese
manufactured really cheap mics that actually have great metal cases somewhat decent
electronics (very similar circuit...) and a small capsule. And the cost about $20 bucks. They make
a great donor body, which is what we are using it for. Search for them on eBay by searching for
“BM700” and “BM800” microphones. I got mine for about $22. Interestingly as you can see form
the pictures it doesn't say BM800 on it. It also came in a paper mailer with the foam casing but
no box. OK, now that we have covered the background, lets build one!

Edit: 9 October: Here is some audio with these recording my kids high school orchestra: Guyer
HS Intermezzo Orchestra

AliceRF.pdf Download

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Step 1: Step One: the Electronics

The electronics section is easily built on some perf board. I cut mine to 1” by about 1.5” then
populated it from the PNP transistors working towards the FET end. The critical part here is the
junction of the FET Gate and the 1gig resistor. Notice I am “ oating” the leads. This is where the
FET gate to capsule wire connects. We don't want that touching anything or using the circuit
board that my have ux residue or attract moisture in a high humidity environment. Also look at
the positioning of the FET. See the data sheet in the article. I had my pin 1 of the FET backwards
until I realized the position mentioned in the data sheet was the top view of the transistor, not
the bottom. If you use Scotts recommended FET, download the data sheet and read it! I left a
spot to one side that lat me drill a hole large enough for the mounting screw to hold it to the
chassis. I actually lucked out here... I built this before I thought through how I was going to
mount it.

J305.pdf Download

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Step 2: Step Two: Disassemble the Original Microphone

5 More Images

Take the microphone body and unscrew the base. This will let you slide o the metal sleeve that
covers the circuit area. Note: Your mic may vary. I bought tow of these from di erent vendors
and they were similar but de nitely di erent. After the sleeve is o take out the two little screws
holding in the original circuit board. Then un solder the lower three wires. We will reuse these to
attach the new board to the XLR connector. You can cut or unsolder the capsule wires. We will
replace those.

Now remove the two screw holding the basket to the housing. The basket comes o and
exposes the original capsule. This original is mounted in a bit of foam and pressed into the
plastic capsule holder. Save the screws!

There are two screws that hold the plastic capsule holder to the metal frame. Remove those and
separate the two. You now have a fully disassembled microphone.

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Step 3: Step Three: Prepare and Install the New Capsule

2 More Images

I have built two of these and the capsule holders were both di erent. In this one you can
carefully push out the old capsule and then remove the foam. The other one did not have the
foam but little plastic side extensions every 90 degrees. I cut those out with little snips and then
used a drop of hot glue to hold the new capsule in place. In this mic I cut a small piece of the
foam and used it to press the new capsule it. Before doing this you will want to solder on short
leads to go from the capsule to the electronics. I used some 24 gauge stranded wire I already
had. You can reuse the original capsule wires if you like. I like te on insulated wire. The insulation
does not melt when accidentally touched by a soldering iron.

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Step 4: Step Four: Reattach the Capsule Mount

Using the two small screws and reattach the capsule mount. There are four little holes but only
two of them are threaded. This was the same on both of my microphones. Be carful to not where
the tab on the base of the metal frame. The tab faces the direction of sound. It lines up with the
metal sleeve that is printed with the microphone's name. Now this may vary! One of mine was
not labeled at all. You can read the brand name on this one. Don't think it will become a
household name any time soon. Once that is mounted feed the little wires for the capsule
through the other holes in the metal frame.

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Step 5: Step Five: Mount and Connect the Electronics, Then Reassemble

In my case I built my circuit board before I gured out how I was going to mount it. This
necessitated drilling a hole in it with all the components already on it. Not the best way to do
this. I had a couple small 4-40 angle brackets for mounting circuit boards in my project bin.
Using one of those I mounted the circuit board to the metal frame. You could mount the baord
directly as long as you don't create any shorts.

Once mounted connect the XLR connector per the schematic. Then connect the capsule. Take
care on the main capsule positive lead as it connects to the junction of the 1gig ohm resistor
and the gate lead of the FET. This oats in the air to ensure a very high impedance connection.

Slide the metal housing sleeve back in place. Note the tab and corresponding little cutout on
the sleeve.

Screw on the threaded base and the microphone is complete.

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Step 6: Testing, Use, and Further Exploration

2 More Images

Connect your new microphone to either a mixer or mic pre-amp with phantom power and
ensure it is functioning. Most problems are due to mis-wiring. Hum or buzz is usually a ground
wiring issue.

This microphone stands up there with most large diaphragm condensers. I own a couple really
good ones and it delivers. Works great on vocals, acoustic guitar. I am working on getting a
couple things recorded with it and will put links up in the Instructable when I do.

I am really thrilled with the performance of this mic. It is all from a $13 mic capsule (less if you
buy ten...) I am 90% complete on a project with multiple capsules for recording stereo. That
Instructable is coming shortly.

Update October 2015: I have had a chance to record an orchestra with these Soundcloud link. I
also ran sound for volunteer Food Truck fest and had the fun of using these on stage with several
talented vocalists and a Jazz Trio. Mic sounded great and very transparent.

For more information on DIY microphones in general I highly recommend the microphone
builders group on Yahoo.

And if you want to build or modify a non electret microphone check out Microphone Parts. I
have built a pair of mics using his CK-12 Capsule.

Happy Recording!

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Step 7: Update January 2016! Pimp That Circuit!

After building few of these, studying the original Schoeps circuit and getting schooled a bit by
some of the veterans on the mic builders group I came up with an improved circuit. I call it the
“Pimped Alice” There are three main changes:

1. The addition of two more RF and EMI suppression capacitors. The two 470pF ones that tie the
base of the two PNP transistors to ground. These help out with anything the FET picks up and
limit the bandwidth of the PNP emitter followers.

2. The portion that provides 12V to the FET circuit is changed. We have the 47uF capacitor
charging up from the phantom power coming into the mic from XLR pins 2&3 through the 49.9
ohm resistors and the two PNP transistors. The supplies a nice low impedance path for audio
frequencies cleaning things up a bit. From there then we go to the 4.7K resistor to the zener
diode. This resistor sets and limits the conduction current that the zener diode uses. Zener
diodes can produce a small amount of electrical noise just due to how they work. The 330
resistor and 100uF capacitor lter that out and maintain a nice clean DC voltage for the FET and
2.4K resistor phase splitter.

3. The 1Meg pot is new. This adjusts the bias on the FET. This is probably the biggest
improvement in the circuit. As the pot is adjusted we are trying to split the voltage that the
zener produces so that about half is dropped across the FET and the other half split between the
two 2.4K resistors. This is pretty easy to do. Before connecting the actual microphone capsule
you need to connect the circuit to a microphone pre amp so we can power the circuit. Measure
the voltage on the + pin of the 100uF capacitor referenced to ground. In my “as built” circuits I
had about 11.5 to 11.8 volts. Measure the voltage and divide by four. Say the voltage is 12 VDC.
Dividing by four gives us 3 VDC. While measuring at point “A” (see the circuit) adjust the pot until
you get 3 VDC. Measure the voltage at point “B” you should have 9 VDC. The pot is a ten turn pot
so get ready to rotate the little screw a few times. Historically people would do this and
substitute xed resistors for the values of the pot setting. While that might save a few cents, it is
time consuming. Using a pot is much easier.

You can see my protoboard build front and back. The two arrows point to the PNP transistor
collctors and are where you would connect the 49.9ohm resistors on way to the XLR connector.
Once again the 22nF caps are located on the XLR connector.

Another really cool thing is a member

of the Mic Builder group on Yahoo built one of these using the “Pimped” version of the circuit
and sent it to another member who tested the microphone. Read about that on Audioimprov
here: Homero's Pimped Alice. Synopsis is the circuit is very low distortion and electronic noise is
below what the capsule will put out in a quite room. Also, Homero designed a PC board for this
and graciously provided all the docs for it. It is single sided and will t into the Chinese knock of
mics BM-700 and BM-800's

I now have four of these in my mic locker and am super happy with them. Closing thoughts on
parts. The FET above is a substitute for the J305. Either will work. When buying resistors and
capacitors the price drops signi cantly if you buy in quantity. I highly recommend buying the
resistors a hundred at a time and the small capacitors the same. I usually go less for the larger
electrolytic ones. If you continue with the wonderful hobby of electronics, you will nd at some
point you already have what you need to build the next project.

Thanks to Henry and Homero from the Mic Builder group on Yahoo! Talk about a great
collaborative e ort for the Builders, Makers and DIY'ers out there.

Pimped Alice Single L… Download

PimpedAliceDec2015.… Download

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164 Discussions

depeschzeu Question 5 months ago

Answer / Upvote
I've taken a look at Homero's version of Pimped Alice scheme and I have a question about two diodes
I see there. What is the purpose of two zener diodes 1n4735 D2 and D3? What do they do?

Cromulant59 Question 5 months ago on Step 5

Answer / Upvote
I’m sorry if this is a silly question, but how do the 22nF caps work? Wouldn’t they just send the audio
signal to ground? Same question with the caps on the bases of the 2 bipolar transistors.

6 answers F

CristianS130 7 months ago

Reply / Upvote
Hola tengo una duda sobre un microfono que quiero arreglar, es un RODE NT2A, y tiene un ruido
como si soplara mucho viento, usted sabria que puedo hacer para corregirlo?

muchas gracias

1 reply F

depeschzeu Question 7 months ago

Answer / Upvote
Hello, Jules!
I have a question about building a 'real' condenser microphone out of chinese karaoke BM800 body.
I'm new to electronics so I think I'm not going to make it without some help.
I already got some cheap chinese capsule which looks like 34mm diaphragm clone and now I'm trying
to learn how to make it work.
I can't buy TSB2555B or analog in my part of the world. I also found out in articles that pure condenser
capsule can't work without some 'polarization' of membrane. It's not need with electret capsules.
Can you help building such a mod? I can try etching some DIY pcb or use some prototype board /
stripboard to put all needed components inside of the microphone. Sad I can't find some instructable
suitable for my case.

Martin909 10 months ago

Reply / Upvote
Hi! excellent post!
i'm trying to do this Mod to my NW700, but i can't find the PF5102, there's one equivalent fet? i'm from
mexico and i'm only find 1G resistor with 1w, it's ok? or i have to use 1/4w?

1 reply F

NathalyK Question 11 months ago

Answer / Upvote
Hello, DJJules! This is awesome! I am new to building microphones and very new to electronics. This
might be a stupid question but, would this circuit work with a ribbon capsule? (trying to build a ribbon
blumlein mic, I know, I'm crazy!).

2 answers F

skyfiren Question 11 months ago

Answer / Upvote
DJJules, thank you very much for this post!! (sorry for my bad english) well, i tryed to make some good
nature sound recording, i've been used that popular small electret capsules (fet inside) with OA amp,
and i didnt know about your project, i was confused about the fat white noise in quiet sounds that i
even cant reduce by noise reduction, because of the quality.. so to record random little sounds (birds
flying in the sky, etc), i found in my country one more project like yours:
http://diyfactory.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=2891
this guy, in addition to the scheme, clearly presented the frequency response graphs, and most
importantly, the noise shelf on HF and mids that does not exceed -120dB o_O but his scheme i think is
too hard for me(( so i wanted to ask you - did you know if your scheme is about the same noises
quality? thanks!!

1 answer F

SalahR3 1 year ago

Reply / Upvote
‫ھذه داﯾرة اﻟﻣﺎﯾك ﺗﺣﺗﺎج اﻟﻲ ﻛﺎم ﻓوﻟت وھل ﻣﻣﻛن ارﻛب ﺟﺎك اﺳﺗرﯾو ﻋﺷﺎن ﺗﺗرﻛب ﻣﻊ اﻻب‬

1 reply F

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