High Noise Floor On Dpa 4017

A location recordist s perspective.

High noise floor on dpa 4017.

I a b d the 4017b with my mkh50 again yesterday and this may be funny but i think what i perceived as noise floor of the 4017b mic may have been the flatter frequency response i wasnt used to. Not very moisture high humidity resistant at all. I didn t like the bass cut very much on the dpa better on the cmit. I was recording straight to camera via a sound devices 442 mixer while monitoring with sony mdr 7506 headphones.

The 4017 is a very sweet sounding mic but there are two draw backs to it that i have experienced. This is why i rather go with a mkh mic instead. This mic combines controlled directionality with rejection of background noise. Dpa have long been held in high esteem by classical recordists and now their recording mic range has been given a major overhaul.

They are designed around dpa s miniature microphone capsules and interference tube technology. Higher noise floor than average boom mics. I could bring the mkh 416 closer to the 4017 by using izotope s nectar eq with adjustments in the basses and at around 1200hz considered mids the rx 7 denoiser to reduce the off axis noise and the rx 7 de reverb to reduce the echos. The 4017 has been designed for a broad range of uses from camera systems to fixed positions at sports facilities and for booming in eng broadcast and film applications.

I noticed i could hear the noise of the 50 in the mid highs and it was less pronounced in the lows but the 4017 i could hear it more flat through the whole spectrum. I hope the b version can improve on this then it would be an awesome mic. Both nice clean sounding mics. Looking to make a purchase this week.

As i already own a cmit i don t see the need. A few years ago well known danish microphone manufacturers dpa started rebranding their mics into new product groups comprising the d fine headsets d vote instrument mics d facto stage mics d screet lavaliers d mension multichannel systems and d dicate. None of these adjustments however gave me the clarity and the accuracy of the dpa 4017. For this field test i used the dpa 4017 on a documentary and a television production.

Due to its remarkable clarity wide dynamic range and excellent rejection characteristics the 4017 is equally at home in the recording studio and when used for sound reinforcement and live music miking. The 4017b shotgun microphone from dpa is a professional versatile microphone designed for demanding sound capturing in film video sound reinforcement and even music recording. The supercardioid lobe shaped polar pattern is coupled with excellent off axis signal rejection for a focused pickup enhanced range and minimal noise. While dpa does make a shock mount for this microphone it was not included.

The 4097 core micro shotgun mic offers a highly directional pick up pattern as well as low self noise and high sensitivity.