Any Suggestion on Upgrade and Mod on the NADY TCM1050??

[Gus]

can you measure the outside diam of the capsule it looks more like the 32mm ones I have seen. The samsom cl7 I worked on and superlux capsule pictures I saw had plastic hold down rings.

Removing the mesh(s) change the sound the problem is it would be hard to add the mesh back, it is possable the grill is a better design stock in the ADK than the nady,apex ones.

I would try foam at the base of the capsule mount plate first.

The CM-2461NiCo is built so it does not need the shielding an E I core does, will it fit without the stock shield?

 

[skipwave]

[quote author="Gus"]can you measure the outside diam of the capsule it looks more like the 32mm ones I have seen. The samsom cl7 I worked on and superlux capsule pictures I saw had plastic hold down rings.[/quote]

It's 34mm. I'm convinced its a tenlux or 797. alk509 posted a pic of an identical looking one from tenlux, but that post has fallen into the black hole.

[quote author="Gus"]The CM-2461NiCo is built so it does not need the shielding an E I core does, will it fit without the stock shield?[/quote]

It would, and it's so very tempting. I'll get a quote on it.

 

[analag]

I have made a significant mod "I think" to my TCM1050 without changing the output transformer. Has anyone really listened to the stock circuit with out the capsule to get an idea of how the circuit with the transformer actually perform.
Just a SILLY question

 

[Gus]

Yes the stock transformer is not to bad if you work with the stock circuit a bit.

I relammed them and the relammed ones are inside my 1050s

Working with the stock transformer not relammed is a fun thing to do.

Here is a brain teaser

Add one resistor and some wire remove some parts move some connections and have a resistor and labor cost improved china tube microphone.

 

[smallbutfine]

So...you guys have a nice riddle set up!
one resistor and some work - that is not much investment to improve a mic... :shock:

 

[Marik]

[quote author="Gus"]Yes the stock transformer is not to bad if you work with the stock circuit a bit.

I relammed them and the relammed ones are inside my 1050s

Working with the stock transformer not relammed is a fun thing to do.

Here is a brain teaser

Add one resistor and some wire remove some parts move some connections and have a resistor and labor cost improved china tube microphone.[/quote]

Yeah I relammed the trafos too. Along with the circuit I completely reworked the grill. Did it sound better. Yes, every step was a definite improvement. Did it sound great at the end? No. Put there Neumann K87, or something similar and it might.
I guess, you cannot jump over your head. Whatever you do, the capsule... Oh well...

 

[analag]

Ok add a resistor after the cap that goes to the transformer and hear the difference. So the cap and the resistor is in series. I did some other things but like you guys I can't give it all up to the general public.
I know where to get real 1.1 inch capsules too

at reasonable price.

 

[smallbutfine]

@analag :razz: :razz: :razz:

 

[skipwave]

[quote author="Marik"][quote author="Gus"]Yes the stock transformer is not to bad if you work with the stock circuit a bit.

I relammed them and the relammed ones are inside my 1050s

Working with the stock transformer not relammed is a fun thing to do.

Here is a brain teaser

Add one resistor and some wire remove some parts move some connections and have a resistor and labor cost improved china tube microphone.[/quote]

Yeah I relammed the trafos too. Along with the circuit I completely reworked the grill. Did it sound better. Yes, every step was a definite improvement. Did it sound great at the end? No. Put there Neumann K87, or something similar and it might.
I guess, you cannot jump over your head. Whatever you do, the capsule... Oh well...[/quote]

If anyone wants the stock transformer I pulled out of my ADK GT-2, it's yours for the price of shipping. Could be relammed or something. I have no use for it now.

Interesting idea, adding load after the output cap. Does this reflect a more appropriate impedance to the stock TX? I thought that an impedance altering resistor had to be hung across the transformer leads, not in series with one lead.

 

[analag]

The resistor does a couple of things when connected between a CF and a transformer. (1) the cap sees a higher DC resistance to ground so the normal low value high quality coupling cap work a little better (2) the resistor value can be tweaked to find the sweet spot between the tube and the cheap ass transformer.

 

[MegaMutt]

hey guys,

I picked up one of the generic 1050's on ebay recently (for cheap) and unfortunately, it's the original version with the soldered tube.

i've read some posts about folks putting in a socket, but can't seem to find what part was specifically used.

Also, I'm guessing it's just a matter of desoldering the existing tube pins, pulling out the tube and then reconnecting the socket.

Other than this, I'll probably change out the capsule and maybe a few of the major components to improve the sound.

any help is greatly appreciated.

-rich

 

[tommypiper]

Isn't this Nady 1050 circuit the same as the Nady 1150 circuit?

This also appears to be the same mic being offered in the current Chinese Group Buy, so I was wondering if it's worth the trouble.

Analag, did you get the bass response up in yours? Gus seems to feel it's lacking in all his mods, if I read correctly.

 

[MegaMutt]

From what I've ready, the circuit is the same, just different body types.

the 1150 resembles the apex 460 - c12.


I have to say that for a $100 or mic, it's not all that bad out of the box.

I'm looking forward to pimping it out with new capsule, tube, tranny, etc.

Figure if I get a really decent mic build for about 500, I'll be happy.

Of course, that doesnt cure my lust for a real 47, 67, etc.


Any info on the tube sockets used, would be very helpful.

-rich

 

[rodabod]

I've just picked up one of these including a (yet to be installed) selected 6072 valve.

I'm not sure what circuit I'm going with as it may depend on what transformers I have to hand. Most are lower ratio so I may go the cathode-follower route. I may not use the 6072 either.

Incidentally, regarding the capsule (and the mic as it is), it sounds pretty crap. Unpleasantly large amount of HF, and a general lack of body or LF. I did try the mic in fig. of 8 and noticed that one side seems to have a better bass response. I may put a Dale M7 in there.

 

[seavote]

on page 1 marik wrote:
unsolder the tube and put a socket. The regular one won't work here. I used pins--contact Kevin Carter--he has them, and will understand what you mean.

i'm not sure but i'm thinking marik used indivdual pin sockets. anyway ...you can find out from :
Kevin Carter--he has them, and will understand what you mean.
you can contact him here:
http://www.kandkaudio.com/accessories.html
see the email link at the bottom of the page. kevin is always a big help and if he does not still carry them he would probably tell you where they're available. good luck

 

[rodabod]

Thanks for that. This one seems to already have a 9-pin socket which is lucky. The guy sold it as faulty - the fuse had blown. Seems fine otherwise.

I'm thinking it may be nice to try a CF design. From what I gather I should in theory be able to get better level handling, but the distortion character may not be as nice. I could just be lazy though and put the 6072 in, drop the additional CF in the circuit and then change the transformer. But where's the fun in that?

 

[rodabod]

Ok, I've dropped in one of Dale's M7 capsules now, and the mic sounds completely different. Even with the stock circuit (with 6072) and transformer. I did drop the heater voltage a little though. Most noticeable is the improvement in the top-end. It now just sounds nice.

Next I'll need to re-work the circuit. I'll probably drop the CF and add a better transformer and see how I get on. Has anyone tried the Cinemag CM-2480? Looks like a reasonable contender.

Roddy

 

[tommypiper]

Rod, I haven't tried it yet. But what I've read the 2480 (10.5:1) is quite bright. Lots of nickel. It's not expensive, in any case, so worth a try and by all accounts makes an improvement in clarity. I was planning to try a Lundahl LL1578 connected backwards (10:1), assuming that there is room -- which there should be in the 1050 type bodies.

Marik used a LL1550 (4:1) and lowered cathode resistor to 47k. He basically restores the circuit to the half C24 circuit with proper transformer ratio.

 

[rodabod]

I wonder why the core would cause the transformer to sound bright because of the nickel?

I'm probably going to skip the CF stage as I don't need the lower output impedance (assuming I choose a suitable output transformer).

 

[vertiges]

BTW, rodabod, how much voltage do you get at B+ ?

Thanks,

eD