Core Sound High End Binaural™ Microphone Set (using DPA 4060/4061 capsules)
Core Sound is very pleased to announce its new High End Binaural microphone (HEB) set, using DPA's DPA4060 and DPA4061 miniature omnidirectional microphones. We believe these to be the very best binaural microphones available anywhere!
A Bit Of Binaural Microphone History
Our very popular Core Sound Binaural (CSB) microphones set, first introduced in 1990, provides sonic performance unmatched at its entry-level price range. Using extensively modified and matched Matsushita microphone capsules, it offers amazing fidelity and very low distortion even when recording extremely loud sound sources. Over the years it's evolved into a rugged and reliable recording tool for professional and hobbyist tapers alike, a standard for more than fifteen years. The Matsushita capsules however, have their design limits, beyond which it doesn't make sense to modify them. To achieve the goal of a significantly lower self-noise and a more transparent high frequency response, almost everything in the capsule would have to be scrapped except the diaphragm!
We searched for alternatives and discovered DPA's wonderful 4060-series microphones. (DPA is the current manufacturer of the world-class Bruel & Kjaer line of commercial microphones.) The 4061 (and its siblings, the more sensitive 4060 and less sensitive 4062) are miniature prepolarized ("electret") condensor omnidirectional microphones designed for professional use in theatres and broadcasting. When compared to the Core Sound Binaurals, their lower self noise and more transparent high frequency response give them a very pleasant advantage in sound quality. When compared to full-sized matched microphone pairs from Microtech-Gefell, Neumann, Schoeps, AKG and Audio-Technica, you'll discover that the sonic advantage comes with a surprisingly reasonable price tag.
Core Sound microphones have been sold to customers all over the world, including the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Singapore, Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, England, Scotland, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Serbia and many others. They are in use by professional sound studios, research labs, commercial broadcast facilities, multi-media production houses and thousands of avid concert tapers.
High End Binaural Microphone Description
Core Sound's High End Binaural ("HEB") microphones starts with two DPA 4060 (or DPA 4061) capsules, selected so that they are matched to within 1 dB. To round out the microphone package, Core Sound adds its very rugged battery box (with premium, matched components), custom made cabling, and very reliable, professional quality, USA-made connectors.
The microphones have a satin-black shell. (Beige and white colors are available by special order.) The shell is much smaller than a common jelly bean or pencil eraser: roughly a fifth of an inch (.54 cm) in diameter and a half-inch (1.27 cm) long. The microphone cable enters the shell from the bottom. Removable light-duty foam windscreens are available in black. (Other color windscreens are available by special order).
A flexible, shielded 1.6mm cable exits the base of each microphone. The cables from the two microphones are bound into a single cable roughly twelve inches from the microphones. The cable runs for six feet and terminates in a high reliability, US-made multi-pin locking mini-XLR plug; the mini-XLR plug connects to the battery box. Also connected to the multi-pin plug (in a "Y" configuration) is a two foot cable terminating in a gold-plated, stereo, 1/8-inch (3.5 mm) mini-phone plug. Other connectors can be supplied on request, including high quality right-angle 1/8-inch (3.5mm), XLR, RCA and 1/4-inch phone plugs.
We recommend ordering a pair of DPA DMM0004 miniature clips along with the HEBs. They're perfectly suited to allow you mount the two DPA capsules to the earpieces of your eyeglasses, the band of a hat, and many other places.
The HEBs can be configured to be powered directly from our Mic2496 dual microphone pre-amp/A-to-D converter. The two DPA capsules are terminated in a single mini-XLR plug; no battery box is required.
By special order, we can provide the DPA4061s (or DPA4060s) with connectorized cables, so that they can be used individually, outside of the High-End Binaural system. A wide variety of connectors are available -- please contact us for details.
For binaural recordings the cartridges are aimed outward (not forward) much as your ears are. This copies the human ear, ensures a true binaural pickup pattern, and accurately captures sonic information coming from all directions.
For stereo recordings, the microphones are arranged as "spaced array," with each microphone placed eighteen-inches to three feet from the other and facing forward. Another alternative that provides superior stereo imaging, is to use a Jecklin Disk or Schneider Disk.
The 4060/4061's microphone element has been specially designed to provide optimum performance even when exposed to high humidity, perspiration, wind and pop-noise.
High End Binaural Microphone Specifications
The microphones have an on-axis frequency response of 20 Hertz to 20 kiloHertz (+/- 2 dB). For those of you who are using 96 kHz and 192 kHz sampling rates, you'll be pleased to know that these mics are down only 3 dB at 26 kHz and -10 dB at 40 kHz! The mics are provided with two detachable protection grids with black screens that fit over the microphone element. The short one provides flat frequency response from 20 Hz up to 8 kiloHertz; the frequency response then rises to +3 dB at 14 kiloHertz and drops to flat again at 20 kiloHertz. The long one provides a flat response to 5 kiloHertz and a more severe +10 dB peak at 12 kiloHertz.
Sensitivity of the 4061 is 6 mV/Pa; the 4060 sensitivity is 20 mV/Pa. The microphones are nominally omnidirectional but their pickup pattern is modified by the absorption and reflection characteristics of your head and outer ears. Their noise level is as good as microphones of this type get: 28 dBA for the 4061 and 23 dBA for the 4060. This is comfortably below the ambient noise level at concerts. The maximum sound pressure level the mics can withstand before clipping is 144 dB (134 dB for the 4060) -- this allows for a useful dynamic range in excess of 115 db!
The HEB microphones require a bias voltage. The HEB "battery box" contains a nine volt battery, associated electronics (top quality metallized polypropylene capacitors and 1% metal film resistors) and a high reliability, locking, US-made, multi-pin jack. The battery box is roughly half the size of a cigarette pack, made of sturdy die cast aluminum, and is finished in a durable black crinkle finish. The battery lasts approximately 300 hours and should be replaced at least once a year. The output to the recorder is an 1/8-inch (3.5mm) mini stereo phone plug; other connectors (e.g., XLR, RCA, 1/4-inch Phone) can be supplied upon request.
Due to different voltage requirements, the HEB battery box is not compatible with the battery box used with the Core Sound Binaural or Core Sound Stealthy Cardioid microphones.
High End Binaural Microphone Bass Roll-off Filter
The HEBs have a very flat and extended low frequency response. In some cases, particularly where the hall or sound system has an emphasized bass frequency response ("hall boom"), it is desirable to roll off the low bass frequency response.
To address this we offer two battery boxes with bass roll-off filters. One has a fixed-response bass roll-off filter. The other offers a switchable filter.
The switchable box has a very high quality, locking mini-toggle switch mounted on the outside of the box under the mini-XLR jack. It is switched between flat response and the bass filter response very easily, but the locking toggle lever must be pulled outward to switch filter positions, and so can't be accidentally switched.
When used with recorders like the Sony PCM-M10, the bass roll-off filter rolls off frequencies below 120 Hertz at 6 dB/octave.
In general, we don't recommend that you have only the bass roll-off filter unless you regularly note too much bass in your recordings. If you want to be able to select between a flat and a rolled-off response, we recommend having the switchable box, or two fixed-response battery boxes on hand: one that's flat and one that has the roll-off filter.
High End Binaural Microphone Recording & Care Tips
When recording loud sound sources with your Core Sound HEB microphones we recommend using your recorder's low sensitivity (-20 dB) setting. When recording extremely loud sound sources, use your recorder's line level inputs.
To prolong battery life, disconnect the battery box plug when not in use.
Avoid installations that would abrade or cut the cable. Do not clip the microphones to their cables and do not severely bend the cables at the points where they enter the microphone cartridge shells.
The microphones can be rinsed with distilled water. The cables can be wiped clean with a damp cloth.
High End Binaural Microphone Ordering
We are happy to accept orders via phone, email, mail and FAX.
Payment
Payment is via any major credit card (Visa, Mastercard or American Express), a PayPal account, personal checks, money order (available from the Post Office or bank), traveller's cheques, wired funds, cash or certified check, US funds only. Please allow some additional time for personal checks to clear the bank prior to shipment. COD shipments are available in some situations -- contact us for details. You may wire funds directly to our bank account -- please contact us for details.
PayPal handles our credit card processing. You need not have a PayPal account to pay with a credit card.
We also accept purchase orders from pre-qualified US universities, corporations, and state and federal governments.
Checks should be made out to "Core Sound LLC" and sent to:
Core Sound LLC
405 Cedar Lane, #1
Teaneck, NJ 07666
USA
Orders are typically shipped within two or three days but delivery times vary with our order load. We can usually accommodate "rush" orders, including same day shipments -- call and ask!
If you have questions, call and ask for Len Moskowitz. He can be reached at (201) 801-0812. His electronic mail address on the Internet is:
moskowit@core-sound.com
Customs Taxes
If you are ordering from outside the United States or Canada, your government may (or may not) charge you import taxes. Those taxes are your responsibility. If you are not certain, please ask your local Customs authority for more information.
VAT and Sales Taxes:
Core Sound LLC collects only State of New Jersey sales tax. We do not collect UK/Europe VAT taxes or any other taxes
High End Binaural Microphone Trial Offer
To give you a chance to try them out and decide if they're for you, Core Sound provides a 30 day trial period. All HEB microphone sets returned within 30 days of shipment qualify for a full refund, minus 10% re-stocking fee and shipping/handling charges, provided that they are returned in as-new condition.
High End Binaural Microphone Sampler Tape
You may download a copy of our sampler disk. It has three tracks that were recorded with our Binaural microphones, one with our Stealthy Cardioids and three selections recorded with our High-End Binaurals.
High End Binaural Microphone Limited Warranty
The DPA capsules used in the HEBs come with their full DPA warranty -- please see their Web site for details: www.dpamicrophones.com.
Core Sound provides a 1 year limited parts and labor warranty on the HEB battery box, cabling and connectors.
If a Core Sound High End Binaural microphone set requires repair during that period, ship them back to Core Sound postage paid with a description of the problem, and then please call us once we have them to discuss the problem. We will repair or replace them and ship them back to you at no charge.
No consequential damages are covered by this warranty.
High End Binaural Microphone User Comments
Flawn Williams, documentary and music recordist for public radio and independent projects, wrote:
“The "High-End Binaural" set featuring the DPA 4060 mikes sounds great on voices and natural ambiances. Their low noise and strong output is a good match for the line input of consumer DAT and MD recorders. Having hundreds of hours of service between battery changes is a real plus. And when mounted on helmets or glasses, the mikes have such low mass that the wearer can forget they're there!”
W.M., formerly of public radio and now a supervising audio engineer, wrote:
“You may remember me when I was the technical director for [a public radio company] series. I've used your DPA 4060 system in Tibet, Nepal, Africa, the arctic on foot, horseback and elephant. They have performed like champs.”
S.T.W. wrote:
“...I'm going to place an order for another DPA-4060 [HEB/4060] set on the web site. I LOVE the mikes. I use them constantly and the results are simply stunning. I post a lot of what I record on Dimeadozen, and everyone comments on how great the sound is. Thank you so much for making such a great product, and for the great support after purchase.”
W.H. in Boston wrote:
“It's been many years since I purchased my 1st pair of HEB's from you back in Jan 1999! I roughly do 50 shows a year, 14 years, I'd say those mics have done close to 700 shows! Heat, sweat, snow, ice, we get everything out here in Boston.
You don't know how much happiness I've gotten from those mics! I own a lot of things, but my HEB's are the most valuable. I tape almost every week. I listen to the things I've recorded. Those mics sound awesome. I've never been disappointed in them. "The B&K sound!" I relied on those mics when I was at $150 shows, 5 hours from home! They always came through!”
[He bought a new set!]
F.L.d.M, in Spain, wrote:
“Your micros -with different recorders, last one the Sony PCM-D1- have allowed me taping almost 400 opera performances all around the world. The level of quality have been appreciated in my country National Broadcasting Radio Euskadi where I run a Live Opera Program with my own personal recordings and men in the Radio were astonished of the quality of the sound.”
"S.T.W. wrote:
“I'm the proud owner of three pairs of HEB mics from you, which I love and use frequently. I usually use two pairs of them at once for concert recording, one attached to my glasses and the other mounted to bendable wire which I position at my collar.
...
Again, many thanks for building the best mics in the world. I have gotten hundreds of hours of pleasure from using them.”
B.K. (NAB), a professional recording engineer using our PDAudio recording system, wrote:
“I tried the HEBs on a SASS boundary (low stand) in front of a string quartet into my PDAudio system at 24/96 Sunday. All battery power. I've only had time for a quick listen, but I'm pleased with what I've heard. Impressed with the high frequency response of the mics--as you know, usable response over 40kHz. I was actually using this as a backup for the [Neumann] KU-100 (right in the middle and above the musicians) into the DSD recorder.”
B.S. sent us a recording and wrote:
“I just got your HEB mics and I have to say I love them. I thought I'd share a recording from the rolling thunder this weekend. Tens of thousand of motorcycles, I don't think I would of been able to capture it nearly as well or especially as easy without them. I rigged them on a backwards hat right at ear level. Recorded them at 24/96 right into a PCM D1. I'm amazed at how it captured the low end on those tiny capsules.”
J.H. wrote:
“I bought a set of your [HEB/]4060 mikes and I used them the other night to record in Grace Cathedral in SF. ... It came out fantastic ... the most incredible set of music I have ever heard. ... Un-believable sound! I feel like I won the lottery.”
M.V.B wrote:
“I have now purchased (2) sets of CSB mics, (1) set of HEB mics with 4060 capsules and the mic 24/96 and have loved them all. You make the best quality portable audio available in my opinion. I also appreciate the fact that these mics are so easy to sell used - I sold my 4060 mics on eBay for $850 after two years of use!”
P.S. up in Ontario Canada sent us a HEB/4061 order and wrote:
“These will be my third set of the HEBs. They truly do a great job. Looking forward to receiving them.”
H.H, in the UK, wrote:
“Build quality feels superb and the mics themselves are seriously tiny!”
A.S., a DAT taper, wrote:
“... I absolutely love those mics, and consider them one of the best audio investments I've ever made. I don't think that I've told you how happy I am with them before. I also regularly use them to record gigs by my own band.”
JC.A. wrote:
“Just a quick note to say thanks!
The high-end binaural mikes are really great. Having used small, cheap mikes from Sony and other brands, there really is no comparison. The high sensitivity is great: even from second tier near the back of Avery Fisher Hall, a notoriously poor acoustic environment, they do the job!
The small size and long cables make it easy to operate in stealth mode.
Thanks for allowing me to try the other mikes, and kindly refunding the initial payment.
The high end binaural mikes are worth every penny!
A real pleasure doing business with you.”
P.C., a taper in Canada using a set of HEBs with Mic2496, wrote: