Gravity, tension on center-terminated microphone diaphragms

[mesaone]

Hi folks, there are times when something happens that really challenges my audio knowledge, and this is one of them. I bought an Aston Origin mic recently, after being really impressed with another mic in their lineup. The origin is a large diaphragm condenser with a center-terminated capsule (example of this termination).

The mic makes a very prominent broadband "click" when I tilt it. Easily repeatable, just tilt backward 15 degrees or so. It sounds the same before and after the click. I did take the headbasket and grille off, and visually examined the mic while tilting back and forth slowly - still clicks, but there's no movement to the naked eye.

It first happened while adjusting the position when I was testing it with my voice. Nothing is physically moving around inside the body, so I can only assume it's from the center termination succumbing to gravity. Wrong tension or something, I don't know. I've never had this happen before, and I have plenty of microphones with similar capsule designs. One of my daily-use condenser VO mics is a KEL HM2D, which has an almost identical capsule design.

I don't know if I should return this thing and ask for another, or if this is not the fault of the mic itself but just a physics issue that I haven't ever encountered. Any insight would be helpful!

[Top Jimmy]

Double check your cabling to be sure the problem isn't happening there. Otherwise, return it as no mic should be popping just from tilting it.

[musicman691]

Is there any kind of circuit board inside? There could be a crack in the board or even a cold solder joint; could be an intermittent ground or shield. What happens if you tilt it forward those 15 or so degrees? I'm assuming you have the mic upright with the cable exiting at the bottom - try it upside down and see what happens. Silly things I know but it could lead to finding out if you have a bad mic or there's some kind of design flaw.

[Southsidemusic]

Matthew, we have the same mics and i tried this just now on both of them and we don't experience anything like that on ours.

As said above something might be glitchy and if you can't fix it yourself just return it and get a new one. They shouldn't behave like that at all.

[mesaone]

Yeah, it's not a cabling issue. Tried with the Spirit using the same cable, preamp, etc. No click.

Jack - nothing happens when tilting forward.
Chris - thanks for checking yours, that's a better control than using the Spirit.

Looks like I'll have to return it. Sigh.

[mesaone]

Thread bump with an update.

So I returned the mic, Alto Music sent me a new one. Received the new one a few days ago, just got around to testing it.

While this does not exhibit the "click" sound the other one did, this one has a high level of static almost as if it doesn't have proper RFI shielding. O know the drill, I tested it with multiple preamps and cables, in multiple rooms, alongside the Spirit and other mics. I know the grille is not the problem, my Aston Spirit has the same exact grille and does not exhibit this issue, nor did the first Aston Origin I received. Returning it to alto for a refund, I will not take the risk of exchanging it for a third Origin.

Sooo I'm not happy with Aston right now. I expect a few defects to slip through the cracks, but honestly their success rate with me is now at 33% which is not good. It's a shame because I really like this design, it's unique and looks great on camera.

To their credit, Alto Music was very good about returns, they paid for return shipping and they were easy to work with over the phone. +1 for Alto, -2 for Aston. I will definitely shop at Alto again, but I will not buy from Aston again unless I can test the mic before shelling out the cash.

Also one thing that surprised me during my testing is just how nice the Blue Encore 200 sounds on my voice. I bought a pair of them for $150 on a whim, figured they would come in handy at some point. So I'll give Blue a +1 too.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by mesaone

Thread bump with an update.

So I returned the mic, Alto Music sent me a new one. Received the new one a few days ago, just got around to testing it.

While this does not exhibit the "click" sound the other one did, this one has a high level of static almost as if it doesn't have proper RFI shielding. O know the drill, I tested it with multiple preamps and cables, in multiple rooms, alongside the Spirit and other mics. I know the grille is not the problem, my Aston Spirit has the same exact grille and does not exhibit this issue, nor did the first Aston Origin I received. Returning it to alto for a refund, I will not take the risk of exchanging it for a third Origin.

Sooo I'm not happy with Aston right now. I expect a few defects to slip through the cracks, but honestly their success rate with me is now at 33% which is not good. It's a shame because I really like this design, it's unique and looks great on camera.

To their credit, Alto Music was very good about returns, they paid for return shipping and they were easy to work with over the phone. +1 for Alto, -2 for Aston. I will definitely shop at Alto again, but I will not buy from Aston again unless I can test the mic before shelling out the cash.

Also one thing that surprised me during my testing is just how nice the Blue Encore 200 sounds on my voice. I bought a pair of them for $150 on a whim, figured they would come in handy at some point. So I'll give Blue a +1 too.

Thanks for the update. I'm sure they've figured out that there are quality issues with the current batch of Aston mics they have but in case they haven't you might want to make them aware of that. What I'm saying is if you're having consistent quality issues it may be endemic to the batch they have. And if Alto is aware or made aware of that that may give them stroke with Aston in getting the whole batch of Aston product they have replaced. I've been part of similar scenarios in the past (on the end user end) and the vendors in each case have been successful in getting their stock replaced.

[mesaone]

Yeah Jack, I was thinking the same thing. So when I arranged for return shipping I explained that this is the second fault in a row for this model, and that I had doubts about Aston's QC. I don't know if they actually keep track of things like that, but Aston certainly would if the returns get sent back to the manufacturer as defective.

[mesaone]

Alto finally got around to refunding my money. But they included a note...

So we received back the second mic and there is nothing wrong with this one either. I am refunding you minus the return shipping on this. Let me know if you have any other questions

I don't know what they're talking about, both microphones had serious defects. Gravity should not make a microphone transmit a clicking sound, unless there's a manufacturer defect or it's a ribbon mic that needs re-tensioning. And if a noise floor as high as what I experienced with the second mic was "nothing wrong" then the it wouldn't have been 25 dB higher than the first one.

Also, they used this as justification to bill me for the return shipping. So I take back my praise for Alto music. It's a bit insulting. They don't know what level of experience I have, but I can't help but feel they're trying to take advantage of someone who they think doesn't know much about audio.

[grandfir]

@Mesaone

I'm currently having issue with my 4th (not joking) Aston Spirit. I have returned 3 microphones to Long and Mcquade, then wrote Aston a letter. It was only after saying that I was interested in the other mics in the line, that they wanted to keep me happy. They sent me a complimentary Spirit (minus customs fees...). Guess what, this mic is giving me the same issue. Of course there is nothing wrong with this mic according to Aston, and the other three must have just been subject to cold humidity.....right....I've owned cheap and expensive condenser mics, and have never experienced anything like this.

The issue:

The mic is completely intermittent. Sometimes it just works with a fraction of it's gain, and as if it is picking up wind. Then, all of a sudden it will "pop" into full gain...then, "check 1-2", and the slightest of vocal plosive will make the mic cut out completely..almost as if there is a super aggressive kill switch on the mic.

So, it's buggered. I didn't pay for this mic, but with the hassle I've been through, and the money I'll now have to spend to fix it, it still is not worth it. I wish I knew how to fix it.