Stuart91 Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 A band I deal with have snapped up some AKG C519 clip on mics, planning on using them with their brass section. The only problem is that the mics have mini-XLR leads, and seem to be intended for use with radio packs. My radio stock is on Shure and Sennheiser, so 3-pin mini XLRs won't fit anything. Is there an easy way of getting them onto a normal, phantom-powered XLR line? The only accessory listed on the AKG website is the B23 which has far too many options and buttons to be left lying around on stage, and it's battery powered too. It would be lovely if I could just snip one end of the mini-XLR leads and solder on a standard one, but I'm not sure if that's going to work or not... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Pratt Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 I think there's some active electronics required to convert 48v phantom power to some other system. AKG do produce a cable for the job... https://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_c519_ersatzkabel_eak3170z0001.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted October 19, 2017 Author Share Posted October 19, 2017 It certainly looks like there's something inside the XLR on that adaptor lead. I think they'll just have to bite the bullet and buy a few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 But is it an active cable, or just an expensive adaptor. The reviews suggest the latter, although I’m not sure I trust them. The spec for theC519M suggests that the phantom requirements are 9-52V, which suggests it might be a passive adaptor.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted October 19, 2017 Author Share Posted October 19, 2017 I've just remembered that I have some mini XLR to male XLR leads, that came with some budget boundary mics. I've just tried one, and the mic output seems very quiet. It's hard to tell for sure on a very basic system but it doesn't sound like it'll be useable as-is. I wonder if there's some impedance trickery going on in the "official" adaptor cable? I'm tempted to buy one and reverse engineer it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted October 19, 2017 Share Posted October 19, 2017 There are two versions offered.... The C519M has a miniXLR to XLR lead provided and will run from a standard phantom power supply. The C519ML has a miniXLR to miniXLR lead provided and it must be plugged into either a B29L power pack/mixer (which is discontinued) or the MPA VL which is an XLR to miniXLR / 48V phantom to mic bias voltage adaptor. I do not have evidence, but suspect that firms are selling off stock of the 519ML variant and people are snapping them up not realising they need the phantom to bias voltage adaptors... after which they do not seem quite such a bargain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted October 20, 2017 Author Share Posted October 20, 2017 I do not have evidence, but suspect that firms are selling off stock of the 519ML variant and people are snapping them up not realising they need the phantom to bias voltage adaptors... after which they do not seem quite such a bargain! Thanks, Simon - I think that's exactly what's happened here. It's the 519ML that they've got. I've had a look at the website they bought them from and whilst it does mention the need for an adaptor, it's not exactly prominent and there's no link to the necessary parts. Easy to see how someone looking to snap up a bargain wouldn't notice it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richardash1981 Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 There is a fairly simple circuit with a zener and two low-noise transistors to convert an electret capsule to phantom powered XLR. I built a couple for Canford gooseneck microphones (again bargains because they were the installation version with no base unit electronics). I based mine on the example found under the heading "Balanced electret microphone circuit" here http://www.epanorama...e_powering.html, and this write-up http://www.audioimpr..._Circuits.html. Some day I will get round to blogging what I actually built! Alternatively I'm pretty sure you could make up some 3-pin to 4-pin mini-XLR adaptors to use them with your belt packs, if that made sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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