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MXL 2003A

Cardioid Condenser Microphone

MXL’s 2003A is a revamp of the popular model 2003. Both are side-address, large-diaphragm, fixed-cardioid, transformerless FET condensers with a tapered body style.

That said, the 2003A “is for all intents and purposes a completely new microphone,” according to Roy Harper of MXL.

The 2003A capsule measures 32mm and uses a 3-micron diaphragm. The front diaphragm is gold-sputtered and center-terminated; the rear is clear Mylar. The front backplate appears to be a K67 type; the rear backplate has fewer, larger holes. According to MXL, the 2003A capsule is tuned differently than the capsule in the original 2003.

The amplifier circuit was redesigned, resulting in (among other changes) a decrease in sensitivity, from 16 mV/Pa to 7.1 mV/Pa, and a decrease in self-noise from 18dBA to 11 dBA. The circuit is transformerless, and is built with through-hole components.

In our testing, the capsule polarization voltage is 61VDC. The JFET (mounted under a plastic box on the circuit board) is a 2SK170GL.

This new version of the mic has a significantly less hyped top end than MXL’s other transformerless LDCs (such as the V57, V63M, 2006). In our own testing, the 2003A’s presence peak is 3dB lower in amplitude than a V57/V63M at 12kHz.

Like the 2003, the 2003A ships with an elastic shockmount (MXL p/n MXL-56).

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The mic was released in 2009.

Specifications

Frequency Response - CardioidClick Graph to Compare!

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Cardioid (7.1 mV/Pa; 20 - 20,000 Hz)	Pad: -10dB (Via Switch) Filter: HPF: -6dB/octave @ 150Hz (Via Switch)

Capsule Dimensions	Impedance	SPL/Noise
Diaphragm diameter: 25mm Capsule diameter: 32mm Diaphragm gauge: 3 microns	200 Ohms (Low)	Max SPL: 152 dB Self-noise: 11.0 dB(A)

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
454g (16.01oz)	190mm (7.48'')	50mm (1.97'')	3-pin XLR male (1)

Power Specifications
Requires phantom power Phantom voltage: 48 ± 4v

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