MXL 3000
Cardioid Condenser Microphone
The MXL 3000 is a large-diaphragm condenser with a transformer-coupled output circuit. It is part of MXL’s 900 series, an OEM series of mics for Guitar Center and affiliated companies.
Its capsule is MXL’s standard 32mm K67-style, a large-diaphragm center-terminated capsule with a pronounced high-frequency peak.
The circuit is a 2-stage transistor design with a low-ratio output transformer. It is nearly identical to the MXL 2001 / V67G circuit, with a 2SK170 JFET and 2SA1015 transistor driving the the transformer. However, the MXL 3000 version of the circuit is upgraded in at least two significant ways from the 2001/V67G:
- the capsule is directly coupled to the JFET input, with no coupling capacitor. In contrast, the 2001/V67G use a cheap ceramic coupling capacitor, which is the first thing any modder would upgrade.
- the output capacitor is an oversized MKT metallized polyester film cap, rather than a small tantalum capacitor.
This circuit almost certainly has negative feedback, as found in the 2001/V67G, to perform corrective EQ on the capsule.
As with the 2001/V67G that we’ve seen, the 3000 uses a polarization voltage of +35VDC. This relatively low voltage level is a result of the mic’s lack of a DC converter/multiplier; the 48V phantom supply feeds the two transistor stages, and what is left (~35V) is what biases the capsule.
The MXL 3000 ships in a variety of packages. Some include a hard mount and flight case. Others forgo both these in favor of a shockmount and metal-mesh pop filter (as found in MXL’s “Vocalist Studio Recording” package, also billed simply as the “MXL 3000 Bundle”).
Permalink: MXL 3000
Specifications
Pickup Patterns | Pads & Filters |
---|---|
Cardioid
(16 mV/Pa; 20 - 20,000 Hz) |
|
Capsule Dimensions | Impedance | SPL/Noise |
---|---|---|
Diaphragm diameter: 25mm Capsule diameter: 32mm Diaphragm gauge: 6 microns |
200 Ohms (Low) | Self-noise: 19.0 dB(A) |
Weight | Length | Max Diameter | Interface(s) |
---|---|---|---|
430g (15.17oz) | 215mm (8.46'') | 50mm (1.97'') |
|
Power Specifications |
---|
|
Did we get anything wrong on this page? Please let us know!