recordinghacks

Mojave Audio MA-200

Cardioid Tube Condenser Microphone

Designed by David Royer, the MA-200 is a large diaphragm, tube condenser microphone with a fixed cardioid pattern.

Mojave Audio microphones are designed by David Royer in the US and manufactured to Royer’s specs in China. Some parts, such as tubes and transformers, are provided to the manufacturer by Mojave Audio.

The MA-200 capsules are of Chinese origin. It is a 3-micron, dual-diaphragm design, although the rear diaphragm is neither sputtered nor wired into the circuit. The presence of the rear diaphragm is required to put the proper acoustic load on the capsule. The front diaphragm is center-terminated; David Royer has commented that Chinese copies of the Neumann K67-style (large-diaphragm) capsules are more consistent and higher quality than other Chinese LDC capsules.

The MA-200 uses a 5840 pentode vacuum tube in a plate-loaded circuit configuration. The output is transformer-coupled, using a Jensen transformer.

The tube power supply can be switched for 115V or 230V operation, at 50 or 60Hz.

Mojave Audio

The MA-200 sound is reminiscent of some of the most beloved German mics. The design is somewhat of a hybrid of the electronics of a U47 with a K67 type capsule (used in U-67, U-87, SM-69, M-269)

MIX

When paired with an excellent preamp, this mic is simply gorgeous.

The origin of the MA-200 appears to be David Royer’s circa-2001 tube mod for the early Chinese K67-based FET mics, specifically the MXL2001. A HOWTO article was published in TapeOp #25; although reprints are no longer available, the article has been archived here: One tube microphone from Berlin and one from Barstow.

EQ Magazine

The MA-200 is not a retro-sounding tube mic. With its upper frequency boost and a slight midrange dip, it has a very smooth and modern sound. Vocally, it works well for aggressive music where the singers need a bit of an edge. The flip side is that its upper midrange emphasis can be a problem with singers who tend toward sibilance…

Joe Barressi

I found that the MA-200 sounded a lot warmer and thicker than the competition. The snare sound in the overheads was a lot fuller and the MA-200 was never overly aggressive, nor bright.

The Mojave Audio MA-200 is also known as: MA200.

Specifications

Frequency Response - CardioidClick Graph to Compare!

Pickup Patterns	Pads & Filters
Cardioid (14.1 mV/Pa; 30 - 18,000 Hz)

Capsule Dimensions	Impedance	SPL/Noise
Diaphragm diameter: 26mm Capsule diameter: 32mm Diaphragm gauge: 3 microns	200 Ohms (Low)	Max SPL: 120 dB Self-noise: 16.0 dB(A)

Weight	Length	Max Diameter	Interface(s)
454g (16.01oz)	194mm (7.64'')	51mm (2.01'')	3-pin XLR male (1)

Power Specifications
Includes tube power supply

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