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Forums :: Ask Harp Mic Expert Greg Heumann

Shure PE 588 B

1 reply [Last post]
Mon, 04/25/2011 - 15:59
marcos
marcos's picture
Offline
Teacher 9Level 10
Joined: 01/11/2010

Hey, Fritz!

I have a pair of Shure Omnisphere PE 588 B microphones.
They are low-Z mics with XLR connectors, as I'm sure you know.

The mics sound pretty good with a matching transformer at the amp end. A little tough to cup well, but when the cup is tight, they break up nicely.

I 'm thinking about leaving one low-z and changing one to high-z.
It appears that the elements (the replacement element for this mic is the R8, if that tells you anything) appear to be high-z.

Would removing the internal transformer (that I assume is hiding in there somewhere) and converting one of them to a high-z mic affect the performance/frequency response, etc.?

(I guess this is a general question, too, about how introducing and removing transformers changes the sound of a mic. I know people do the reverse all the time, converting mics with low-z elements to high-z by introducing a transformer).

Thanks (for everything!)

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Wed, 04/27/2011 - 13:19
#1
Mic Expert Frit...
Mic Expert Fritz Hasenpusch's picture
Offline
Joined: 01/16/2010
SHURE PE588B

Hello Marcos,
The lower order (BUDGET) dynamics are some of the great overlooked harpmic powerhouses. As they're strong on low end and lack the high frequency articulation of their costlier counterparts, they're a natural choice for the application. All dynamic elements are inherently wound very LOW-Z and require a MATCHING TRANSFORMER to couple their output to the input of whatever's to be utilized -amp, mixing board, computor, etc. The internal transformer dictates the target impedance -BUT there's no reason to stop there. The internal transformers can be swapped (not always a good idea as mismatches can occur) and of course external matching transformers can match the traditional HI-Z and LOW-Z mics to just about anything. The SHURE A95 would take the PE588's LOW-Z and covert it to HIGH-Z. Depending upon the make and specs of the mic and matching transformer used, there can be variables in the results. If both mics work and you've got the matching transformer, why switch the element?

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