Mic & Mod 414 microphone.

This large-diaphragm condenser microphone has been inspired on the basis

of the famous AKG C414 microphone. Using advanced, reliable components
that provide more functions in the same space, the 414 meets the highest
professional standards and will withstand the tough handling typically
encountered in the recording studio and on stage for many years.
The electronic circuitry of the microphone has been redesigned to achieve
completely linear transfer characteristics of all electrical parameters.
Extremely low self-noise and high headroom add up to a dynamic range of
approximately 134 dB (A-weighted) that is far superior to figures quoted for
conventional condenser microphones and other studio equipment.
The all-metal body adds to the rejection of RF interference so you can use
the microphone near transmitter stations, along with wireless microphones
or other communications equipment.

Parts list:
2 Resistor, 22 ohm Red/red/black/gold (brown)
1 Resistor, 330 ohm Orange/orange/black/black (brown)
1 Resistor, 560 ohm Green/blue/black/black (brown)
2 Resistor, 2200 ohm Red/red/black/brown (brown)
1 Resistor, 6800 ohm Blue/gray/black/red (brown)
1 Resistor, 15 K.ohm Brown/green/black/red (brown)
1 Resistor, 30 K.ohm Orange/black/black/red (brown)
2 Resistor, 100 K.ohm Brown/black/black/orange (brown)
1 Resistor, 120 K.ohm Brown/red/black/orange (brown)
3 Resistor, 150 K.ohm Brown/green/black/orange (brown)
1 Resistor, 470 K.ohm Yellow/purple/black/orange (brown)
1 Resistor, 680 K.ohm Blue/gray/black/orange (brown)
1 Trimmer potentiometer 1 M.ohm Round, blue
1 Resistor, 3,3 M.ohm Orange/orange/black/yellow (brown)
1 Resistor, 4,7 M.ohm Yellow/purple/black/yellow (brown)
1 Resistor, 6,8 M.ohm Blue/gray/black/yellow (brown)
2 Resistor, 1 G.ohm Brown/black/gray (silver)
23 Resistors
 1 27 pF, ceramic (+extra 22 pF) 27 - Ceramic capacitor, RM5 (22)
1 30 pF trimmer, Murata Green with two pins
2 1000 pf / 63 Volt Wima 1000
1 1000 pF /630 Volt Wima 1000/630
3 10 nF / 63 Volt Wima 10 n J63
2 22 nF / 63 Volt Wima 0.022
3 100 nF / 63 Volt Wima 0.1
2 150 nF / 63 Volt Wima 0.15
2 220 nF / 63 Volt Wima 220 n
1 47 µF / 35 Volt Electrolytic 47 µF
1 220 µF / 10 Volt Electrolytic 220 µF
19 Capacitors

1 Inductor, 68 µH Blue/gray/black (silver)

1 Inductor, 150 µH Brown/green/brown (silver)
2 Zener diode, 6,2 Volt 6V2
1 Zener diode, 6,8 Volt 6V8
1 Zener diode, 7,5 Volt 7V5
4 Diode, 1N4148 1N4148
1 Transistor BC547B BC547B - NPN transistor
1 Transistor BC557B Matched pair BC557B - PNP transistor
1 FET, 2SK30 K30A -Field Effect Transistor
13 Items

1 Audio PCB Custom PCB

1 DC converter PCB Custom PCB
1 Swicth PCB, two 3-position switches Low cut and Pad
1 Switch PCB, one 4-position switch Pattern selection
2 3-position switches Low-cut and Pad switch
1 4-position switch Pattern switch
4 Spacers, 3 mm. For mounting the switch PCBs
6 Washer, M1.7 For mounting switch PCBs and capsule
4 Screws M1.6 x 8 For mounting the switch PCBs
4 Screws M1.6 x 5 For mounting the Audio/DC conv. PCBs
2 Screws M1.6 x 6 For mounting the capsule
2 Teflon feedthrough pins White with small metal pin
29 items

Note: most multimeters are not capable of measuring resistors much higher than
1 M.ohm. Just trust the color code!

Depending on the manufacturer, some components may look different.

 First a word of warning: The 414 is not a very easy
microphone to build.
To successfully build this microphone, you need a certain
amount of experience in building miniature electronic circuits.
Also you should have good soldering skills and use a soldering
iron with a fine tip, together with thin (0.5 or 0.6 mm) solder.
If you are unexperienced, this may not be the best microphone
to start with. (The 414 is also available assembled.)

We will describe the construction of this microphone step by step.

Take your time and don’t rush things!
Maybe it is a good idea to read through this build description first to get an idea of the
steps that need to be taken to build this microphone.

1- Remove the four crosshead screws from the bottom of the microphone body

2- Remove the four screws in the top corners that hold the headbasket in place.

3- Take off the headbasket and remove the two screws that fasten the top plate with
the capsule mount. We will use a different capsule mount. Save all screws!

4- Remove the original capsule mount by unscrewing the two screws with washers
that hold it. (There are nuts inside the capsule mount.)

5- Use two countersunk M2 x 5 screws to place the new capsule mount.

6- Depending on the capsule mount in your kit, it may be necessary to take off the
saddle of the alternative capsule mount and use the saddle of the mount that was
present in the microphone body as you received it. Use the short screw to secure the
saddle on the new capsule mount. You may want to add a drop op glue between the
mount and te saddle. Adjust the saddle in such a way that it will later be in parallel
with the front of the microphone.

7- Place the metal top plate back and fasten the screws that you took out in step 3.

8 - What you have now should look like this:

9- Remove the screw in the bottom part that holds the XLR insert and remove the
insert. Solder three thin flexible wires to the pins of the XLR insert.
In this example we use the following colors:
Pin 1: Black (Connect the ground lug, with the screw, also to pin 1.)
Pin 2: Red
Pin 3: Blue.
Wire length should be approximately 5 cm, or 2 inches.

Put back the XLR insert and fasten it with the screw you took out before.
This completes the first modifications of the microphone body itself.

10- As a kind of ‘warming up’, we assemble the two small PCBs with the switches.
One PCB holds a four-position switch. This will be the switch to select the directional
pattern. The second small PCB holds the two three-position switches; the ‘pad’
switch and the ‘low cut’ switch.
The four-position switch can be mounted in any position, the three-position switches
only fit one way. Make sure that the switches are ‘flat’ on the small PCBs, so not
under an angle. Solder all pins and the solder tabs that fasten the body of the switch.
Take care not to introduce solder bridges between connections.
If this happens, you can remove the bridge with bit of solder wick.
The small PCBs with the switches:

After these initial preparations, it is now time for the more ‘serious’ work: the
assembly of the two main PCBs. We start with the smallest components: the diodes.
The first PCB is the so called ‘DC/DC converter’. The circuit that makes + and – 60
volts out of the 48 volts phantom power the microphone will receive later from the
mixer or the audio interface.
 11- The first batch of PCBs contains a small error on the
screenprint. This has no influence on the working of the PCB,
you only have to ignore the indicated position of two diodes.
All 1N4148 diodes should be mounted in the same direction.
Even if you would mount the diodes in the wrong direction (as
indicated on the screenprint), this would not damage anything,
but the figure-8 position would not work later on.
Of course this error will be corrected in the next batch of PCBs!
Place the four 1N4148 diodes (usually delivered on a single strip) as shown below
and solder them. All black rings on the diodes should be on the left.
12- Next place and solder the 6.8 V zener diode, the 330 ohm resistor and the 680
K.ohm resistor. (For the color codes see the parts list.)

13 – Place and solder the 3.3 M.ohm resistor and the 6.8 M.ohm resistor.
14 – Solder a 150 K.ohm resistor on the back of the PCB, so on the side where the
conductive traces are.

15 - Place and solder the two 100 K.ohm resistors. Also add the two inductors, 68µH
and 150 µH. The inductors look a bit like resistors. Place the inductors a little above
the PCB, and move them together as close as possible. (They interact.)
16 – Place and solder the two 1000 pF (1 nF) capacitors and the two 0.1 µF
capacitors.

17 – Place another 0.1 µF capacitor (on the bottom) and a 10 nF capacitor (right).
18 – Three more components: the small 27 pF capacitor, the 30 pF green trimmer
capacitor en the BC547B transistor.
Note: in the latest version of the C414 kit, you will also find a 22 pF capacitor.
In case you can’t reach the optimal polarisation voltage, remove the 27 pF capacitor
and use the 22 pF capacitor instead. (You may have to adjust the distance between
the wires of this capacitor.) This will usually increase the output voltage.

Take care that you push the transistor down as much as (reasonably) possible.
There is not very much space above the PCB. If the top of the transistor would be too
high, it might touch the outside of the microphone body later on.

You will notice that there are still two positions without a component.
This space was reserved for two 22 nF capacitors.
Extensive tests have shown that the presence of these capacitors (they work as
filters for the polarisation voltage) in some cases may cause parasitic oscillation,
causing a ‘beeping’ sound at the moment the ‘pad’ switch is used.
For this reason, it is better to leave them out of the circuit for now.
There is more filtering going on in the DC/DC converter, so the absence of these two
capacitors doesn’t degrade the performance of the circuit.

This finishes the first PCB.

Next, we continue with the audio PCB.
19 – We start the work on the audio PCB with the 7.5 V zener diode and the two
6.2 V zener diodes:

20 - On the back of the PCB, we mount the 15 K.ohm, 30 K.ohm, 120 K.ohm and the
470 K.ohm resistors. They are placed on the side of the PCB where the conductive
traces are:
21 – Place and solder the two 2.2 K.ohm and the two 150 K.ohm resistors:

22 – Next, place the two 22 ohm resistors and the 680 ohm resistor:
23 – Place and solder the 4.7 M.ohm resistor and the 560 ohm resistor:

24 – Place the small teflon pins in the holes:

25 – Solder the 1 G.ohm resistors with one end on top of a teflon pin and solder the
other end to the PCB. Let the resistors ‘float’ a little above the PCB:
26 – Place and solder the 10 nF and 150 nF (0.15) capacitors:

27 – Place and solder the 0.22 µF capacitors (=220n), the 220 µF capacitor, the
47 µF capacitor and the trimpot. The ‘-‘ side of the electrolytic capacitors is marked
with a white band. This white band should be at the side of the PCB:
28 – Place and solder the two BC557 transistors. Note that the position of the flat
sides of the transistors is different, so take care of the correct position:

29 – Insert the 2SK30 FET. Bend the center leg outside and solder the two outer
pins to the PCB. Take care that the transistors and the FET are as low as possible
above the PCB, to prevent them from touching the microphone body later on.
Solder the center pin of the 2SK30 on top of the teflon feedthrough pin, as shown in
the picture before.

30 – Solder the 1000 pf/630 V capacitor on the bottom of the PCB between the two
teflon feedthrough pins. Put the capacitor as close as possible on the PCB.

Now these steps are completed, we have all the ‘building blocks’ ready and we can
start to assemble the microphone.

Of course we could start to put everything together now and hope the best of it, but at
this stage it is a good idea to do some simple tests to check if we didn’t make
mistakes and make sure that everything works as expected.
To do this we have to make some temporary connections:
Connect the XLR insert to the audio PCB, connect the points ‘C’ of both PCBs
together and do the same with points ‘D’, like this:
Connect the XLR to a microphone input of a mixer or audio interface that can deliver
48 volts phantom power. Set the gain as low as possible!
Switch on the phantom power and check the following:

- Measure the voltage between ‘ground’ (=the wire connecting the points ‘D’) and the
drain of the FET. The ‘D’ points are the negative side (‘-‘), the test point as indicated
in the picture is the positive side. (‘+’)
Slowly rotate the blue trimpot and observe if this causes a variation of the voltage.
Try to adjust the voltage for 5.25 Volts, this will be a good starting value.
Note that there is a slight delay between the rotation of the trimpot and the indication
on the meter.
Test of the FET bias voltage:

If this test was successful, we check and set the polarisation voltage on the other
PCB. The points we are going to measure, have a rather high ‘internal impedance’.
This means that at the moment we load these points with a meter, the voltage will
drop a bit depending on the load. Usually, a digital voltmeter will load the measured
object less than a moving coil (‘needle’) meter, so a digital meter is better in this
case. Also, the measurement will be more reliable if you temporarily put in the two
(until now) missing 22 nF capacitors.
If you solder them in, don’t push them in so far that they touch the PCB, because
this will make it more difficult to remove them later. Just solder the tips of the
capacitor wires. Measure the voltage on these points:

(22 nF capacitors not shown for clarity.)

Try to adjust the green trimmer in such a way that both the positive and negative
voltages on the indicated test points are close to 60 volts. Don’t go higher than 60
volts, because this can damage the microphone capsule later on!
You will notice that at the moment you touch the trimmer with a small screwdriver,
the voltage will change. This is normal. Measure the voltage at the moment the
trimmer is untouched.
If you use a moving coil (‘needle’) meter, it is safer to aim for 55 volts, because the
voltage will be higher in reality at the moment you disconnect the meter.
If you can’t get the voltage as high as (55) 60 volts, refer to point 18.

Now these measurements and settings are completed, the chance is 99,99% that the
microphone will work at the moment it is completely assembled.
Unsolder the 22 nF capacitors if you have placed them for the test.

Remove the ‘C’ and ‘D’ connections and also unsolder the wires to the XLR insert.

31 – We place the microphone capsule in the capsule mount.

Don’t touch the membranes of the microphone capsule with your fingers!
Use two M1.6 x 6 screws with washers to fasten the microphone capsule.
Don’t overtighten the screws!
Lead the (yellow) membrane wires through the metal plate on both sides, in such a
way that you will later know which wire is coming from the front membrane and which
one is coming from the rear membrane.
It is a kind of an ‘unwritten law’, that the front of a microphone is the side where the
unlock button of the XLR connector is. This is also the side where the screw in the
XLR insert is. Twist the (blue or black) backplate wires and lead them down through
a hole at the side:
This is how it would look from the bottom; it is clear which wires are front and back.

Fasten the headbasket with four screws to protect the microphone capsule.

32 – Solder four thin flexible wires to the points A, B, C and D of the audio PCB.
33 – Solder short pieces of wire in the 8 holes on the top side of both PCBs.
You can use the ends of the resistor wires that you have cut off.
The wires should be pointing up, like this:

34 – Take the audio PCB, this is the one with the blue trimmer potentiometer and
mount it on the side where there is no screw of the XLR insert.
Use two M 1.6 x 5 screws in the smaller side of the PCB.

Slide the miniature PCB with the two switches over the wires. This is easier if not all
wires have the same length. You could cut them in the shape of a ‘pan flute’...
Put a 3 mm. thick spacer under each hole in the small PCB.
Use two screws M 1.6 x 8 with a small washer to fasten the two PCBs together to the
frame. Do not tighten the screws yet! Move the small PCB in such a way, that the
handles of the switches just don’t touch the edge of the headbasket.
The slotted holes make it possible to move the switch PCB to the correct position.
If you think you found the best position, carefully tighten the screws, but don’t
overtighten them, because the small M 1,6 mm thread is fragile.

So the correct order is: Screw – washer – small switch PCB – spacer – Audio PCB –
microphone frame.
If everything is in place, cut the excess length of the wires and solder them to the
switch PCB on the top.

35 – Now we make some connections on the bottom of the audio PCB.

The wires coming from the XLR insert on the bottom, and the backplate wires from
the microphone capsule:

36: There are still four wires left on this PCB, plus the capsule wires.
We connect these to the DC converter PCB.
A from one PCB goes to A on the other PCB, etc.
Now we still have the two wires from the microphone capsule left.
The front membrane wire (=on the side with the XLR screw) connects to ‘F’ and the
rear membrane connects to ‘R’.
Now this is completed, you can ‘fold’ the whole construction down on the frame of the
microphone and fasten it with two M 1.6 x 5 screws on the smaller side of the PCB.
Slide the 4-position pattern switch PCB over the wires and adjust and fasten it in the
same way as you did with the other switch PCB in step 34.

Here too, adjust the position of the switch PCB in such a way that the handle of the
switch just doesn’t touch the edge of the headbasket.
Cut the excess length of the wires and solder them on the top side of the small PCB.

If you have successfully completed the test procedure as described before, you
should now have a working microphone!
Slide the bottom part over the microphone construction and fasten it with four screws
in the bottom.

Some hints:

The microphone contains a -10 dB and a -20 dB ‘pad’ position.

Normally use this switch in the 0 dB position.
Only use the ‘pad switch’ when the microphone is near extreme loud sound sources,
that might overload the microphone or the microphone amplifier.
Using the pad switch on ‘average’ sound levels, will degrade the signal to noise ratio.
There are several ways to implement a ‘pad’ switch:
1- Switching a capacitor in parallel with the microphone capsule.
2- Adjusting the gain of the amplifier inside the microphone.
3- Reducing the polarisation voltage on the microphone capsule.

This microphone uses the last option (3), because it also reduces the distortion.
The polarisation voltage will attrack the membrane to the backplate and with a lower
polarisation voltage, the membrane will be able to move more ‘freely’.

The low-cut switch (-3dB at 75Hz or 150 Hz) can be used to reduce the ‘proximity
effect’, if somebody is speaking from a close distance into the microphone.

Version 1.2, November 2022 / RvS