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[Justice C. Bigler]

Is it safe to use the dbx RTA-M mics for system tuning outside during hot heather? I'm talking about 100+ degree heat and high humidity and in direct sunlight.


I have read that these mics have a plastic diaphragm and may be susceptible to stretching or melting during high temp situations.


I seem to be getting calls to tune systems for outdoor spaces lately and would rather not take my borrowed Earthworks M30s into those situations.

[Ivan Beaver]

Is it safe to use the dbx RTA-M mics for system tuning outside during hot heather? I'm talking about 100+ degree heat and high humidity and in direct sunlight.


I have read that these mics have a plastic diaphragm and may be susceptible to stretching or melting during high temp situations.


I seem to be getting calls to tune systems for outdoor spaces lately and would rather not take my borrowed Earthworks M30s into those situations.

You are correct the diaphragm getting damaged.  Heck just throw it in a plastic bag and put it in  your car for an afternoon.

Just don't leave it outside/exposed very long.

EDIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The response about throwing it in a plastic bag IS NOT TO BE DONE!!!!!!!!

It WILL damage the mic.

What I meant by that is, you don't have to have it in direct sunlight for it to be damaged by the heat.

[Justice C. Bigler]

HI Ivan, thanks for the response. But I'm a little confused by your response.

You say to throw it in a plastic bag and put it in my car. But then you say not to leave it outside for very long. Inside my car will heat up much more than being outside during the summer.

And how long do you think it would be safe to use them in direct sunlight outside during the summer? 15 minutes? 2 Hours?

[David Sturzenbecher]

HI Ivan, thanks for the response. But I'm a little confused by your response.

You say to throw it in a plastic bag and put it in my car. But then you say not to leave it outside for very long. Inside my car will heat up much more than being outside during the summer.

And how long do you think it would be safe to use them in direct sunlight outside during the summer? 15 minutes? 2 Hours?

If you head over to Testmic.com  you will find this quote

"Most microphones sold for measurement use in the under $1500 price range have plastic diaphragms. The combination of the diaphragm materials and the construction techniques used result in sensitivity to temperature extremes. Worse, a single exposure to high temperatures such as found in a car in summer, can result in significant permanent changes in response. Some manufacturers attempt to minimize these effects by "pre-aging" the microphone capsules before final assembly and calibration, but this does not remove the inherent instability of these capsules."

[Ivan Beaver]

HI Ivan, thanks for the response. But I'm a little confused by your response.

You say to throw it in a plastic bag and put it in my car. But then you say not to leave it outside for very long. Inside my car will heat up much more than being outside during the summer.

And how long do you think it would be safe to use them in direct sunlight outside during the summer? 15 minutes? 2 Hours?

Maybe I should have been clearer.  I will change my comment.

I meant it sarcastically.  DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES do what I what I said.

The mic will be damaged.

I am not even going to make a guess about long is to long.  It can vary on a number of conditions, temp-direct sunlight-windspeed etc.


But 2 hours would be a VERY LONG time.

A windscreen could help reduce the direct sunlight on the end of the mic. 

But it will also affect the freq response.

You could measure that effect inside, and just compensate for it in the measurement.

[Justice C. Bigler]

So what mics are you guys using for system tuning and measurement for outdoor systems during the summer?

I can't afford a $1,500 metal diaphragm mic (much less a pair of them). Nor do I want to buy a new set of mics for every time I have to do an outdoor system.

[David Sturzenbecher]

I use TM1s and Josephson C550s and test against a known good mic every 6 months or so. You can create a microphone correction curve in Smaart if the drift isn't horrible.


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