DPA Microphones continues to expand and improve upon its microphone solutions for pro audio users. This time around, the company sent me the d:screet 4071 omnidirectional miniature microphone to run through its paces. The 4071 is an update to DPA’s 4061 model, a workhorse praised for its sound quality that gets a lot of use on higher-end theatrical productions.
What’s New
The 4071 now offers a couple of updates designed specifically to boost sound quality for speech and singing vocals even further. The mic now includes an acoustical low-cut into the capsule to help eliminate frequencies below 100 Hz. There’s also a boost in the vocal presence frequency range to compensate for the loss of those frequencies that occurs when mics are placed on the body.
The 4071 appears to have the same basic construction as the 4061 and 4060 microphones, sharing their durability. DPA has also upgraded the strain relief on the microphone, as well as added reinforcement around where the capsule connects to the cable. We didn’t test this strain relief, as I believe in “better safe than sorry” and added the traditional strain relief by looping back the cable over the strain relief on the connector and securing it with a Hellerman Sleeve.
Onstage Performance
I used the mics at the spring musical at Las Vegas Academy of the Arts (a performing arts magnet school in Las Vegas), a production of the Elton John/Tim Rice musical Aida. I had beige mics for the show, but they are also available in black and white for different needs. The demo units came with Microdot connectors and adapters from DPA’s line of accessories to fit the locking 1/8-inch jacks on our transmitters. Adapters for all standard wireless mic beltpack transmitters (as well as an XLR adapter for hard-wired applications) are also offered.
A noticeable change to the mic is that the mic cap screen is not removable. The screens were firmly attached on our demo units. This is a very different configuration than with the removable high-boost cap on the 4061. That cap can give you a 10 dB boost at 10k Hz, but affecting the frequency at 4k Hz to 6k Hz is a little more finicky. In order to achieve their 5 dB boost from 4k Hz to 6k Hz, an exact placement of the cap is necessary. And to keep this exact placement, DPA secures the mic cap in place. As many of us have schedules for cleaning mic caps on long-running shows, this might become an issue with makeup clogs and sweat-out situations. So extra care in any cleaning is a must. For Aida, the crew did have to carefully clean some makeup off the screen of the cap, but it was not a big deal for us.
For this performance testing, we put the 4071’s on custom-built headsets. The goal for this rock-style production was to get extra gain out of mounting them in this way. Two of the lead actors were carefully selected so that we could allow the difference between the stock microphones and these demo units to stand out just a little without distracting. This also allowed us to easily make some direct comparisons during our initial EQ sessions and over the runs of the show. All of the vocal microphones utilized the custom headsets.
Right out of the box, there was a dramatic difference in what we had to do in EQ’ing to get the sound that was wanted. No doubt this was partly due to the fact that the school’s house mics were not the same quality as the DPAs (budget constraints do not normally allow for mics of DPA quality to be used in their shows). But the DPA mics only required very slight adjustments. I suppose I had become used to this. However, it was fun to observe how surprised the students were when they experienced how little work the DPA mics needed to get them sounding great compared to the stock mics they were used to using.
The 4071s provided good vocal properties, too. The vocal presence boost in the mics allowed a nice crispness to come out without adding the hard sibilance that can too easily come along for the ride in an EQ section. And, of course, the 4071 has the clean sound properties I am accustomed to getting from DPA microphones. The excellent clarity straight from the element is what anyone would expect from DPA.
Overall Impressions
Overall, the 4071 performed very well during our demo. We found a small problem with the mics picking up wind noise as actors ran offstage saying lines that required some re-blocking to solve. This was never an issue with the stock microphones and points to the much higher sensitivity and frequency response from the DPA mics.
After some experimentation, we determined it was our custom headsets for the 4071’s that were causing this issue, and not an issue with the mic or other pieces of the signal chain. We didn’t think this would be an issue if the mics were mounted directly against the skin.
I can easily say that this mic is a great extension of the toolkit that DPA provides the sound world. If you already look to DPA for your wireless microphone elements, I am sure that you will find that this mic is a great choice for a lot of voices and applications. And if, like this school, you haven’t listened to these mics — well, go do that. You may be as surprised as they were at how big a difference they make.
David “Squeege” Weigant is a Las Vegas-based production pro, a touring FOH engineer specializing in musicals and a regular contributor to Stage Directions, our sister publication.
At a Glance
DPA d:screet 4071 Miniature Microphone
PROS
• Incredible sound right out of the box
• Excellent clarity in vocal range
CONS
• Capsule will require close attention when cleaning
SPECS
Directional characteristics: Omnidirectional
Frequency range, ± 2 dB: 100 Hz – 15 kHz with typ. 5 dB soft boost at 4 – 6 kHz
Sensitivity, nominal,
±3 dB: 6 mV/Pa ved 1 kHz; -44.4 dB re. 1 V/Pa
Total harmonic distortion (THD): < 1 % THD up to 123 dB SPL peak; < 1 % up to 120 dB SPL RMS sine
Dynamic range: Typ. 97 dB
Max. SPL, peak before clipping: 144 dB
Output impedance: 30 – 40 ohm
Cable drive capability: Up to 984 ft.
Microphone length: 0.67 in (17 mm)
Cable length: 5.9 ft (1.8 m)
Price: $479 with Microdot termination.
More Info: www.dpamicrophones.com
