"Vintage" mic repair recommendations? (Sennheiser

[Ender]

Hi there, and apologies in advance but my first post to the Turtlerock forum is seeking advice.

While it may not fall into everyone's "vintage" catagory I recently scored a Sennheiser 509 mic from the 'Bay, which unfortunately arrived DOA. I'm trying to come up with an amicable resolution with the seller, but to do it basically I need to get a quote for repair from somewhere reputable that will also be able to let me know if the problem is with a core component that could significantly alter the sound of the 509. Of course, we're both hoping its just a loose wire...

I'm in Melbourne, so anywhere that comes recommended in VIC would be preferred, but I'm not against the idea of sending it elsewhere if thats the best for the mic.

Any advice would be appreciated
Cheers
Dan

[Chinagraf]

In Melbourne, Ross Giles, Giles audio..google has contacts for him.
Cheers

[TimS]

Or PM him thru this forum..

[Text_Edifice]

Have you opened up the mic to have a look?

The 509 is exactly the same as the Sennhesier 409 and the internal wiring is very simple. If the mic is DOA due to a loose wire it would be a very easy fix; if the capsules bust I'd probably be seeking a refund...

[Ender]

Thanks for the quick advice everyone, I'll definitely contact Ross today to see if he can take a look at it.

I'm as far away from a techie as I think you can get, so I'm not keen to open it up but its good news that the internals are relatively simple.. hopefully that means it will be pretty easy to diagnose if its a major fault. The guy I got it from says he tested before it shipped, and the packing showed no major damage in transit so I hope its just a case of a loose wire, but maybe thats wishful thinking!

Thanks again
Dan

[Ender]

Ross was very helpful, although unfortunately he doesn't deal in Dynamic mics! He put me onto Syntec who are the authorised Sennheiser guys.. I just hope the service guy there appreciates the "old originals" instead of just trying to pump through repairs!

[Gian]

Ross was very helpful, although unfortunately he doesn't deal in Dynamic mics! He put me onto Syntec who are the authorised Sennheiser guys.. I just hope the service guy there appreciates the "old originals" instead of just trying to pump through repairs!

Hi, here is my experience with Syntec.
You post your mic to them.
They never ring you back
You ring them
They say the mic is too old
They charge you $85 and say they cant fix it
They charge your like $20 postage so you can get your mic back
Then they say, "oh, plus GST"

I will never again deal with them.

What about Ben at www.Beesneezmicrophones.com.au he fixes mics in NSW

[wez]

what about serge, doesn't he fix mics?

Audio Oz
(03) 9593 9833
238 St Kilda Rd - St Kilda VIC 3182

[Text_Edifice]

If it's a just a loose wire this should be an easy fix for anyone half-way competent with a screwdriver and soldering iron.

Manual for the 409u3 (essentially the same model) is here: http://www.coutant.org/md409u3/md409u3.pdf

If you wanted to take a look yourself...

Inside the housing you'll find a capsule connected straight to the hot and cold pins on the XLR connector with an earth attached to the body. If it's just a wire it'll be a 2 minute solder job. If everything looks to be connected then it's probably the capsule and that may end up costing a whole lot more to get fixed.

I figure you probably paid around $300 for the mic? and you could end up paying a bit just to get a quote to fix the thing so you might want to discuss with the seller how much they're willing to reimburse you for before they ask for the item to be returned.

[mylesgm]

also gavin and barney at pickstone.com.au. great guys and great service. in moonee ponds...

M

[Milo]

I would also be wary with Syntec: I had the same experience with a U47

[chris p]

Astrovic or any other Vic DIYer, can you help Ender to see if its just a loose wire?

[Chinagraf]

Good call Chris. Hey Ender, I can have a quick look at it for you if you want. I'm in South Melbourne. PM me if you want to drop by.
Cheers.

[mfdu]

Barney and Gavo will sort you out, and they won't sting you.

[Ender]

Awesome, thanks for all the tips guys. I've contacted Gavin and he'll take a look at it for me this week so hopefully its good news. Thanks for the offer Andy, I'll definitely let you know how it goes.

[Ender]

Just a quick update: Gavin and I had fun trying to figure out how to open the sucker, but once done the fix was easy peasy, and Gavin did a good repair job on it. The good news is it was just a loose wire, although all the foam had also disintegrated which is why the wire had the stress on it in the first place. But sounds great, looks even better than before and very happy days.

Thanks again to everyone for the tips. Also just so you know, Gavin was very humbled by the references from everyone here too and said to pass on his thanks.