FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Sennheiser Microphone

Question:
Someone just gave me a Sennheiser MKH 405 mic with an in-line MP5 preamp that doesn't work. Checked the cable and it's OK (it doesn't use a typical XLR to XLR cable and instead has one of those interesting 4 pin Euro connectors on it) and it won't work with or without the preamp. Does anyone know anything about this mic? Any ideas why it won't work? I'm hoping that someone has some experience with the unit and has a quick fix here before I just send it back to Sennheiser.

Answer:
It's been years (and years) since I used to fix Sennheiser mics - but they use a different approach than most mic manufacturers. Instead of just using the varying voltage of the capsule, they use the capacitor to vary the frequency of a FM circuit. The most common problem with the Sennheisers was a broken Crystal - easy to replace. As I say, it's been a long time, and I'm not sure if the MKH405 uses this method.