DPA 4006A Acoustic Pressure Equalizer, 30 mm Ball DPA

ACOUSTIC PRESSURE EQUALIZER, 30 MM BALL FOR 4006A (APE30RS)

The Acoustic Pressure Equalizer, 30 mm Ball for d:dicate™ 4006A Omnidirectional Microphone is a Ø50 mm sphere shaped Acoustic Pressure Equalizer. It can be used for the microphone or the stereo kit.
The APE30RS, a Ø30 mm sphere, gives a mild modification of your microphone’s on-axis and off-axis frequency responses and a slight change in the direction-to-reverberation ratio. This will give your recordings greater presence, nearness and clarity on-axis (especially around 4 kHz).

An on-axis boost, between 2 kHz and 8 kHz, and high-frequency roll-off off-axis, will sometimes help you capture the subtle audible details of both musical instruments and voices.

This accessory substitutes the former L30B, suitable for d:dicate™ 4003 and d:dicate™ 4006A and their stereo kits. The L30B cannot be used with the modular d:dicate Series but the APE30RS is backwards compatible.
 

More on acoustic modification

The Acoustic Pressure Equalizers – APEs – are passive acoustic processors functioning as both spatial and spectral modifiers. They use surface diffractions to modify the sound field near the microphone diaphragm. This technique is only possible on omnidirectional pressure microphones.

Two primary changes occur when using APEs:

1. An upper-midrange/high frequency boost (without changing the low end). This is due to the pressure build-up at certain frequencies depending on the element’s size.

2. More directionality at higher frequencies (focus).

A presence (upper-midrange) lift is often desirable in rhythmical genres, to make a voice or an instrument cut through a mix or simply to make it more intelligible or well defined. For symphonic music, the frequency response of certain legendary vintage types of microphones can be obtained using an APE. However, you will achieve a much higher degree of naturalness and detail when using a precision-handcrafted d:dicate™ 4006A Omnidirectional Microphone.

Please also refer to the Mic University article Acoustic modification accessories – changing characteristics