DOA Oktava MK012 at DVinfo.net

Andy Balla · July 25th, 2011, 06:46 PM

I just received an Oktava MK012 "Bello Nero" mic with the hyper-cardioid cap today (from The Sound Room, sound_room.com), and it is DOA. Hooked it up on my field mixer, and it produced nothing but a loud hum. swapped cables, no change. Moved it to my Mackie desk mixer, and no change. Same cable and channel on both mixers produced a clean signal with my NTG-3.

Another minor thing, is that on their website, they say they ship the mics in a cedar box, but mine came in a really crappy plastic box. I've got an email in to them about fixing this problem, but haven't heard back from them yet. Granted, its only been a few hours. Anyway, just wanted to put my story out there. Anyone else have dealings with this company?

Richard Crowley · July 25th, 2011, 08:02 PM

Sounds like you got swindled. Good luck.
1) The genuine Sound Room (who has been importing Oktava to the US for decades) is at The Trusted Source for Genuine Russian Oktava Microphones, Heil Microphones, Grado Labs Headphones and much more!!!!
If you really bought it from them, they will likely be happy to resolve the problem in short order. They have a good rep.
2) sound_room.com is not even a valid URL.

Andy Balla · July 25th, 2011, 09:36 PM

Sorry about the mis-typed URL. It is indeed, sound-room.com. Your link leads to the page I bought the mic from. At any rate, I've just heard back from Paul Kezmarsky from their company, and he told me to ship the mic back to them and they will replace it and credit me for shipping costs. So kudos to them for quick customer service. Hopefully the replacement mic actually works!

Oh, and he also told me the guy who made the cedar boxes is no longer working for them, and they are looking for a replacement for those boxes. Until then, they ship in the original crappy plastic factory box.

Rick Reineke · July 26th, 2011, 10:21 AM

'The Sound Room' (located in Mahwah, NJ) is a reputable company and would not ship a non-working mic. I know they will certainly replace it if it is faulty. I'm surprised the mic could be damaged in shipment w/o seeing some obvious external damage to the mic and/or shipping box.
The wooden case however may only be included with the multi-capsule stereo set.

- Are you sure you had Phantom Power activated on your mixer(s)?? The 012 is a condenser mic and needs to be externally powered.
- Try a different mic cable. Sometimes a faulty cable will pass signal without issue with a dynamic, but will make noise or not work at all with a condenser.

Andy Balla · July 26th, 2011, 11:51 AM

Rick, that was why I purchased from them. Their reputation is great. No visible damage to the mic or the box it was shipped in. At any rate, phantom power was on on BOTH mixers I tried it on, I used three different channels on my field mixer, and four on my Mackie mixer. All cables and channels worked fine with my NTG-3. I just shipped the mic back for replacement. Paul has been very helpful.

Jay Massengill · July 28th, 2011, 09:11 AM

Good to know they are still a great operation and are supporting you.

I wonder with this weather we're having if it could have been a heat and/or humidity issue during shipping or first days of trying to use it after delivery?

I admit I'm a bit nutty, but I don't even order mics this time of year...

Also, did you need to assemble the capsule to the body or did it come already together? In either case, did you clean the center contact or just try re-seating by a quick loosen and tighten of the capsule?
It doesn't take much oxide buildup to kill the signal from the capsule.

Good luck with the replacement and let us know how it goes.

Andy Balla · July 29th, 2011, 06:53 AM

Jay, your thought about the high heat had occurred to me as well. The came with the capsule and -10db pad separate from the mic body. I didn't try cleaning the contact point, but I did remove and reattach the capsule several times. Anyway, the Sound Room was on top of it, so that's reassuring.
Its funny because I've never had any issues with mics or other gear showing up defective, but this is two in a row for me now! The last mic I bought (Rode NTG-3) was defective as well.

Andrew Dean · August 3rd, 2011, 07:46 PM

I got the cedar box with mine... and I immediately stuck it in a drawer and have never had it out again. Nice enough box, i suppose, but who carries wooden boxes around in the field?

On the upside, my drawer smells nice.

-a

Greg Miller · August 4th, 2011, 07:10 AM

I wish my drawers smelled nice.

July 25th, 2011, 06:46 PM	#1
Andy Balla Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Asheville NC Posts: 182	DOA Oktava MK012 I just received an Oktava MK012 "Bello Nero" mic with the hyper-cardioid cap today (from The Sound Room, sound_room.com), and it is DOA. Hooked it up on my field mixer, and it produced nothing but a loud hum. swapped cables, no change. Moved it to my Mackie desk mixer, and no change. Same cable and channel on both mixers produced a clean signal with my NTG-3. Another minor thing, is that on their website, they say they ship the mics in a cedar box, but mine came in a really crappy plastic box. I've got an email in to them about fixing this problem, but haven't heard back from them yet. Granted, its only been a few hours. Anyway, just wanted to put my story out there. Anyone else have dealings with this company?

July 25th, 2011, 08:02 PM	#2
Richard Crowley Trustee Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 1,238	Re: DOA Oktava MK012 Sounds like you got swindled. Good luck. 1) The genuine Sound Room (who has been importing Oktava to the US for decades) is at The Trusted Source for Genuine Russian Oktava Microphones, Heil Microphones, Grado Labs Headphones and much more!!!! If you really bought it from them, they will likely be happy to resolve the problem in short order. They have a good rep. 2) sound_room.com is not even a valid URL.

July 25th, 2011, 09:36 PM	#3
Andy Balla Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Asheville NC Posts: 182	Re: DOA Oktava MK012 Sorry about the mis-typed URL. It is indeed, sound-room.com. Your link leads to the page I bought the mic from. At any rate, I've just heard back from Paul Kezmarsky from their company, and he told me to ship the mic back to them and they will replace it and credit me for shipping costs. So kudos to them for quick customer service. Hopefully the replacement mic actually works! Oh, and he also told me the guy who made the cedar boxes is no longer working for them, and they are looking for a replacement for those boxes. Until then, they ship in the original crappy plastic factory box.

July 26th, 2011, 10:21 AM	#4
Rick Reineke Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New York Posts: 2,039	Re: DOA Oktava MK012 'The Sound Room' (located in Mahwah, NJ) is a reputable company and would not ship a non-working mic. I know they will certainly replace it if it is faulty. I'm surprised the mic could be damaged in shipment w/o seeing some obvious external damage to the mic and/or shipping box. The wooden case however may only be included with the multi-capsule stereo set. - Are you sure you had Phantom Power activated on your mixer(s)?? The 012 is a condenser mic and needs to be externally powered. - Try a different mic cable. Sometimes a faulty cable will pass signal without issue with a dynamic, but will make noise or not work at all with a condenser.

July 26th, 2011, 11:51 AM	#5
Andy Balla Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Asheville NC Posts: 182	Re: DOA Oktava MK012 Rick, that was why I purchased from them. Their reputation is great. No visible damage to the mic or the box it was shipped in. At any rate, phantom power was on on BOTH mixers I tried it on, I used three different channels on my field mixer, and four on my Mackie mixer. All cables and channels worked fine with my NTG-3. I just shipped the mic back for replacement. Paul has been very helpful.

July 28th, 2011, 09:11 AM	#6
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Re: DOA Oktava MK012 Good to know they are still a great operation and are supporting you. I wonder with this weather we're having if it could have been a heat and/or humidity issue during shipping or first days of trying to use it after delivery? I admit I'm a bit nutty, but I don't even order mics this time of year... Also, did you need to assemble the capsule to the body or did it come already together? In either case, did you clean the center contact or just try re-seating by a quick loosen and tighten of the capsule? It doesn't take much oxide buildup to kill the signal from the capsule. Good luck with the replacement and let us know how it goes.

July 29th, 2011, 06:53 AM	#7
Andy Balla Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Asheville NC Posts: 182	Re: DOA Oktava MK012 Jay, your thought about the high heat had occurred to me as well. The came with the capsule and -10db pad separate from the mic body. I didn't try cleaning the contact point, but I did remove and reattach the capsule several times. Anyway, the Sound Room was on top of it, so that's reassuring. Its funny because I've never had any issues with mics or other gear showing up defective, but this is two in a row for me now! The last mic I bought (Rode NTG-3) was defective as well.

August 3rd, 2011, 07:46 PM	#8
Andrew Dean Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Motukarara, New Zealand Posts: 475	Re: DOA Oktava MK012 I got the cedar box with mine... and I immediately stuck it in a drawer and have never had it out again. Nice enough box, i suppose, but who carries wooden boxes around in the field? On the upside, my drawer smells nice. -a

August 4th, 2011, 07:10 AM	#9
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,792	Re: DOA Oktava MK012 I wish my drawers smelled nice.