DPA d:vote Core 4099

With their new Core preamp technology, DPA have made their class‑leading instrument microphone even better.

Over the last 27 years or so, DPA’s microphones have built a well‑deserved reputation for their ability to deliver stellar sound quality across theatre, broadcast, studio recording and live sound applications at prices that, whilst not inexpensive, are appropriate to the performances on offer. I first came across a DPA 4099 microphone when I reviewed one back in 2009 and decided to buy it there and then.

While I’ve been happily using the 4099, things have moved on over the last decade. An investment in late 2013 from a private equity firm enabled DPA to develop their proprietary ‘Core by DPA’ preamplifier technology, which now features in the company’s range of miniature lavalier, headset and instrument microphones. A further development was the rebranding of the whole DPA microphone range into new product groups — d:dicate recording mics, d:facto stage mics, d:fine headset mics, d:mension multichannel surround‑sound solutions, d:screet miniature mics and d:vote instrument mics.

In 2017, DPA acquired their UK distributors Sound Network and, just as I began working on this review, the announcement came that DPA had itself been sold to Italy’s RCF Group. This acquisition followed hard on the heels of RCF’s purchase of highly‑regarded US professional loudspeaker manufacturers EAW. As part of a growing, vertically‑integrated international combine covering a wide spectrum of studio, broadcast, theatre and live audio applications, DPA looks set to prosper in these fast‑moving times.

The Mic

At first glance, you might think that the only physical difference between the old 4099 and the d:vote Core 4099 is the slightly tapered business end of the latter’s foam windsock, compared to its ancestor’s more rounded profile — but you’d be wrong. At the end of the 140mm gooseneck on which the miniature shockmount, microphone and windsock are mounted, a coloured band identifies the microphone’s SPL handling capability: red for Loud (maximum 142dB SPL) or yellow for the Extreme (152dB SPL) version. Closer inspection reveals that this coloured band also covers a microdot connector to which a removable microphone lead is attached, thereby allowing you either to swap the thin (but extremely strong and hard‑wearing) Kevlar‑Cored cable supplied with the d:vote Core 4099 for an optional heavier‑duty version designed for situations where a very thin cable might be less desirable, or to have various custom length cable made up to deal with applications such as connecting a specific instrument to radio mic beltpacks.

The drum mount, used to attach a Core 4099 to a banjo.

Another useful optional purchase is the GE4099, a short 70mm gooseneck extender that offers just that bit more reach should you want to get a d:vote Core 4099 into the depths of a drumkit or further away from an instrument or amplifier.

The d:vote Core 4099 microphone can be purchased either alone, or as part of an instrument‑specific kit that arrives in a lightweight canvas hardcase with a shaped insert that carries not only the gooseneck‑mounted microphone, windsock and shockmount assembly, but also the removable cable, a clip for the specific instrument involved and a DAD4099‑BC microdot‑to‑XLR phantom power adaptor that incorporates a fixed, second‑order low‑cut filter that rolls off the bottom end below 80Hz.

The instrument clips are also available individually and cover a range of commonly‑encountered instruments, allowing you to buy a selection to cover your needs (I take guitar and violin/mandolin clips with me to my gigs, for example). If you’re intending to use the Core 4099 with a radio mic, DPA offer specific microdot adapters for a wide range of systems from different manufacturers’ systems, including those from AKG, Audio‑Technica, Beyerdynamic, Samson, Sennheiser, Shure and a good many more.

Electret Avenue

The Core 4099 capsule is the same extremely sophisticated, pre‑polarised back electret design found in the original 4099 and first seen in DPA’s 4060 miniature microphone. A feature of this design — other than its extremely small size — is the greater separation between backplate and diaphragm made possible by an unusually high self‑biasing static charge, which gives the capsule the ability to cope with high SPLs without compromising its sensitivity.

The ‘Core by DPA’ technology that plays such a major part in the marketing of the new Core 4099 and its stablemates is essentially an even more sophisticated impedance‑converter/amplifier technology, designed to reduce distortion and to increase the capsule’s headroom to deliver an extended dynamic range. The Loud SPL version of the Core 4099 is the equivalent of the original 4099. However, although its maximum SPL peak before clipping remains at 142dB, its dynamic range is 108dB, compared to the original 4099’s 100dB. The Core 4099’s sensitivity and noise performance is identical to its predecessor, but its THD figure of below 1 percent up to 131dB SPL peak is a very impressive improvement of +10dB over that of the original. The Extreme SPL version is even more impressive, with a maximum SPL peak before clipping of 152dB, a dynamic range of 109dB and a THD that remains below 1 percent up to 137dB SPL.

The Core 4099’s frequency response is 80Hz‑15kHz (±2dB), with a slight boost between 10‑12kHz, and is unchanged from the original 4099, as is the suberbly‑controlled supercardiod directional response that severely attenuates off‑axis pickup, particularly from the side and rear. This pattern, as in the original 4099, comes courtesy of an interference tube, whose presence — attached to the business end of a capsule with a strong resemblance to a Core 4060 — gives the Core 4099 the appearance of a short shotgun mic. Invented by the late Professor Günther Kurtze, this type of tube attenuates sounds entering it through the tiny slots in its side walls by setting up interference patterns to cancel them out, thus reducing their apparent level, while sounds that travel straight up the tube from its front opening are unaffected and appear much louder in comparison.

Fear No Water

In addition to its sonic benefits, the new Core technology has allowed DPA not only to give the Core 4099’s capsule a hydrophobic coating, but also to hermetically seal the electronics within the capsule. These actions, together with dual gold‑plating of the diaphragm, mean that the Core 4099 (and all Core microphones) are now IP58 certified. This Ingress Protection (IP) rating tells you the degree of protection provided against contamination of a mechanical and electrical enclosure by dust and water. In the case of DPA’s Core microphones, the 5 means that they are protected from the amount of dust that would interfere with normal operation and 8 means that they can be immersed in water up to 1 metre deep. Although no rational sound engineer is ever knowingly going to drop a microphone into a bucket of water, it is comforting to know that one could. However, more importantly, in the cases of spilled drinks, rain‑sodden location work and musical theatre shows, this protection means that DPA’s miniature microphones are no longer going to have to be replaced due to beer, water, sweat and makeup penetrating the capsule.

Mic At Work

Once you’ve selected the appropriate mount for your instrument the next task is to find the sweet spot for the Core 4099 on that instrument. In practice, this diminutive microphone is quite forgiving, but it is worth spending some studio setup, rehearsal or soundcheck time on finding the position in which the Core 4099 will produce precisely the sound that you want to hear. Positioning the Core 4099 in an instrument’s sweet spot is made a whole lot easier by the range and flexibility of the clips and mounts that are available, most of which don’t leave a trace behind on the instrument to which they’re fitted — apart from the accordion mount, which requires a screw to hold it in place. With almost the full range of available mounts at my disposal, I had no difficulty in either fitting a Core 4099 to every instrument that I own, or in finding the perfect position for that instrument.

Comparing the Core 4099 to my own 4099, across several stringed instruments, a bodhran and various bits of percussion, was an interesting experience, and I ended up with the feeling that, overall, the new version sounds somewhat more transparent and dynamic than the original, reflecting the reduced harmonic distortion and increased dynamic range delivered by DPA’s Core technology. However, everything that I like about the original remains: its accuracy, its effortlessly natural sense of reality, and the sparkle from the little lift in response between 10kHz and 12kHz that adds a crisp edge and gives it a sweet character. One aspect of the 4099 that I do like is its proximity effect, which starts to come to the fore as you bring the mic closer than 20cm to the source, allowing you to tailor the low‑end response of the instrument in a way that I’ve not yet found a way of doing with EQ. It’s an effect that is more useful on some instruments than others as, for example, I’ve found that tucking the 4099 down next to the tailpiece on the bass bout of my wife’s violin and pointing it at the bass F‑hole gives that particular instrument a strength and solidity in the bottom end that I just don’t hear when I put the mic in a more conventional position slightly behind and above the bridge.

The standard guitar mount will also work on a nyckelharpa!

Overall

The Core 4099, like its predecessor, is an extremely capable and versatile microphone that, between its Loud and Extreme variants, seems to have the capacity to handle almost anything thrown at it, from the quietest fingerstyle acoustic guitar, through brass/wind instruments, drums, percussion, to bass and guitar stacks turned up to 11 and beyond.

The Core 4099, like its predecessor, is an extremely capable and versatile microphone...

Its sonic performance seems to me to be perfectly suited to its use as a live stage microphone, but the Core 4099 does have potential studio roles, both as a main mic or as a spot mic should you want to bring out the sound of a particular part of an instrument, or where you might want to take a more isolated approach and you don’t have a short shotgun mic in your cupboard.

All this comes at a price that, although not exactly inexpensive, does reflect the microphone’s performance, capabilities and IP58‑backed longevity, making the Core 4099 a real value‑for‑money proposition for the professional user who values results and reliability above all else. If you’re in the market for a high‑quality acoustic instrument microphone and you want the best possible performance when playing live, then, in my view, the DPA d:vote Core 4099 is the only game in town and is a must for your audition list. There’s a pair sitting on my shopping list already.