General description
The DPA 5100 is an easy-to-use plug and play Mobile Surround Microphone. It has real-time 5.1 discrete analog output channels without any need for further signal
processing. The sound character is very rich and has an enveloping three-dimensional surround atmosphere, yet with appropriate coherence, channel separation and
localization accuracy.
The unit has an enormous dynamic range and low distortion, and is extremely light-weight (530 g/18.7 oz). It is primarily designed for professional use in (HDTV) televi-
sion surround sound production as a “surround ambience adder”, especially in connection with sports events, ambience recor-ding at different venues, documentaries,
talk shows, film ambience and live music recording.
All microphones in the unit are pressure types as these types exhibit the lowest sensitivity to wind and a consistent low frequency response no matter the distance to
the sound source. In order to reach adequate directional characteristics from a small unit with pressure-only capsules, the new unique DiPMic
TM
technology, designed by
DPA Microphones, has been applied to this design.
DiPMic
TM
stands for Directional Pressure Microphone, and refers to the fact that even though we use pressure microphone capsules that natively result in pure omnidi-
rectionality, directionality is obtained by mounting specially developed interference tubes on the microphones. This combines the best of two worlds: the pressure type’s
advantages in wind, handling and low distortion, and the directionality created by the acoustical grids.
To locate sound direction, the brain picks up crucial information about time, level and spectral differences. The 5100 Mobile Surround Microphone makes use of all these
cue types. Besides using the DiPMic
TM
technology, the appropriate level differences between output channels in the 5100 is obtained using acoustic absorbing baffles
between the microphones, as known from the Jecklin Disc A-B stereo principles.
To create enough spaciousness to the surround field, some time arrival differences (decorrelation) is also needed. The rear microphones are spaced from each other
and the front array, creating the desired time differences. The front microphones, on the other hand, are time coincident to ensure frequency consistency when down-
mixing to mono.
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