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© March 2009, DPA Microphones A/S
Product features and specifications are subject to change without notice.
DPA 5100 User’s Manual
General description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
5.1 surround sound playback system . . . . . . . . 4
Mounting the microphone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Connecting and disconnecting the cable. . . . . 5
Cableconfiguration.....................5
Applicationnotes.......................5
OutdoorCover......................5
Extensionunits......................5
TheLFEoutput.....................6
Mixing the signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Adding time delay to rear channels . . . . . . . . 6
Fold-down to stereo or mono. . . . . . . . . . 6
Down-mix algorithms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Careofmicrophone.....................6
Specifications & graphs for DPA 5100 . . . . . . . 7
Frequency responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Polarpatterns..........................9
Accessories included. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Accessories available . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Serviceandrepair......................11
Warranty..............................11
CE marking and environmental policy. . . . . . . 11
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) television 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 mat-
ter the distance to the sound source. In order to reach adequate directional characteristics from a small unit with pressure-only capsules, the new
unique DiPMicTM technology, designed by DPA Microphones, has been applied to this design.
DiPMicTM stands for Directional Pressure Microphone, and refers to the fact that even though we use pressure microphone capsules that natively
result in pure omnidirectionality, 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 DiPMicTM 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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