I have a 6 year old rode nt2000 large diaphragm microphone which is making fluttering noises constantly. I'm fairly certain it's not any of the potentiometers being that the noise is very consistent throughout dialing. My suspicion is that it's dust on the diaphragm. I'm taking the microphone apart to inspect, but need to know how to properly go through with inspecting the diaphragm without damaging the internals.

I appreciate the comment, here's what I did to fix it.

- Opened up the body and head of the microphone.
- Very carefully used compressed air to remove dust on both large diaphragms (you could easily tear the diaphragms, be very very careful).
- Reseated the grounding screws along the pc board.
- I also repaired the top foam piece which connects to the top of the diaphragm assembly and presses against the grille assembly when fitted together. This was torn (still soft and usable), this alone could have been the cause of the issues by transferring unwanted vibrations directly to the diaphragm frame. Using crazy glue worked like a charm. While inside I felt comfortable enough doing some basic cleaning which could only help.

Before opening the microphone, I of course checked all of the obvious troubleshooting techniques and everything pointed directly to the microphone itself. I have three of these microphones, all of the same age, and only one exhibited these sorts of issues.

If the above did not work I would highly suspect the polar pattern potentiometer as there has been known issues. This would normally cause a different noise than I was hearing though. Since while moving the potentiometers while listening I did not hear any variants in the fluttering noises I was experiencing, this solidified concerns of grounding, dust, or even a loose part inside.

In conclusion, maybe I got lucky, but I was comfortable in my ability to troubleshoot and come to a reasonable solution that ended up working. Anything beyond the above I would have sent it in for dealer repair. I'm an audio engineer, not a microphone repair guru, it all worked out in the end. :)

Here's some pictures during the repair: http://gallery.mac.com/briankross#100570 I appreciate the comment, here's what I did to fix it. - Opened up the body and head of the microphone. - Very carefully used compressed air to remove dust on both large diaphragms (you could easily tear the diaphragms, be very very careful). - Reseated the grounding screws along the pc board. - I also repaired the top foam piece which connects to the top of the diaphragm assembly and presses against the grille assembly when fitted together. This was torn (still soft and usable), this alone could have been the cause of the issues by transferring unwanted vibrations directly to the diaphragm frame. Using crazy glue worked like a charm. While inside I felt comfortable enough doing some basic cleaning which could only help. Before opening the microphone, I of course checked all of the obvious troubleshooting techniques and everything pointed directly to the microphone itself. I have three of these microphones, all of the same age, and only one exhibited these sorts of issues. If the above did not work I would highly suspect the polar pattern potentiometer as there has been known issues. This would normally cause a different noise than I was hearing though. Since while moving the potentiometers while listening I did not hear any variants in the fluttering noises I was experiencing, this solidified concerns of grounding, dust, or even a loose part inside. In conclusion, maybe I got lucky, but I was comfortable in my ability to troubleshoot and come to a reasonable solution that ended up working. Anything beyond the above I would have sent it in for dealer repair. I'm an audio engineer, not a microphone repair guru, it all worked out in the end. :) Here's some pictures during the repair: http://gallery.mac.com/briankross#100570