DPA 4017B

A Modular "Pencil" DPA Designed for Boom Pole, ENG, and Installations

The DPA 4017 belongs to the brand's family of modular pencil microphones, designed to offer a consistent sonic character across models. This continuity facilitates multi-mic shoots and recordings (boom mic, hidden miniature mics, etc.) by limiting timbre differences and thus reducing post-production workload. Its "short shotgun mic" design aims for a sought-after balance: marked directivity while maintaining precise and musical reproduction.

Who Is the DPA 4017 For and In Which Applications Does It Excel?

This shotgun mic is tailored for image sound recordists (broadcast, ENG, documentary), film boom teams, as well as fixed installations (sports, studio, occasional recordings). Thanks to its strong directivity, it is particularly suited for remote dialogue capture and scenes where the main source must remain intelligible despite a noisy environment. In the studio, it can also become a precision tool when focused and clean capture is desired.

Acoustic Design and Key Technologies

Supercardioid + Interference Tube: Focus and Rejection

The 4017 combines supercardioid directivity with an interference tube to achieve highly directional capture. This principle increases focus on the front of the microphone and improves rejection of side and rear sounds, a crucial point for boom pole use, sports recording, or studio where ambient noise is omnipresent.

More Uniform Off-Axis Response: Fewer Audible "Lobes," More Natural Sound

DPA conducted specific work on the off-axis response to limit nonlinear effects often associated with shotgun mics (related to side lobes). The result: sounds coming from the sides and rear remain more natural, with controlled attenuation rather than marked coloration. This approach improves spatial coherence and intelligibility when framing or boom placement causes axis variations.

Preamp and Filters: Quick Control On Set

Paired with the MMP-B preamplifier, the capsule forms a short shotgun mic, very lightweight, and designed for shooting conditions. Two integrated filters, operated by rings, allow quick adaptation of the recording: a High Boost (+4 dB at 8 kHz) useful to compensate for high-frequency attenuation with certain windshields, and a low-cut (first order below 120 Hz) to reduce handling noise and wind rumble. A permanent high-pass filter (third order at 50 Hz) helps reduce very low-frequency disturbances.

"Wireless Boom Pole" Option: Reduction of Cable and Handling Noise

For modern setups where the wireless transmitter is mounted close to the microphone, the 4017 solution dedicated to wireless systems aims to eliminate noise related to the external cable along the boom pole. It relies on an MMC4017 capsule and a short modular active cable MMP-G, integrated into a suspension and wind protection system. The assembly is optimized to accommodate certain compact mic transmitters (for example Lectrosonics SSM or Zaxcom ZMT3-Phantom 2) and protect not only the microphone but also the transmitter from the elements.

Technical specifications

Frequency response - start	20 Hz	Directivity	supercardioid
Frequency response - end	20 kHz	Connection	XLR
Category	Shotgun Microphone	Color	Black

Polar pattern	Supercardioid, lobe-shaped	Distortion, THD below 1 percent	134 dB SPL RMS, 137 dB SPL peak
Operating principle	Pressure gradient with interference tube	Max SPL, THD 10 percent	138 dB SPL peak
Cartridge type	Pre-polarized condenser	Maximum output voltage, RMS	2.0 V
Frequency response	20 Hz - 20 kHz, permanent third-order high-pass filter at 50 Hz	Nominal output impedance	100 ohms
Effective frequency range, +/-2 dB, at 60 cm (23.6 in)	70 Hz - 18 kHz with typical 3 dB soft boost at 15 kHz	Minimum load impedance	2 kohms
High boost	+4 dB at 8 kHz	Cable drive capability	100 m (328 ft)
Low-cut	first-order filter below 120 Hz	Output balancing principle	balanced signal
Nominal sensitivity, +/-2 dB at 1 kHz	19 mV/Pa; -34.4 dB re 1 V/Pa	Common mode rejection ratio (CMRR)	greater than 40 dB
Equivalent noise level, A-weighted	Typ. 13 dB(A) ref. 20 uPa (max. 15 dB(A))	Polarity	+V on pin 2 for positive acoustic pressure
Equivalent noise level, ITU-R BS.468-4	Typ. 24 dB (max. 26 dB)	Power supply (for optimal performance)	P48 (phantom power)
Dynamic range	Typ. 124 dB	Current consumption	4.5 mA
19 mm preamp	152 dB SPL before clipping