Then what hope is there for a U47 owner who needs an M7 replacement?
"Eine Schwalbe macht noch keinen Sommer", the saying goes (one swallow does not a summer make), but what I just experienced is quite astonishing, given the sorry state of Neumann K870/K87 capsules of late: Tonight I installed a brand-new K870 (build date late 2012), and my jaw dropped: Both sides of the capsule are lush, reedy, frequency-balanced, with a full-figured bass, and are extraordinarily musical. Only the very best K67 from the mid 1960s (the famous 'fibre board' model) could hold a candle to this one. This capsule was so exquisite and similar on both sides (very rare, for any LD dual-membrane capsule, from any period) that I still don't know which of the two sides to make the front side for cardioid operation.I am hoping and praying that this is a trend, and will report what the next new K870 capsule portends.Disclaimer: the electronics of the U87Ai which I installed the capsule in are heavily modified; so while this capsule could mitigate some of the stock U87Ai's electronic compromises (which I find especially unsatisfying since circuit diagram 05), it cannot overcome them all.
China may be an answer to reproducing PVC capsule diaphrams. They don't follow EPA or CE environmental restrictions there.
I know this thread is old, but I'm wondering if that was a one-off experience or have you experienced a general improvement in k870 capsule quality?