DPA Microphones — the Danish standard for serious lavaliers

DPA stands for Danish Pro Audio. The company spun off from B&K (Brüel & Kjær) measurement microphones in 1992, which is why DPA mics measure so neutrally — they were designed by the people who built the world’s most precise measurement mics.

Founded1992

HQAllerød, Denmark

ParentRiedel Communications

SpecialtyLavaliers & instrument mics

What they make

Lavaliers, instrument mics, and broadcast headsets

DPA’s 4060/4061 lavalier microphone is the single most-used lapel mic in serious productions. Broadway, opera houses, NFL on-field cameras, presidential addresses — all DPA. They’re tiny, durable, and they sound like a much bigger studio condenser shrunk down to clip on a lapel.

DPA also makes the d:vote series for instruments and the d:dicate small-diaphragm condensers used on orchestras worldwide.

The famous mics

Microphones worth knowing

4060 / 4061 / 4062 — the iconic lavalier. Broadway and broadcast standard.
6060 / 6061 — newer, even smaller subminiature lavalier.
d:vote 4099 — clip-on instrument mic for violin, brass, sax, drums.
d:dicate 4011 / 4017 / 4006 — small-diaphragm condensers for classical and orchestra.
d:facto vocal mics — wired and wireless capsules for live vocals.

Should you buy one?

The short answer

Get one ifYou shoot serious video, run theater productions, or record classical music. A 4060 lavalier is around $700 and there’s nothing else that small that sounds that good.

Skip it ifYou’re podcasting at a desk. A Shure SM7B or a Rode PodMic is the right tool for that.

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