As I Hear It - Choosing The Right Microphone

4/14/2015
As I Hear It - Choosing the Right Microphone
January7,2008
AsIHearItChoosingtheRightMicrophone
AnOverviewofPopularShortShotgun,Supercardioid,
HypercardiodandCardioidMicrophones
ByDanBrockett
Microphones
MicrophoneVoiceTests
AudioTechnicaAT875R
AudioTechnicaAT4073a
BeyerdynamicMC836
NeumannKMR81i
OktavaMK012
Test#1.MaleVoice,Interior,onaxis,
interviewsetup
Test#2.MaleVoice,Interior,offaxis,
interviewsetup
Test#3.Microphonehandlingnoise,
http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/right_mic_brockett.html
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SankenCS1
SankenCS3e
SchoepsCMC641
SchoepsCMIT5u
SennheiserMKH50
SennheiserMKH60
Interior,narrativesetup
Test#4.FemaleVoice,Interior,onaxis,
interviewsetup
Test#5.MaleVoice,Exterior,onaxis,
narrativesetup
IsThisArticleForYou?
Takeadeepbreathweareabouttoembarkonanepicjourneythrough
theworldoflocationsoundmicrophones.Yeah,Iknow,soundslikeabit
ofhyperbole,right?Ifyoureadalloftheadsinthetrademagazines,
hangoutonsomeInternetsoundforumsandtalktosoundmixers,
perhapsyouhavereachedasublimelevelofcrystallineunderstanding
aboutlocationsoundmicrophonesORmorelikely,youmaybealittle
confusedbyalloftheconflictinginformationouttherelikemostus.
That'swhatmakesthisanepicjourneytherearesomanymicrophones
outthereandsomuchconflictinginformation.Everyoneseemstohave
hisorherfavoritesandeveryonedisputeshowmuchyouneedtospend
tobuyagreatmicrophone.Idecidedtowadeintothisarticlewithan
openmindandsomeaudioknowledgebutIamdecidedlynota
professionallocationsoundmixer.SinceIproduceandshootvideo
myself,andoftendomyownsoundrecording,Iamwritingthisarticle
foranaudienceofcameraownerslikemyselfwhomayknowalittle
aboutlocationsound,butmaynothavethechancetoauditionthismany
microphonesinpersonbeforebuyingone.Ifyouareacameraperson,
directororproducerwhobuys,rentsandusesprofessionalsoundgear,
thisarticlewillprovidesomegoodstartingpointsinyoursearchforthe
rightmicrophone.Ihopethatbyreadingaboutmyexperiencewiththese
microphonesandlisteningtosomesamplesIhaverecordedinseveral
differenttypesofsituations,youwillbearmedwithknowledgethatwill
helpyoumakeanintelligentbuyingorrentaldecisionsothatyour
projectswillhaveapolishedprofessionalsoundmix.
IamnotanengineerandIdon'tknowalloftheanswersbutIcantell
youthatafterreadingthisarticleandcarefullylisteningtotherecorded
samples,youwillhavesavedyourselfseveraldaysofshopping,internet
researchtohuntdowndisparatesoundsamplesandlotsof
misinformationthatyoumighthearfromuninformedsoundforum
posters,salespeopleorretailerswhojustdidn'tdotheirresearchorhave
avestedinterestinnotbeingunbiased.Therearenoclearcutwinners
andlosersamongstthesemicrophonesthisreviewisnotacontest.All
ofthemicrophonesItestedandreviewedarecapableofexcellentsound.
Notasingleoneofthemicrophonessounded"bad".Somewerebetter
thanothersorstoodoutfromtherestforspecificsoundqualities
though,thepurposeofthisarticleistohelpyoufindthebest
microphonesforyourneeds,tasteandbudget.ThisiswhyIdecidedto
reviewmicrophonesthatrangefromU.S.$259.00incosttoalmostU.S.
$2,000.00.It'sallaboutdiscoveringwhichmicrophonessuityourneeds
aswellasyourfinances.
FromThentoNow,ABitofBackground
Inordertounderstandwhybuyerswantbetterqualityaudio,itishelpful
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toknowwhyvideoandfilmshooterscareorshouldcareaboutsound
quality.Withthedemocratizationofvideoequipmentinthelate1990s
andearly2000s,therewasalsoaninfluxofnewuserscreatingvideo
andfilms.Whenittookaminimumofa$50,000.00to$100,000.00
investmentingeartocreateprofessionalqualityvideo,thetypical
broadcastorindustrialcamcorderuserwasanexperiencedprofessional.
Videoandfilmshootersmannedthecameraandusuallyaprofessional
soundmixer,sometimesalongwithaboomoperatorwasincludedonthe
callsheet.Whentheeconomicequationrequiredproducingqualityvideo
changedtoneedingjustafewthousanddollarsofgeartocreatethe
samerelativeimageandsoundquality,tensofthousandsofnewusers
begantoshootandproducewebcontent,television,films,corporate
videoandmanyothertypesofprogrammingusingthenewinexpensive
gear.Asthenumberofcamcorderusersincreased,theyweredoingtheir
ownsoundmixingonvideoandfilmshootsandlearningastheywent
alongwithalotofonthejobexperimentation.
In2001,IwroteaLowCostShotgunarticlebecauseatthetime,it
seemedthateveryonewaslookingfortherightmicrophonetousewith
thenewlypopularlowcostMiniDVcamcorders.Thewordofthedaywas
cheap.WhenyournewMiniDVcamcordercost$3,000.00andmade
decentqualitypictures,whowantedtospend$2,000.00ona
microphone?Inthisera,significantlyreducedproductionbudgetswere
eliminatingcrewpositions,oftenincludingthesoundmixerandorboom
operator.Therewasawholeinfluxofnewuserswhoknewverylittle
aboutsoundmixingthatwereoutshootingtheirprojectsandlookingto
purchaseaudiogear.Manypeopleseemedtothinkthattheycould
obtainadequatesoundqualitywithacameramountedmicrophone.As
mostofusknow,youcannotrefutethelawsofphysicsbutmanylearned
aboutthisthehardway.
TheHDEraandSound
Wearebeginningtoseesignificantchangeinaudioforvideoproduction
withtheadventoftheHiDefinitionera.WhilethecostsforHD
productionhavefallenrapidlyasthedemandforHDprogrammingand
thegeartoshootithasrisen,ingeneral,HDproductiongearis
significantlymoreexpensivethanstandarddefinitionvideogearwas.HD
camcordersrecorddigitalsoundwithsignificantlybetterqualitythen
theirgenerallypoorsoundingMiniDVandanalogsoundBetacamSP
predecessorsdid.Inmyexperience,thenewergenerationHDVandHD
camcordershavebettermicrophonepreampsandquieteraudiopaths
thanthepreviousgenerationMiniDVcamcordershad.
Manybroadcastanddeliveryspecsforprogrammingnowacceptand
oftenexpecteditedmastersbedeliveredwithmultichannelsurround
sound.ItseemsthatwiththeadventofHDproduction,filmmakersand
videographerstodayseemtobelookingforbetterqualitysoundthan
theywerejustafewyearsago.HiDefputsincreaseddemandsonthe
qualityofthesoundexpectedaswellasthepicture.Moreendusersare
listeningtoHDprogrammingonhighend,highresolutionsound
systemsthattheyhaveaddedtotheir60"HDsets.Thedayofthe
averageviewerhearingtheirtelevisionandfilmsthrougha2"bad
soundingmonospeakerisnotcompletelyoverbutthatdayisthankfully
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dyingaquickdeath.
ConventionalWisdomSays...
In2001,Iwrote,"thereisreallynosuchthingasagoodallaround
microphone."Sixyearslater,Ifeelthatthisisjustastrueasitwasin
2001.Intheensuingyearssincethen,therehavebeennonewtechnical
revelationsthatallowamicrophonetofunctionwellinallsound
situations.Therearemultiplecapsulesystemsthatdoallowalotof
flexibilitythoughsuchastheSchoepsCollettesystem,theOktavaMK
012andtheSennheiserK6/MEsystemaswellasseveralothersthatlet
youusedifferenttypesofcapsulesthateachhavedifferentpickup
patternsinconjunctionwithadedicatedpowersupply/base.Ihaveused
severalofthesesystemsandtheycanbeadecent,ifnotperfectsolution
tothoseofuswhoshootinmanydifferentsortsofphysicallocations.
Thesemodularsystemsusethesamepowersupply,matchedwith
severaldifferentcapsules,eachwithdifferentpickuppatterns.Thegoal
isalwaystorecordthesubjectwiththemostnatural,uncoloredsound
possibleandtoeliminateasmanyoftheextraneoussoundsnot
emanatingfromthesubjectaspossible.Theseextraneoussoundsare
oftenreferredtoas"offaxissound",meaningthatinapracticalsense,
whenyouarerecordingalinefromyourtalent,youwanttohearaslittle
ofthetrafficsoundfromtheroadnexttothemaspossiblewhilehearing
theirvoiceclearlyandwithgreatdetail.
WhatAreTheMostCommonMicrophoneTypesandPickup
PatternsForLocationSound?
Theterminologyinhowmanufacturersanduserscategorizeandname
microphonescanbeabitconfusingbecauseit'snotconsistent.In
general,forlocationsound,thereareseveraltypesofcommonlyused
boommicrophones.Iliketolooselycategorizethemintothefollowing
groups:
LongshotgunsThesemicrophones,inmyopinion,aretypically
mostusefulforrecordingsoundfornoisyexteriorsorwhenyou
cannotlocatethemicrophoneveryclosetothesource.Long
shotgunstypicallyhaveaverynarrowangleofacceptance.Ifyou
checkoutthepolarpatternforalongshotgun,(anoverheadvisual
representationofamicrophone'spickuppattern),youwillusually
seethatanunfortunatesideeffectofhavinganextremelynarrow
angleofacceptanceisalotofancillarysoundpickupattherearof
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themicrophone.Asyoumightimagine,whenshootinginteriors,this
meansthatthecrewandactivitybehindthemicrophone,alongwith
theroom'sreverberantcharacteristicsareusuallypickedupaswell,
makinglongshotgunsnotveryusefulforrecordinginteriors.
Anotherpracticalconcernofusinglongshotgunsisthatwhen
combinedwithasuspensionmountandwindscreenandfurry
windscreencover,alongshotgunisphysicallyhugeandlong.This
canbedifficulttomanagewhenthereisnotenoughphysicalroom
tousethemicrophoneunderoverhangsorinroomswithlow
ceilingsandit'simmensesizeandlengthcanbeavisualdistraction
fortalentaswell.
ShortShotgunsThisshortshotgunisthemorediminutiverelative
ofthelongshotgun.Mostmanufacturersthatoffershortshotguns
alsoofferlongshotguns,ofteninthesameproductlineorwitha
similarsoundquality,usuallyjustwithadifferentpickuppattern.
Besidesbeingphysicallysmallerthanalongshotgun,mostshort
shotgunsofferasomewhatwiderpickuppatternthanlong
shotguns,usuallycoupledwithmorerearaxisnoiserejection.The
shortshotgunisprobablythemostcommonlyusedmicrophonein
locationsound.Theyvarywidelyincostandsoundqualityand
almostallofthemajoraudiomanufacturersofferatleastone,ifnot
multipleiterationsoftheshortshotgun.Generally,mostsound
mixersuseshortshotgunsinnormalexteriorlocationsalthough
plentyofinteriorsarerecordedusingshortshotgunsaswell.
SupercardioidsASupercardioidmicrophonehasapickuppattern
betweenacardioidandalobarshortshotgunwithmoreoffaxis
rejectionthanacardioidbutnotasnarrowofangleofpickupasa
shortshotgun.Iknow,whatdoeslobarmean?Amicrophonewitha
lobarpolarpatternhasthehighestpossibledirectivity.Lobarpolar
patternisoftenreferredtoas:supercardioid/lobar,or
hypercardioid/lobarpolarpattern,butbothsupercardioidand
hypercardioidpatternsareslightlylessdirectionalthanthelobar
pattern.Alobarpickuppatternisachievedwithashotgun
microphoneonly.
Asupercardioidmicrophonealsousuallyfeaturesmorerearaxis
pickupthanacardioid.FouroutofthetwelvemicrophonesI
reviewedforthisarticleweresupercardioidsorshortshotgunswith
asupercardioidpickuppattern.Therearesomeshotgunsthatlista
line+gradientpickuppatternandsomethatjustlistthepickup
patternassupercardioidandsomethatlabeltheirpickuppatternas
lobar.Aswithmanydescriptorsinsound,thereissomeconfusion
aboutexactterminology.Inmyexperience,supercardioid
microphonestypicallyarephysicallyshorterthanshortshotgunsbut
alotofthiscategorizationbecomeswhateverthemanufacturer
wantstocategorizethemicrophoneas.IhaveseentheSchoeps
CMIT5ulabeledasalongshotgun,shortshotgunandasa
supercardioidbythemanufacturer,retailersandenduserssokeep
thisinmindasyoureadtheproductdescriptionsforeach
microphone.Whereavailable,Ihavetriedtoincludepickuppattern
graphsforeachmicrophone.Thesegraphs,alongwiththespec
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sheetsforeachmicrophonewilltellyouallyouneedtoknowasfar
aswhatkindofmicrophoneeachmodelis.
HypercardioidsAsyoumayhaveguessedbynow,ahypercardioid
hasasimilarpickuppatterntoasupercardioidbutitisawider
pickuparea,thereforeitwillusuallyhavelessrearanglepickup
thanasupercardioid.Hypercardioidsareusuallymorepopularfor
recordinginteriorsthanmostofthemicrophonepickuppatterns
listedabovebecausetheyarecapableofprovidingamorenatural,
openandlessfocusedsound.Usingahypercardioidwithawider
pickuppatternalsomeansitiseasiertopickupmultiplesubjects
withoneboom.Forhandboomingdialoguescenesbetween
multiplecharacters,ahypercardioidwouldnothavetobepointed
aspreciselyasashortshotgunorsupercardioid.
CardioidsCardioidmicrophoneshavethewidestpickuppatternof
allofthemicrophonetypesItested.Thecardioidcouldbe
consideredmoreefficientforpickinguplargergroupsofspeakersat
atimeandthistypemicrophonemightprovetobemoreefficient
whentryingtoboomafastmovingsubject.Acardioidmicrophone
hasverylittlepickuppatterndirectlybehindthemicrophonebut
becausethepickuppatternissowide,themicrophonedoeshavea
tendencytopickupsoundsonthefarsidesofthemicrophone's
pattern.Anaddedbenefitofallthreeofthecardioidmicrophonesis
thatgenerallythesetypesofmicrophonesarephysicallyshorter,
allowingthemicrophonetobemoreeasilyusedinspacedwithlow
ceilingsandtightspaces.
HowDoYouChooseWhichTypeOfMicrophonePickupPatternTo
UseForaGivenSituation?
Asaruleofthumb,it'sagoodideatolistentoeachlocationthroughat
leastacoupleofdifferentmicrophonesthatyouthinkyoumightliketo
use.Youmayoccasionallydiscoverthatashortshotgunwillworkfora
giveninteriorlocationbetterthanacardioidortheshortshotgunmaybe
abetterchoicethanalongshotgunforsomeexteriors,itjustdepends
onthesituationandtherecordist'schoiceofsoundqualitydesired.This
leadsusbacktosquareonethereisnoperfect,allaroundgeneral
microphoneforthelocationsoundmixer'sbag.Braceyourselfand
budgetyourself,youshouldseriouslyconsiderpurchasingmorethanone
microphoneoratleastamodularmicrophonesystemalongwithatleast
twocapsules.Keepthisinmindasyouperusetherestofthisarticle,you
canconsidertakingyourtotalmicrophonebudgetanddividingitsothat
youcanbuymorethanonemicrophone.
TheEconomics
Thismaysoundabitharshtoyou,butifyouhavegonetolengthsof
purchasingahighqualitycamcorder,tripod,monitor,lights,grip
equipmentandalloftheparaphernalianeededinordertoproducefilm
orvideo,youSHOULDconsiderspendingadecentamountofmoneyon
youraudiogear.Thesinglemostimportantcomponentofyouraudio
gearisthemicrophone.Dependingonyourneedsandexpectations,you
don'talwayshavetospendalotofmoneyonyourmicrophones,butit
doesmakesprudenteconomicsensetoNOTscrimponthequalityof
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yourmicrophones.Buytherightmicrophonestosuccessfullyrecordthe
typesofprojectsthatyouplanonshooting.Manynewerusersfallinto
thetrapofbuyingacamcorderthatistooexpensivefortheiroverall
productionbudget,thenscrimpingonallofthemostimportantsupport
componentsliketripods,lightingandmostimportantly,thesoundgear.
Beforeyoubuyanyproductiongear,youhavetoreallyknowhowto
budgetyourfundstocraftawellroundedproductiongearpackage.
Owningagreatcamcorderwithalousytripod,junkylightsandabad
soundingmicrophoneismorecommonthanyoumightbelieve.A
cheapercamcorderwithgoodqualitysupportgearlikemicrophonesand
tripodswillresultinabetterlookingandsoundingproject.Asyouread
thisarticleyouwillseeandhearthatyoudon'talwaysneedtobuythe
mostexpensivemicrophonestorecordgreatsound,butyouneedto
knowwhattobuyforyourparticularshootingstyle.Afterspendingsix
monthswithallofthesemicrophones,inmyopinion,youneedtobudget
foratleasttwotypesofshotgun/cardioidvariantmicrophonesalongwith
atleastonelavalieremicrophoneformostusers.
Inthesimplestterms,anyofyouwhohavepurchasedacamcorderlike
thePanasonicHVX200,theCanonXLH1,theSonyPMWEX1ortheJVC
HD100/110familycanaffordtopurchaseanymicrophonereviewedin
thisarticle.Ifyouarereadingthisarticleandonlyhavea$500.00Mini
DVcamcorder,thatisadifferentstory,Iwouldreferyoutomyoriginal
LowCostShotgunMicrophoneComparisonsinceinmostinstancesit
wouldn'tmakesensetobuyamicrophonethatcostsmorethanyour
camcorder.Sincethelowcostarticlewasputonline,manyotherlow
costshotguns/cardioidshaveappearedonthemarkettoconsider.For
therestofyouwhohavedroppedatleast$8,000.00to$10,000.00or
moreonyourcamerapackagealone,Iamnotlettingyouoffofthe
hookseriouslyconsiderbuyingmorethanonemicrophone.Buyahigh
quality,reputablebrandofsoundmixerandqualitylavaliere
microphones,buythebestcablesandheadphonesyoucanafford.But
mostimportantofall,buytherightshotgun/cardioidvariant
microphones.Microphonesasinplural.Yourcompletedfilm/video
projectswillbejudgedmostlyonaudio.Fromatechnicalandaudience
viewpoint,greatgraphics,cinematography,story,actorsanddirection
arealltrumpedbythequalityofyoursound.Creatinggreatsoundtakes
knowinghowtochoosethecorrectmicrophonesandhavingaccessto
therightmicrophonestorecordyourlocationsound.
Introducing...TheContestants
Imakenoclaimthattheelevenmicrophonestestedhereshouldbethe
onlymicrophonesthatyouconsider.Thereweremanyothercandidates
thatIwouldhavelikedtohavetestedandwrittenabout.Itriedfor
monthstoobtainafactorysampleSennheiserMKH416butSennheiser
couldnotprovidemeone.Itriedformonthstoobtainsamplesofthe
BlueLinefromAKGbuttheycouldnotprovidefactorysamples.SinceI
wantedthetesttobeasfairandunbiasedaspossible,Idecidednotto
rentorborrowsamples,Ifeltthatwouldnotbefairtothemanufacturers
ortoyou.Wewouldhavenowayofknowingifarentalorborrowed
samplehadbeenabused,howolditwas,etc.SoIdecidedonlytotest
factoryfreshsamplesdirectfromthemanufacturers.
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Unfortunately,therealitiesoftime,andthespaceallottedforthisarticle
preventmefromnotexpandingtheseelevenmicrophonestofortyor
fiftymodels.Idofeelthatthemicrophonesincludedareagoodcross
sectionofthemostpopularmicrophonesformostusersintheU.S.,Ido
knowthatinotherpartsoftheworld,therearesomepopularbrandsnot
representedhere.SinceIambasedintheStates,itmadesenseto
includethemostpopularbrandsthatareeasilyavailableintheU.S.and
knownintheU.S.Theimportantthingtorememberisthatbyreading
thisarticleandlisteningtothesamples,youcantrainyourearand
increaseyourknowledgeofwhatyoulikeanddislikeinmicrophones.
Youcanusethisknowledgeinthefuturewhenyouconsiderbuyingany
typeofmicrophones.Soundissoundandhighqualityrecordingwill
becomeeasierforyoutorecognizeafteryoureadthroughthisarticle
andanalyzethesoundsamples.
Themicrophonesarelistedinalphabeticalorder.
#1.AudioTechincaAT875R
ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:Line+Gradient
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$259.00MSRP
AudioTechnicaU.S.Inc.
1221CommerceDrive.Stow,Ohio44224
www.audiotechnica.com
Relativesize:SmallestshotgunI'veeverseen
Weight:80g(2.8oz.)
Dimensions:175.0mm(6.89")long,21.0mm(0.83")diameter
Extras:AT8405astandclampfor5/8"27threadedstands5/8"27to
3/8"16threadedadapterwindscreensoftprotectivepouch
Cosmetics:Unusualinterferencetubedesign,Ilikedit
FitandFinish:Verygood,itdoesn'tlookinexpensive
AudioTechnica'sdescriptionofthemicrophone:
AudioTechnica'sAT875Risdesignedforvideoproductionandbroadcast
(ENG/EFP)audioacquisition.AudioTechnica'sshortestshotgun
microphone,itmountsconvenientlyonaHDV/DVorHDcamcorder
withoutaddingnoticeableheft,andisidealforusewithcompactdigital
cameras.Thishighperformancemicrophoneoffersanarrowacceptance
angleofline+gradientdesign.Italsofeaturessmooth,natural
soundingonaxisaudioqualityandexcellentoffaxisrejectionofsound
arrivingfromthesidesandrearofmic.
Designedforvideoproductionandbroadcast(ENG/EFP)audio
acquisition
Extremelyshortlength(under7")idealforusewithcompactdigital
cameras
Providesthenarrowacceptanceangledesirableforlongdistance
soundpickup
Excellentsoundrejectionfromthesidesandrearofmic
Tailoredresponseminimizescameraandhandlingnoise
Operatesonphantompoweronly
RoHScompliantfreefromallsubstancesspecifiedintheEU
directiveonhazardoussubstances
Dan'sinitialtakeonthemicrophone:
IfirstheardabouttheAT875RatNAB2007.ThenichethatAudio
Technicaseemstobetryingtofillwiththe875rseemstobethe
camcordermountedshortshotgun.It'ssmall,inexpensiveandseemsto
beaperfectcandidateforoncamerause.Exceptthatyoushouldknow
thatmountingamicrophoneonyourcamcorder,nomatterhowgood
soundingthemicrophone,isarecipeforhorribleaudioquality.Weare
moreinterestedinhowtheAT875Rperformedasaproperboommic.
[Top]
#2.AudioTechincaAT4073a
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ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:Line+Gradient
$895.00MSRP
AudioTechnicaU.S.Inc.
1221CommerceDrive.Stow,Ohio44224
www.audiotechnica.com
Relativesize:fairlysmallsizeandlightweightmakeitaboomoperator's
friend
Weight:114g(4.0oz.)
Dimensions:9.13"(232.0mm)long,0.83"(21.0mm)diameter
Extras:AT8405astandclampfor5/8"27threadedstandsAT8134
windscreenprotectivecarryingcase
Cosmetics:Verygenericlooking,nicegrey/bronzecolor
FitandFinish:Verygood,hasanicefeeltoitssurfaceplusunusually
shaped,eyecatchingdiaphragmopenings
AudioTechnica'sdescriptionofthemicrophone:
TheAT4073asetsnewstandardsinsmallsizeandlightweight.Withan
overalllengthofjust9.13"andweightofjust4.0oz,themicadds
virtuallynohefttotheendofafishpoleorthetopofaminicam.
Throughtheuseofanadvanced,proprietyAudioTechnicadesign,the
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interferencetubeoftheAT4073aprovidesanarrowacceptanceangle
thatwouldrequireatube50percentlongerusingconventional
technology.AudioTechnicahaspioneeredauniqueinterferencetube
design*intheAT4071aandAT4073ashotgunmicsthatprovidesthe
samedirectivityasmicsupto50percentlonger.
Designedforcriticallongdistancepickupinbroadcasting,film/TV
productionandtheatersoundreinforcementapplications
Directcoupled,balancedoutputensuresacleansignaleveninhigh
outputconditions
Exclusiveacousticdesign*providessamedirectivityasmicsupto
50%longer
Switchable150Hzhipassfilter
Ruggedhousingmadeoflightweightstructuralgradealuminum
alloy
Ihavequiteabitofexperienceinshootingwiththismicrophoneasa
productioncompanyIshootalotforhasthemintheiraudiokitsthatI
haveusedforthepastfewyears.Ihavealwayslikedthesoundofthe
microphone,itisquitegoodforinteriors,especiallydeadsounding
roomswithalotofcarpetandplushfurniture.
[Top]
#3.BeyerdynamicMC836
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ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:LobeCardioid
$999.00MSRP
Beyerdynamic
56CentralAve.Farmingdale,NY11735
http://northernamerica.beyerdynamic.com
Relativesize:Averagesizeforshortshotgun
Weight:116g(4.09oz.)
Extras:protectivecarryingcase
Cosmetics:Graycrackleanodizedfinish
FitandFinish:Nice,easytogripwhenfingersaredamp
Beyerdynamic'sdescriptionofthemicrophone:
TheruggedandlightweightMC836shotgunmicrophonehasbeen
designedtomeetthedemandsofENGandEFPapplications.Duetoits
acousticalcharacteristicsitisalsosuitedforfilmapplications.The
directionalpolarpatternhelpstosuppresslateralandbackground
noise.Themicrophoneoperatesaccordingtothepressuregradient/line
transducertechnique.Aswitchablelowfrequencyrolloffeliminates
unwantedlowfrequenciesatacutofffrequencyof90Hz.Anintegrated
footfallsoundinsulationavoidsthetransmissionofnoisebelow40Hz.To
avoidwindnoisewhenusedoutdoors,awindshieldmustbeused.The
microphonecanbeoperatedwithaphantompowersupplyof1152V.
Lobe/Cardioidpolarpattern
Verywidefrequencyresponse
Lowfrequencyrolloffswitch
Phantompowersupply1152V
IhadneverusedaBeyerdynamicmicrophonebeforethisreview.The
microphone'soverallsoundwasneutralanditfeaturedverygoodoff
axisnoiserejection.Forsomereason,Beyerdynamicmicshavenever
beencommonplaceinvideo/filmproductionandIamnotsurewhy.I
waseagertohearhowthismicrophonecomparedtothebrandsmore
familiartome.
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[Top]
#4.NeumannKMR81i
ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:Supercardioid/Lobe
$1,349.00MSRP
NeumannUSA
1EnterpriseDrive.OldLyme,CT06371,USA
www.neumannusa.com
Relativesize:Averagesizeforshortshotgun
Extras:WS81windscreen,leathercarryingcase
Cosmetics:Availableinnickelorblackfinish
FitandFinish:ImpeccableGermancraftsmanship,aworkofartlikeall
NeumannsIhaveusedandowned
Neumann'sdescriptionofthemicrophone:
TheKMR81isashotgunmicrophonewithahighdirectivitythatremains
withintheacceptanceangleindependentofthefrequency.The
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advantageisthatasoundsource,forexampleanactoronstage,willnot
changeitsapparenttonalbalancewhenmovingwithinthisarea.
Applications
Shotgunmicrophonesareparticularlyusefulinrecordingsituations
whereamicrophonecannotbepositionedwithinthedesireddistanceof
thesoundsourcetoproduceasufficientlyloudsignallevel.Typical
applicationsarefilmandvideorecordings,wherethemicrophoneshould
notappearinthepicture.TheKMR81hasbeenspecificallydesignedfor
electronicnewsgathering.
Acousticfeatures
Inprinciple,Neumannshotgunmicrophonesuseacombinationofa
pressuregradienttransducerandaninterferencetube.Ifthewavelength
ofthefrequencyislongerthanthetubelength,themicrophonesworkas
pressuregradienttransducers.Athigherfrequenciestheyoperateas
interferencetransducersforlateralsound.Offaxissoundsourcesare
pickedupwithreducedlevel,butwithoutcoloration.
Therefore,themicrophonesarewellsuitedtorecordindividual
instrumentsofanorchestra.Thepickupareasofseveralshotgun
microphonesmayevenoverlapas,forexample,duringrecordingsona
largestage,withoutcausinganyproblem.
TheKMR81islesssensitivetowindandpopnoisewhencomparedto
theKM150miniaturemicrophonewithasimilarhighdirectivity.The
shotgunmicrophonefeaturesextremelylowselfnoise,goodimpulse
response,andhighoutputlevel.
Polarpatterns
TheKMR81isashotgunmicrophonewithaverydirectional
characteristic.
Themicrophonecapsuleispositionedinsideahousingtubethatis
acousticallyopenbuthasahighflowresistance.Thedirectionalpattern
ofthemicrophoneislobeshaped.Theattenuationoflateralsoundis
practicallyindependentofthefrequency.TheKMR81hasafrequency
independentdirectivitywithinapickupangleof90foraudiosignalsthat
determinethetonalbalanceoftheprogrammaterial.
Filterandattenuation
Themicrophonehasa10dBattenuationswitchtopreventtheinputof
thefollowingunitfromoverloading.
Asecondswitchactivatesa200Hzhighpassfilter.Towardthe
lowerfrequenciesthesensitivityofthemicrophoneisattenuatedby
approximately15dBat50Hz.Thefrequencyrangeabove200Hzis
unaffected.
Dan'sinitialtakeonthemicrophone:Ihaveownedacoupleof
Neumann'slargediaphragmstudiocondensermicrophonesfordecades
andhavealwayslikedtheirsoundcharacteristicsaswellastheir
legendarybuildqualityandcraftsmanship.TheKMR81iisnodifferent
it'saverywellcraftedpieceofgear.Thismicrophonewastheonlynickel
satinfinishmicrophonewereceivedfortesting,whichcosmetically
makesitreallystandoutinaseaofblack,grayandbronzefinishes.The
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soundissmoothandnaturalandtheKMR81ihasoutstandingoffaxis
noiserejectionaswell.TheKMR81ihasaverywellbalancedandclear
soundqualitythatIfoundappealing.
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#5.OktavaMK012
ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:Cardioid,Omni,Hypercardioid
(eachusingaseparatecapsule)
$375.00MSRP
OktavaUSA
345N.DubuqueSt.NorthLiberty,IA52317,USA
www.oktavausa.com
Relativesize:Very,verysmallmicrophone
Weight:70g(2.46oz.)
Extras:10dBpad,microphoneholder,plasticcase
Cosmetics:Availableinsilverorblackmattefinish
FitandFinish:Ruggedlooking,andabitrough,typicalofSoviet
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electronics
OktavaUSAdescriptionofthemicrophone:
TheMK012isacompact,highqualitycapacitormicrophone.Thewide,
flatresponseensuresthatallsoundsarecapturedwithahighdegreeof
accuracy.Acardioid,omni&hypercardioidcapsuleincreasethis
microphone'sversatility.
TheMK012issuitableforuseinanysituationwhereanaccuratesound
isrequired,thesizeofthesystemmakesitidealforuseinbroadcast,
soundforpicture,installation,soundreinforcementandtheatre
situationsaswellastherecordingstudio.
TheOktavaMK012hasbecomeacultmicrophonewithlocationsound
mixers,indiefilmmakersaswellmusiciansandstudioowners
everywhere.Themicrophoneispricedinthelowbudgetrange.Isthis
theonlyreasonforalloftheenthusiasm?Ihaveheardcomparisons
betweentheMK012andtheSchoepsmicrophonesandIhavealso
heardthattheOktavasarealsopronetoQ/Cissuesandexcessive
handlingnoise.ThesamplesIrecordedwillletyoumakeupyourown
mindabouttheOkatava.
Personally,Ifoundthemicrophonetohaveverygoodqualitysoundfor
itspricerange.TheOktava,tomyears,presentedaslightlymore
coloredandhighfrequencyemphasizedsoundqualitythantheSankens
andtheSchoeps,itdidnothavethesmoothnessandnaturalsound
qualityoftheSchoepsbutitdidsoundveryimpressive.Iwouldnot
hesitatetorecommendtheOkatavaasasolid,lowcostandversatile
choicethatisanexcellentvaluesinceitisamicrophonesystemfor
under$400.00includingthreecapsulesanda10dBpad,microphone
holderandcase.IverymuchenjoyedrecordingwiththeOktava,it
seemedlikearelativebargain.
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#6.SankenCS1
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ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:Shortshotgun
$795.00MSRP
Plus24
1155N.LaBreaAvenue,WestHollywood,CA90038,USA
www.plus24.net
Relativesize:Verysmallmicrophone
Extras:US1foamwindscreen,ROCSrubberOring,paddedhardshell
case
Cosmetics:Black/darkgraysmoothfinish
FitandFinish:Verynicequalityfeel
Sankendescriptionofthemicrophone:
ThenewCS1ShortShotgunMicrophoneemploysthesameinnovative
technologyaspreviousSankenmicsinanew,smaller,ultracompact
housing.Specificallydesignedforthefilmandtelevisionindustries,the
CS1isunobtrusiveandeasilyavoidsthecamera'sview.Sharp
directivitydelivershighlytargetedsoundwhileeliminatingbackground
noisethroughoffaxisrejection.
Measuringonly7inchesinlength,theCS1isidealformountingon
videoandfilmcameras,andwithaweightofonly3.5ounces,itiseasy
tomaneuveronboompolesandisalsoeffectiveasahandheldshotgun
mic.UtilizingSanken'soriginalsquarecondensercapsule,theCS1hasa
flatfrequencyresponsewellbeyond20kHz.
Verysharpdirectivityinacompact7"body
Flatfrequencyonaxisresponsebeyond20kHz
Optimumsensitivity:30dB/Pa
HighSPLmorethan137dBSPL(1%THD),withnodistortion,even
incloseproximitytosoundsources
Narrowangledirectivityinallfrequencyranges23dB/20kHz,
25dB/10kHz,26dB/1kHz,20dB/200Hz
Only3.5ounceslightweightmakesitidealforboompole
operation
SankenoriginalsquaretypeDCbiasedcondensercapsule
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TheSankenCS1hasbecomeaverypopularchoiceasasolidmidrange
andphysicallysmallshortshotgun.Withcrispdetailedsoundandvery
goodoffaxisrejection,theSankenisanintelligentchoiceforasound
packageforvideo/film.Thesoundisneutral,relativelyuncoloredand
containsalotofdetail,particularlyinthehighfrequencies.
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#7.SankenCS3e
ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:Shortshotgunwsupercardioid
pattern
$1,350.00MSRP
Plus24
1155N.LaBreaAvenue,WestHollywood,CA90038,USA
www.plus24.net
Relativesize:Verysmalldiameter,longlengthmicrophone
Dimensions:10.6"(270mm)long,0.74"(19.0mm)diameter
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Extras:US1foamwindscreen,ROCSrubberOring,paddedhardshell
case
Cosmetics:Black/darkgraysmoothfinish
FitandFinish:Verynicequalityfeel
Sankendescriptionofthemicrophone:IntheCS3e,three
directionalcapsulesarearrangedinafrontbackarraytocombineline
microphoneperformanceandsecondorderpressuregradientresponse
inasinglesystem.Withthisuniquedesign,theCS3eachieves
phenomenalsupercardioiddirectivityinthelowestfrequenciesand
throughoutthefullrangeinamicrophone27cm(10inches)inlength.
ItissignificantthattheCS3epicksupthetargetedfrontalsound
sourceswithexceptionalclarityoverawidefrequencyrangeevenin
noisyambientenvironmentsorinlongreverberationspacesby
rejectingundesirednoiseandsoundscomingfromtherearandsides.
Background
Conventionalshotgunmicrophonesusealinecapsulearrayandapipe
withslitsinfrontofthecapsuletocreatehighdirectivitybyutilizing
phaseinterferenceinsidethecasing.Withthisconventionaldesign,high
directivityinthemiddlelowfrequencyrangeisnotachieved,although
highdirectivityinthehighfrequencyrangeismaintained.Conventional
shotgunmicrophonesareatadisadvantagebecausetheyinvariablypick
upunwantedsoundscomingfromthebackandsides.Inordertosolve
thisproblem,conventionalshotgunmicrophonesdesignedforhigh
directivityinthemiddlelowfrequenciesrequirealengthofmorethan
onemeter(39inches)inlength.However,longshotgunmicrophones
seriouslyaffectmobilityandarenotidealforfieldrecording.
UniqueDesign
TheremarkableperformanceoftheCS3eisbasedonthecombination
ofasecondgradientandlinemicrophonewiththreedirectional
condenserelements,usingnewPPS(PolyGoldPhenyleneSulfide)
diaphragmstoprovideoptimumhumidity/temperaturestability.TheCS
3eincorporatestherevolutionarytechnologyoftheCSS5shotgun
stereomicrophone(switchableshotgunstereo/mono/wide)andtheCOS
11slavaliermicrophonedevelopedinconjunctionwithNHK.TheCS3eis
smallandlightweightwithalowcutswitchtosatisfythevariousneeds
oflocationandstudiorecording.Thestandard19mmdiameterpermits
useofawiderangeofaccessoriesdevelopedforenhancedperformance
andfieldmobility.
NonProximityEffect
Whenaconventionalshotgunmicrophoneisnearthesoundsource,
proximityeffectresultsinaboostingofcertainlowfrequenciesandslight
maskingofothers.Somedesignsutilizethiseffecttoreducesurrounding
noises,butmicrophoneresponsegreatlyvarieswiththechanging
distancebetweenthesourceandthemicrophone.Thiseffectbecomes
morepronouncedwhenthedirectionalitybecomesgreater.Bycontrast,
theCS3evirtuallyeliminatestheproximityeffectandmaintainssharp
directivity,whilethesoniccharacteristicsdonotchangewithvaried
distancesbetweensourcesandmicrophone.Thisisasignificant
advantageoverallotherdirectionalmicrophones.
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TheSankenCS3epresentssomewhatofanenigmatome.Ithasa
similarsoundtotheSankenCS1,butithasbetteroffaxisrejection
thantheCS1,asyouwouldexpect.TheSankenCS3eseemstooffera
verysmoothanddetailedsoundwithexcellentdynamicrangeaswell.
TheCS3eretailsforalmosttwicethepriceoftheCS1though.Inaudio,
thereisageneralguidelineforgearcalledthelawofdiminishingreturns.
Whatitmeansisthatinordertoobtainapieceofgearthatsounds
good,youhavespendacertainamountofmoney.Inordertoobtaina
pieceofgearthatwillsound10%betterthanasimilarpieceofother
gear,youoftenhavetospendmanytimesasmuch.Ascostsincrease,
thedifferencesinsoundqualitybecomesmallerandsmaller.Iwonderif
thismightbethecasewiththeCS3e?Itsoundedsmootherandmore
balancedthantheCS1butisitworthalmosttwicethemoney?Youwill
havetojudgewithyourownearsandmakethatdecision.
[Top]
#8.SchoepsCMC641CMC6UMicrophonePreampandMK41G
SuperCardioidCapsule
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ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:Supercardioid
$1,592.00MSRP
ReddingAudio
97SouthMainStreet,Unit#10Newtown,CT06470,USA
www.reddingaudio.com
Relativesize:smalllengthmodularsystem
Extras:SG20MicrophoneStandMount,B5PopFilter,Case
Cosmetics:DarkGrayMatte
FitandFinish:Topofthelinemattefinishwithgoldengraving,gold
coloredXLRconnection
Schoeps'descriptionofthemicrophone:
CMCMicrophoneAmplifiers
balanced,verylowimpedanceoutput
canbeusedwithverylongcables(severalhundredmeters)
canbeusedwithActiveAccessoriesforminiaturizationandspecial
applications
ThechieftaskofaCMCmicrophoneamplifieristoconverttheextremely
highimpedancesignalfromthecapsuletoaverylowimpedanceone
suitablefortransmissionthroughamicrophonecable.Severalversions
areavailablewhichdifferonlyintheirpowering,connectors,output
levelsandsurfacefinishes.TheyallfeatureasymmetricalclassAoutput
stagewithneithercouplingcondensersnoranoutputtransformer.This
designhelpsthemtoachieveextremelylowdistortionandlightphysical
weight,whiletheirverylowoutputimpedancehelpsmakethem
insensitivetoelectricalinterference.standardmicrophoneamplifier:
ModularMK41Capsule
supercardioidpatternverywellmaintainedthroughoutthe
frequencyrange
formusicandspeech
highdirectivity,comparabletothatofashort"shotgun"microphone
upthroughmidrangefrequencies
TheMK41isstronglydirectional.Soundarrivingfromoffaxisis
attenuatedevenmorethanwithacardioid.Thepickupis'drier'andless
susceptibletoacousticfeedbackthananyotherSCHOEPSmicrophone
type,providedthataloudspeakerisnotlocateddirectlyontherearaxis
ofthemicrophone.
Itsdirectivityishighlyindependentoffrequency,sothatevensounds
arrivingoffaxisandreverberantsoundareregisteredwithoutcoloration.
Consequently,evendistantplacementofthemicrophoneproducesa
verynaturalsoundpickup.Thisisarealadvantageoverinterference
tube"shotgun"microphones,whosedirectivityisveryfrequency
dependentexceedingthatofasupercardioidonlyathigherfrequencies.
Interferencetubemicrophonesarenotoriouslysensitivetotheirposition
inaroom,wheretheshiftingpatternsofreflectionscausecorresponding
shiftsinsoundcolor.ThustheMK41andCCM41aresurprisingly
effectiveandspacesavingalternativestoshotgunmicrophonesand
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beingsmall,theycanoftenbeplacedclosertothesoundsource.
TheSchoepsCMC641isanindustrystandard.Itisrelativelycostly,yet
mostlocationsoundmixersfeelthatitisworthit.Tomyears,the
CMC641seemedtohavetheleastcolored,mostnaturalsoundofanyof
themicrophonestested.It'sdifficulttodescribe.Almostallofthemics
testedhadclearandconcisesound,yetIalwaysformedtheimpression
thatIwaslisteningtoarecordingofthesound.Theothermics"present"
thesound,eachintheirownstyle.Withthismicrophone,Inevergotthe
impressionthatthesoundwas"presented"itjustwas"there"and
soundedverysimilartowhatmyearsalonehear.Inaudioparlance,this
isthetextbookdescriptionof"uncolored"sound.
TheversatilityoftheSchoepsColletteSystemshouldalsobeconsidered.
Withtheadditionofothercapsules,yourCMC6Upreampbecomesthe
basisforaveryversatileandhighqualitymicrophonesystem,ifyou
havethefinancialmeanstoaffordthenotsoinexpensivepricesfor
additionalcapsules.
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#9.SchoepsCMIT5u
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ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:Supercardioid/lobeshaped
$1,895.00MSRP
ReddingAudio
97SouthMainStreet,Unit#10Newtown,CT06470,USA
www.reddingaudio.com
Relativesize:abouttheaveragesizeforashotgun
Weight:89g(3.13oz.)
Extras:SG20MicrophoneStandMount,W140foamtypewindscreen,
PolishedWoodenCase
Cosmetics:AnodizedBlueAluminum
FitandFinish:Topofthelinewiththreeseparatefilterpushbuttonswith
sixsmall,orangeLEDindicators
Schoepsdescriptionofthemicrophone:
SchoepsMicrophonesandproudlypresenttheSchoepsCMIT5Ushotgun
microphone.
Threepushbuttonactivatedfilters:
Highfrequencyemphasis(+5dBat10kHz)
Steeplowcutfilter(18dB/oct.below80Hz)
Gentlelowfrequencyrolloff(6dB/oct.below300Hz)
ApairofLEDsnexttoeachfilterpushbuttonindicatesthestatus(in/out)
ofeachfilterapracticalfeaturethatistrulyuniqueforamicrophoneof
thistype.
Weight:Anamazing31/8ounces!
48Voltphantompowering
SuperiorRFimmunity
Unusuallylowcolorationofoffaxissound,forashotgun
Pickuppatternisconsistentinboththehorizontalandvertical
planes(unlikesomepopularshotguns)
Increaseddirectivityatmediumfrequencies
LesssensitivetowindnoisethanaSchoepsCMC641
Schoepssoundqualitymakesthemicrophonesuitableformusic
recordingaswellasDialogue
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Beautiful,blueanodizedallmetalhousing
Schoeps:Innovationredefined
Thefocusonoutstandinghighquality,reliability,andneutral,accurate
soundhasbeentheproductionphilosophyofSchoepsmicrophonessince
1948.Thesimpleeleganceandcleverengineeringoftheirproducts
reflectsatruepassionfortheartofmicrophonemanufacturinganda
tirelessattentiontodetail.SchoepsismostfamousforitsColette
ModularMicrophoneSystem,themostextensiveandversatile
microphonesystemeverconceived.Introducedintheearlyseventies,
theColetteSystemisstilltheheartoftheSchoepslinetoday.Itwasthe
firstofitskind,allowingtheuseofvariousactiveaccessoriesbetween
thecapsuleandamplifierbodyandisundoubtedlythestandardtowhich
allothersmalldiaphragmmicrophonesarecompared.TheCMIT5U
continuesinthistraditionofsuperbquality,innovationandfunctionality
thatallSchoepsproductsshare.
Notyourordinaryshotgun...
ForyearsSchoepshasdeclinedrequeststoproduceashotguntype
microphone.Thecompanyfeltifitweregoingtoproduceashotgun
microphone,therehadtobesomelevelofuniquenessandimprovement.
BesidesthebercoolpushbuttonsandLEDs,thismicrophoneproduces
anaturalsoundnotthoughtpossiblewithaninterferencetubedesign.It
isonlyfittingthattheyarefinallyofferingonesinceSchoeps'Technical
DirectorJoergWuttke,theProjectManageroftheCMIT5Uhadstudied
withandassistedtheinventoroftheinterferencetube"shotgun"
microphone,ProfessorGntherKurtze.Countlesslocationrecordists
alreadyuseaSchoepsCMC641supercardioidinconjunctionwiththeir
favoritenonSchoepsshotguntohandlealltheiraudiocaptureneeds.
Forthefirsttime,userscanenjoyanaudiblecohesionbetweentheir
venerableCMC641andtheirshotguns.
Dan'sinitialtakeonthemicrophone
ProfessionalsoundmixershavelongedforaSchoepsshotgunforquite
sometimeandtheintroductionoftheCMIT5ufinallymeansthata
Schoepsshotgunfinallyexists.TheCMIT5usoundsgreatandsharesa
lotofthesamesoundcharacteristicsastheCMC641supercardioidwhile
featuringanarrowerpickuppatternwithbetteroffaxisrejection.Pairing
aCMIT5uwithaCMC641wouldresultinanideallocationsound
package.Theonlyproblemformanyofusmightbethatthecostofthe
twotogetherapproachesU.S.$3,600.00.TheCMIT5uisabeautiful
microphonethatexudesauniquelookandfeelaswellasaunique
sound.TheothernotablequalityoftheCMIT5uisit'samazinglylight
weight.WhenusingtheCMIT5u,itsextremelylightheftallowstheboom
operatortousethemicforlongerperiodsoftimewithlessfatigue.
Thosemissingfewouncesmakeabigdifferencewhenusingthemicona
longboompoleespecially.
[Top]
#10.SennheiserMKH50
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ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:Pressuregradientmicrophone
withsupercardioidpickuppattern
$1,440.00MSRP
Sennheiser
1EnterpriseDrive,OldLyme,CT06371
www.sennheiserusa.com
Relativesize:Shortlengthbutlargerdiameterthanothercomparable
microphones
Weight:99g(3.5oz.)
Extras:ShockmountMZS40,StandadapterMZQ40,WindscreenMZQW
40
Cosmetics:Blackmatte
FitandFinish:VeryniceblackmetallicfinishwithtypicalSennheiser
highqualityfeel.
Sennheiserdescriptionofthemicrophone:
Features&Benefits
Highrejectionoflateralsounds
Exceptionallylowinherentselfnoise
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Transformerlessandfullyfloatingbalancedoutput
Symmetricaltransducertechnologyensuresextremelylow
distortion
Switchablerollofffiltertocompensateforproximityeffectsata
distanceofapprox.0.5m
Switchablepreattenuation
Black,anodisedlightmetalbody
ThesupercardioidMKH50offersahigherattenuationofdiffusefield
andlateralsoundthanthecardioidmicrophone.Itisprincipallydesigned
foruseasasoloist'sorspotmicrophoneforapplicationsrequiringahigh
degreeofsidebornesoundmutingandfeedbackrejection.The
directionalcharacteristicsarefrequencyindependent.Theunitshallbea
supercardioidstudiodirectionalmicrophonewithswitchablepre
attenuationandswitchablerollofffilter.Thefrequencyresponseshallbe
40Hz20,000Hz,withsensitivity(freefield,noload)of25(8)mV/Pa
1dBat1kHz.Thenominalimpedanceshallbe150W,andmin.
terminatingimpedanceshallbe1000W.Thedimensionsshallbe.98x
6.02inches,andweighapprox.3.5oz.TheunitshallbeaSennheiser
MKH50.Valuesinparentheseswithattenuatorswitchedon(10dB).
TheSennheiserMKH50isapopularsupercardioidmicrophone.Ithasa
robustandclearsoundwithanicebassresponseanddecentoffaxis
rejection.TheSennheiserhasadifferentsoundthantheotherhighend
microphonestested,whichIfoundrefreshing.Tomyears,the
Sennheiserspresentaslightly"darker"soundwithconsiderablelowend
withoutboominess.Ifindthissoundappealingformanyprojectsand
subjects.
[Top]
#11.SennheiserMKH60
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ManufacturerDescriptionofpolarpattern:InterferenceTube(shortgun)
microphonewithsupercardioid/lobarpickuppattern
$2,000.00MSRP
Sennheiser
1EnterpriseDrive,OldLyme,CT06371
www.sennheiserusa.com
Relativesize:Shortlengthbutlargerdiameterthanothercomparable
microphones
Dimensions:11.02"(280mm)long,0.98"(25mm)diameter
Extras:StandadapterMZQ40
Cosmetics:Blackmatte
FitandFinish:VeryniceblackmetallicfinishwithtypicalSennheiser
highqualityfeel.
Sennheiserdescriptionofthemicrophone:
Features&Benefits
Extremelylowinherentselfnoise
Highsensitivity
Highdirectivitythroughoutthewholefrequencyrange
Transformerlessandfullyfloatingbalancedoutput
Infrasoniccutofffilter
Symmetricaltransducertechnologyensuresextremelylow
distortion
Switchablepreattenuation,switchablerollofffilterandswitchable
trebleemphasis
Ruggedandweatherproof
Black,anodisedlightmetalbody
TheMKH60isalightweightshortgunmicrophone.Itisversatileand
easytohandleanditssuperblateralsoundmutingmakesitanexcellent
choiceforfilmandreportingapplications.Itshighdegreeofdirectivity
ensureshighsoundqualityfordistanceapplications.
TheSennheiserMKH60isaverypopularsupercardioidpatterned
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shotgunmicrophone.Ithasarobustandclearsoundwithanicebass
responseandexcellentoffaxisrejection.TheSennheiserhasadifferent
soundthantheotherhighendmicrophonestested,althoughthebasic
soundqualityissimilartotheMKH50,whichIquiteliked.TheMKH60
presentswithlessbassandslightlymoremidrangeemphasisthanthe
MKH50.
[Top]
ComparisonTable
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TheTests
Imulledoverhowtobesttestthesemicrophonessothatreaderscould
makeuptheirmindsaboutwhichonebestsuitstheirneeds.(Insert
cheesysoundmixerjokehere)Iwantedtoavoidtheanalysisofthe
anechoicchamberandtestbenchroutine,largelybecausemytestbench
hastoolsandcatfoodbowlsalloveritandmyanechoicchamberwas
retrofitwithaJacuzzilastSpring.)
Itseemedthatthemostusefulwaytotestthesemicrophoneswasto
recordavarietyofsubjectsinvarying"real"audioenvironmentsusing
bothmaleandfemalevoices.Manyoftheothertestsclipsfrom
microphonesofthewebwererecordedinaperfectsoundingVOboothor
recordingstudio.ThisisfineifyourecordinaVOboothorrecording
studiobutmostvideoandfilmmakersrecordinawidevarietyof
locations,fromsoundstagestolivingrooms,fromstreetscenesto
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backyards,soIdecidedtotrytorecordatleastmostofthetestclipsin
"real"environments.
SupportGearUsed
Idecidedtorecordthesampleswithpractical,commonsupportgear.
Mostvideoshootersandanincreasingnumberoffilmmakersdonot
recorddualsystemsoundoruseaZaxcomDeva,etc.Mostvideoandan
increasingnumberofHDfilmsareshotwiththemicrophonesinput
directlyintotheaudioconnectionsonthecamcorder.
Dependingonthemodelofcamcorder,mostHD/HDVcamcordersare
capableofrecordingdecentqualitysound.IdecidedthatIwouldrunthe
signalthroughanaudiomixer,thenIwouldrunlineleveloutputfrom
theaudiomixertothelinelevelinputsofthecamcorder,bypassingthe
camcorder'smicpreamps.
RecordingDevice
NTSCPanasonicHVX200P2camcorder.Camerawassettorecord
48kHz/16bitaudiointhe72024PNframeratetoP2cards.Allfootage
wasloadedintoFinalCutPro5.1.4and.AIFFfileswereextracted.The
.AIFFfileswerethencompressedto192Kbps.MP3filesforpublicationon
theweb.Thistypeofprosumercamcorderisaverycommonformany
shooterstoday,althoughmanyalsoshootHDVtape.Eachmicrophone
wasfedintoaudioinputoneandtwo,witharoughly15dBoffset.Only
onechannelwasusedfortheaudiosamplesforthisarticle,thesingle
channelwasduplicatedtoforthoselisteningtothiswithastereo
speakersetonthecomputer.Leftandrightchannelareidentical.
Cables
OnetwentyfootXLRcable,MogamicableandCanareXLRconnecters
AudioMixer
ProfessionalSoundCorporationM4MKIIAudioMixer.ThePSCaudio
mixersupplied48vphantompowertoallofthemicrophonesinthetest.
TheM4sentalineleveloutputsignaltotheHVX200.
MicrophoneSupport
Therewasconsiderablevariationintubediameterandshapeofthe
microphones.Avarietyofmicrophonesupportgearwasutilizedincluding
microphonemountsfromLightwave,Sennheiser,KTekandRycote.The
micsweremountedtoastationarymicboomforallstationarytests.For
themicrophonehandlingnoisetest,themicrophonesandtheirmounts
wereaffixedtoaGitzo11'carbonfiberboompole
YourGear
Tobehonest,ifyoulistentothesoundsamplesIhaveprovidedon
averagecomputerspeakersorespeciallylaptopspeakers,youarenot
goingtohearverymanydifferencesinthesamples.Manyofthe
differencesbetweenallofthesemicrophonesareintheverylow
frequencyrangeandmanyofthedifferencesbetweenthedifferent
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microphonesareintheveryhighfrequencies.Simplyput,lowquality
gearisnotcapableofreproducingveryloworveryhighfrequencieswith
muchaccuracy.Ianalyzedallofthesetestclipsonaplaybacksystemin
asoundtreatedroomthroughGenelec1029astudiomonitorswitha
Genelec1091bsubwoofer.Thesystemandroomhavehadspectrum
analysisandtheroomhasbeenEQ'dandtuned.
Isuggestthat,ifyouwantafairevaluationoftheclips,youneedto
obtainplaybackonadecentquality,somewhataccurateplayback
system.Ifyoudonothaveaccesstoadecentqualityplaybacksystem,
listentothesamplesondecentheadphones.Thesignalwillnotbe
accuratebutyouwillatleastbeabletohearthedifferencesbetweenthe
mics,thelowfrequencydifferencesandtheroomtoneandairtone,
ambientsounddifferences.Itestedthesesamplesonmylaptop
speakersandonsomecheapcomputerspeakersandtrustme,allofthe
micssoundalmostthesameonlousyspeakers.
Test#1.MaleVoice,Interior,onaxis,interviewsetup
Thistestwasdesignedtoreproduceatypicalinterviewsetup.Theroom
wasasmallofficemeasuring22'longby14'widewithan8'ceiling
height.Theroomcontainedanominalamountoffurniture,acarpeted
floorandonewindow.Ihaveshothundredsofinterviewsat
corporations,moviestudiosandofficessuitesinroomsverymuchlike
thisone.
Themicrophonewasplacedaboutafootoverthesubject'sheadona
stationarymicrophoneboom.Ididnotwanttocolorthesoundbyusing
awindscreenorpopfiltersofortheinteriortests,allofthemicrophones
wererecordedbarewithonlythemicelementfacingthesubject.Forthis
test,listenforthedifferencesinthequalityandtimbreofthevoice,
noiselevelsandroomreflections.
Forthemicrophonesthathadbuiltinlowfrequencyrolloffsorcuts,I
recordedseparateclipswiththemicrophoneslowcutsswitchedinand
outsothatyoucouldcompareeachofthemicrophone'srumbleand
noiselevel.
PlayingBackMicrophoneTestFiles
Allaudiofilesare192Kbps.MP3files.OnMacbasedsystems,ifclicked
on,thesefileswillopeniniTunes.OnMacbasedsystems,Irecommend
downloadingthefiles,thenopeningthemwithQuickTimeplayerfora
moreaccurateplayback.OnPCsystems,thesefilesmaybeplayedback
withiTunesplayeroranyother.MP3capableapplication.
FileNamingConventionForThisTest
Youwillnoticethateachsoundfilebelowincludestheletters"MVINOA"
inthefilename.MVINOAstandsforMaleVoiceInteriorOnAxis.Ihave
triedtonameeachfilewithauniquesetofinitialssothatifyou
downloadseveral,withaglance,youcantellwhichtestsforwhich
microphoneyouarelisteningto.
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SoundSamples
1.AT875RMVINOA
2.AT4073aMVINOA
3.BeyerdynamicMC836MVINOA
4.NeumannKMR81iMVINOA
5.OktavaMK012CardiodMVINOA
6.OktavaMK012HyperMVINOA
7.SankenCS1MVINOA
8.SankenCS3eMVINOA
9.SchoepsCMC641MVINOA
10.SchoepsCMIT5uMVINOA
11.SennheiserMKH50MVINOA
12.SennheiserMKH60MVINOA
[Top]
ImpressionsafterlisteningtotherecordedsamplesforTest#1
MaleVoice,Interior,onaxis,interviewsetup
AudioTechnicaAT875R
Iwaspleasantlysurprisedafterrecordingthefirsttestwiththis
microphone.ItriedtoforgeteverythingthatIknewabouteach
microphoneandjustlisten.WhenIlistenedtotheAudioTechnica
AT875R,IreallylikedwhatIheard.Themicfeaturesstrongbass
responsewithagoodmidrangeandfairlydetailedhighendwithout
beingoverlysibilant.Overallthismicrophonehadabalancedsound.
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AproductioncompanythatIoftenshootforusesthesemicrophonessoI
wasinstantlyfamiliarwiththesoundsignatureofthismic.Onestandout
characteristicofthismicrophoneisthatithasaveryhighnominal
outputitwassignificantlymoresensitivethananyoftheothermics.
Themicrophoneemphasizeshighsmorethanmostoftheothermicsthat
Itested.Themicrophone'sbassrolloffwasalsoveryeffectiveandmore
drasticthansomeoftheothermicstested.Iwouldcharacterizethe
4073asoundas"inyourface",itwouldbegoodforquietsubjectsorin
situationswhereyoucouldnotplacethemicrophoneveryclosetothe
talent.Overallthismicrophoneemphasizesthehighfrequencies.
BeyerdynamicMC836PV
IhaveneverusedaBeyerdynamicmicrophonebeforethistestandIwas
impressedwiththesmoothandnaturalqualityofthismicrophone.The
MC836PVemphasizesmoreofthemidrangesoundofvoicesthansome
oftheothermicstesteditalsoretainssmoothhighsandadecent
amountofbassresponse.Overallthismicrophoneseemedtoemphasize
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themids.ItistheoppositeoftheAT4073aandMKH50itiskindof
mellowsoundingandseemedtobefairlyuncolored.
NeumannKMR81i
TheNeumanniscertainlyanimpressivelookingandwellcraftedpieceof
gear.IownseveralNeumannmicrophonesalthoughIhaveneveruseda
Neumannshotgunbefore.Thismicrophonehadaverywellbalanced
soundthatIwouldmostlydescribeassmooth.Thereisaqualitytothe
soundthatishardtodescribe,butIcanrelateittohowitmakesmy
voicesound.Onmanyoftheothermicrophones,Ihearalotofeffortin
myvoice.IamnotaprofessionalVOpersonoractorsoIamsurethat
mybreathingisnotcorrectforVOwork.Inmanyoftheother
microphones,IcanhearthestraininmyvoicethatIdidnothearinthe
Neumann.WiththeNeumann,myvoicesoundedmorenatural,yetthe
soundwasstillexcitinganddynamic.Overallthismicdidnotseemto
overlyemphasizeanyfrequencyrangemorethantheother.
OktavaMK012
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TheOktavawasanother"underground"microphonethatIhadhearda
lotaboutbuthadneverused.ThesoundoverallwasverynicealthoughI
preferredthesoundofmyvoicewiththehypercardioidcapsuletothe
cardioidcapsule.ThesoundwassmoothandbalancedalthoughIdid
detectatinybitofemphasisonsibilancebutreallynotenoughtobe
concernedabout.Themicrophonedoespickupaveryimpressiveamount
ofdetailwithoutoveremphasizingplosivesormouthsounds.Icansee
whythereexistsalargeandenthusiasticfollowingforthismic,itisa
greatsoundingunit.Overallthismicseemedtoslightlyemphasizemid
range.
SankenCS1
TheCS1isanothermicrophonethathasreceivedalotofnoticefrom
videoandfilmpeopleaswellasprofessionalmixers.Inlisteningtothe
firsttest,Iamstruckbyhowcrispanddetailedthesoundis.This
microphonepickedupeverylastdetailinmyvoiceyetIdidnothear
anythingunpleasantinmyvoicecharacteristic,noexcesssibilanceor
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midrangedistortion.Themicrophoneseemedtonotpickupalotofbass
orrumbleintheroom.BesidestheAudioTechnicaAT4073a,this
microphonestruckmeasoneofthemostdetailed,yetthismicrophone
seemedtohaveasmootherallaroundsoundoverallthanthe4073a.
Overallthismicrophoneseemedtoemphasizethehighsanddetail.
SankenCS3e
TheCS3eisSanken'smoreexpensive,physicallylongershotgun
microphone.InA/BcomparingtheCS3eandtheCS1,Ihearmore
smoothnessandmorebassfromtheCS3e.Thetwomicsshareasimilar
basicsoundcharacteristicbuttheCS3eoverallsoundssmoothertomy
ear.TheCS3eseemedtobeoneofthoseraremicrophonesthatcan
reproducealotofbasswithouttoomuchrumbleorundesirableroom
tone.Asexpected,IdetectedlessoffaxisnoisefromtheCS3ethan
manyofthesmallerandshortermicrophonedesigns.TheSankenseems
tohavesomeofthesamehardtodefinebalancedqualitythatthe
NeumannKMR81ihas,whichisaverynicecharacteristicthatmakesthe
micapleasuretouse.Overallthismicrophoneseemedtoslightly
emphasizemidsandbass.
SchoepsCMC641
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EversinceIhavebeeninvolvedwithsoundforpicture,arecurring
microphoneseemstocomeupinconversation,theSchoepsCMC641.At
firstlisten,youarenotblownawaybyhowamazingthemicsounds.I
learnedalongtimeagothatwithmicrophonesandaudiomonitors,
"soundinggood"isnotreallythatdesirable."Soundingaccurate"isa
muchmoredesirablecharacteristicandthatiswhatIgetwiththis
microphoneonmyvoice.Alloftheothermicrophonesinthetestgave
mevariousversionsofmyvoice,mostsoundedverynicebutallsounded
likeverygoodcopiesofmyvoice,somewithmorebass,somewithmore
highsbuttheSchoepssimplyrecordedmyvoiceexactlyasIhearitin
myhead.Idon'tsoundgreatonit,butIcan'tdenythatitisthemost
accurate.Thisisthereasonwhymostsoundmixerswilldropthe
$1,592.00thatittakestobuyone.TheSchoepsdidnotseemtoreally
emphasizeanyparticularfrequencyrange.Veryimpressiveperformance
ifyouknowwhatyouarelisteningfor.
SchoepsCMIT5u
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Byallaccounts,recordinganinterviewinarelativelysmallroomwith
lowceilingsandmostlyhardsurfaceswithashotgunshouldn'tsound
thatgreat.Iwasimpressedwiththesoundqualityofthismicrophone.It
isanunusuallookingmicrophone,veryhightechwithglowingLEDs,
activeswitchesandavisuallyarrestinganodizedbluecolor,butthe
microphonedeliveredgreatsoundwithalotofadjustmentthatmostof
theothermicrophonestestedcouldnotmatch.Thismicrophonesounded
differentthantheCMC641,yetsomewhatsimilarintheoverallquality.It
soundedasifmaterialrecordedwiththismicwouldsuccessfullyintercut
withmaterialrecordedwiththeCMC641.Ifeltlikethiswastheonly
microphoneItestedthatreallycouldsoundliketwoorthreedifferent
microphoneswithoutswitchingcapsules.Veryimpressive,smoothand
detailedsoundwiththatelusive"shimmer"thatonlyveryexpensive
microphonesseemtorecord.Overallthismicrophoneemphasizesbass
frequencies.
SennheiserMKH50
TheMKH50wasadifferentanimal.Iverymuchlikeditssoundquality.
Ifallofthesemicrophonesweredescribedinmoviegenres,Iwould
characterizethesoundoftheMKH50as"actionmovie".Themicrophone
seemstorecordasoundthatkindofjumpsoutofthespeakers,almost
withaslightlycompressedqualitythatwouldworkverywellforalotof
situations.Oftenduringthevideoandfilmpostprocess,soundhasa
tendencytobecomeflattenedsothattheendresultneedsalotofpost
processingtosoundexciting.IfyourecordusingtheMKH50,your
soundwillalreadysoundasifitisverydynamicandhasalotofenergy.
Themicseemstoequallyemphasizebass,midsandhighs.The
microphonehasalotoffansandafterlisteningtothistest,Icansee
why.
SennheiserMKH60
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AsIlistenedtotheMKH60,Isensedalotofbalanceinthesound.Just
asintheSchoepsCMIT5u,theMKH60soundedsurprisinglygoodina
smallroomwithlotsofreflectivesurfaces.Iwouldcharacterizethe
soundoftheMKH60asmidrangeemphasizedwhereastheMKH50
seemedtobemuchmorebassfocusedoverall.TheMKH60isafavorite
fornewerboomoperatorsasit'spickuppatternisprettyforgivingyet
hasgoodrejectionofoffaxisnoise.LiketheMKH50,theoverallsound
qualityoftheMKH60isdarkerthanmanyoftheothermicstested,one
morereasonwhyitisimportanttohavemorethanonemicrophonein
yoursoundkit.Sometimesyourtalentcansoundkindofhighfrequency
orevenchirpy.Recordingthatsortofvoicethroughamicthat
emphasizeshighfrequenciescanbeamistake.Amicrophonelikethe
MKH60candoverygoodthingsforthinnersoundingandfemale/kid
voices,asitlendsthensomerichness.Iwouldsaythatoverallthesound
oftheMKH60leanstowardthemids.
Test#2.MaleVoice,Interior,offaxis,interviewsetup
Thistestwasrecordedinthesamelocationasthefirsttest,the
differencebeingthatImovedthesubjectawayfromthemicrophone
duringtherecording.Thefirstsoundyouhearineachclipisthesameas
thefirsttest,malevocal,onaxisbutthesubjectthenrotatesawayfrom
themicrophoneaxisbyaboutthreefeetatabouta45degreeanglefrom
themicrophone.
Theideabehindthistestwastolistentohowthemicrophonerejectsoff
axisnoise.Universallyallofthemicrophonesclaimtohavegreatoffaxis
rejectionsothistestwasdesignedtoletyouhearhoweachmicsounds
underidenticalcircumstancesandjudgeforyourself.
Themicrophonewasplacedaboutafootoverthesubject'sheadona
stationarymicrophoneboom.Thesubjectthenrotatedabout3feetaway
fromthemicrophone.Forthistest,listentotheamountofoffaxis
rejection.Formostneeds,themoreoffaxisrejectionthemicrophone
has,thebettersoundyouwillrecordinmostnonstudioenvironments.
Don'tonlylistentothesoundleveloftheoffaxissoundalsolistenfor
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thesoundfrequencyresponseasthesubjectrotatesawayfromthemic.
Someofthemicrophonespickupallofthefrequenciesequallyintheir
offaxisresponse,someonlypickuplows,midsorhighsoffaxis.
Youwillnoticethateachsoundfilebelowincludestheletters
"MVINOFFA"inthefilename.MVINOAstandsforMaleVoiceInteriorOff
Axis.Ihavetriedtonameeachfilewithauniquesetofinitialssothatif
youdownloadseveral,withaglance,youcantellwhichtestsforwhich
SoundSamples
1.AT875RMVINOFFA
2.AT4073aMVINOFFA
3.BeyerdynamicMC836MVINOFFA
4.NeumannKMR81iMVINOFFA
5.OktavaMK012CardiodMVINOFFA
6.OktavaMK012HyperMVINOFFA
7.SankenCS1MVINOFFA
8.SankenCS3eMVINOFFA
9.SchoepsCMC641MVINOFFA
10.SchoepsCMIT5uMVINOFFA
11.SennheiserMKH50MVINOFFA
12.SennheiserMKH60MVINOFFA
[Top]
MaleVoice,Interior,offaxis,interviewsetup
AudioTechnicaAT875R
TheAT875Rhaddecentoffaxisrejection,butitwasnotaseffectiveas
anyofthelongershotgunsinthisparticulartest.AsIrotatedawayfrom
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themic,thesoundleveldiddropnoticeablybutIalsostillhearquitea
decentamountofhighfrequencycontentintheoffaxissound.Nota
badresult,especiallyforsuchaninexpensivemicbutnotonparwiththe
moreexpensivemics.
The4073ahadbetteroffaxisresponsethanit'slittlebrother,the
AT875R.Iwasinterestedtohearwhattheoffaxissoundedlikesince
thismicrophoneseemstoemphasizethehighendmorethanmostof
theothermicstested.Surprisingly,thehighsseemedtofadeawaymore
thanIanticipatedtheywould.Whilethe4073adidnothavethebestoff
axisresponseofallofthemicstested,itdidprettywell.
BeyerdynamicMC836PV
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Tomyear,afterA/Bcomparingallofthemicrophone'soffaxis
response,theBeyerdynamicseemedtohavealmostidenticaloffaxis
soundastheAT4073a.Ifindthisinterestingbecauseoverall,theMC836
hasamuchmoremidrangeemphasizedsoundwhilethe4073a
emphasizesthehighs.
NeumannKMR81i
TheoffaxisresponseontheKMR81iwasquitegood.Itwasinteresting
thatonthismicrophone,noneofthefrequencyresponseseemedto
changeoffaxisthesignaljustloweredconsiderablyasthesoundsource
movedawayfromthemic.Iwouldstillcharacterizetheoffaxissoundas
smooth,justasthemic'sonaxisresponseis.Thisisallthemore
impressivewhenyouconsiderthatIrecordedthetestinaroomthat
reallyshouldnothavesoundedverygoodwithshotguns.Impressive
performance.
OktavaMK012
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Itestedtheoffaxisresponsewithboththecardioidandhypercardoid
capsules.Asexpected,thehypercardioidprovidedconsiderablymoreoff
axisrejectionthanthecardioiddid.Ididnoticethatthebassandhighs
definitelydissipatedmorethanthemidsdidusingthehypercardioid
capsule.ThiswastheonlymicrophoneItestedthatseemedtoactually
changephaseinthesoundqualityasIrotatedawayfromthemic.This
effectwasmorepronouncedwiththehypercardioidcapsulethanwiththe
cardioid.Overall,Iwasparticularlyimpressedwiththeoffaxisrejection
ofthehypercardioidcapsule.
SankenCS1
TheCS1seemedtoprovidedecentoffaxisrejectionalthoughitwasnot
aseffectiveassomeoftheothermicrophonestested.Thequalityofthe
sounddidseemtomostlygravitatetowardthemidsasIrotatedaway
fromthemic,thehighsandbassseemedtomostlydisappear.Thisto
mecouldmeanthattheSankenCS1wouldbeparticularlygoodat
rejectingnonvoicesortsofsoundsoffaxisbutmightnotbethebest
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choiceforisolatingavoiceinacrowdofvoices,forinstance.
SankenCS3e
TheCS3eprovedthatit'ssignificantlyhighercostthantheCS1is
justifiedwhenitcomestooffaxisrejection.TheCS3ehadverygood
offaxisrejectionandthequalityofthesoundseemedtostayaboutthe
sameasthesourcerotatedoffaxis.Thismicrophoneseemedtodoquite
wellatoffaxisrejectionandIwouldplaceitamongstthebestbasedoff
ofmynonscientific,informaloffaxistest.
SchoepsCMC641
TheCMC641,tomyear,seemedtoreactintheoppositetotheSanken
CS1asIrotatedawayfromit.ThemidsseemedtodisappearbutIstill
heardadecentamountofbassandhighs,Keepinmindthatthis
microphoneisasupercardioid,notashotgun,soIdidexpecttohear
lessoffaxisrejectionastheshotguns.ItwouldbeagoodideatoA/B
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comparethistestwiththeothersupercardioidthatsellsinasimilarprice
rangeastheSennheiserMKH50.
SchoepsCMIT5u
AsIexpected,theCMIT5useemedtodoprettyimpressivethingsinthis
test.Theoffaxisrejectionwasamazing.Myvoicehasaseriousdropoff
inlevel,withanespeciallynoticeablerejectionofthehighsandbass,
whileretainingslightlymoreofthemids.TheCMIT5ukeepsit's
smoothnesswhileoffaxis,butthedropoffinlevelisabrupt,leadingme
tobelievethatyouhadbetterbeaskilledboomoperatorifyouusethis
microphonetoboommicmultiplespeakers.Baseduponthistest,Ifeel
thatCMIT5uwasclearlythestrongestinoffaxisrejectionofallofthe
micstested.
SennheiserMKH50
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Theoffaxisrejectionofthismicwasquitegood.Keepinmindthatthis
microphonehasaverypunchy,inyourfacesortofqualitysoIwas
particularlyinterestedtohearhowit'soffaxisresponsewasgoingto
comeacross.Tome,theMKH50didnotquitematchtheother
supercardioid,theCMC641inoffaxisresponsealthoughitwasvery
close.Thiscouldalsoberelatedtotherelativesoundlevelsofthe
samplesrecorded,theSennheiserhasahigheroutputthantheSchoeps
andItriedtomatchtheminlevel.Ifeltthattheoffaxisrejectiononthe
MKH50wasverygoodbutitstillwouldnotbemynumberonechoicein
themostnoisysituations.Ithinkthatisagoodindicationthat
supercardioidsandhypercardioidsingeneralwillnotperformaswellas
shotgunswhenmoreisolationisneeded.
SennheiserMKH60
TheMKH60seemedtodoquitewellinthistest.Keepinginmindthatit
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isatrueshotgun,youwouldexpectittooutperformthesupercardioids
andhypercardioids,anditdid.Therealquestionishowitperforms
againsttheothershotguns.InA/BcomparisonswiththeNeumann
KMR81iandtheSankenCS3e,Inoticedlessbassandalittlelessmid
rangewiththeMKH60thanwiththeSankenortheNeumann.TheMKH
60didnothaveasmuchoffaxisrejectionastheSchoeps,though.
Overall,Iwasveryimpressedwiththesoundofthismicrophoneinthis
test.
Test#3.Microphonehandlingnoise,Interior,narrativesetup
Thistestwasrecordedinadifferent,largeranddeaderroomthanfirst
twotestswererecordedin.Thistestwasprobablytheleastpreciseofall
ofthetests,mainlybecauseIambynomeansaprofessionalboom
operator.Idohandboomoccasionallybutmytechniqueisfairlyclumsy,
especiallywhencomparedtoapro.
Theideawastomounteachmicrophonetoamount,mountthemicto
theboompoleandtosimulatemikingatypicaltwopersondialogue
scenewherethemicisplacedoverheadandtheboomoperatorquickly
twiststheboompoletofollowtheconversation.Irecordedthetestwith
noactorssothatyoucouldclearlyhearjustthemicrophone'shandling
noise.Certainmicrophonesaresaidtobemoremicrophonicthanothers.
Whatthismeansisthatthemicrophoneamplifiesallofthemicrophone's
physicalexteriornoise,thenoiseofthemicrophonecableandvarious
otherhandlingnoise.Amicrophonethatissusceptibletohandlingnoise
maynotbethebestchoiceforaprojectwithalotofmovement.Keepin
mind,onceagainthiswasaveryimprecisetest.Allofthemicrophones
exhibitedatleastasmallamountofhandlingnoise,whilesomeexhibited
quiteabit.Askilledboomoperatorcanminimizetheamountofhandling
noisesodependingonwhowillbehandlingyourmicrophonethis
handlingnoiseissuemayormaynotbeabigdeal.Ifyouareamateur
likeIam,thistestmaybemoresignificantthanifyouhireaprofessional
boomoperator.
Youwillnoticethateachsoundfilebelowincludestheletters"Handling"
inthefilename.HandlingstandsforMicrophoneHandling.Ihavetried
tonameeachfilewithauniquesetofinitialssothatifyoudownload
several,withaglance,youcantellwhichtestsforwhichmicrophoneyou
arelisteningto.
SoundSamples
1.AT875RHandling
2.AT4073aHandling
3.BeyerdynamicMC836Handling
4.NeumannKMR81iHandling
5.OktavaMK012HyperHandling
6.SankenCS1Handling
7.SankenCS3eHandling
8.SchoepsCMC641Handling
9.SchoepsCMIT5uHandling
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10.SennheiserMKH50Handling
11.SennheiserMKH60Handling
[Top]
Microphonehandlingnoise,Interior,narrativesetup
AudioTechnicaAT875R
IthoughtthattheAT875Rliveduptoitsclaimofbeingdesignedforon
cameramounting.Ifyouthinkaboutit,amicrophonedesignedforon
camerauseneedstobeabletorejectalotofhandlingnoisesinceriding
aroundonacameraissomewhatsimilartoflyingoverheadonaboom
mount.Theinitialclunkyouhearismepickinguptheboompolebut
onceIhadthemicintheairandwasmovingitfromimaginarytalentto
imaginarytalent,Inoticedatouchofmidrangenoisebutalmostnolow
endrumbling.TheAT875Rturnedinaverygoodperformanceinthis
test.
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ItmadesensetomethattheAT4073Aseemedtoexhibitabitmore
handlingnoisethansomeoftheothermicsinthistest,particularlywith
lowendrumble.TheAT4073aisasignificantlymoresensitive
microphonethananyoftheotherstestedsothismakesthepresenceof
morenoiseunderstandablebutnotdesirable.Ifyoudecidetohand
boomwiththismicrophone,Iwouldhopethatyouareanexperienced
boomoperator.Inthehandsofarankamateurboomoperatorlike
myself,theresultsarenotgreat.Ontheotherhand,professionalboom
operatorswouldprobablyenjoytheincreasedsensitivityofthismicit
wouldmeanmoreleewayinhavingtoplacethemicelementsocloseto
thetalent.Thisisagoodsoundingmicbutverysensitive.Ididgeta
betterresultusingthemic'sbassrolloff.
BeyerdynamicMC836PV
TheBeyerdynamicMC836performedthistestverywell.Therewasa
tinybitofrumblebutusingthemicsbassrolloffcouldsignificantly
reduceit.Thismicrophonesbasicsoundqualityseemedtobeneutrality
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sointherealmofhandlingnoise,thiscanbeconsideredadistinct
advantage.Severaloftheothermicsthatemphasizeaspecificfrequency
rangeexhibitedevenmoreoftheemphasizedrangewhenswinging
aroundatheendofaboompole.TheBeyerdynamicMC836delivereda
verygoodresultinthispartofthetesting.
NeumannKMR81i
TheKMR81iofferedanexcellentperformanceinthistest.Therewasa
hintofbassrumble,butitseemedtostemalmostmorefromtheair
rushingpastthemicdiaphragmmorethanfromactualnoisetransmitted
fromthemountandboompoleandmyclunkyboomoperating.I
performedthemichandlingtestinsidesoIdidnothaveanywindscreen
mounted.Therelativelylowhandlingnoiseexhibitedwouldprobably
mostlybemaskedbydialogueandambientnoiseinmostcasesand
couldcertainlybecompensatedforbyamoreskilledboomoperator.
OktavaMK012
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TheOktavaMK012wastestedwiththehypercardioidcapsule,Ifeltthat
thiswouldbethemostcommonlyusedcapsulewhenusingthis
microphone.Ididnoticequiteabitofhandlingnoisewiththis
microphone.Ididtestwiththreedifferentmicmounts,justtomake
sure,buttheOktavadidexhibitconsiderablenoisewithallthreemounts,
althoughIdidnoticethatIdidgetasignificantreductioninhandling
noisewhenIusedahigherendLightwavemountthathadrubber
suspensionlegsratherthanrubberbandtypesofmounts.Idon'tfeel
thatthehandlingnoiseisadealbreakerfortheMK012itjustmeans
thatyouneedthebestmicrophonemountandthebesttechnique.For
thoseofyouwhoplanonhandboomingwiththismic,practice,practice
andifyoucanswingit,hireaskilledboomoperator.
SankenCS1
TheCS1seemedtoworkprettywellwithhandbooming.Ididdetecta
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tinybitofrumblebutnotverymuch.BaseduponwhatIhearfromthe
tests,theCS1wasinthetopthreeinrecordingtheleastamountof
handlingnoise.Thiswasaverygoodperformancefromamidrange
pricedmicrophone.
SankenCS3e
FortheCS3e,IwouldtakeeverythingstatedabouttheCS1and
embellishonitevenmore.TheCS3ehadexemplarylowlevelsof
handlingnoise,evenwhenmanipulatedbymyclumsyboompoleskills.
Anexceptionalresultinthistest,verylittlenoisewasapparent.
SchoepsCMC641
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TheSchoepsCMC641hadvery,verylowlevelsofhandlingnoise.In
ordertoevenhearanyofthehandlingnoise,Ihadtoreallycrankthe
levelsofmyaudiosystem.ThereisaslightamountofbassrumbleasI
flippedthemicrophonefromimaginarytalenttotalentbutatnormal
listeninglevels,thenoisewasbarelyapparent.
SchoepsCMIT5u
TheSchoepsCMIT5uturnedinanalmostidenticalperformancetothe
CMC641.Verylittlenoisealthoughthenoisethatwastherewasofa
decidedlydeeperfrequency.ThismakessenseastheCMIT5uismuch
physicallylargeryetlighterinweightthantheCMC641.Ithinktheextra
massoftheCMC641probablyabsorbsmoreofthedeepbass
frequenciesthatareslightlymoreapparentontheCMIT5uExcellent
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handlingcharacteristics.
SennheiserMKH50
TheSennheiserMKH50alsohadvery,verylowlevelsofhandlingnoise.
Iwasabletodeterminethatwhatlittlenoisewasapparentwasofa
prettylowfrequency.IusedtheincludedSennheisermicrophonemount
withtheMKHmicsanditdidaverygoodjob.TheMKHseriesmicsare
markedbyanunusualrectangularshapesousingthismicrophoneholder
isprobablyagoodideaastheSennheiserswon'teasilyfitintoaregular
circulartubeshapedmicrophonemount.Anexcellentresultfromthe
verylowhandlingnoiseoftheMKH50.
SennheiserMKH60
TheMKH60exhibitedevenslightlylowerhandlingnoiselevelsthanthe
MKH50.IusedthesameSennheisermicmountandobtainedvery
impressiveresults.Iwouldsaythatthiswouldbeagreatmictoconsider
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ifyouareanamateurboompoleoperatorandneedaforgivingmic.The
MKH60isolatesyoufromtheboompoleinawaythatisveryappealing.
Ifeltconfidentthatwiththismic,Icouldactuallyboomoperateandget
decentresults.That'ssayingalot.
Test#4.FemaleVoice,Interior,onaxis,interviewsetup
Thistestwasrecordedinafairlylivelyroomthatmeasures30'by22'
witha12'ceiling.Ifeltthatitwasimportanttorecordsoundusinga
femalevoicebecausemicrophonesareoftensexist.WhatImeanby
sexististhatoftenamicrophonethatmakesamalevoicesoundgreat
willoftensoundthinonafemalevoiceandviceversa.Iactually
recordedsomefootageusingeachofthemicrophonesforadocumentary
projectinprogresssoyoucanhearthemicrophonesatworkina
genuinesortofenvironment.Forthistest,listentothevoicequalityof
thetalent,listenforthinnessorthicknessinhervoicealongwithallof
theusualroomreflections,rumbleandoffaxisnoise.
Youwillnoticethateachsoundfilebelowincludestheletters"FVINOA"
inthefilename.FVINOAstandsforFemaleVoiceInteriorOnAxis.Ihave
SoundSamples
1.AT875RFVINOA
2.AT4073aFVINOA
3.BeyerdynamicMC836FVINOA
4.NeumannKMR81iFVINOA
5.OktavaMK012CardiodFVINOA
6.OktavaMK012HyperFVINOA
7.SankenCS1FVINOA
8.SankenCS3eFVINOA
9.SchoepsCMC641FVINOA
10.SchoepsCMIT5uFVINOA
11.SennheiserMKH50FVINOA
12.SennheiserMKH60FVINOA
[Top]
FemaleVoice,Interior,onaxis,interviewsetup
AudioTechnicaAT875R
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IlikedthewaytheAT875Rrenderedthetalent'svoice.Ithadacrisp,
clearqualitythatIfindappealing.Thatsaid,thereisaslighttouchof
sibilanceifyoulistentoherSsounds.Overall,Iwouldhavenoproblem
usingthismicrophonetorecordafemaletalentIthoughttheendresult
soundedgood.
IwassurprisedtohearthewarmththattheAT4073abroughtoutinthe
talent'svoice.InA/BcomparisonswiththeAT875R,the4073asounds
warmerandfulleryetretainsthecrispness.Iexpectedathinnersound.
Overall,Ithinkthatthismicrophonesoundedbetterwiththefemale
talent'svoicethanwithmyown.Keepinmindthatthisisashotgunon
aninterior.Iheardnonastyroomreflectionsorotheranomaliesthatcan
sometimesshowupwhenashotgunisusedinamediumsizedreflective
surfacedroom.ThismicrophonesoundedbetterthanIthoughtitwould
inthissituation.
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BeyerdynamicMC836PV
IthoughtthattheBeyerdynamicMC836hadapleasantmellow
bass/midrangeemphasizedqualitytoit.Themicwasnotascrisp
soundingassomeoftheothermicsbutitdidhaveanappealing
smoothnessthatIonlyfoundintheothermoreexpensivemicrophones.
Therewerenoproblemswithsibilanceandoverall,Ithoughtthatthis
microphonedeemphasizedthemouthsounds(clicking,saliva/tongue
sounds).Averynicesoundingresult.
NeumannKMR81i
TheNeumannhadaprecisiontoit'ssoundwiththefemaletalent.I
almosthadasensethatIwaslisteningtoalavaliere.Eventhoughthe
Neumannwasplacedthesamedistanceasalloftheothermicsfromthe
talent'smouth,theNeumanndefinitelysoundedcloser.Thiscouldbe
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verydesirableifyouareshootinginreallocationsasnoisefromoutside
oftheroomwillbeminimized.Ontheotherhand,tome,thesound
couldalsobeperceived,inthissituation,asborderingonsterile.Some
soundmixersliketohearalittlebitmoreoftheroomcharacteristics
mixedinwiththevoice,butitjustdependsonyourpreference.Ifelt
thattheKMR81imadethetalent'svoiceseemappealingandIlikedthe
soundqualityoverall.
OktavaMK012
Itisinterestingtolistentothedifferencesinthismicrophonewhenusing
thecardioidcapsuleversusthehypercardioid.Thecardioiddefinitelyhas
moreemphasisinthebassfrequenciesbutalsomoreroomtone.The
hypercardioidcapsulehaslessroomtonebuthervoicesoundsthinner
withitaswell.Ithoughtthehighswerepleasantallaroundandthat
overall,themicrophone'ssoundwithafemaletalentwasawinner.
SankenCS1
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TheSankenCS1hadasoundwiththefemaletalentthatIwould
describeas"intimate".MuchliketheNeumannKMR81i,theCS1hada
veryclosemicsoundwiththefemaletalentinthisroom.Thesoundis
verycrispandquiteclear.Ididnoticemoremouthsoundswiththis
microphonethanwithmostoftheothermicrophones.
SankenCS3e
IfoundtheoverallsoundqualityoftheCS3einthissituationtobequite
good.Thesoundwassmoothandthemicrophonehadalmostnoissue
withsibilance.Thesoundwasmoremidrangeandbassemphasized,
whichforthistalent'svoicewasagoodthing.IfeltthattheSanken
madethisvoicesoundfriendlierandmorerelaxed.
SchoepsCMC641
Muchlikethewaythismicrophonemademyvoicesoundcompletely
neutral,theCMC641madethefemaletalent'svoicesoundveryneutral
tomyear.Therewasnoexcesssibilanceandnodistortionorroom
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reflectionsthatIheard.Theoutputlevelwithhervoiceseemedtobea
bitlowerthanitwaswithmyvoicethough.Itmightbejustme,butI
sensedmoredetailinhervoicewiththeCMC641.Onceagain,Ifeelthat
thismicisprobablythemost"truthful"oftheallofthemicstested.
SchoepsCMIT5u
Tome,theCMIT5uhadthesamebasicvocalqualityastheCMC641but
ithadafuller,morebassfilledsound.IA/Btestedthedialoguefromthe
CMC641andtheCMIT5uandtheywoulddefinitelyintercutwell.The
CMIT5uhasmorepresencethanmostoftheothermicrophonesbutitis
alsosmoothersoundingthatmostoftheothers.Aninterestingthing,I
heardmoreambientsoundinthisroomwiththismicthanIdidinmost
oftheothers.Ihonestlythinkitwasbecauseofroomreflections,not
thatthemicitselfwaspickinguptheambientsomuch.
SennheiserMKH50
IA/BcomparedtheSennheiserwithseveralofthemicsbutIwasmost
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interestedinhearingthedifferencesbetweentheMKH50andthe
SchoepsCMC641.Theyaresimilarmicsinasimilarpricerange.The
Sennheiserhasadarker,bassierandmidrangeemphasizedsound.Ifelt
thatthedetailwasaboutequalbetweenthetwoandbothsounded
amazing.Whenitcomesdowntoit,Ithinkthatanyonewouldbevery
happywitheitheroftheseitmainlycomesdowntopersonalpreference.
TheSennheiserstillcomesacrossasmoredynamicandexciting,while
theSchoepscomesacrossaslesscolored.Ilikedthemequallybutfor
differentreasonsandwoulduseeitherincertainsituationsdepending
onwhattypeofprojectitwasandwhatqualityIwantedinthesound.
SennheiserMKH60
TheSennheiserMKH60isagreatshotgunmicrophone.Ifyoulistento
thesampletest,youwillhearwhatIdid,agreat,fullandrichsoundon
thefemalevoice.IthinkthatliketheSchoepsCMIT5uthough,thesound
hadsomeartifactsinitbecauseofroomreflections.InA/Bcomparing
thismicwiththeMKH50,theCMC641,theCS3eandtheKMR81i,I
noticedthattheMKH60soundfieldhadacompressedqualitytoit.I
attributethistoroomreflections.Theboomwaslocatedonlyabouta
footbeneathalowdrywallceilinginamediumsizedhardsurfacedroom,
notanidealsituationforashotgun.Whilethesoundwouldbetotally
usable,theMKH50andtheCMC641,tome,soundedbestinthisroom
withthistalent.
Test#5.MaleVoice,Exterior,onaxis,narrativesetup
IdidnothaveafullcrewtorecordallofthesetestsbutIthoughtit
wouldbevaluabletoshoota"manonthestreet"sortofsetupsothat
youcouldhearhowthemicsperformedonseminoisyexteriors.The
testswererecordedintheeveningsotheambientnoisewasnottoo
highbutthereisdefinitelysomeambientnoise.Listenforoffaxisnoise
likedogsbarkinginthedistance,trafficnoise(thiswasrecordedabout
200'fromabusystreet),airplanesandwindbuffeting.
Becausethistestwasrecordedoutdoors,Ienclosedeachmicrophonein
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aLightwaveSystemsZeppelin,butdidnotuseafurwindscreencover
sincetherewasalmostnowindthenightthesewererecorded.
Youwillnoticethateachsoundfilebelowincludestheletters"MVEXOA"
inthefilename.MVEXOAstandsforMaleVoiceExteriorOnAxis.Ihave
SoundSamples
1.AT875RMVEXOA
2.AT4073aMVEXOA
3.BeyerdynamicMC836MVEXOA
4.NeumannKMR81iMVEXOA
5.OktavaMK012CardiodMVEXOA
6.OktavaMK012HyperMVEXOA
7.SankenCS1MVEXOA
8.SankenCS3eMVEXOA
9.SchoepsCMC641MVEXOA
10.SchoepsCMIT5uMVEXOA
11.SennheiserMKH50MVEXOA
12.SennheiserMKH60MVEXOA
[Top]
MaleVoice,Exterior,onaxis,narrativesetup
AudioTechnicaAT875R
Inthistest,Iwasoutinnature,sotospeak,(well,actuallymy
backyard).IwasimpressedathowtheAT875Rwasabletorejectmost
oftheambientstreetnoisealthoughyoudohearthecricketsmoreon
thismicthanonsomeoftheothers.Thesoundqualitywasbalancedand
Ithoughtitmadethequalityofmyvoiceappealing.Thiswasnotthe
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bestmicrophoneforexteriorsbutIthoughtitwouldstillbeusefulfor
exteriorsifyouwereonatightbudget.
AccuratelyjudgingtheAT4073aoutdoorswasatallorder,mainly
becauseofthismicrophone'sextraordinarysensitivity.IfIA/Bbetween
thismicrophoneandtheAT875R,thismicrophoneseemstobepicking
upmoreambientnoise.But,inlookingatthemeters,Icanalsoseethat
thesignalthattheAT4073arecordedatthesameinputlevelswas
considerablyhotter.IfIcompensateandlowerthelevelsonthe
AT4073a,thentheambientlevelbecomescloserinleveltomostofthe
othermics.Thismicrophonewouldbeexcellentinpickingupmore
distantsubjects.Ifyoucanonlygetyourshotgunperhaps46feetfrom
asubjectinsteadofafootortwoaway,thismicrophonewouldpickup
thesoundbetterthanmostoftheothermicsinthetest.
BeyerdynamicMC836PV
TheMC836PVdidaverynicejobontheexteriortest.Ithadexcellent
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rejectionofoffaxisnoiseIcouldbarelymakeoutthetrafficdinfroma
distantroad.Icouldstillhearthecrickets/cicadas,buttheyweremore
mutedthanwithsomeoftheothermicstested.Ifeltasifthe
Beyerdynamicreallycamealiveandsoundedmuchmoreinterestingand
dynamiconanexteriorthanitdidoninteriors.
NeumannKMR81i
TheNeumannKMR81iexhibitedaremarkableisolationonmyvoice
outside,italmostfeltasifIwasinaVObooth,theoffaxisrejectionwas
thatgood.TheKMR81ialsowarmedupmyvoice,addingasmooth
bass/midemphasisthatwasappealingtomyear.Inalotofways,this
microphone,eventhoughitisashotgun,seemstofeaturealotofthe
samequalitiesthatNeumannlargediaphragmstudiocondensersfeature.
Thismicrophoneseemedtobeidealforexteriorsituations.Asyoulisten
tothesample,keepinmindthatthemicwaslocatedaboutafoottoa
footandhalfovermyhead!
OktavaMK012
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ItestedtheOktavawithboththecardioidandhypercardioidcapsules
eventhoughyouwouldundoubtedlywanttousethehyperformost
exteriors.Iverymuchlikedthequalityofsoundforexteriorswiththe
hyper,itsoundedmuchcloserinqualitytothecardioidbutyouwill
noticethattheambientnoiselevelwentwaydownwhenIswitchedto
thehypercardioidcapsule.Theoverallsoundqualityontheexterior
seemedabitsmoothertomethantheinteriorclips.Veryimpressive
microphone.
SankenCS1
TheSankenCS1hadaveryclearanddetailedsoundfortheexterior
buttomyear,itwaspickingupmoreoffaxissoundinthissituation
thansomeoftheothermicrophones.Thetransitionsbetweenthe
frequencieswereverygoodthoughandoverall,thismicrophonesounded
veryappealing.Youwouldhavetotestthismicrophonetomakesure
thattheambientlevelswereacceptableforyourneeds.Ilikedthis
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microphonebetterforinteriors.
SankenCS3e
TheSankenCS3esoundedverygoodintheexteriortest.Inoticedless
ambientsoundthantheCS1andasmoother,morebass/midemphasis
thanonmanyoftheothermicstested.TheSankendidnothavethe
degreeofoffaxisrejectionthattheNeumannseemedtohavebutina
way,it'sdetailandhighendwerejustatinybitmoreappealingtome.
TheCS3eseemedtohavemorepresencebutitwasnotas"inyour
face"assomeoftheothermics.Overall,itpresentedaverywell
balancedandsophisticatedsoundontheexteriortest.
SchoepsCMC641
Wow!Thismicrophonesurprisedme.Ihavealwaysheardthatfewsound
mixersusetheCMC641forexteriors.BecausetheCMC641isa
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supercardioidandnotashotgun,Iwasnotexpectingverygoodisolation
fromoffaxisnoiseandIwasexpectingthatoverallthismicmightnot
keepupwiththeshotgunsonexteriors.Listentotheclip,itsoundsvery
impressive.Ifeltthatthemichadexcellentoffaxisrejectionandthe
overallqualityofthesoundwassuperb.Otherthanwindysituations,I
wouldhavenoprobleminusingthismicrophoneforexteriorsifthisis
thetypeofsoundIcouldexpect.
SchoepsCMIT5u
MuchliketheNeumannKMR81i,thismicrophonebasicallymakesallof
youroffaxisissuesalmostdisappear.Verygoodisolationofthedesired
soundfrombackgroundnoiseandIreallyenjoyedthewarmthand
intimatesoundthattheCMIT5upresentsonanexterior.Tomyear,the
SchoepshasalesscoloredsoundthantheNeumann,whichpresents
withmorebasscoloration,butinagoodway.Ididnothavethetimeto
recordseparatesampleswithallofthecutsandrolloffsforthis
microphonebutIamsurethattheywouldbehelpfultoyouincertain
situations.SchoepshasreallydoneanicejobwiththeCMIT5u,itsounds
greatonexteriors.
SennheiserMKH50
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TheSennheiserMKH50simplyhasapunchy,bassandmidemphasized
soundincomparisonwiththeSchoepsCMC641.Ijudgedtheoffaxis
rejectiontobeaboutthesamebutthetwomicssoundprettydifferent
onexteriors.IwouldchoosetheSennheiserMKH50forexteriorsifyou
recordfemaletalentortalentwithahigherorthinnervoice.Itcando
wonders.Asformyvoice,Idon'tknow,doesitmakemesoundalittle
BarryWhiteish?
SennheiserMKH60
TheMKH60wasanoutstandingperformerontheexteriortest.Iheard
verylittleoffaxissoundbutInevergotasensebeinginaVObooththat
IhadwiththeSchoepsCMIT5uandtheNeumannKMR81i.Iwouldsay
overall,theMKH60sharedalotofsimilarqualitieswiththeSankenCS
3e.TheybothsoundverynaturalonexteriorswiththeSankenleaning
slightlytowardthemidsandtheSennheiserleaningslightlytowardthe
lows.Interestingly,theMKH60presentswithalotlessofabassfeel
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thantheMK50onexteriors.Ireallylikethesoundqualityofthismic
andIamtoldthattheMKH60makesanexcellentmicforhandbooming
bylessexperiencedboomoperators.Ithassomelatitudeand
forgivenessinit'spickuppatternwhichmakesitanaturalfora
beginningboomoperator.
FinalEvaluationandRecommendations
WrappinguptheconsiderableamountofdataIhavepresentedinthis
articleisadauntingtask.Itseemsthataudiobeginnerssimplywant
someonetotellthemwhichmicrophonetobuy,whilemoreexperienced
andknowledgeableuserswanttoreadmoresophisticatedargumentsfor
eachmicrophonetested,usingcomplexdescriptionsandmetaphorsfor
thesoundqualityofeachmicrophone.Intheend,whatIthinkofeach
microphonedoesn'tmatterintheleasttheparagraphsbelowaresimply
myopinion.Therealgoalofthisarticlewastoprovideyou,thepotential
microphonebuyerwithobjectivewritingandaudiosamplessothatyou
candeterminewhichmicrophone(s)willsuityourneedsthebest.
Iamconsistentlyamazedbythesheerdiversityinhowwealluseour
camcordersandmicrophones.Ihavespokenwithusersfromalloverthe
worldoverthepastdecade,theyareshootinginenvironmentsasvaried
asouterspace,jungles,Antarctica,warzones,corporateboardrooms,
weddings,liveevents,filmsets,caves,underwaterandmanyother
strange,unusualandinterestingplaces.Itseemsthatfewofushavethe
sameexperiencesaswefilm,videotapeandrecordsound.This
reinforcesmyopinionthatYOUneedtocriticallyevaluateyourneeds
andeventualneedsbeforeselectingthemicrophonesthatwillworkbest
foryoursituation.
ForYourPart
IamlisteningtoalloftheaudiosamplesIrecordedasIimaginewhich
situationseachofthesemicrophonescouldbestbeusedin.Iencourage
youtodothesame.Keepinmindthatthemethodforcomparison
betweenaudiocomponents,whethermicrophones,mixersoraudio
monitorsusuallycomesfromA/Bcomparisonsbetweenyourtwoor
threemostlikelycandidates.Ihavelearnedthatourearsandbrainhave
anincrediblyshortmemory.Ourearsandbrain,becausetheyareso
adaptivetosurroundings,alsobecomeeasilyconfused.Themost
commonmistakepotentialaudiobuyersmakeistolistentodozensof
potentialcandidatesinarow.Thiswilldonothingbutconfuseyourear
andbrain.Ifyouareseriousaboutevaluatingthesemicrophonesfor
purchase,IwouldencourageyouNOTtositdownandlistentoallofthe
soundsamplesforallofthemicrophonesinthisarticleinonesitting.You
willdonothingexceptfatigueyourearandconfuseyourmindabout
whichmicrophonessoundlikewhat.Ifyouarejustcuriousanddoing
preliminaryresearch,listenaway,itdoesn'tmatter,butifyouaretrying
tonarrowdownwhichmicrophonetobuyimmediately,readon.
Thebestwaytoevaluatesoundcomponentsbeginsonpaperoronyour
computerscreen.Doyourresearch.Readmanufacturerandsound
magazinewebsites.Talktopeopleinsoundforums.Itispointlessto
evaluate$2,000.00microphonesifyouonlyhave$500.00tospendon
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one.Intheend,youshouldbaseyourbuyingdecisionoffofabodyof
research,notfromanyonerecommendation,noteventhisarticle.Most
recommendationsyouwillgetaboutwhichmicrophonestobuyarenot
objective.Takeitallin,processanddistillyouropiniondownwithwhat
mattersmosttoyou.Quality?Qualityregardlessofcost?Cost?Offaxis
rejection?Iwouldadviseyoutobeginnarrowingyourselectionby
evaluatingmicrophonecandidatesthatareinyourgeneralpricerangeby
doingtheresearch.
Thereareseveralmicrophonestestedinthisarticlethatareconsidered
"industrystandards".This,tomehasalwaysmeantverylittletomy
evaluativeprocess.Asinmanyotherareasinlife,buyingintowhatthe
statusquousesissometimesagoodthingbutoften,youcandiscovera
microphonethatcostslessandprovidessuperiorresultsforyour
particularneeds.Thispieceofgearmaybethesamemicrophonethat
mostotherpeopleuse(cough,cough,SennheiserMKH416,cough)orit
maybeamicrophonethatfewpeoplehaveeverconsidered,often
becausenoteverygreatmicrophonecompanyisamultinational
conglomeratewithahugeadvertisingbudget.Thebottomlineistohave
anopenmindandearandtrulyevaluatewhatwillsoundbestandwork
bestforyoursituation.
DoYouHaveFeelingsofGuilt?
Onceyouhavelineduppotentialcandidates,thebestofallworldsisto
getyourhandsonasampleanduseit.Nothingbeatsanearson
demonstration.Ifyouvisitaqualitylocationsounddealer,almostallwill
letyouevaluatepotentialmicrophonesthatyoumaypurchasefrom
them.Locationsoundisoneofthefewindustrieswheretherearestill
manysmall,qualitycompaniesnationwidethatoffergreatadviceand
service.Inmyopinion,itisbadformtogotoanaudiodealer,picktheir
brain,putyourhandsallovernumerousmicrophones,thenwalkoutand
purchaseyourselectionfromthathugedealerinNYCovertheInternet
becausetheyhavethesamemicrophone$50.00cheaper.Peoplewhodo
this(youknowwhoyouare)thinkthatyouaresmartbecauseyoucan
getthemicrophonecheaperonlinebutinreality,theyaremakinga
seriouslyshortsighteddecisionwhentheydothis.Thedecisionthey
makecouldeventuallyputallofourbestsmallaudioshopsoutof
business.Iamallforcapitalismandgettingthebestdeal,justrealize
thatthebestdealisnotalwaysthelowestpriceddeal.Takingcareof
youafterthesale,offeringongoingadviceandbailingyououtona
Fridaylateafternoonforaweekendshootareallthingsthatmyfavorite
twoorthreeaudioretailershavedoneformeovertheyears.Agood
locationsounddealeriseasilyworthpayingafewbucksmoretoin
exchangeforbetterservice.
MyFinalOverallEvaluations
AudioTechnicaAT875R
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Thismicrophonewasthelittleenginethatcould.Frankly,Ididnothave
veryhighexpectationsforthismicrophone.Itwasabrandnew,still
unprovencommodity.Itwasreallyinexpensive.InreadingAudio
Technica'sliterature,itwasclearthatthemaindesigncriterionwas
usageasanoncameramicrophone.ThemoreIthoughtaboutthough
oncamerausageisn'treallythatdifferentthanusingamiconaboom
poleoverhead.Sure,youcanusuallylocateaboommicclosertothe
sourcethanoncamera,butgoodsoundisgoodsound.Iknewthatif
AudioTechnicaengineeredthemicforoncamerausage,itwould
probablybefairlyisolatedfromhandlingnoiseandwouldhavepretty
decentpickupfromadistance.
IknewgoinginwhatthepricewasonthismicrophonebutImadean
efforttotrytoforgetthepriceoftheunitasIevaluatedit.Thismic
finishedparticularlystronglyinthemichandlingtestandIreallyenjoyed
it'ssoundwiththefemaletalent.Allinall,ifyouareonanextremely
limitedbudget,youcouldrecordgoodqualityaudioinmanysituations
withtheAT875R.Thismicrophoneisaperfectexampleoftheprice
paradigminthesetypesofmicrophonesshifting.BeforeItestedthis
mic,ifyouwouldhavetoldthatyoucouldpurchaseaseriouslyhigh
qualitysoundingmicrophoneforvideo/filmusageforit'sprice,Iwould
havedisagreed.TheAT875RisaveryimpressivenewproductandI
highlyrecommenditasoneofthebestlowcostmicsonthemarketfor
film/videouse.Itdoesnothavethesmoothnessofsound,transient
response,nuanceandoffaxisrejectionofthemoreexpensive
microphonesbutintherighthands,itstillmakesgoodqualityrecordings
foranamazinglylowprice.
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Ihaveusedthismicrophoneforyears.Itisasolidperformer.Ifyouread
aroundthesoundforums,itishighlyrecommendedbymanyusers.I
wouldtermthismicrophoneasan"industrystandard"even.Ifoundthat
incomparisontotheothermicrophonesevaluated,theAT4073aisa
fairlyuniquemicrophonethathassomeparticularstrengthsaswellas
someareasthatitwasnotasstrongin.
IwasstruckeachtimeIuseditbythe4073a'samazingefficiency.This
microphoneputsoutaseriouslyhighernominalaudiolevelthanthe
othermics.Theotherrecurringthemeisoneofcrispness.This
microphonesoundsbasicallyattheotherendofthespectrumthanmost
oftheothermicrophones.WouldIrecommendthismicrophoneifyou
mostlyshootinteriorswithlotsofreflective,hardsurfaces?No,Iwould
not.Inthosesortsofenvironments,thesoundcouldbecomeabit
brittle.Iwouldrecommendthe4073aifyoushotinalotofabsorptive
environments.Picturearoominwhichyouareshootinganinterview.
Theroomhassilkwallcovering,plushthickcarpetsandrugsandlarge,
puffyfurniture.Inanenvironmentlikethis,manyoftheothermics
wouldpresentwithamuffled,probablytoobassysound.Notthe
AT4073a,itwouldbeperfectforthissortofsituation.Itscrispnesswould
reallycutthroughsuchmuffledacoustics.
Samethingwithexteriors.Ifyouareboomingandcannotlocatethe
microphoneaproperboomingdistanceof12feetfromthesubject,the
AT4073awouldbeanexcellentchoice.Withit'sincreasedsensitivityit
wouldprobablypickupatleastadequatesoundfromasfarawayas46
feetfromthesubject.ThismicrophoneisanexcellentexampleofwhyI
suggestyourkitcontainsatleasttwoShotgun/Cardioidvariantmics.
Thismicrophoneisoutstandingincertainphysicalenvironmentsandnot
asimpressiveinothers.IfyoucombinetheAT4073awithamicrophone
withsmoothersoundandlesshighendresponse,betweenthetwo,you
wouldhavealotofdifferentaudiosituationscovered.
BeyerdynamicMC836
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TheBeyerdynamicMC836representedaninterestingenigma.Iliked
howitsoundedoverallbutitdidnotseemtobeastandoutperformerin
anyofthetestsituationsexcepttheexteriortest.Iwouldsaythatthe
maintermthatcomestomindwhenevaluatingthetestclipsisbalanced.
TheMC836didnotseemtobeparticularlyimpressiveontheinterior
testsalthoughitdidnotdobadlyonanyofthemeither.Theunusual
thingaboutthismicrophoneisthateveninit'stestresults,the
microphonewasbalanced.Therewereothermicrophonesthatexcelled
incertainareasbuttheyalsotendedtohavemoredistinct
disadvantagesaswell.NottheBeyerdynamicMC836,itdidatleast
decentlyinallofthetests.
Themicrophonereallycameintoit'sownontheexteriortest,Ilikedit's
soundmuchmoreforexteriorsthanIdidforinteriors.Ididalsoreally
likethedetailedsmoothnessthatthismicpresented,thesmoothness
wasonparwithsomeofthemuchmoreexpensivemicrophones.This
MC836presentswithemphasisonthemidrange,soifyouhavesoft
spokenorwhisperyvoicedtalent,thismicrophonecouldbeaviable
alternativeforhelpingtoemphasizethisvoice.
NeumannKMR81i
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TheNeumannKMR81ilivesinthesoundbagsofalotofworkingsound
mixers.Neumannhasquiteareputationforbuildingoutstandingworld
classlargediaphragmstudiocondensermicrophonesandfromwhatI
experienced,NeumannhassuccessfullymanagedtoinfusetheKMR81i
withmuchofthesamesoundqualityandmystique.TheKMR81ihasa
veryrichanddetailedsoundthatIfoundextremelypleasanttowork
with.Iuseditonaprojectthatfeaturedinterviewswithseveralstudents
atadesignschool.Theareawehadtoshoottheinterviewsinwasnota
goodsoundlocationitwassituatedinbetweentwoopenclassrooms
justoffofaheavilytraffickedhallway.Theresultswereoutstandingwe
hardlypickedupanyofthedinfromdownthehallwaythatwastotally
apparenttoourears.
Ontheotherhand,Irecordedwiththismicrophoneinafewinstances
whereIwouldhavelikedtohearabitmore"roomtone"mixedinwith
thevoice.Theisolationfromoffaxissoundisalmosttoogoodwiththis
microphonesometimes.Incertainquietenvironmentsitcanbeniceto
hearabitmoreoftheenvironmentmixedinwiththevoice.Justkeepin
mindthatthesesituationsaremuchmorerarethanshootingin
environmentswithtoomuchambientnoise.Inafewoftherecording
situations,thismicrophonealmostsoundedlikeareallyfullbodiedsweet
soundinglavaliere,itsoundedclosemic'deventhoughthemicrophone
wasalmosttwofeetfromthetalent.
Theoffaxisrejectionistopnotchthequalityofsoundisoutstanding.
Thismicrophoneisn'tinexpensivebutitisworthyofyourconsideration
asatopofthelinesoundtoolthatwilllastyouformanyyears,andwill
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beusefulinmanydifferentsoundsituations.Ifyouwantapremium
soundandarewillingtopayforit,definitelyconsidertheKMR81i.
OktavaMK012
Talkaboutbaggage.TheOktavacametomewithsomereputation.Ihad
heardalotofdifferentbuzzabouttheMK012fromusersandthe
forums.Somedescribeitasa"poorman'sSchoeps",othershavebeen
dismissiveaboutit.TheOktavaisunusualinthatitismadeinRussia
andisquitewellacceptedandpopularallovertheworld.Onefeature
thatIthoughtwouldbeveryappealingtomewasthattheOktavaMK
012isavailableasathreecapsulesetwithanOmnidirectional,Cardioid
andHypercardioidincludedalongwitha10dBcapsuletoreduce
sensitivity.Ifyouareanallaroundsoundrecordist,thiskitisagreat
value,theOmniandCardioidcapsulesaregreatintherecordingstudio
andinthefield.Ifyoumainlyshootvideo/filmsound,youwillfindthat
theHypercardioidcapsuleisthebestformostvideo/filmsituationsso
youmaybeabletosavesomemoneybypurchasingthepowersupply
withonlytheHypercardioidcapsule,althoughIlikedtheCardioid
capsuleforcertainsituationsaswell.
TheOktavasoundedgreat.TheMK012isanamazingvalueconsidering
it'slowprice.TheMK012isalsophysicallytiny,whichformanysound
forpicturesituationscanbehandy.TheOktavawasasolidperformerin
allofthetests,savethehandlingnoisetest.ItistruethattheMK012is
moresusceptibletohandlingnoisethanmanyoftheothermicstested.
IfyouareplanningonhandboomingwiththeMK012,myadviceitto
purchasethebestmicrophonemountyoucanfindandpracticewithitfor
awhilebeforeshooting.Aprofessionalboomoperatorcanprobablydeal
withthehandlingnoisejustfinebutanamateurboomoperatorlikeme
wouldhaveissueswithit.Ohyeah,tomyear,theOktavadidn'tsound
asfull,smoothanduncoloredaseitherSchoepsbutitdidsoundamazing
forit'smodestcost.
SankenCS1
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Tome,theSankenCS1fulfilledmyexpectations.Iexpectedittohave
moredetailedandsmoothersoundthantheother$1,000.00andunder
microphones.Itdid.Iexpectedthatitwouldnotsoundasdetailedor
smoothasthe$1,000.00plusmicrophones.Itdidn't.Ihaveheardalot
ofsatisfiedownersonthesoundforumstalkinguptheCS1,sayingthat
itisthebestthingsinceslicedbread,sotospeak.Itwasinterestingto
testboththeCS1andCS3etogether.
Tomyear,IfoundthesoundoftheCS1tobeclear,cleananddetailed.
TheCS1didnothavethewarmthorbassemphasisthatsomeofthe
moreexpensivemicrophonesseemedtohaveitprobablyhasaless
coloredsound.IalsogettheimpressionthattheCS1mayhavebeen
primarilydesignedasanoncameramic,muchliketheAudioTechnica
AT875R.It'shandlingnoisewasverylow,Iwouldsaythebestofthe
sub$1,000.00microphones.TheCS1isoneofthemicrophonesthat
presentswithalittlemoreroomtonethansomeofthelongershotguns.
Thisisneithergoodorbadoverall.Ifyouwererecordinginaverynoisy
environment,thismiccouldpickuptoomuchambientsoundbutina
quieterenvironment,Ireallylikedhearingabitoftheenvironment.
Someofthelongershotgunsalmostsoundedsterile,theCS1sounds
more"real"asfarasintegratingthevoicewithit'ssurrounding
environment.Thisisanotherpointforowningmorethanoneofthistype
microphonethereisnoidealmicforallsoundsituations.TheCS1was
asolidperformerit'sgreatreputationiswelldeserved.
SankenCS3e
IhadasenseofDjvuasIfirstlistenedtotheSankenCS3e.Hmm...I
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haveheardamicthatsoundslikethisbefore.Whichonewasit?Oh
yeah,theSankenCS1.Ishouldclarify,theCS3esoundsbetterthan
theCS1.Itsellsforalmosttwiceasmuchsoitshould.Ifoundthatthe
betterbassresponseandconsiderablybetteroffaxisrejectionoftheCS
3emakesitanoutstandingmicrophone.ThisisaclassiccaseoftheCS
1beingverygoodandtheCS3ebeingbetter.
TheCS3ealsodidverywellinthemichandlingtest,suggestingthat
thiscouldbeanidealhandheldboommicforinteriorsandexteriors.The
CS3ealsodidverywellintheexteriortestwithanicemixtureof
isolatingthevoicebutalsolettinginanaturalsoundingamountof
ambient.Forfemalevoices,IreallylikedwhattheCS3ecoulddo,it
madethetalentsoundopenandnatural.IfeltthattheSankenCS3e
offeredbasicallyasimilarlevelofperformanceandsoundqualityasthe
moreexpensiveGermanmicsyetsoundsdifferentthantheGerman
mics.Youwouldhavetodetermineifyoupreferitssoundoverthemore
expensiveNeumann,SchoepsandSennheisers.Ireallylikeditand
wouldbeveryhappytohaveoneinmysoundbag.
SchoepsCMC641
MuchliketheNeumannKMR81i,theSchoepsCMC641is,frankly,an
audiolegend.Itisexpensive,liketheNeumann,andyouwillfinditin
MANYprofessionalsoundmixers'kits.Schoepsmicsarealsoperhapsa
bitmoredifficulttofind,althoughIhavenoticedthatonepopularNYC
"boxhouse"isnowcarryingthisparticularmicrophone.So,togetright
toitdidtheSchoepsCMC641liveuptoit'sreputation?Inaword,
definitely.TheSchoepshadanatural,uncoloredsoundthatreallymade
meforgetIwaslisteningtoarecording.IfIrecordedlousysoundswith
Schoeps,theysoundedlousy,astheyshould.IfIrecordedagreat
soundingsource,itsoundedgreat.TheSchoepsgivesyouwhatis
probablythemostrealisticsoundpictureofanyofthemicsItested,
whatyouhearfromitiswhatyouget.
TheSchoepsis,liketheNeumann,aseriouspieceofGerman
workmanship.Fromthegoldcoloredengravednameandmodelnumber
tothenononsensecrackleenamelfinish,theSchoepsfeelslikeasolid
pieceofgear.Ihesitatetoevenusetoomanyadjectivestodescribethe
soundoftheCMC641,otherthantosayitisVERYaccurateand
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uncolored.IalsofeelthattheSchoepsdeliverswhatyouarepayingfor.
Inthiscase,Ifeelthat"industrystandard"isawelldeservedbadgeof
endorsement.Ifyouknewhowmanytelevisionshowsandhowmany
featurefilmsyouhaveheardthroughthismicrophone,youwould
probablyshakeyourheadindisbelief.It'sthatgood.Ifyoucanafford
thisone,youprobablywon'tneedtobuyanothermainmicrophonefor
decades,ifnotlonger.Thatsaid,ifyoutreasuremicrophonesthatimpart
someoftheirownpersonalitytoyoursoundasmostoftheothermics
did,youmaybehappierwithsomeoftheothermodels.
SchoepsCMIT5u
TheSchoepsCMIT5uwasaveryinterestingmicrophone.Insomeways,
itturnstheindustryonitsside.Let'sgodownthelist.Firstofall,it'sa
Schoeps!Schoepshasnevermadeashotgunandformanyyears,sound
mixershavewishedthatSchoepswoulddistillsomeoftheaudiomagic
frommicsliketheCMC641intoashotgunformfactor.Check.Next,it
hasactiveelectronicsbuiltintothemicrophonebodywithreallycool
littlebuttonswithLEDindicatorlights.Besideslookinginterestingand
hightech,theboostsandrolloffsaremucheasiertoimplementthan
withthetraditionalsmall,cheapdipswitch.Personally,Ihavetobe
remindedbybadrumbleusuallytoimplementtherolloffonmostofthe
micsthatIusethathavetherolloff.WiththeCMIT5u,Ifoundmyself
oftenjustclickingthroughtheswitchesbecauseitwassoeasyand
convenient.Thelightshowhasanotherpracticalfeature,asashooter,I
canlookoverandataglance,receivevisualconfirmationaboutwhich
boostsandorrolloffsIamusing,veryhandy.Lastly,Schoepshasreally
goneallouttoensurethatanyonewhoseesthismicrophonenoticesthat
itissomethingdifferent.ThecolorandfinishontheCMIT5uisbeautiful
andnotinanostentatiousway.Theblueanodizedfinishedissimply
exquisite.Nope,itdoesn'tmakeitsoundanybetterbutitdoesmakeita
joytousebecauseitisjustsocoollooking.(Sorry,Ican'thelpit,Ilove
thewayitlooks).Check.Lastuniquefeature,theweight!Man,thismic
islongandratherlargeincomparisontotheCMC641butitweighsaLOT
lessthantheCMC641.Ifyouarehandbooming,youwillfallinlovewith
thismic,ithaslowhandlingnoise,greatoffaxisrejectionanditis
incrediblylight.
Interestingly,tomyear,theCMIT5udoesn'tsoundexactlylikea
shotgunversionoftheCMC641.Thetwomicshaveadistinctlydifferent
soundqualityalthoughtheyareinthesameneighborhood.Neitheris
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betterorworse,theyarejustdifferent.TheCMIT5uobviouslyhasbetter
offaxisrejectionyetthebasicqualityofthesoundisslightlymore
colored,butinagoodway.TheCMIT5uwasthesecondmostexpensive
micItestedandtobehonest,Ifeltitwaseasilywortheverypenny.You
willdiscoverifyoushopforthismicrophone,nobodyseemstooffer
discountsonit.Thatshouldtellyousomething.It'sasuperbshotgun.
SennheiserMKH50
TheSennheiserMKH50wasamicrophonethatIwasreallyinterestedin
evaluating.IhaveshotwiththeMKH60andMKH416foryearsbut
haveneverhadachancetousetheMKH50.Itdisplayedadistinctly
differentsoundthanboththe60and416.It'sdifficulttoputitinto
wordsbuttheMKH50hadaveryexcitingsound.Itmadesubjects
soundbiganddynamic.TheMKH50isaverypopularmicrophoneI
haveseenquiteafewatworkontheHollywoodtelevisionandfilmsets
thatIfrequent.Sennheisersareverywellbuiltandsmartlyengineered.
Thelookislowkeyandblack.Tomyear,theMKH50presentsthe
soundwithbassandmidrangeemphasis.Asalways,Iwouldseriously
considerthistypeofsoundifyourecordalotoffemaletalent,child
talentormaleswiththinnervoices.TheMKH50makesthemsound
robustandgivestheirvoicessomeauthority.IfIhadtomakeafilm
analogy,thismicrophonesoundslikeanactionthriller.It'sexciting,
dynamicandablasttorecordwith.
Ifyoulookatsoundcharacteristicsasapalette,thissortofsoundwould
begoodforwarmthandauthority.Ifyourtalentalreadyhasaverydeep
orauthoritativesortofvoice,thismicrophonemightnotbethenumber
onechoice.Ireallylikedhowthismicrophonemademyvoicesoundand
Idohaveafairlypenetratinganddeepvoicesowhoknows,it'sjusta
matteroftasteandpreference.Sennheiserhascreatedaclassicwiththe
MKH50.
SennheiserMKH60
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Unlikeit'ssibling,theMKH50,theSennheiserMKH60hadaslightly
morebalancedsoundoverall.Itproducedlessbasscolorationon
exteriors,hadexcellentoffaxisrejectionanddidextremelywellinthe
michandlingtests.Inexteriors,theMKH60seemedtocomparemoreto
theSankenCS3ethantheotherGermanmicrophones.Afterreviewing
bothoftheseSennheisers,Icouldseethatteamingthetwoofthem
togetherwouldresultinaverycomplimentarymicrophonepackage,if
notaninexpensiveone.
IhaveshotmanyhundredsofinterviewswiththeMKH60overtheyears
anditpresentsaverywellbalancedsoundpicturewithaslightmid
rangeemphasis.Personally,IfindthatIreallyenjoyusingtheMKH60
althoughitbecomesrathertransparent,liketheSchoepsCMC641.After
awhile,youjustdon'tnoticethemicrophone'scharacteristicsatall,you
justnoticethesounditrecorded.IfeelthattheSchoepsislesscolored
thantheSennheiserbutbothofthempresentaveryrealisticsound.The
MKH60holdsthedistinctionofhavingthehighestlistprice($2,000.00)
ofanyofthemicstestedalthoughactualstreetpricesresultintheMKH
60generallysellingforlessthantheSchoepsCMIT5u.TheNeumannis
anotherworldclassmicrophonefromSennheiser.Itwasajoytowork
with.
InTheEnd
Ihopethatyouhavefoundthisarticleaqualityresource.Choosingthe
correctaudiogearforyourneedsisalwayschallenging.Fortunately,
microphonesdon'thaveatendencytochangemuchseveralofthe
modelsreviewedherehavebasicallystayedthesameforthepast510
years.Afewofthemodelsarenewerandhaveintroducedsomenew
technologyandnewqualitylevelsforunheardofpricepoints.
Themostimportantthingtorememberasyoudecidewhich
microphone(s)topurchaseistobuyqualityandbuytheproductthat
bestsuitsyourneeds.Youshouldalwayschallengeyourselftonot
scrimpandtobuythebestqualityaudiogearthatyoucanafford.Unlike
camerasandcomputers,audiogearcanreallybeaninvestment.With
care,itwilllastyoumanyyearsandwillnotneedtobereplacedbythe
newest,latestandgreatest.Qualityaudiogearwillalsopayforitself
quicklyinsavedrentalfees.Aswithallotheraspectsofsoundfor
picture,it'stheskilloftheoperatorthatreallymakesthemost
difference.Havingthemostexpensiveorbestperformingmicrophoneon
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themarketwon'tmakeanydifferenceinthequalityofyoursoundunless
youknowwhen,whereandhowtouseit.Inorderforanyofthe
microphonesinthisarticletoworktotheirfullpotential,youneeda
qualitymicrophonemount,windprotection,boompole,cable,mixerand
recordingdevice.Asyoucansee,themicrophoneismerelythefirst
deviceinthechain.
AcknowledgmentsandThanks
Iwouldliketothankthevariousmanufacturersanddistributorswho
graciouslysuppliedthereviewsamplesandansweredmanytechnical
questions:
KarenEmersonAudioTechnica
BeyerdynamicUSA
DanRadinNeumannUSA
KenHeatonOktavaUSA
JimPacePlus24
ScottBolandReddingAudio
DawnBirrSennheiserUSA
DanBrockett,isanindependenttelevisionproducerbasedinLos
Angeles,Ca.Dan'smostrecentprojectsincludedocumentariesforthe
DVDreleasesofParamountPicturesBraveheart:SpecialEditionand
WarnerBros.SpecialEditionofHowardHawksRioBravo.Danisalso
knownforshootingandproducingtwotopratedepisodesofA&E's
Biography.Daniscurrentlyindevelopmentonthreetelevisionshowsfor
2008.Dancanbereachedatdan@biglittlefilms.com.
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As I Hear It - Choosing the Right Microphone

As I Hear It - Choosing the Right Microphone

As I Hear It - Choosing the Right Microphone

As I Hear It - Choosing the Right Microphone

As I Hear It - Choosing the Right Microphone

As I Hear It - Choosing the Right Microphone

As I Hear It - Choosing the Right Microphone

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