R/E/P > Klaus Heyne's Mic Lab

Shopping For Neumann KM84 (+ Comparisons to KM184)

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itsapleasure:
Thanks for the advice, Klaus.
I figured that there would be some differences in capsules, etc. but it doesn't seem to be a widely discussed subject.
I know of a couple (hundred?    ) studios closing, so I guess I'll start there.

Beat Counter:
My perspective.

I received my 84 yesterday. Last night I set side by side (literally) my 184 and my "new" 84. I ran both through a Flamingo and set the gain structure so that both visually matched. If you know the Flamingo, you get my perspective. Ran both then into my Ghost (line in, eq bypassed). Kind of use it as a router. Then to a headphone send. Just a home studio for personal use.

No comparison. And no, I'm not just self "pumping sunshine" to justify my "buy". Played my 71 D-35. Much more definition on the bottom end. (bass player in the past)It sounds like somebody "scouped out" the 184. but hey, to each his own.

Klaus, the 84 seems heavier than the 184. Any reason or am I imagining this? Thanks

Scott

Jeff Stuart Saltzman:
The 184 is probably much lighter because it lacks a transformer...

tuchel:
Historically, how consistant is the sound from the year of the introduction of this mic and the final year of production? Components stay the same?  

Neumann strikes me as the kind of company, that in its glory days really worked to maintain the standard of quality.  True of this mic?

Terry

Klaus Heyne:
True in regards to quality. Not true when you compare frequency response, mic output  and timbre consistency through the 20-odd years of existence of this wonderful mic.

If you have a 1970s KM84 and wish to match that with a new and recently acquired spare part KK84, it will sound quite a bit fuller today (some may say too bassy) in comparison. It's also got a higher capsule sensitivity now than it had before serial number 45000 or so (don't quote me on the precise dates of transition. It's certainly noticeable on all mics after 50000.)

A few weeks ago I needed to replace one KM84 of a pair that is used by a prominent artist as both drum overheads and acoustic guitar mics (in live concert applications, by the way! ) I had a hell of a time finding, then tuning, another KK84 capsule to the existing mic's capsule. It gets even harder to predict or match when you are dealing with well-worn capsules.  

As I wrote earlier, the mic amps are pretty easy to match and pair, regardless of series and age. The capsules, on the other hand, can stray widely. (And I don't even care to comment on the similar looking graphs in the owners' manuals that accompany these mics since the 1960s. Notice the tolerance of 4dB in the graphs throughout the mic's frequency range? That's almost entirely produced by the capsules, not the amps which typically stray less than 1 dB from one another.)

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