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[edinger]

Hi KHMiclab!

This is my first post! After enjoying all the interesting subjects and replies here, I'm convinced that someone here at KHM will be able to shed some light on my issue:

Neumann KMF 4i - is it comparable to a KM84i?

I sure wouldn't mind working with the separated capsule from mic-body construction. But in truth, a KM84 is what I'm looking for. Would the KMF 4i just be a poor man's Km84 or is more comparable to a KM184(ew!)?

Does anybody know if the KMF 4i is transformerless or with transformers?

Any knowledge shared will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[David Satz]

The KMF 4 has slightly elevated high-frequency response, and thus might be more directly compared to the KM 140/184 than to the KM 84. However, this elevation occurs in a somewhat higher frequency range (12-15 kHz) where its effect is more subtle than the bump in the KM 140/184's response.

The circuitry of this microphone was still considered part of the "fet 80" series, and includes an output transformer. It was one of the last new models that Neumann introduced before they began to make transformerless phantom-powered microphones.

The operating instruction manual for this model contains further information including a frequency response graph, polar graphs and a circuit diagram. Two different editions of it can be downloaded either in German or English from Neumann's Web site--look under "Products" and then "Hist. Microphones".

--best regards

[Klaus Heyne]

Thanks, David.
As I never got to play with this rarest of Fet 80 mics, do you have any idea how they facilitated the high end rise of this KM84 derivative? Maybe shaping of capsule components (as the KM8x don't employ electronic high frequency attenuation)?

[radiovinheta]

Do the KM 7x/8x series Neumann mics have transformers?

[David Satz]

Klaus: Sorry--I don't know the details of the KMF 4's capsule, but it doesn't have the same designation as the capsule used in the KM 84, etc., and its housing had a smaller diameter (17 mm) than any of Neumann's other studio microphones until quite recently.

radiovinheta: The Neumann "fet 70" microphone series (KM 73, KM 74, KM 75, KM 76 and U 77) had transformerless output circuitry but the microphones were parallel powered, which isn't a very practical system for studio use; the entire series was discontinued some 35 years ago already.

The Neumann "fet 80" microphones, including the U 87, U 89 and KM 84, have output transformers and are phantom powered. Some models of this series are still being manufactured, while others have been replaced or supplemented by the phantom-powered transformerless microphones of the "fet 100" series.

--best regards