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Author Topic: Neumann Capsule Consistency in 2022?  (Read 1134 times)

Krackle

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Neumann Capsule Consistency in 2022?
« on: February 25, 2022, 12:31:58 PM »

hi Klaus,

Was just re-reading your post from around 2017-2018 discussing your feeling that you were, at the time period of your posting, seeing a more favorable run of Neumann capsules with diaphragms that were tensioned properly and sounding good or great to you..

Do you feel that this trend of better sounding capsules out of Neumann is still in place in 2022?

Im going to look at a (used) U87ai in a few days..Mic was purchased new in Summer of 2021.
Of course I am very leery going into this and wondering if you have any tips on how to demo
this mic away from home base..Im bringing several pairs of headphones that I know very well, I asked the seller what kind of monitors he has..etc.

critical goal, of course, is to try to determine whether this one happens to have a properly tensioned capsule in it.
Sometimes difficult to do this sort of thing in a visit like this.

I have never used a U87 ai. I have heard it quite often in the context of the mixes of a friend who uses one quite often..always sounding pretty good but EQ'd, some reverb, maybe some compression..sauces.
This used mic is priced very attractively and if I end up rejecting it I'll be able to sell it and break even easily..not too worried, just want to be prepared.

Any tips, tricks or suggestions for evaluating on location?
..I'll be able to record a few things -voice, an acoustic guitar most likely..obviously listening is key and Im definitely keyed towards low frequencies into low mids..
Hearing what a great capsule does in the sibilants and spitty regions is not a problem for me.
Little help..

Thanks
Pete




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klaus

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Re: Neumann Capsule Consistency in 2022?
« Reply #1 on: February 25, 2022, 01:41:56 PM »

Hearing what a great capsule does in the sibilants and spitty regions is not a problem for me.
That alone, in conjunction with monitoring over your own headphones whose sound you are familiar with, is a fantastic start to evaluate sibilance and mid-range congestion of a mic.

The larger question you ask me is not quite as straight-forward to answer.
It seems that my constant badgering Neumann to at least losen the backplate assembly screws back to the torque they used to apply has, at least for the moment, been responded to, and the last five 2021-made capsules I tested were torqued again to the original 1960s torque (there are no 2022-made capsules out as of yet, as far as I have seen).

That reversal back into healthy assembly-screw-torque-territory has not extended to diaphragm tensioning, though it has audibly helped the overall frequency balance a bit. I still observe that too many of the K870/87/67 capsules made in the last decade lack proper, relaxed representation of the lower octaves of the capsule's transmission range, i.e. their mid-forward and slightly or severely congested response in the range that causes sibilance is objectionable to my ears.

But, I have to emphasize once more, this mid-range prominence and bass starvation is not consistent, but varies widely from capsule to capsule and capsule side to capsule side. I continue to occasionally encounter perfectly frequency-balanced specimens of these capsules.
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Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks®
www.GermanMasterworks.com

Krackle

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Re: Neumann Capsule Consistency in 2022?
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2022, 12:01:41 PM »

Klaus, excellent, thanks for taking the time to detail that.

I'll be leery..hearing a mic for the first time, testing, listening..no matter how good it may 'seem' to sound on initial impression..things always change after a week or after putting it to use.
The brain is a funny, unpredictable, and sometimes moving target..

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klaus

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Re: Neumann Capsule Consistency in 2022?
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2022, 12:45:22 PM »

For that reason, most high-end microphone sellers offer a five-to-seven day unconditional money-back warranty.
That way, you can test a new mic in your facility with the exact equipment your ears are accustomed to.
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Klaus Heyne
German Masterworks®
www.GermanMasterworks.com
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