R/E/P > Klaus Heyne's Mic Lab
Schoeps - "sound" and impedance issues
Yannick Willox:
I have to agree with Jim Williams.
For me it is strange to see how Schoeps lovers mention the purity of the electronics as one of the advantages.
Some completely dislike the MKH series of Sennheiser because it is full of electronics. They can hear it.
Well, as Jim, I hear a completely artificial zingy thing on the Schoeps mics I have used, and records which I know to have used them.
That seems contradictory, but maybe some people are more sensitive to one kind of electronic sound, and others to another aspect ?
For me, the MKH series does something strange around 2K on some sources. But Schoeps on strings just sound like broken strings to me ...
Andy Simpson:
Piano is one instrument where there is no sustained energy, unlike voice/violin/brass/etc.
Each note is a single attack and decay, which is easier for a microphone to deal with.
This is one possible reason why a microphone can be surprisingly useful on the piano where it might not be useful on other sources.
In any case, anybody who has spent any time trying to remove 'graininess' with EQ will know that these artefacts are time-domain related.
Andy
Jim Williams:
I have had good results in Schoeps and similar circuits by removing the European BC transistors and the jfet. I find the BC audio transistors to sound grainy, this was pointed out to me by tonmeister Andrew Lipinsky when I rebuilt his Beyer 740 mics. The Wima MKS mylar coupling caps help in softening this grain, pop in some MKP-2 polyprops and you will hear those transistors zinging along. Transformer input preamp also help soften the grain, a fast transformerless preamp makes them the Emperor with no clothes.
Schallfeldnebel:
In the middle of the nineties my Schoeps CMC's were modified to B&K electronics alike designs, first with phantompower and later based on separate power-leads with 60V basic voltage for both preamp and capsule.
The results were not that much better from the original Schoeps designs, except the low end was a bit more tight with the MK2 and MK2s. What people have described here on the forum I can recognize, but in my opinion there may be another aspect causing disappointment with users.
Mylar/PE/polyester made omnis (Schoeps mk2(s), Neumann km183) do have higher mechanical distortion than e.g. the nickel DPA and B&K omni (measuring) microphones. When their behaviour is very neutral, like the Schoeps MK2(s) or H, this distortion might be more obvious and disappointing than with brands like Neumann, where aside the mechanical distortion also more musical colouration is a part of the design, and as a result the whole concept seems to sound more appealing.
Anyway the Schoeps cardioid MK4 for me belongs in the absolute top ten of cardioids, aside the DPA 4011, Sennheiser MKH406, Beyerdynamic MCD100, Sanken CU44X and others.
Erik Sikkema
Klaus Heyne:
Jim Williams wrote on Thu, 18 October 2007 08:55
I have had good results... by removing the European BC transistors and the J-Fet. I find the BC audio transistors to sound grainy
Which J-Fets and transistors do you find less "grainy", as you call it?
Quote:
The Wima MKS mylar coupling caps help in softening this grain, pop in some MKP-2 polyprops and you will hear those transistors zinging along.
Is that a good thing to hear them "zinging along" ? Or did I misunderstand you?
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