Raimund Specht wrote:
> I still could not find any mechanical fragility caused by the
> switchable pattern facilty.
The pattern switching is simply a multi position electronic switch.
Other than the switch itself no mechanical changes occur with different
patterns.
>>...and also of course I'm curious how you like its sound! :)
>
>
> As far as I can say, I'm very satisfied with that microphone (but I
> can not compare it with the alternative MKH 20/30/40/50 because I do
> not have one of those models). In contrast to all other MKH series
> microphones (MKH 20...70), the MKH 80 and 800 seems to be designed
> primarily for studio applications and less for field recordings
> (there is only the foam windscreen MZW 80 available, no zeppelin).
> The two internal diaphrams are mounted perpendicular to the
> longitudinal axis. This does not matter when you use it in a
> parabola, but must be considered when using it without a reflector.
> The included shockmount allows to use it with a tripod in an upright
> position.
I don't think any MKH mics are designed for field recordings. The
closest would be the shotguns, which are designed for movie and tv
dialog recording. Nature recording does not rate special consideration,
we use what's made for other things.
Compared to the other single pattern mics these two have higher
sensitivity and lower self noise (except against the MKH-20). The
MKH-80's I have are excellent mics, very clean sound from them. I have
used them singly as well as their current M/S stereo setup. I don't have
a MKH-50, but have the other equivalents. One advantage of the MKH-80 is
that it's sensitivity and self noise are essentially the same across all
patterns. And the mic's character crosses the patterns too. With the
separate mics, each model is somewhat different.
Note that the MKH-80/MKH-800 mics won't have the wind tolerance of a
MKH-20 omni when running as omni's because of their double sided
capsule. They don't seem any worse for wind sensitivity than my other
M/S setups.
Suspension and windscreening is really no worse than the other mics,
though it looks a little different. A Rycote or Sennheiser suspension
can hold them vertically properly. And you pick up out the side of the
zeppelin. Only real problem is that, at least with the Rycote suspension
I'm using (a M/S suspension) the handle for the setup hits the
suspension before reaching vertical. This is not a big problem hand
holding, but a tripod would need a angled head. Note that rycote does
make a suitable double clip for this setup. And, of course single clips
that fit the mic.
There are photos of the suspension on my M/S page now:
http://frogrecordist.home.mindspring.com/docs/my_ms_setups.html
A mono suspension would work the same but be smaller diameter. Of course
I can use one of the two mics as a mono mic without changing the suspension.
In the long run I plan on making a custom suspension, probably based on
the size of a mono zeppelin. This will have a handle at the end, should
be pretty compact.
The vertical orientation does have one advantage. Coincident X/Y setups
will be really easy to set up in a windscreen compared to the other mics
in X/Y setups. In fact, the same setup I'm using for M/S could with
simple rotation of the mics become a X/Y setup. And you could vary the
angle without having to modify anything.
Walt
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