From: Curt Olson <>
>
> Rob Danielson wrote:
>
>
>>> I had the pleasure of working with recordings from about 8 different
>>> kinds of mics in "matched" x-y or spread omni pairs. None of them have
>>> been that well matched really. I'm interested in folks with DPA's and
>>> other expensive mics taking a shot at describing the improvements they
>>> feel they hear because the frequency responses (or other qualities) of
>>> their mics are very closely matched.
>
>
> "Matched pairs" comes up here from time to time. The theory sounds
> great, and maybe someday I'll be willing to pay the price for a
> "matched pair" of high-end mics, but as a practical matter, I have a
> feeling that any random pair of any microphone model from the same
> manufacturing era might be better matched than my two 49-year-old ears.
Matched pairs are actually more important in less than high end mics. In
high end mics every example of a particular model mic is likely to be
virtually the same. That consistency and the quality control that backs
it up is part of what you pay for in high end mics. Where the quality
control is less and the consistency of the mics is less, it might be
worth paying for a matched pair. From what Rob has reported about the
differences in Rode mics, it would sound like buying a matched pair
there might be worthwhile. Though the jury is still out on how well
Rode's age. If they shift character with age, a initially matched pair
might not stay matched long.
I have a pair of MKH-20's that were a matched pair, but I don't really
care. I've found that any of a particular model MKH will sound like any
other of that model. So matching is not really worth paying anything
extra for with MKH unless you are very, very picky and have golden ears.
My matched pair, btw, came off ebay and was a real bargain, matched or not.
Also, in nature recording the complexity of the soundfields we record
may make matching a moot point. It's easy to see how matching might be
important in making a stereo recording of a single musical instrument in
a sound deadened studio. In the outdoor soundfields it might be a lot
harder to detect the small differences in two mics.
Walt
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