Posted by: "Paul Jacobson"
>
> I've just come across a mkh416 at a reasonable price and was
> wondering what peoples thought's were on this mic?
> I'm currently using the K6/ME66 and find that while it is very quite, =
> it's a bit thin sounding tonally. Would a 416 be an improvement?
The MKH416 is a older generation of MKH mics, all the other models of
that generation have long been replaced by the newer generation. The
replacement for the MKH416 is the MKH60.
The MKH416 is still sold because the movie industry are creatures of
habit and they keep buying them. Why shouldn't Sennheiser make money off
them?
As far as MKH416 vs ME66 vs MKH60, the specs:
MKH416 - 25mV/Pa sensitivity - 13dBA self noise
ME 66 - 50mV/Pa sensitivity - 10dBA self noise
MKH60 - 40mV/Pa sensitivity - 6dBA self noise
As you can see, the MKH416 specs are not as good as the other two and
the MKH60 has the best specs, particularly if you count in it's
frequency response curve, which is pretty flat compared to the ME66. In
addition, the MKH416's polar patterns have a lot of irregularities in
them compared to the other two. It really is a older generation mic.
The thin sounding of the ME66 is probably because it has poorer low
frequency pickup compared to the other two.
I'd say if you want to upgrade, look for a MKH60. It's a fantastic mic.
Walt
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