Re: Why do these mikes exist?

soundhaspriority <soundhaspriority@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Technically, it's all wrong, yet it has the imprimatur of a famous name.
http://www.neumann.com/?lang=en&id=current_microphones&cid=usm69_description

Why does a Neumann coincident large diaphram mike exist?

The prevailing opinion is that:
1. Large diaphrams have really lousy off axis response. It's a physics "has
to be."

The large diaphragm gives a good signal-to-noise ratio, but if you try
to use a crossed pair of them, the critical central position of the
stereo field will be off-axis to both capsules and give a phasey HF
response.

The physical size of the diaphragms means that a crossed pair could not
be placed close enough together to give good phase coincidence at short
wavelengths, so the stereo image will be inaccurate at HF . In
addition, the physical presence of each diaphragm will affect the
response of the other.

The X-Y configuration is a good way to take advantage of the S/N ratio
of a large diaphragm mic, whilst avoiding the phasing effects across the
centre of the stereo field.

2. The X-Y technique implemented by this mike has the fewest virtues of any
of the coincident techniques. It conveys stereo strictly by intensity
encoding.

It depends on what you are trying to achieve:

For loudspeaker listening, if you want accurate stereo imaging and not
just a 'stereo effect', the phase information can actually be a
disadvantage. It can give rise to image widening at high frequencies.
('S's, in particular, will splurge all over the place and will not
appear to be coming from the same direction as the rest of the voice).
If accurate loudspeaker stereo is your aim, this would be a good mic to
use.

If you want to make a recording that sounds good on headphones and you
are content to accept an inaccurate 'stereo effect' on loudspeakers,
then you will want to introduce deliberate phase differences into the
mic setup. You would not use a mic of this type for that purpose.


--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk
.

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