Topic: Unmatched Pair ??

[airbladder]

What is the deal with getting an unmatched pair of mics?  For example picking up two random U89's off ebay?  Would one just be a few db louder than the other?  Would they sound different?  Would you be able to tell?  I like being anal as much as the next taper.  However, if you can save money and not tell the difference why stress on getting a matched pair?  My guess is that with some mics it may be more of an issue than with others?  With what mics is this a concern?   No upgrade in mind just wondering what your experience has been.  Thanks for your help.
Ed

[nic]

from my experience, matching isnt that important if the mics are from a reputable manufacturer. when quality control is high, mic performance matching is pretty much a non-isue.
AKG only matches 1 model of their 414 series...not even the 480s. I believe Neumann only matches their skm180 and skm140 series and Schoeps only the mk caps??

with name brand manufacturers, if the serial #s are close,  I say don't worry about it as they were manufacturered at the same time(roughly). my ADK TL's aren't matched and their serials differ by about 100+ and I can only notice MAYBE 1-2dbs difference, a difference easily compensated for with the preamp.

[caymanreview]

with name brand manufacturers, if the serial #s are close,  I say don't worry about it as they were manufacturered at the same time(roughly). my ADK TL's aren't matched and their serials differ by about 100+ and I can only notice MAYBE 1-2dbs difference, a difference easily compensated for with the preamp.

my TL's are matched, and differ by 77 serial numbers

[creekfreak]

I think this has been discussed before, but serial numbers mean nothing when it comes to matching.

[jpschust]

well i dont know that id say serial numbers mean nothing, but generally if you get mics that are close to eachother in serial number you are more likely to have mics off the same production line and made of the same quality