Topic: Schoeps CMT44

[Jonathan Starr]

Thanks for the tip. Don't think I'll try it on the 44's.

I was asking this in reference to my CMT341 and MKH 816T long shotgun.

I was glad to learn a bit from this guy. Last time I was at NAMM, he showed me how the bass response of a Neumann LDC radically changes when you switch pattern from Omni to Figure 8, through Cardioid.

Aloha,

Jonathan


[/quote]

STOP DO NOT DO THIS DO NOT PASS GO!

THESE MICS ARE T-POWER not PHANTOM SO THAT WILL NOT WORK!

A
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[DSatz]

aegert, it works this way:

CMT 3-- or CMC 3-- = 12 Volt phantom powering
CMT 4-- or CMC 4-- = 12 Volt parallel (a/k/a "T" or "AB") powering
CMT 5-- or CMC 5-- = 48 Volt phantom powering
   ...  while CMC 6-- = either 12 Volt or 48 Volt phantom powering (automatic switchover)

There are a few alternate varieties but these are the basics.

[Jonathan Starr]

I had a chance to use the CMT44's in a serious project today for the first time. They are lovely.

Set them up as an XY pair; tracking bongos, shekere, tambourine, cowbell, finger cymbal in a folk/newgrass/rock project. Much crisper and more melodic than my other SDC's, which include KM184s, 4041s, CEM6 and 012's. They sound great, and are easy to place and are not overly subject to overload like the KM184s, which tend to get "blown" by energetic percussion unless I use a windscreen, which seems ridiculous in a treated room.

The tracks sound clear and distinctive in a somewhat busy mix with multiple guitars, banjo, mandolin, drumkit etc.

Hope their matching brethren are behaving as well, Aegert.

Aloha,

Jonathan

[aegert]

Jon

I was blown away by them.. They  have the Schoeps sparkle but had nice low end as well. I was really impressed. I just got right angle tuchel female connectors and am building the snake I talked about. Will be a great set up....

They imaged really well in ortf the sound stage was wide and full all and all the best buy I think I ever had...

The cables that came with them were suspect. I did not like the soldering job no shrink wrap etc. They are not reliable. I would highly recommend making new cables with real neutrik gold xlr ends and high end tuchel's with mogami wire!

I have extra tuchel's if oyu need them strait's I can sell a pair for $40 + ship if you want them PM me..

A :-)

[Jonathan Starr]

I had to resolder one of the cables to get going. One of them was really ratty. I ordered a quality replacement cable from Hinton in Britain,www.hinton-instruments.co.uk and it was less than the parts.

The second cable is a new Mogami cable with quality ends, so I'm good to go.

This is my first experience with Schoeps, and I am happily surprised at how nice and easy to place they are. My old KM184's are so finnicky about location, and I would end up moving them numerous times till I'd find a sweet spot/angle.

Aloha,

Jonathan

[aegert]

I got the connectors from germany that was my cost with shipping...

Glad you found the cables

A

[Jonathan Starr]

I was getting even higher quotes, that's why I went for the readymade assembly.

I was told at NAMM that Sennheiser has some in NJ (or CT?) in their parts facility, but are reluctant to let them go except to favored dealers or repair stations.

[aegert]

Don't really know about that. the ones I got are gold connections and matte black.. I have the right angles on the way. Am building a 2 channel snake for running a stereo pair off a vark bar... Will be slick when done...

A

[DSatz]

Jonathan, I'm glad you like your CMT 44. I'm writing in regard to overload by air motion, since you mentioned having a problem with your KM 84s in this regard.

The Schoeps CMT 44 was specified to have 5 dB greater maximum SPL than the Neumann KM 84 (125 dB vs. 120). But that's acoustic energy in the audio spectrum, not air currents at DC. Any capsule--particularly if it's a pressure gradient (i.e. directional) capsule--can be severely affected by the direct impact of air whether it's from wind, breath noise of a close-up vocalist ("popping" on certain consonants) or as in this case, certain percussion instruments at close range.

Basically, if the pickup sounds better with a pop screen, a pop screen is needed in the situation--that isn't a defect of the microphone. And again, on the spectrum of first-order directional patterns running from (pressure) omni to cardioid to figure-8, as soon as you get away from the pressure end of the spectrum you will get more and more of this type of sensitivity. That's why in outdoor recording situations, if you don't have one of those blimp-like windscreens that reporters and film sound people use, an omnidirectional microphone can save the day.

On the other hand, not going into saturation at the lowest frequencies is a definite advantage of a transformerless output stage--which the CMT 44 has and the KM 84 does not. Every KM 84 amplifier I've ever tested has exceeded its maximum SPL specifications by several dB, but the "brick wall" limit is caused by the transformer core saturating. (In other words the "vintage" people are completely wrong about how tube vs. transistor microphones operate, but that's a topic for another post ...)

--best regards

[John Willett]

So is there a way to use the t-powered mic amp with a 12v. phantom or 48 v. phantom supply..

You can get adaptors (eg: as supplied by Canford Audio in the UK) which take in 48V phantom power and throw out 12V T-power for the microphone.

This way you don't have to get special T-power supplies.

Details are HERE.

[Jonathan Starr]

That's the first time I've heard the term "overload by air motion" and it's a perfect description of the issue that I faced with the KM184's (I wish they were KM84's). Using them in a treated room, on guitar or Hawaiian percussion, they would get blown out very easily and give a nasty pop. I think this was occuring sometimes just from the performer's body motion pushing a bit of air.

I also find my Octava 012's are very susceptible to this, and my AT4041's somewhat less so. I was tending to go with LDC's like 414s or 4050's on stuff that I would rather hear through a crisp SDC.

The Schoeps seem to have a capsule design that avoids some of these issues. After tracking with them the past few days, I have yet to experience any episodes of the dreaded "OBAM".

I recently traded the KM184's for a CMC6/MK21 which seems the perfect guitar neck mic.

Aloha,

Jonathan