Topic: MKH800...

[cashandkerouac]

i recently got a stereo set of MKH8040s and i absolutely love 'em.  i'm now yearning for a set of multi-pattern mics to add breadth and options to my bag 'o' trix.  after pouring over a lot of info posted online i keep coming back to the MKH800s.  they are quite pricey, but they pretty much cover all the bases and would offer a lot of different solutions for a multitude of recording situations.  i also like that the MKH800s have a high end boost, which is helpful when mics are placed a good distance from the sound source.

thoughts, opinions, feedback?  i've seen other dialog in the forum about the MKH800 mics, but couldn't find a thread that was specific to this topic so i started a new one.  i hope nobody minds.

many thanks in advance for whatever info the forum can provide about these mics.

cheers!   

[scb]

ian white ran these and they sounded great.  then he sold them and eventually bought another pair because he loved them so much

[it-goes-to-eleven]

It may be a corner case, but a friend who runs those had technical problems (I think back around 2007).  My recollection is that the company was a little baffled by the issues. I assume they eventually resolved it but it took a while.  There is a lot of complexity in the mic, with the EQ and patterns.

I've been curious about the other MKH mics for nature recording due to the advantages of RF coupling.  However, I recently read some stuff that they aren't as resistant to mositure as one might hope, and the company recommends against that app.  Given the significant price, that gives me pause.

Another consideration is that even in the non-multi pattern, I believe the design uses electronic EQ to tweak the frequency response.  Some people don't like that approach in their mics.

[notlance]

i recently got a stereo set of MKH8040s and i absolutely love 'em.  i'm now yearning for a set of multi-pattern mics to add breadth and options to my bag 'o' trix.  after pouring over a lot of info posted online i keep coming back to the MKH800s.  they are quite pricey, but they pretty much cover all the bases and would offer a lot of different solutions for a multitude of recording situations.  i also like that the MKH800s have a high end boost, which is helpful when mics are placed a good distance from the sound source.

I own both the MKH 8040 and the MKH 800.  If you like the 8040 you will like the 800 because they sound very much alike.  Just to be clear, when you say the MKH 800 have a "high end boost" you mean the have a switchable treble emphasis?  Because without the treble emphasis tuned on the mic is quite flat across the spectrum.  I have no problem with however Sennheiser achieves this response.

I use my MKH 800 most of the time as a side mic in a MS or double MS setup, so I have the most experience with its figure-8 setting.  As a figure-8 it works just fine and matches the sound of the MKH 8040 or MKH 800 Twin Mid mic very well as would be expected.  For my application perhaps an MKH 8030 would work even better but Sennheiser does not yet make that model.

I suspect the MKH 800 is a complex mic, but I have never had a problem with mine.  They are expensive.  When you find one used (not very often) they sell in the range of $1500 to $2000.

Although I would not use the MKH 800 in particular for nature recording (since it's expensive and many of its features are not needed in that application) the MKH series is probably the most commonly use mics for recording in humid environments.  I have read many reports of various MKH mics being used without fail under very difficult conditions.

[DSatz]

A high-frequency boost as partial compensation for a more-distant-than-optimal miking position works well with pressure transducers. But the MKH 800 are pressure gradient transducers, even when set to the "omnidirectional" pattern. With more distant miking, reverberant sound pickup increases relative to the direct sound pickup, and a boosted treble just sounds unnatural under those conditions. Bright-sounding pressure-gradient microphones are actually specifically undesirable for distant pickup, in other words; they're more useful for close miking.

The usual amount of high-frequency loss due to the direct path through the air ('adiabatic losses" if you want the two-dollar word for it) is not much greater than the losses in the midrange. Reverberant sound loses high-frequency energy mainly because it has bounced off of some number of absorptive surfaces in the recording space along the way to the microphones. That's a desirable characteristic; reverberance should be rolled off considerably at high frequencies, or else the stereo image becomes very confused and the overall sound becomes harsh. That's why professional reverb processors always roll off the highs for the reverb signal.

--best regards

[ArchivalAudio]

sure you all saw it but I read this yeaterday from B&H
pretty cool:
The New Sennheiser MKH 8060 and 8070 Shotguns: A Complete and Uncompromising Mic System
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/audio/hands-reviews/new-sennheiser-mkh-8060-and-8070-shotguns-complete-and-uncompromising-mic-system?BI=8012&kw=sennheisermkh

[ArchivalAudio]

PS I borrowed a pair of 8040's and ran a few shows (thanx to QBert) and really like them
but I do enjoy my milabs so very much!

[John Willett]

i recently got a stereo set of MKH8040s and i absolutely love 'em.  i'm now yearning for a set of multi-pattern mics to add breadth and options to my bag 'o' trix.  after pouring over a lot of info posted online i keep coming back to the MKH800s.  they are quite pricey, but they pretty much cover all the bases and would offer a lot of different solutions for a multitude of recording situations.  i also like that the MKH800s have a high end boost, which is helpful when mics are placed a good distance from the sound source.

thoughts, opinions, feedback?  i've seen other dialog in the forum about the MKH800 mics, but couldn't find a thread that was specific to this topic so i started a new one.  i hope nobody minds.

many thanks in advance for whatever info the forum can provide about these mics.

cheers!   

I have a pair of the MKH 800s and they are excellent.  I also have an MKH 8020 stereoset and MKH 8040 stereoset (as well as pairs of MKH 20, 30 & 40).

Don't forget there is also the MKH 800 TWIN which you can access each capsule separately for an infinitely variable polar-pattern.