Topic: A few Neumann questions

[Bdifr78]

Hello All,

I have some odd questions for the board here.  I need answers kind of quickly.

1. Is there such thing as a KM185 MT?  I know there is a KM185, but I am not sure about the MT or what it might stand for.
2. Is there or has there ever been K 30 capsules? Or just AK 30 capsules.

I am trying to figure out if someone is confused about their Neumann terminology or if I am just not in the know. I have done some research but am not finding much.

Thanks,
Joe

[TNJazz]

MT = matte
NI - nickel

Not sure about the K30 capsule.  Have you checked the Neumann pinboard?

[Bdifr78]

MT = matte
NI - nickel

Not sure about the K30 capsule.  Have you checked the Neumann pinboard?

Thanks.  I am pretty retarded sometimes. As soon as I posted I noticed that MT was matte, and NI was nickel. 

What is the Neumann pinboard. Is that on their website?

[TNJazz]

MT = matte
NI - nickel

Not sure about the K30 capsule.  Have you checked the Neumann pinboard?

Thanks.  I am pretty retarded sometimes. As soon as I posted I noticed that MT was matte, and NI was nickel. 

What is the Neumann pinboard. Is that on their website?

Yes, it's a Q&A board that Neumann monitors and responds on.

[DSatz]

For many years Neumann has used the term "capsule head" to mean a complete, plug-in unit with a capsule and its housing, including grille and electrical contacts. For their large-diaphragm microphones such as the U 87 or U 89, you can buy a replacement capsule by itself (but then you'd better be good with a soldering iron) OR you can buy a complete capsule head with the capsule mounted in it--which obviously costs more, but allows for very easy "field replacement" without tools.

One of the photos below shows a K 87 replacement capsule as sold by Neumann--it's not a capsule head (and it's not a new one, which would be much shinier). Until the mid-1960s they sold raw replacement capsules for all their microphones. But since the KM 60 series was introduced, only complete, field-replaceable capsule heads have been available for their small-diaphragm microphones with few exceptions.

For the KM 100 series, which was introduced in the mid-1980s, the definition of a "capsule head" changed into "active capsules" made up of two cylindrical parts bolted together (see the other photo below). One part contains a simple FET impedance converter (identical for all seven models), and the other part (stamped in the photo below with the model number "40" and a cardioid symbol) contains the capsule that determines the directional pattern and frequency response of the complete microphone.

Those two components of an active capsule are manufactured separately and then joined together at the factory. It doesn't take very much skill to separate or combine them if you know how, but the two parts aren't sold separately by Neumann even as repair/replacement parts--not even to their own distributors or repair stations. I think that's unfortunate, because it can drive up the cost of a repair by hundreds of dollars in some cases.

So technically, the term "K 30" would describe the raw, diffuse-field omnidirectional capsule that's contained in the AK 30 "active capsule" (capsule head). It isn't available in that form from Neumann, however; even the larger sub-unit of the AK 30 that it goes into (the capsule plus its housing and contacts, which doesn't have an official name) isn't available separately from Neumann.

--best regards

[Bdifr78]

Thanks so much!

Here is what I got form the Neumann board.

"Dear Mr. Bernstein,

I guess a spare part K50 capsule is meant. Spare part capsules are included in our main price list, so some dealers might just put anything that's in the list up for sale.
As you say, the K50 is the capsule of the KM185. As the KM180 series does not feature fully interchangeable capsule heads, a separate K50 mostly makes sense only for repairs.

Best regards,
Martin Schneider / Neumann Mic. Development"