My MKH8040 mic arrived today. I did a quick comparison test. I also grabbed my Neumann KMR82i and did a test. Same room, same everything. I didn't do any post production on these (other than convert them to MP3), and didn't do much in the way of adjusting things. I simply plugged the mic into my Deva 5.8 and did a short test.

I've got to find a good shockmount for it. I have the Sennheiser mount on order, but it's out of stock from Sennheiser USA until mid-April. Apparently Rycote is coming out with one in Mid-March, so that might work. The mic is tiny, so not even my PSC shockmount will work on the mic.

This is a short "interview" with my 9YO daughter about school today. She did some writing in her journal about what happened over the weekend.

MP3 files:

http://homepage.mac.com/wayneb/MKH8040.mp3
http://homepage.mac.com/wayneb/KMR82i.mp3

24 bit original wav files:

http://homepage.mac.com/wayneb/MKH8040.wav
http://homepage.mac.com/wayneb/KMR82i.wav

Enjoy. I'll try to get some better tests up soon, but I'm sure Ty will have stuff available before I do.

Wayne

Since we're back on the topic of shockmounts. Until I can afford to buy a K-Tek for the Sennheiser, could I not get away with using it on a Sony camera mic mount... I know it wouldn't be optimal, but it would really cut down on the load for run and gun documentary situations.

What if I used a Rode SM5 that way I can still utilize the mic mount of the camera? Would this Sennheiser mic still be unusable on such a setup?

Since we're back on the topic of shockmounts. Until I can afford to buy a K-Tek for the Sennheiser, could I not get away with using it on a Sony camera mic mount... I know it wouldn't be optimal, but it would really cut down on the load for run and gun documentary situations.


I wouldn't recommend you putting this mic on a camera. You're going to pick up way too much noise from the camera itself. Stick to putting this mic away from the camera on a boom or mounting it somewhere else. I noticed that there was a lot of handling noise with this mic using the standard mount that came with the mic. I suspect that the Sony mic mount will probably give you a bit more protection, but I wouldn't bank on it giving that much more protection from handling type noise.

I do think both this mic and the 8050 are going to find their way into a lot of sound mixer's kits. They sound great and have a very nice price/performance ratio.

Wayne

Excellent. I'm really happy to hear it. Did you pick up the 8050 capsule as well, or just the 8040?

I'm hoping to bite the bullet and order this mic asap, I'm just waiting for Ty Ford's review to be posted on ProAudioReview.com just for that extra bit of security that it holds up well against the Schoeps CMC641.

I am happy to hear about your experiences with the 8040. Thanks for posting those 24-bit samples.

Excellent. I'm really happy to hear it. Did you pick up the 8050 capsule as well, or just the 8040?

Just the 8040. I came close to ordering both the 8050 and 8040, but didn't think it would make that much difference and based on some other mixers thoughts on both (including Glen Trew's), I opted only for the 8040. If I find at some point that it's just working out, I might order the 8050, but I'm going to trying going with just the 8040 for a while.

Wayne

What about the reach of the MKH8040. Is enough for boom pole position in
medium shots?

What about the reach of the MKH8040. Is enough for boom pole position in
medium shots?

That's a good question. I need to run some additional tests. This was a very quick test. In fact, I didn't even calibrate the Deva. I stuck the mic on one channel that I had setup for phantom and started recording. I really needed to go in and calibrate the input so that my levels would have been better and more consistent. I had the mic set like I would for an indoor tight headshot, but I did that for both mics, so they should be identical in that respect. However, I pulled out the long gun intentionally because I wanted to show a drastic comparison between two mics used for ENG/Film work.

Wayne

Hi Wayne,

The 8040 is a cardioid, right?

Wouldn't it be better to compare it to a Schoeps cmc64?

The cmc641 is a supercardioid, a better match would be the 8050, no?

Am I missing something?

Regards,

Ty Ford

The 8040 is a cardioid, right?

Wouldn't it be better to compare it to a Schoeps cmc64?

The cmc641 is a supercardioid, a better match would be the 8050, no?

Am I missing something?


Yes, you're right the 8040 is a cardioid and the 8050 is the hyper cardioid (although I think it's really a supercardioid based on the polar pattern). I picked up the 82i because I had it around and it illustrates something we've been telling people which is don't use shotguns inside. ;-)

Wayne

Ty,

Here's Trew's article, which explains his pattern comparison starting at the fourth paragraph.