Hi. I sometimes see "AT4073" and sometimes "AT4073a". Are these the same mics or different?

Also I read on this forum that this mic is "hotter" than the ME66. However I have been told that this mic would be better than the ME66 for my DVX100 because the ME66 is too hot.

Confused!

Help appreciated.

Thanks.

Same mic... some people just don't always add the "a"... just like some people call a Sennheiser mkh416 a "416" and so on with other mics.

The 4073a is more sensitive then the me66, but it also handles peaks much better and it's got a far more natural sound.

I have a dvx and I've had both mics for it and there's no comparison... it's a lot easier to run a 4073... er, 4073a through the dvx.

If you try to follow specs on mics you'll lose your mind. Specs don't mean a whole lot when it comes to mics... That said, dirt cheap mics don't usually come with a complete list of specs... but for mics within a given class the specs don't tell even half the story. Use your ears. If you check out Ken Tanaka's article comparing the me66 and 416 you can listen to a clip of both mics. You'll also notice that the me66 reads like it would be the better mic based on specs... but there's NO comparison. The 416 smokes it. The 4073a is closer to the 416 sound then the me66 is.

If you ever hear an me66 and 4073 together you'll have no trouble deciding which mic to get.

thanks for your reply. will listen to those clips.

Ok Jeremy... you tell me if there's any doubt which mic to get. Both mics are set FLAT and this is heard on the original DVX even though we had the "A" model here also.

There's no bias, no tricks... this test is set up to be ULTIMATELY fair... identical XLRs, equalized levels, etc.

The 4073a actually had to be turned DOWN to match the me66's output.

Click HERE to listen to the differences in these mics. (http://www.gettreel.com/me66%20vs%204073a.wma)

Notice that with the 4073a you get a full, detailed sound. It's more natural and it's off-axis rejection smokes the me66. These two mics are simply not in the same league.

(THANK YOU to Joe K for making this little showdown possible!)

Where is Ken's article?

Okay - thanks. I got it!

"Vive La Difference!"

I don't know why people often question the difference in sound from these 2 mics.

The me66 steadily drops 8 db from 550 hz to 50 hz and just falls completely off at the low end.

The 4073a has an incredible +/- 1db frequency response from 40 hz to 3.5 Khz... and it's still going down to 30 hz. If it wasn't for the presence hump between 3.5 and 5.5 Khz (which is 4 db high) then it would have been flat to 8 Khz... pretty damn impressive and it sounds as good as you would expect with those numbers.