There can be few professional recording studios or PA rigs in which the Sennheiser name is absent. From the miking-up of drum kits to lead and backing vocals, the characteristically shaped MD441U will invariably be found 'lurking' around stages and studios all over the world. However, rather than resting on their laurels, Sennheiser have further refined the 441U design both physically and electronically. In fact, the new look Sennheiser mikes can be spotted throughout their price range, and it is throughout this range that I have selected three microphones to review in plain English, rather than filling up the pages with specifications and measurements...

The Sennheiser name has established a reputation of reliability and quality, even though they have at times tended to be priced for the pro and semi-professional user. However, the cheapest of the three microphones — the MD918U, has recently been subjected to a fifteen per cent price decrease, which has left it with a very competitive price.

MD/918-U

£53.90

This, as I said before, is the least expensive of the three mikes on hand, and is a dynamic 'close-talking' mike, with a cardioid response characteristic, primarily intended for vocal use. It used a shock mounted transducer system to reduce handling noises, and a robust protective grid over the 'sound inlet', which looks as if it could easily handle most everyday knocks and bangs. Supplied with a collapsible desk-top stand which easily converts to a mike-stand mounted holder, along with not needing phantom powering, etc, this makes it a relatively inexpensive microphone ready for all vocal needs.

Although by no means exceptional, its resistance to feedback is sufficient for 'healthy' volume levels without any squealing. However, it excels in its ability to reproduce clarity and depth of tone in a voice when used closeup. In comparison to some much more expensive microphones designed for similar purposes, the 918 could certainly carry its own weight in many difficult and critical environments. I used this mike on some narration in a studio environment where I found little or no Eq necessary to produce a very satisfactory result when the 'mike-to-mouth' distance was under three inches. Equally satisfactory results were achieved when using it for vocal amplification through a bass guitar combo (which might well be the fate of a mike in this price range). And finally with other instruments, the most notable result was achieved with an acoustic guitar miked-up from a foot or more away (to avoid boominess) which provided some excellent results.

MD/441U-3

RRP: £155.80

The 441U-3 is what Sennheiser call a "road and sound" version of their extremely successful MD441U microphone. As in the original 441U design, the soundfield is of a supercardioid pattern. However, the extensive tonal variability of the 441U (two frequency response settings, brilliance switch and a five stage bass control) are refined into an optimised bass response and a two position tone selector — switching between a flat response and an accentuated presence (basically a 2dB cut in frequencies up to 2.5kHz, and an increase of 2-3dB for frequencies above 3kHz). Other than that, the 441U-3 has given the unmistakable looks of the 441 a new lease of life with a 'cool' shade of matt black splashed all over.

In use, the overall tonal quality is full of depth and clarity without harshness, and in an amplified situation the depth of tone is still retained without a hint of muddiness, even without the use of the presence switch. In miking-up brass instruments, I found the presence switch able to give the instruments a little more 'natural' bite, without the addition of harshness or sibilance to the tone. The audible level of handling noise was negligible with even the roughest treatment and 'construction-wise' this microphone looks as if it could withstand the most enthusiastic bashes from a Roger Daltrey swing...

By the way, a new mike holder has been designed for this mike (which was often a source of anxiety with the 441...), which completes a very versatile microphone design.

MKH/406 P48

RRP: £246.70

This is the most expensive of the three microphones I am reviewing this month, and unlike the other two is a high frequency condenser microphone requiring a 48V phantom power supply.

The various types of microphone in the Sennheiser range can be identified by the preceding model code letters; for example, the previous two mikes being of the Dynamic species are of the 'MD' group, and this condenser is of the 'MKH' type (which incidentally stands for "Hochfrequenz-Kondensator-Mikrofone" backwards...). These microphones use a high frequency circuit, and instead of the usual polarization voltage, there is only an RF voltage of 10V generated by a low noise oscillator (8mHz) across the capsule. This type of mike is characterised by maximum pulse fidelity and a high signal-to-noise ratio. A glance at the accompanying frequency/output graph (both the 441U-3 and the MKH/406P-48 are accompanied by an individually drawn chart for each mike) will reveal a very high output level in addition to an almost perfectly straight line from 70Hz to 15kHz, with only a drop of 2dB up to 20kHz! However, as I am making a conscious effort to avoid quoting specs, this microphone basically shows great potential on the spec sheet. In a studio environment, this potential translates into an extremely versatile microphone able to handle extremely high sound pressure levels with a frequency independent cardioid response.

One practical test that I performed on this unsuspecting mike, was to mike-up an acoustic drum kit with my regular (and therefore, familiar) configuration of microphones, and then I replaced each mike — one at a time — with the 406P, to get a 'feel' for its characteristic sound. The final impression that I came to in this way was simply a very even, overall tone on percussive instruments, and an especially tight bass end. This was particularly noticeable on the increased depth it was able to add to a snare drum, and the resistance it has to excessive ringing on the toms.

Of the other instruments it performed admirably on an upright piano, and was 'first class' for lead vocals — dry and deep is how I would describe this one...

Conclusion

It gets a little tedious praising things all the time but in these cases there really was nothing to criticise. Sennheiser are still living up to their reputation for quality products and are certainly not relying on their past successes. Physically, they are all very attractive and performance-wise they get the official thumbs up.

SENNHEISER MICROPHONES — RRP: From £53 to £246.70