Microphones - The Neumann D-01

The Neumann D-01

We Chose the Neumann D-01 because Neumann are the De-Facto Standard when it comes to top-end Studio Condenser Mics and the D-01 (although not yet released) will be a Technological Breakthrough when it's finally available .....(blimey this is sounding like a sales pitch !!)

The thing about this Mic is that it has a built in Digital Encoder that converts the Analogue Signal into a Digital one within the Mic and transmits it via a Standard Balanced XLR Cable as a 24 Bit Signal.

Costs ; Likely to be between £3000-7000 depending on Accessories (Cradle, Software etc..)Comms&Sound.com, Soundlightltd.com, mveducation.com

Application ; High-end Studio Condenser Mic for Vocals & Instruments

Meets professional audio production requirements and permits recording with no “bottlenecks” or loss of signal quality. Unreleased yet but to be used as a high-end analog studio microphone.
Analog studio microphone. Uses digital technology though so gives fantastic dynamic range.

Type ; Condenser Mic

Used with Mac or PC as a remote controlling center for recording. Features an extremely wide dynamic range of more than 130dB. Phantom powering.

Connector ; Standard 3 Pin XLR Connector - which can carry Analogue Audio and/or 24 Bit Digital, AES/EBU

Polar Patterns ; (see seperate post for diags..)

Directional characteristic: 15 remote controllable polar patterns, from omni to cardioid to figure-8 OMNI Cardiod Figure 8

Pro's & Cons ; Hard to say as the Mic is not released yet - but a Common Misconception with Studio Engineers Recording a Single Vocal or Instrument is to put the Mic into Cardiod Mode and wonder why the Sound becomes thin and 'tinny'. This is because Neumann Mics (and other Condenser Mics) historically use Phase Cancellation to achieve a Cardiod Response and this can affect the quality of the sound - so the Rule is use Omni unless you have good reason not to !

Frequency Response ; 20 Hz to 20 kHz

Frequency response refers to the way a microphone responds to different frequencies. It is a characteristic of all microphones that some frequencies are exaggerated and others are attenuated (reduced). For example, a frequency response which favours high frequencies means that the resulting audio output will sound more trebly than the original sound.