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641 v 8060 v Cmit

 
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MBVOXX
Been Here Awhile


Joined: 03 Jun 2008
Posts: 227
Location: USA

PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2022 6:34 am    Post subject: 641 v 8060 v Cmit Reply with quote

For those who either use a shotgun mic or are considering getting one, this may be of interest.

I've had the opportunity to try out some mics over the past month and found some interesting comparisons to my daily workhorse, the MKH 50.

The mics are:
Sennheiser MKH 8060
Schoeps CMC 641
Schoeps Cmit 5u

I used each mic for a few days, starting with just Mic & Mic Preamp, then added my standard hardware compressor (1176), and finally tried some EQ to see if I could match tracks to previous work done on the MKH 50.

Here's what I found, with my voice, in my room, using 3 different pre amps...
Fearn, Neve, BAE

Week 1 - Schoeps Cmit 5u.
This Schoeps sounds great for VO without engaging any of the frequency control options. I don't see a scenario where those would ever be used and many mic preamps have the same frequency cuts so, for a VO application, they're not needed. Perhaps the Mini Cmit would be a better choice if this particular mic is on one's radar. However, as forgiving off axis as many claim it to be, the Cmit has a very narrow beam. I found it even narrower than a 416. So keeping very still during performance is a must. That actually became a challenge for me unless I concentrated on keeping still, which was a distraction.

Week 2 - Schoeps CMC 641.
The 641 is a fantastic mic. And it's frequency response is almost flat from low end to high end. The sound is the most uncolored I've ever experienced. So much so that I wanted to add some 5-10k range EQ to it to brighten up the highs. Worked close enough it does have a proximity effect but it's smooth and not weighty like an LDC. I found that with 3db of 10k added, it matches perfectly to tracks recorded with the Cmit. So there's that to be considered. Plus, the off axis response is much more favorable than the Cmit. Of the two, the choice would definitely be the 641 for VO work.

Week 3 - Sennheiser MKH 8060.
The days I've spent with the 8060 have been a roller coaster ride of love/hate. At first I thought, 'wow'. Then, on the 2nd day, the honeymoon was over when I found it to bee too colored, too low end heavy, too interference tube sounding. Then, on the 3rd day, I tried some alternate positioning with it and found that positioning the mic laterally to my right and slightly from below, as opposed to the typical above, and rotating the mic so the vents are oriented top/bottom, balanced out the sound and eliminated the typical shotgun mic artifacts. And in this position, worked from about 10 inches away, it wounds wonderful. Plus it's completely out of sight line of the 49" display monitor, where my script is displayed with the Pro Tools session.

Since it's an easy change with the Manley Mic Maid, I switched back to the 641 for a few min, just to compare, and found the 641 now to be too flat and almost lifeless sounding compared to the 8060. So today, the 8060 stays on the boom for the remainder of the week.

In the time I've had these mics in house I've also found that they all sound fantastic with the Fearn mic pre. However, the Neve pre sounds great as well and offers the added feature of EQ, which came in handy with the 641 when I added the 3db of 10k. The BAE 1073 MPF also sounds good and all 3 provide a clean, broadcast quality pre amplification. But the Fearn really makes the 8060 shine with about 30 db of gain. Add a touch of La2a to that and it's money in the bank.

FWIW: I sold my 416 about 6 years ago since I hardly ever used it for VO. And I would agree with others that the 8060 is an improvement over the 416. I love the Schoeps mics for what they are...precise, surgical, audio instruments that are capable of capturing the sound source with natural clarity. And I've used a V4u in the studio for several years for recording acoustic instruments and music vocals. And, BTW, the V4u is very, very close sounding to the 641, with just a bit more of an LDC feature. So there's that to be considered.

Also, before starting this mic test, I spoke with a pro audio guy who does location sound for every type of project one can work in that business. He's mic'd up A list actors on film shoots, boom mic'd studio set shoots, lav'd event speakers, politicians, and everyone in between. He carries the Cmit, 416, CMC 5 and 6 with various capsules including the 41, MKH50, and a bag of lavs and body rigs. When I told him I was testing these mics to compare to my 50 his response was..."you already have the 50, I don't think you'll accomplish much other than spending a lot of money". LOL

So...as of today the 8060 goes up against the MKH50 and we'll see how that plays out. Something tells me though, that when the dust has settled, the advice I received from that audio guy will be right.

But, oh well...it's been fun!


Last edited by MBVOXX on Wed May 18, 2022 5:12 am; edited 1 time in total
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Lance Blair
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Joined: 03 Jun 2007
Posts: 2279
Location: Atlanta

PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2022 1:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great write up, thank you.
I would use the CMC 641 often as a field engineer. Loved it. And, we'd use the MKH 50 in the field to record voiceovers on-set. Great mics.

The 8060 is super from every clip I've heard. Haven't used one yet. I'm just using my Rode NTG3 which has the same high end but more low end and hotter output than the MKH 416.
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