matched mics

[guitarman68]

A good friend who does a lot of classical recordings and works as an electronic engineer in his day job did some measuring on Rode NT5 compared with Neumann 184. Surprise: The Rode pair was closer to a matched pair than the Neumann pair. We know that Neumann does not sell their stereo pairs as matched pairs but states that their microphones are so close there is no need for matching (I had a pair of KM184 with consecutive numbers once).
I own a pair of Schoeps MK 4s and use them a lot, as I use a pair of old KM 84s. But to me the matched pair thing seems a bit overrated for what I do (recording finger style guitar, bluegrass, singer / songwriter, blues, Celtic, jazz ...).

If I would be you, I would sent the single Rode back and get the pair - not for better matching but for better price and housing.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by jim1960

That sounds about right since they're not actually "matching" pairs in any hands-on way, just taking two consecutive mics from the assembly line and boxing them together and selling them as a "matched pair." If you don't want to go through the hassle of sending the single back and waiting on the pair, you'll be no worse off.

Here's the actual written script from Rode's website for matched N5 pairs:

"This matched pair has been carefully selected to ensure a variation of no more than 1dB sensitivity between the microphones. A premium foiled certificate is supplied to verify the authenticity of the pair."

Every description of matched pairs I've ever heard of from factory supplied information in the recent past has always stated that individual mics are tested and mated together according to actual tested response curves.

There has been improvements in manufacturing where the quality supposedly does away with the need to do that (as per Neumann...).

I have never seen any information related from any factory that "matched pairs" are simply mics that come off the assembly line consecutively. I'd be happy to be proved wrong, though.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Here's the actual written script from Rode's website for matched N5 pairs:

"This matched pair has been carefully selected to ensure a variation of no more than 1dB sensitivity between the microphones. A premium foiled certificate is supplied to verify the authenticity of the pair."

Every description of matched pairs I've ever heard of from factory supplied information in the recent past has always stated that individual mics are tested and mated together according to actual tested response curves.

There has been improvements in manufacturing where the quality supposedly does away with the need to do that (as per Neumann...).

I have never seen any information related from any factory that "matched pairs" are simply mics that come off the assembly line consecutively. I'd be happy to be proved wrong, though.

Is Rode providing a printout of the individual response curve of each individual microphone it ships? For it to be individual, there would have to be a serial number on the mic and the same serial number on the response curve printout, not just a generic printout for the model number.

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Is Rode providing a printout of the individual response curve of each individual microphone it ships? For it to be individual, there would have to be a serial number on the mic and the same serial number on the response curve printout, not just a generic printout for the model number.

What Rudy4 quoted from Rode is that the ‘matched pairs’ are ‘selected’ to have ‘sensitivity’ within 1dB of each other.

‘Sensitivity’ is only specified at 1KHz, not over the frequency response curve. So Rode’s ‘matching’ has some merit, but most buyers probably don’t know, or understand, the limitations of their matching criteria.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

What Rudy4 quoted from Rode is that the ‘matched pairs’ are ‘selected’ to have ‘sensitivity’ within 1dB of each other.

‘Sensitivity’ is only specified at 1KHz, not over the frequency response curve. So Rode’s ‘matching’ has some merit, but most buyers probably don’t know, or understand, the limitations of their matching criteria.

Lots of manufacturers makes claims. I'm curious if Rode is actually doing what they're saying. If they're not providing the frequency curve for each individual mic, I'm a bit skeptical.

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Lots of manufacturers makes claims. I'm curious if Rode is actually doing what they're saying. If they're not providing the frequency curve for each individual mic, I'm a bit skeptical.

At their price point I'm surprised at what they're claiming, but for sensitivity matching they don't need the actual frequency curve measurements (which would require many discrete measurements over their entire frequency range). They only need a single measurement at 1KHz for each mic. They also don't need to 'adjust' the sensitivity of the mics; they would simply sort the mics and select pairs that have similar sensitivity at 1KHz.

But yes, it's hard to say if they are really doing this, and if so, how well.

[ChuckS]

@urbanfarmer

Hey Jeff,
If I was buying a pair of Rode NT5's I'd get the matched pair.

Send me an e-mail or PM the next time you go to see Phil Heywood at the Dubliner; it would be nice to meet up with you.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

What Rudy4 quoted from Rode is that the ‘matched pairs’ are ‘selected’ to have ‘sensitivity’ within 1dB of each other.

‘Sensitivity’ is only specified at 1KHz, not over the frequency response curve. So Rode’s ‘matching’ has some merit, but most buyers probably don’t know, or understand, the limitations of their matching criteria.

My point in quoting the Rode website material is that whatever criteria Rode uses to "match" it's more than just providing mics that rolled off the assembly line consecutively, which is what was stated.

I've had Beyerdynamic mics that had individual response charts shipped with the mic, but that sort of attention to detail is associated with a commensurate increase in price.

For the average home recording enthusiast "factory matched mics" are going to ensure a good starting point.

We can keep shifting the goal post for what constitutes "matched microphones", but what's the point?

[Glennwillow]

Hi UF,

I don't think you will ever notice that two Rode NT5 mics are not "matched." However, buying them as a matched set, as Derek has pointed out, does provide you some price advantages.

I would suggest calling your Sweetwater salesperson and talking to him/her about this. He/she will probably come up with a good solution for you.

By the way, I have a pair of Rode NT5 mics. I've been using them for years. I also have both cardioid and omni capsules for these mics. They are very cost-effective and work pretty darn well.

- Glenn

[ChuckS]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

My point in quoting the Rode website material is that whatever criteria Rode uses to "match" it's more than just providing mics that rolled off the assembly line consecutively, which is what was stated.

I've had Beyerdynamic mics that had individual response charts shipped with the mic, but that sort of attention to detail is associated with a commensurate increase in price.

For the average home recording enthusiast "factory matched mics" are going to ensure a good starting point.

We can keep shifting the goal post for what constitutes "matched microphones", but what's the point?

I agree.

Matching of Sensitivity to within 1dB is quite good and could be way better than simply grabbing two sequentially produced mics. It is nice that Rode actually states what their criteria is.

[sdelsolray]

Here's actual graphs from a pair of well matched mics.

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by sdelsolray

Here's actual graphs from a pair of well matched mics.

What, Gefell M296? (I just googled and saw a pair listed on this forum 6 years ago for $2k - omnis, hence the very flat measurement, I suspect, too. Vintage King has a single for $1.6k right now.) I'm going out on a limb here, but not a home recording option for most folks...

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

What, Gefell M296? (I just googled and saw a pair listed on this forum 6 years ago for $2k - omnis, hence the very flat measurement, I suspect, too. Vintage King has a single for $1.6k right now.) I'm going out on a limb here, but not a home recording option for most folks...

I love using my Gefells on guitar recordings. I have the M295s and the M300s. Both sets of mikes together are a small amount of money compared to my guitars and other recording gear expenses. That said many very inexpensive mikes do an excellent job.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

What, Gefell M296? (I just googled and saw a pair listed on this forum 6 years ago for $2k - omnis, hence the very flat measurement, I suspect, too. Vintage King has a single for $1.6k right now.) I'm going out on a limb here, but not a home recording option for most folks...

No doubt Gefells are out of reach for many folks, but for those recordists who have multiple high end guitars, they probably are within reach and would be a very nice option. I have an M295 pair that are absolutely wonderful. I recently loaned them to a friend of mine who was recording a (mostly) string band and didn't have enough mic options that would shine on strings. He was blown away by how good they sound.

[Doug Young]

My view on this is that matched mics aren’t as important as what we read on the internet, at least for recording acoustic guitar. As had been mentioned, many people deliberately use unmatched mics. But even the mics are matched exactly, other things won’t be. Our ears for starters, very unlikely that your hearing is identical in each ear. We don’t usually talk about “matched” studio monitors, either, and they should be subject to the same minor variations as mics, I’d think. Even electronic components have tolerances, so each side of a stereo preamp is likely to not be identical. But all these things are “close enough”

If your recording in xy, and truly want mic response to be the same on each side (even tho the guitar itself is not identical sounding on each side) one way to get there is to use Mid-side. As long as the side mic has the same front and back response, you should have a very accurate match. I really like mid-side, I suppose accurate matching could be part if the reason, but more likely I’m hearing true co-incidence, which you can only get close to with 2 mics in xy