Microphones that need no EQ for singing

Cinderella complex again.


Recently the unknown? AKG MI 201-100 (830Ω) sounded fantastic directly connected to Uher 4200.


Everything was there. Loud, no bass heaviness, no treble heaviness, beautiful presence smooth mid range.


So it was decided to connect the AKG MI 201-100 directly to Sony TC-D5 Pro used as mic pre and headphone drive amp.


Amazing sound again. Sending to the cleaners so may expensive mics.


Signal path, setup:


singing male voice at 1-4in - Mic under test - Sony TC-D5 Pro - Sennheiser HD580


(Absolute phase with respect to monitoring headphones must always be checked and corrected as mics differ).


(A mic must be tested by singing not speaking).


Then the Sennnhsier MD611 M was tried. It sounded nice but more bass and treble heavy.


The Philips N8.207/00 sounds great but still a bit bass heavy and treble heavy.


Then the Beyer M55 (which can be found on eBay even cheaper as wrongly written Bayer M55) sounds great too. No bass or treble heaviness.


It depends on the song type, the AKG MI 201-100 may sound even more natural. It sounds louder too as it is 667Ω impedance.


Then the Electro-Voice 635a was tried. Great sound but more bass and treble heavy.


Then the Sony F-96 was tested. Nice but bass heavy and lower output.


So so far:


Mics with no EQ needed for male singing voice:


AKG MI 201-100
Beyer M55


The Grampian DP4 may be in the list but the particular great sounding L type (25Ω) had to be connected to a low inductance transformer, see relevant Pleiades V6 booster amp experiments.


Schaub Lorentz SM200 directional mic at 4in or a bit more


It is funny but the AKG MI 201-100 sounds so natural connected (and recorded) to the Uher 4200 that no Pleiades V6 booster amplifier may be needed. If this is the case it would be a great relief of a setup that sounds correct from singer's brain to listener's brain by just connecting the cable of a mic to a world class recorder.


Further reading: Flat frequency response from transmitter brain to receiver brain, Sound Picture Recording and Reproducing Characteristics - D. P. Lowe, K. F. Morgan - JSMPE






It may have to be done "wrong" so that it sounds correct.