At the NAB Show in Las Vegas, Sennheiser announced the introduction of two new shotgun models.
The MKH 8060 is a versatile short shotgun, which features a compact size and light weight for camera mounting and boom pole applications.
The MKH 8070 is a long shotgun, which is ideal for sports broadcast and nature recording applications that require high directivity.
Sennheiser’s new shotguns are members of the MKH series, which uses the radio-frequency principle to resist the effects of cold and moisture.
Both models suppress off-axis sound without coloration, resulting in an extremely pleasing, natural sound.
“Natural, lifelike sound was our top priority in the development of these new shotguns,” explained Kai Lange, product manager for professional wired microphones at Sennheiser’s global headquarters in Germany.
“Traditional shotgun microphones can color the sound if not aimed precisely at the sound source. This can be particularly troublesome in interview situations, where the character of the speaker’s voice can alter.”
“Unwanted off-axis coloration has been virtually eliminated by our new interference tube design, which offers superior, natural-sounding suppression of off-axis sound sources. This advance proves particularly beneficial indoors, where room reflections can significantly color the sound.”
Both condenser microphones work on the RF principle that Sennheiser has refined for over 50 years to achieve absolute perfection.
The benefits are extremely low inherent self-noise, which means that even the finest sound structures remain intact, as well as high climatic resistance and low distortion with relatively high output signal voltages.
RF microphones are inherently fully floating and balanced, eliminating the need for additional balancing circuits or transformers to protect against external interference.
The MKH 8060 lives up to its name as a short gun: the microphone measures just 5.7 inches and weighs a mere 4 ounces (with XLR module), making it ideal for use as a camera or boom microphone.
Its range of applications includes outdoor recordings, studio applications for film and television or as an audience microphone for mixing audience reactions. “We are setting a new industry standard with this microphone,” Lange explained. “It is compact, light, easy to handle and really has an exceptionally natural sound.”
The MKH 8070 features an extreme directivity that enables even very distant sounds and events to be reliably recorded. For broadcasters, this microphone will be ideal for sports events, as well as for film and television recordings, both in the studio and outdoors. It is also especially useful for nature and wildlife recordings.
As members of the modular MKH 8000 family, both microphones can transform into AES42 digital microphones with the addition of the MZD 8000 digital module. Combined with the DMI 2 portable interface from Neumann, the new 8000 Series shotguns will be ideal for mobile, digital broadcasting.
An optional filter module (MZF 8000) adds a switchable -10dB pad and switchable roll-off filter to the microphone, which further suppresses any wind noise that penetrates a ‘hairy’ cover and basket windshield.
For especially unobtrusive use of the MKH 8060, the XLR module can be remotely connected to the capsule body via an extension cable (MZL 8003 / MZL 8010). Thus, the microphone can be mounted onto smaller cameras or used for more unobtrusive fixed positioning in a TV studio. As with all MKH 8000 Series microphones, modules and accessories, the MKH 8060 and MKH 8070 are Nextel-coated to avoid unwanted reflections.
