Why won't Neumann reissue the 47 & 67?

47: VF14, PVC capsule.

67: dunno.

Both: Sennheiser barely puts money and time into the neutered U87i they make today.. so yeah, it's probably all about profit. They couldn't sell it for cheap, therefore they won't have enough people buy them to make up the costs of development, let alone make huge profits they require.

From all the hashing we've been reading:
1) The 67 can be done completely but not cost effective?
Because they're still making the capsule (ie: TLM-67) & the EF86 tubes is one of the most common.
2) The 47 (& 49) are a little more of a complex situation?
Again, their capsules are still being made (both Neumann & Thiersch) but the tubes (VF14, AC701) are depleted or non-existent.
Not sure about the transformers but Oliver Archut supposedly had them down pat.
3) The 12/251 is a matter of the capsule. But this one I never understood why AKG couldn't put an entire team to "recreate" the
CK-12.

I guess it all boils down to cost effectiveness in all of them! And now with Harmon & Sennheiser running things who knows what
is expected of these companies!
But I think about the question a lot. Why can't they just do it & see what happens? Or am I too naive?

...shake off the nostalgia...comparable options exist, in many cases for far less money than if Neumann (Sennheiser) or AKG reissued them...even the "unobtainium tubes" talk is a good part mythology...capsules, transformers, resistors and capacitors (of higher quality) are available...you can even buy the Neumann badges if it makes you feel better...

...and even if those classics were reissued by the original manufacturers, you know they would be critiqued to death for not living up to the vintage versions...it's all bullshyte...sorry, don't believe the hype...the only difference is "old" vs "new"...

I think we would have to quantify "demand", huh? I wonder what the Sennheiser bean counters deem enough market interest to spin up design and manufacturing.

Brad

Andreas Grosser has developed a FET version of the VF14 that sounds so close to the real thing, that I couldn't hear a difference when I tried both at his place. The tube was more noisy, but that was it. He gave me the option of building a 47 for me with the tube or with his FET replacement. I could have chosen the tube version, and I really, really wanted to, but I went for the FET, no noise, not problems down the road with an old tube, same price, no contest. And, if ever I decide I want a tube after all, I just pop out the FET and put a VF14 in. Simple as that. Andreas' FET uses the same socket as the tube.

As for the 67, I really would like to see a faithful recreation at an affordable price. Old U67s go for over 6,000 euros here.

For a U67 recreation, there would be no need of engineers or new processes. Most of the parts are on their shelves or in their bins, and if not can easily be obtained. It's not expensive, but it will take away sales from TLM67s, U87ais TLM103s, TLM107s and Sennheiser's other self-branded microphones. Therein lies the rub!

Now, to address the point of the U47 recreation with anything thrown into it and just put it on the market... consider the TLM67. Blech.

If Rode had paid me $65,000 for the design of the NT-2 I'd still be doing backflips. However, that is not the case in the world of semi-pro audio.

As to Sennheiser, look at what they are selling, they are into new, solid state electronic switchable pattern surface mount automated designs. It's the same reason Chevy doesn't go back and make the classic 57 Bel Air.

The U-47 isn't going to happen because the tube was discontinued during the '50s and the hand-made capsules had been smuggled in from their old plant in East Germany that is now back in the hands of the Neumann family.

They have reissued U67s a few times. I suspect at this point there are issues with both EU environmental laws and obtaining parts that make it next to impossible to do anything that wouldn't just be another emulation. Most people don't realize that integrated circuits have displaced most of the common electronic parts that used to be used for building audio gear. I've also never found a new EF-86 that didn't go noisy after just a few months.

just build this and save $7,000, you'll probably never pick it out in a blind against a real U67 unless it's cowboycoalminer's 8)

We, the People, of the forum, will unite to form a perfect union that will become a dealership in order to provide 10K of the membership a microphone worthy of their talent & investment in this venture.

The reality is, there's no market for it. People SAY they will pay $6k for a re-release, but when it comes time to put up their CC number, that number shrinks to next to nothing. Neumann et al are smart businessmen and they would do it in a heartbeat if they met their numbers.

That would be an insult to all employees at Neumann here in Berlin.