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Post by watchtower on Jun 5, 2015 13:04:52 GMT -6
I just got a pair of vintage KM84s, and a vintage AKG C451EB with CK1. Another 451EB is on the way. I'm not sure why it hasn't arrived yet actually, as it technically got to the US before this other one that was delivered yesterday. I've been wanting a pair of KM84s for years, and honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to get a pair, but now I have them, and they are amazing. The C451EB is shockingly good, as well. I was blown away by it. Online they are described as "thin and bright," but this one is not thin AT ALL, and it's not excessively bright, either. It just has a little more air than the 84, which would be excellent on the right sources, and other than that, is really surprisingly similar to the KM84 on acoustic guitar. Expect shootouts. I already did one on acoustic (including the Miktek C5). Will post later. I will do one for overheads (as that's what I got the mics for, most of all), but have to wait for the second 451EB to arrive  |
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Post by svart on Jun 5, 2015 13:06:55 GMT -6
Thumbs up for KM84s!
Looks like a mix-match of parts, but if they work like they say, who cares!
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Post by watchtower on Jun 5, 2015 13:28:48 GMT -6
Thumbs up for KM84s! Looks like a mix-match of parts, but if they work like they say, who cares! They certainly are. Due to time constraints, I had to order two singles rather than wait around for someone selling a pair. The nickel KM84 has a new KK84 capsule, and is wired for 50 ohms output. It features a red dot next to the serial number, so was likely an export to the US and came from Neumann that way. The matte black is from Europe and wired for 200 ohms, and the capsule appears vintage. So there is an expected 6dB difference between them due to the different output impedance, but other than that volume difference, they sound identical to me, at least on voice. We will see on other sources, but so far I'm very impressed. |
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Post by svart on Jun 5, 2015 13:34:36 GMT -6
Thumbs up for KM84s! Looks like a mix-match of parts, but if they work like they say, who cares! They certainly are. Due to time constraints, I had to order two singles rather than wait around for someone selling a pair. The nickel KM84 has a new KK84 capsule, and is wired for 50 ohms output. It features a red dot next to the serial number, so was likely an export to the US and came from Neumann that way. The matte black is from Europe and wired for 200 ohms, and the capsule appears vintage. So there is an expected 6dB difference between them due to the different output impedance, but other than that volume difference, they sound identical to me, at least on voice. We will see on other sources, but so far I'm very impressed. I have a pair of KM184 like this, one is an older silver 1st gen with a mismatched capsule, and the other is a black newer version with all the fixes for the RF problems they had, etc. The KM184 isn't quite the cat's meow that the KM84 is, but it's close and I'll never give them up, they are great!. |
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Post by watchtower on Jun 5, 2015 14:33:29 GMT -6
They certainly are. Due to time constraints, I had to order two singles rather than wait around for someone selling a pair. The nickel KM84 has a new KK84 capsule, and is wired for 50 ohms output. It features a red dot next to the serial number, so was likely an export to the US and came from Neumann that way. The matte black is from Europe and wired for 200 ohms, and the capsule appears vintage. So there is an expected 6dB difference between them due to the different output impedance, but other than that volume difference, they sound identical to me, at least on voice. We will see on other sources, but so far I'm very impressed. I have a pair of KM184 like this, one is an older silver 1st gen with a mismatched capsule, and the other is a black newer version with all the fixes for the RF problems they had, etc. The KM184 isn't quite the cat's meow that the KM84 is, but it's close and I'll never give them up, they are great!. Yeah, I bet they are awesome. I've never gotten to use the KM184, and actually I had never used a KM84 before receiving these. I'm just especially happy these mics sound so great since I bought them "sight unheard" haha |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 5, 2015 16:39:13 GMT -6
Dude - that's awesome. In my experience, the km84's are just a must. There aren't many mics that seem to work on everything, but this is one of them. I'm interested in the 451EB too. I had a new 451 and thought it was good but too bright. I'd be interested to hear what the difference was.
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
Posts: 16,107 
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Post by ericn on Jun 5, 2015 17:48:31 GMT -6
Wow your going to love the 84s !
The differeance between new and old 451's , old ones have life new ones are just eh, why did I buy this thing!
Had a great deal on a pair of the new ones , put them up on a gig listed them on ebay the next day!
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Post by drbill on Jun 5, 2015 21:41:52 GMT -6
I've got 3 of each, and the older 451/e/EB's and 452E/EB's are great. I call em "nashville" bright. Definitely brighter and zingier than a KM84, but in a really cool, nice way. Great for jazz overheads, guitars that need to be brighter, etc.. AND, do yourself a favor and see if you can find a CK5 for vocals. It's a CK1 built into a pop filter - looks like a live dynamic mic. Pure Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, 1970;s. Very sweet. AND THEN, get yourself some CK22's. Omni's. Those are super warm and all the zingyness of the CK1's is completely gone. Very useful. Those older ones seem to have a little more variance in them than I've found in the 84's.
If you want something "in the middle" of the two brightness wise, Gefell mv-692 preamp bodies with M70 or m94 SDC caps. Very sweet and of course they have the venerable M71/UM70 LDC screw on caps with true heritage legit M7' capsules in them from Gefell. To die for. A desert island mic, but for strictly SDC duties, the 84's almost always rule out over AKG's or the 184's by a pretty large margin for me. I do love the gefells too though.
BTW, the newer 451's pale in comparison. They shouldn't even be allowed to share the number IMO.
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