On my wish list of stuff to buy is the CMC6. I've used them a few times and have had good luck with them. However, I have a friend who is selling a set of CMC5 and I was curious if the difference between the two is worth holding out for the CMC6? I am actually only worried that the roll off frequency of the CMC5 is 30Hz whereas the CMC6 is "flat" to 20Hz.
Any advice?
Comments
I'm with Moonbaby on this. Most times, you're going to roll of
I'm with Moonbaby on this. Most times, you're going to roll off anything below 40-80hz, depending on the source and it's purity. Pipe organ in a serously quiet hall is one thing, recording a choir in a noisy auditorium with air conditioning rumble is another.
Most importantly, I doubt you'd lose your investment on either mic; both versions would probably return their cash worth (or more) should you sell them at a later date.
I have quite a lot of Schoeps, of various types, and if you're n
I have quite a lot of Schoeps, of various types, and if you're not specifically interested in recording pipe organs with omni capsules, it wouldn't worry me too much.
If you later find that it's a problem, you could always send the mics to Schoeps and have them modified to a lower roll-off point. Either the CMC5 or 6 may be changed to the 'linear' version and specify a roll-off pretty much anywhere down to about 2 or 3 Hz.
The only really relevant difference between the 5 and 6 is in the powering arrangement with the latter able to work on 12-48V and the former needing a nominal 48V.
I have a number of both CMC5's and CMC6's. My 6's are newer and
I have a number of both CMC5's and CMC6's. My 6's are newer and have better RF shielding, but perhaps the newer 5's do, too.
On the roll-off, the 5's are 6db/octave with a corner frequency of 30hz. The 6's are 12db/octave with a 20hz corner. Some people say they prefer the sound of the first-order filter in the 5, but I can't honestly say I have ever noticed a meaningful difference between the two on choral, chamber, and orchestral music. That said, on stereo pairs I don't mix and match.
Don't be afraid of the 5's, but do pay attention the age in any case - especially in RF-rich environments and with all the darn cell phones that people will not turn off in concerts! You can recognize the newer ones by the gold-plated shield in the XLR connector.
I will first admit that I have never used Schoeps microphones. I
I will first admit that I have never used Schoeps microphones. I understand that they are wonderful instruments, though.
My question to you is this:
In what situation will you be recording in that the low frequency response will need to be "flat" down to 20 Hz., vs. a rolloff @ 30 Hz.? Are you wanting more stage rumble and air conditioning interference noise? Seriously, at that portion of the frequency spectrum, I doubt that you would be able to really take advantage of the miniscule difference. If your friend is selling them at a price that is a good discount from a new pair, and you know that they were well-treated in their previous life, I'd say go ahead and take the plunge...