Difference between newer & older neumann 87's

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I picked one up recently. It is an earlyer model, i think 80's. I know
this because it has a power meter and thats what I was told. But what
are the other differneces? Whats the "Ai" mean on the new ones?

Does anyone own the TAB-funkenwerk V-78. Im looking in to that as a
pre?

Thanks
Nace

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <bb39f2dd.0503211510.1b873c33@posting.google.com> justin.nace@rogers.com writes:

> I picked one up recently. It is an earlyer model, i think 80's. I know
> this because it has a power meter and thats what I was told.

The earlier U87 had a compartment for two 22.5V batteries so the mic
could be used without phantom power. That "power meter" is a battery
voltage indicator.

> But what
> are the other differneces? Whats the "Ai" mean on the new ones?

Ai means it's a newer model, maybe XLR connector, maybe US model.
Newer ones have higher output than the original model.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

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Nace, the other reply in this thread pretty much explains it. The
original U 87 was introduced in 1967 and the U 87Ai was introduced
as its successor in 1986. They use the same capsule type overall,
but in a slightly different arrangement: the backplates were kept
separate electrically in the U 87, but are connected in the U 87Ai.
Thus the newer one actually follows the same scheme as the old tube
models U 67 and M 269, and uses the same capsule head.

The U 87Ai is about 8 - 10 dB more sensitive depending on your
pattern choice, and 3 - 6 dB quieter in terms of "equivalent" noise
level. The one thing that was lost in the upgrade was about 5 dB of
headroom--the mike clips at about 117 dB SPL now, instead of the
ca. 122 dB SPL limit of the older model.

I wonder why they decided to make it SO much more sensitive than
before, when they could just as well have split the difference! The
U 87 is often used for close vocal miking, and there are singers who
can produce 120+ dB SPL. For that reason I prefer the older type of
U 87, but that's clearly at the cost of increased noise levels.

The one place where I disagree with J.P. Gerard's reply is that I'd
say the newer amplifier circuit has the same sonic qualities as the
older one (not "more open sounding" )--it just has a different gain
structure and a DC/DC converter that boosts the 48 Volt phantom power
to 60 VDC to polarize the capsule. That circuit replaces the battery
compartment, so the newer model has to be powered externally. That's
no big loss for most people--it's getting harder and harder to find
those 22.5 V photoflash batteries. Until last year they were common
in Radio Shack stores, but not any more.

--best regards

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Nace Wrote:
> I picked one up recently. It is an earlyer model, i think 80's. I know
> this because it has a power meter and thats what I was told. But what
> are the other differneces? Whats the "Ai" mean on the new ones?
>
> Does anyone own the TAB-funkenwerk V-78. Im looking in to that as a
> pre?

The capsule in the "A" is a kk-67 which is a dual backplate design...
the capsule in the one you have is a kk-87 which is a single backplate
design... that and the amplifier is different [the "A" employs the U-89
amplifier which is cleaner and clearer and in my opinion lacks 'depth'
and 'cojones'.

The "A" denotes the different capsule and 'updated' amplifier... the
"i" means it has an XLR output [some way early FET Neumann mics had a
screw on Tuchel connector... this is the derivation of the "i"
designation]

The V-78M is a wonderful little feller... whadda ya wanna know about
it?


--
Fletcher

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

justin.nace@rogers.com (Nace) wrote in message news:<bb39f2dd.0503211510.1b873c33@posting.google.com>...
> I picked one up recently. It is an earlyer model, i think 80's. I know
> this because it has a power meter and thats what I was told. But what
> are the other differneces? Whats the "Ai" mean on the new ones?
>
> Does anyone own the TAB-funkenwerk V-78. Im looking in to that as a
> pre?
>
> Thanks
> Nace

thanks for the facts guys...


hi roach.