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Sennheiser MKH-416T hiss


MicaelN

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Hey guys,

 

I bought a second-hand Sennheiser MKH-416T a while ago and have come to realize that it has prominent hiss  above 10kHz. Take a look at this spectrogram.

I sent the microphone to my local Sennheiser representatives for repair but got it back “without any detected malfunction”.

Is this hiss to be expected?

I had to spend precious time on my latest film removing that damn hiss, which – luckily – isn’t present in a real critical frequency range, but still it’s audible and annoying.

Any insights on how to handle this problem?

Thanks a lot!

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416T's have a bit of hiss, but not an unusual amount unless you are comparing them to an MKH 50 or 60.

I think my Sanken CS3E has a similar level of noise.

I would examine the preamps and gain structure of your mixer, and ask whether you regularly leave empty channels potted up.

Any of those elements could add hiss to a mic that sennheiser says is normal.

 

Cheers,

Brent Calkin

 

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On 6/30/2018 at 2:29 PM, berniebeaudry said:

You could send it to Pete Verrando and get it modded to 48 volts.

 

Sadly I'm from Europe so I don't think I'm going to take up on that advice, but are you saying T-Powered mics can be more troublesome than P48 ?

 

 

On 6/30/2018 at 7:29 AM, Freeheel said:

I would examine the preamps and gain structure of your mixer, and ask whether you regularly leave empty channels potted up.

 

 

I have tried the microphone on another preamp and other microphones on the preamp, and have concluded the problem lies in the 416.

And the spectrogram shows the noise is nowhere near as evenly distributed... there's a lot more noise above 10kHz, which I think indicates some form of anomaly going on...   

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On July 2, 2018 at 12:45 PM, MicaelN said:

 

Sadly I'm from Europe so I don't think I'm going to take up on that advice, but are you saying T-Powered mics can be more troublesome than P48 ?

 

 

 

I have tried the microphone on another preamp and other microphones on the preamp, and have concluded the problem lies in the 416.

And the spectrogram shows the noise is nowhere near as evenly distributed... there's a lot more noise above 10kHz, which I think indicates some form of anomaly going on...   

 

I don't know that T Powered mics can be more troublesome but they would indeed be much older since its been a long time since they've been manufactured.  At least that's what I surmise.  What mixer/recorder are you using this mic with just out of curiosity?.  

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If it is inflated prices because of import duties, I believe I read on Pete’s site that there are no import duties if you send your mics to him from overseas, since you’re not buying a product. You just list it as a repair on the paperwork. He’s got more info there. I have no experience with him, just was thinking about getting a 416t and having it converted and came across his site.

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Like Sennheiser said, their may be nothing wrong with your mic, and the T-powered MKH416T should not be any noisier than the 48Vph version. However, it depends entirely on how noisy the 12V power source is. Unlike phantom power, the T power method puts the powering voltage directly on the microphone output, so any noise on the DC voltage is amplified by the mic preamp. This is the main reason mixer manufacturers stopped including the T-power feature on their preamps, because the internal switching power supplies used in almost all modern devices cannot be made quiet enough to be acceptable for T-power.

 

It's been decades since there's been any benefit to having a T-powered mic, so I suggest getting Pete Varrando to convert it for you.

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