Sennheisers MKH816TF

[Production Houston]

I recently purchased a Nagra 4.2 and I'm looking to buy an 816T to use with it.  I have located an 816TF on eBay an I don't know what the "F" means.  Does anybody have any insight on the 816TF as opposed to the 816T?

[mark kirchner]

James,

Keep in mind Sennheiser does not have parts or repair 815T microphones anymore. I would check to see if repair parts are still in stock for the 816T. Sorry, I do not know what the "F" stands for.

Good Luck,

mark 

[Production Houston]

I almost purchased an 815T, but I did research that the 816T is repairable through sennheiser..but not the 815T.  But I can't find any literature about the 816TF.

[JonG]

F stands for Flat Frequency Response. Regular versions of this mic have a slightly altered frequency response to make up for how these mics sound due to how they operate. Some mixers complained about it, so they made the lesser known F version. 

At least this is the story I was told. 

[David Waelder]

F stands for Flat Frequency Response

Expanding just a bit on Jon's correct reply-

The standard Sennheiser shotgun was designed with a high frequency presence boost to enhance dialog legibility when recording from a distance. The whole purpose of using a shotgun it to gather good audio at a distance from the source so this extra high frequency presence improved results. The boost started around 5 kHz and extended to 8 kHz, tapering off to flat around 10 kHz. (And then attenuating just slightly from 10 kHz to 20 kHz). The boost appears to be about 3 dB at maximum but I'm viewing the frequency graph in an old Sennheiser catalog where it is printed at postage stamp size.

Responding to customer demand, Sennheiser made a version with flat frequency response across the spectrum. It's hard to say what benefit this version provided. I expect that for most buyers it was just a fulfillment of excessive focus on specs over listening evaluations. But the microphones weren't just used for documentaries or recording dialog outdoors; they were also used in studios at only moderate distances from the source. For that particular application, a flat microphone might have been preferred.

In any event, the presence boost was a subtle thing and its absence would also be a subtle variation.

David

[BudRaymond]

Thanks David! What's the difference between 815 and 816?

[Glen Trew]

Yes, the F is for Flat. The problem was that when people used the F version, they complained about it lacking "reach", which was the reason for tailoring the frequency response in the first place. Disasters like the F version are a reason manufacturers are often reluctant to let the market drive engineering philosophies. Don't get an F.

Regarding the 815 and 816, if I recall correctly they sound identical, possibly slightly better noise specs on the 816 due to modern (for the time) circuitry. The most significant (only?) difference is that all 815 mics were T powered only, and the 816 could be had in P48 or T power versions.

gt

[Rick Reineke]

I've used many (silver) 815s in the past (rentals), all of them were T-powered, the latter Phantom Powered 816s were lighter. I don't recall (or didn't notice at the time) any sound difference, though I did experience issues with coming from high-humidity outdoors to cool AC interiors. but again, this was many, many moons ago and I didn't know sh_t  from Shineola.