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Published on 07/19/11 at 10:04
Not every microphone manufacturing company has the kind of microphone in the class that the Sennheiser MD 431 fits in. I never got my hands on the apparent successor, the Sennheiser MD 431 II, but the MD 431 in and of itself is absolutely stunning. At any rate, the Sennheiser MD 431 is in that range of monstrous premium microphones that venues seem to own more often than artists. It sits in that same class as the Audio Technica Artist Elite, the Shure KSM's, the Neumann KMS's. Any one of these microphones or series of microphones will blow the mainstays away when it comes to vocals, so there really is not that much to say.
The Sennheiser MD 431 is a dynamic microphone. That is a big deal, because at its price point, one would expect to start seeing condensers. Not so with the MD 431. Unless you actually hear or use it in comparison to one of the lower end standards, you cannot be impressed by this microphone, because the specifications do not market the microphone well: It is a supercardioid microphone (so it does have some higher end stigma attached) but again, it is a dynamic, and it has an initially disappointing frequency response of only 40-16,000 Hz.
But this microphone sings nonetheless. What I find particularly bizarre about this microphone is that the frequency graph shows a slight rise in a sibilance area and the air area, so even though it blew me away on my own voice, perhaps it may not work on someone else as well, and one of the other high end stage microphones will work better. Do not get me wrong; the 431 still blows the cheaper microphones right out of the water; owning Shures is just the slightest bit disappointing after using this, but I digress.
OVERALL OPINION
You must understand, at this price point, the microphone had better be good. If you get one new, you'll likely be grabbing the MD 431 II, which is quite good as well. One thing I always bug myself about is the on/off switch, just because I am a non-utilitarian elitist who thinks his microphones should look as simple as Macbooks. However, this microphone is a fantastic offering from a company that generally never steers anyone in the wrong direction, ever.
The Sennheiser MD 431 is a dynamic microphone. That is a big deal, because at its price point, one would expect to start seeing condensers. Not so with the MD 431. Unless you actually hear or use it in comparison to one of the lower end standards, you cannot be impressed by this microphone, because the specifications do not market the microphone well: It is a supercardioid microphone (so it does have some higher end stigma attached) but again, it is a dynamic, and it has an initially disappointing frequency response of only 40-16,000 Hz.
But this microphone sings nonetheless. What I find particularly bizarre about this microphone is that the frequency graph shows a slight rise in a sibilance area and the air area, so even though it blew me away on my own voice, perhaps it may not work on someone else as well, and one of the other high end stage microphones will work better. Do not get me wrong; the 431 still blows the cheaper microphones right out of the water; owning Shures is just the slightest bit disappointing after using this, but I digress.
OVERALL OPINION
You must understand, at this price point, the microphone had better be good. If you get one new, you'll likely be grabbing the MD 431 II, which is quite good as well. One thing I always bug myself about is the on/off switch, just because I am a non-utilitarian elitist who thinks his microphones should look as simple as Macbooks. However, this microphone is a fantastic offering from a company that generally never steers anyone in the wrong direction, ever.