Sennheiser ME66 & K6 for $320. Deal or no deal?

StormFactory

StormFactory

Well-known member
I just bought a Sennheiser ME66 and a K6 power module for under $320 dollars at auction. I was wondering if I got a good deal or not?
 
Sorry to be blunt and honest - you got a good price on a fairly poor mic. Sell it on ebay and get yourself (at a minimum) an Audio Technica 4073a (or better, watch for a used Sennheiser 416 - that's a good mic).

Phil
 
It came with the ME66 microphone, K6, and foam windscreen packaged in the Sennheiser case. Everything was in perfect condition. Did a quick sound test and it works great. Thanks for the help.
 
ptalsky said:
Sorry to be blunt and honest - you got a good price on a fairly poor mic. Sell it on ebay and get yourself (at a minimum) an Audio Technica 4073a (or better, watch for a used Sennheiser 416 - that's a good mic).

Phil
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It's better than what I had. And in the quick test sounded pretty good to me.

So how poor is it? Saying that it's poor, I'm wondering if you're being super technical or is it really is that poor? Without a side by side is there that much a difference? In reading through posts on the sound forum it seems like there is no one answer or product to getting good sound.

I think most people (the audience) would not be able to tell a great difference between most of the mics in this test http://dvestore.com/theatre/mics_guide.html. Especially after a final mix. Just like most people would never notice the difference between a 64bit 3.2Mhz computer over a 64bit 2.8Mhz dual core computer. Because most people just check e-mail, surf the web, and use Word. One is clearly "better" than the other, but the full dynamic aspect will only be fully realized by people like us who would be considered power users.

A lot of times, I think we can get bogged down in the stats, benchtests, and techy-ness of various things like cameras, mics, etc. Getting all "the best" equipment will not take the place of a great story or engaging direction.
 
StormFactory said:
A lot of times, I think we can get bogged down in the stats, benchtests, and techy-ness of various things like cameras, mics, etc. Getting all "the best" equipment will not take the place of a great story or engaging direction.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, but this is the audio section. And all the great story or award winning direction aint gonna save your ass from poor sound ruining your picture. $$$$ spent in post will; if you want to redo all your sync sound but the goal here is to get the best audio as early in the chain as possible. Saves you time, $$$, headaches, and more often then not gets you a better performance.

A good story without sound or picture, we call a novel. A good story told with no picture is radio. A story told with good picture but no audio has not been done too well or often in about 60 years (even then they had a soundtrack).

I really don't think we need to start a whole debate on why we are out to record a quality soundtrack and if things like "techy-ness" were not important to getting a good soundtrack then I could sit thru more then one minute of most student films.

StormFactory said:
So how poor is it? Saying that it's poor, I'm wondering if you're being super technical or is it really is that poor? Without a side by side is there that much a difference? In reading through posts on the sound forum it seems like there is no one answer or product to getting good sound.

I think most people (the audience) would not be able to tell a great difference between most of the mics in this test
Click to expand...

Poor mics bring a very harsh and unnatural sound to the human voice. Psychologically your listener will get fatigued listening to unpleasant voices for 90 minutes (try listening to that Urkle kid for more then 2 minutes). There are things you can do in post to "warm" up a speaker's voice but it is limited and there simply is nothing better then getting it good on-set.

All that said, the reason so many here dump on the ME66 is not because it the worst sounding mic out there but that it is sold at a price that will buy you much better mics like the AT4073 or for a few hundred more a Sanken cs1 (I don't like it much but it sounds better then the ME66) or a used 416. If the ME66 were more in the sub-$300 category I would stop persecuting it.

If you already own an ME66 then enjoy it. Someday you may want better but you have already spent your money so make the best of it. If, OTOH, you are in the market for a shotgun, your $500 can buy something that is night and day/apples & oranges better for most applications.

Lastly, as we keep saying in here; how you use the microphone is far more critical to getting good sound then which model of mic you buy.

Cheers
 
I just bought an ME66/K6 set and I'm just wondering...is it missing the XLR connector? Do I have to buy one seperately? I'm assuming so, but it's sort of like getting a horse without a saddle. Or a motorbike without wheels.
 
Are you sure you got the K6?
K6_hires.jpg
 
I just got an ME66 and I think it's a superb mic. And the modular system makes it a better investment than other mics, in my opinion.
 
For less than the Street Price of an ME66 you could get an entire Location Sound Package:

RODE NTG-2 Shotgun Mic
RODE 10' Boom Pole
K-TEK Zeppelin Fuzzy Windscreen
RODE Shockmount
AT 20' and 1.5 cable



I think I'd rather have the additional tools to get the mic closer to the subject in a windy environment. To each their own as far as the sound quality of the mic. Some prefer the warmth of the RODE over the Sennheiser.

I wish I would have had a Sennheiser wind muff in our shotgun examples but it normally is not included with the mic. It does sound a bit crisper in the highs (which it tends to anyway).

The ME66 is a nice sounding mic, if you have one, don't feel bad, but if you're shopping, I'd think about the other pieces you're going to need. Lots of good posts in here about what to get, just depends on your needs and your budget.

-Guy
 
Hey Guy,
I think I might order that package. Looks great for the price. Does that fuzzy windscreen go over the shock mount?
 
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