Best microphone for recording studio voice overs? Sennheiser vs Neumann

B

Budgieboots

Well-known member
Hello,

I am in the market for a microphone dedicated to recording voice overs and narrations in a controlled setting.

I was looking at either the Sennheiser MK8 or a Neumann TLM 102, 103 or 107.

Does anybody have any experience or wisdom they can share regarding capturing great vocal audio?


I already own a Sennheiser MKH50 for use on my boom pole. Its a great mic for that purpose, but using it as a voice over mic, its very sensitive to the slightest "plosive" and I'd rather have something that does one thing, and does it extremely well.
 
Why not the Shure SM7B ? Great V/O microphone, Made in the USA and used in studios everywhere. Or the Electrovoice RE20, another great microphone also made in the USA. Just saying'.
 
When you say “controlled setting”, how controlled? Proper VO booth?

If you’re in an actual voice studio or isolation booth, then the TLM series are pretty widely regarded in the VO world. On the less-expensive end, the RØDE NT-1A is a respectable performer (my go-to).

If you’re not in a completely neutral and properly teated room, then the dynamic mics mentioned by Brian may be a better bet.

Regarding your MKH-50... it could work. Grab a pop screen, and speak across it at a 45º angle and that should do away with plosives.
 
Another RE-20 fan. I had tried multiple mics for my home studio VO needs and they all hated me. Tried the RE20 and was immediately happy.

If you are in that controlled environment you might consider a LDC. I went with a pair of middle of the road, AT-4050 which has a switchable pattern, sounds excellent for voice or music, and didn't break the bank (Sweatwater on sale).. There are lots of economy models that are surprisingly good like CAD and a bunch of others. Of course there are lots of high end models as well like Neumann.

G
 
For me it's sometime an ev320 which I like better than the 20, or my 414 on duller voices. I hate my sm7b just doesn't work for me, too dull and American DJ from the 70s. However, loads of people love this sound, so it's just me.

Condensers in close need pop protection. That's perfectly normal. The foam thing supplied with 414s takes the bit off them, especially if you have the old velvet covered ones, the foam version isn't quite so nice. A popper stopper works for me, or as I did last week a covid mask is really good at stopping these noises.
 
Last edited:
A friend of mine found a cheap online rental for microphones and tested three or four of them.
 
I would audition as many mics as possible and choose the one that sounds best on your voice, one size does not fit all. In any case, a great mic is not a substitute for lack of talent.
 
I have been doing professional VO work for over 40 years, using a s#it ton of different mics.
That being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a properly placed MKH-50 along with Alex's suggestion of adding a pop screen.
Unless of course you have money burning a hole in your pocket.
 
The Heil PR40 sounds similar to the RE20 but with better clarity and a higher output. It, like the RE20, can also handle really loud sounds like people screaming. It seems to work pretty well with many voices, American made and about 1/2 the price of the RE20 (or was when I bout one).
 
Not what you asked but I got a KM185 for a solid deal and I am absolutely over the moon with it, if you can find one locally to test out.
 
I can chime in on the Neumann TLM-103. I feel it's probably the best VO mic in the world for the money. I am not a fan personally of using shotguns and HCs in a VO booth, they are essentially doing processing
that is better handled outboard and I prefer to do VO processing outside of the mic. The TLM-103 definitely has that legendary Neumann mojo at a very cheap price. It's beautifully built, has amazing off axis rejection
and just a wonderful, smooth sound. I was one of the first to buy the TLM-103 years ago when it was introduced and it was my audio post company's go to VO mic for years. I used it on all kinds of different voices and
it never failed to sound amazing with female and male VO talent.

There are better large diaphragm studio condensers but they cost five times and up from what the TLM-103 costs. Just as in location sound mics, a lot of it comes down top personal preference and what sounds good
with a particular voice but the TLM-103 will sound great with 90% of voices. In my opinion, the Neumann is in another league than the Shures and EVs, which are also great mics, but they aren't a Neumann. In my experience
Neumann hit it out of the park as far as sound and value equation with the TLM-103 and I regret the day I sold it. If I was setting up a VO booth again, it would still be my go to and my business partner has a very nice U87
and the TLM-103 is in the same neighborhood, although not as refined.
 
Depends on the voice, and what you like in VO. Plenty of good VO artists like the Sennheiser 416, but they know how to work the mic and tend to work in studios where the engineer (even if its themselves) do this sort of thing all the time.

The TLM-103 that Pure mentions is a popular (and good) choice. Though a recording engineer/producer friend feels that the 103 isn't as good on most female voices. But he is =mostly= concerned with singing vocals, though he also works on spoken-word/VO stuff. AND he's deep into this and can justify having a cabinet full of mics.

Check out this well-done comparison of studio mics popular for radio producers. It's from 15 years ago but still worth checking out. One (of several) nice things: For each mic, there are samples from what they call Bassy Male Voice, Warm Female Voice, and Male Voice 2. Also note that the voices come from people who know what they're doing.

Plenty of mics have come out since this comparison was done in 2005, but I think listening through this will help you figure out what you prefer in a general way and what sort of budget you might need to consider.

Seriously. This is good stuff.

===

The Transom Studio Mic Shootout: Blindfold Test
As part of an ongoing training initiative, AIR: The Association of Independents in Radio helped organize a mic shootout, seeking to compare a wide variety of announce mics in a neutral setting. In the large, quiet room of Studio A at indre Studios in Philadelphia, a few independent producers set up 17 mics side-by-side. The mics ranged in price from less than a hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. We concentrated more on the less-expensive mics, and the mid-range popular standards, rather than pricey esoterica or cult-classic mics, hoping to find some bargains that might be practical for the independent producer, or to confirm that some of the pricier industry standards might be worth the expense.

https://transom.org/2005/transom-studio-mic-shootout/

===

Have fun hunting and let us know what you choose.
 
Those of us with full mic boxes know that there simply isn't any mix that is perfect for a one mic choice. You are always wondering if X is better? The times I have convinced myself I need X bought it and after a month or two, drifted back to what I was using before. It’s like tools. We always have a favourite screwdriver, and get angry when we lose them, and pleased when they resurface, but this is illogical, they’re just tools. I wish I had my red one with the orange stripe, but it’s long gone. When you’ve had a Neumann, and then don’t, you just miss it!
 
This question is like asking "what is the best lens for portraits?"

Budgieboots said:
Does anybody have any experience or wisdom they can share regarding capturing great vocal audio?


I already own a Sennheiser MKH50 for use on my boom pole. Its a great mic for that purpose, but using it as a voice over mic, its very sensitive to the slightest "plosive" and I'd rather have something that does one thing, and does it extremely well.
Click to expand...

Buy yourself a pop shield for cheap first, before doing anything else, and see if you're satisfied with those results. Only if not, then carry on the hunt to buy another microphone.
 
We have older SM7 and SM7a here, I want to replace them with one of the EV RE series. With quiet little student voices, I want something with a good strong output, I'm out of gain on the input preamps. The SM7 are OK, they do have a distinctive sound that some people like, but I've never been very fond of them over something like an RE20. We had a pair of RE20 from around the 1980's that worked well until the rubber parts started to rot, we have horrible humidity issues in the summer. The newer high output mics would be most welcome in our studios.
 
If you need higher sensitivity (output), a condenser mic or maybe one of the inline CloudLifter boxes.
 
Rick R said:
If you need higher sensitivity (output), a condenser mic or maybe one of the inline CloudLifter boxes.
Click to expand...

Or just buy any of the many affordable field recorder choices we're spoiled with in 2020 that have good clean pre amp gain to start off with: MixPre3/6 or Zoom F8n/F6
 
I love my two RE20s, but they're among the lowest output mics I have used. They do just fine into a Sound Devices mixer or another preamp with plenty of quiet gain, but I wouldn't pick one if I were primarily looking for higher sensitivity. The RE27 N/D is supposedly hotter, but has a harsher sound to my taste that just isn't as pleasing as the good ol' RE20.
 
I spoke to to British character actor Brian Blessed about ten years ago while doing a job. He has an amazing voice that is all over tv and radio and movies. I asked him if there was a microphone he liked. He said “my boy, I don’t give a xxxx, my voice always sounds like me. I don’t need anything special. People always seem to put it further away from me, though, than they do for others? No idea why?” That I did know because an SM7 three feet away would still have a pad on it! My point being that for voice overs, the voice is priority, followed my the room sound. If they are both OK, the mic choice doesn’t matter that much. If we are choosing a repair mic, for a rubbish voice, it’s important.
 
paulears said:
I spoke to to British character actor Brian Blessed about ten years ago while doing a job. He has an amazing voice that is all over tv and radio and movies. I asked him if there was a microphone he liked. He said “my boy, I don’t give a xxxx, my voice always sounds like me. I don’t need anything special. People always seem to put it further away from me, though, than they do for others? No idea why?” That I did know because an SM7 three feet away would still have a pad on it! My point being that for voice overs, the voice is priority, followed my the room sound. If they are both OK, the mic choice doesn’t matter that much. If we are choosing a repair mic, for a rubbish voice, it’s important.
Click to expand...

His work as Richard IV in Black Adder was so good!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top