Speedster159
Active member
I'm looking to get some opinion on which one would you think is better?
I'm debating between the ME66 + K6 and MKE 600.
I'm debating between the ME66 + K6 and MKE 600.
Sennheiser ME66 vs MKE 600 Your opinions?
- Thread starter Speedster159
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Jim Feeley
Veteran
Not really familiar with the MKE 600, but I really dislike the ME66. Harsh and thin, imo.
I'd probably compare the MKE 600 with something like a Rode NTG4. I think the NTG4 is OK for the price. But I'll defer to others who have more experience with both of those mics.
Jim
PS- I don't like the ME66.
I'd probably compare the MKE 600 with something like a Rode NTG4. I think the NTG4 is OK for the price. But I'll defer to others who have more experience with both of those mics.
Jim
PS- I don't like the ME66.
+1
Exactly. ME66 is thin, thin, thin. I have the MKE600 and like it fine - if I have any criticism it's that the lower end is slightly muddy, or not as crisp as on higher end mics. But it's a very fine mic otherwise. The ME66 is a mic to avoid, IMHO, for the price you can get much, much better.
Speedster159
Active member
But in terms of isolation and sensitivity which one would be better?
We are going to be using it in a ENG situation in "ambush" interviews with other networks, and most of the time we can't get someone close enough to hold a handheld to the person. And we don't have the manpower to get someone on a boom with a separate recorder.
We are going to be using it in a ENG situation in "ambush" interviews with other networks, and most of the time we can't get someone close enough to hold a handheld to the person. And we don't have the manpower to get someone on a boom with a separate recorder.
If you had the budget, my first choice would be the Sanken CS-3e shotgun mic. ( one of the best shotgun mics for isolation of your subject from their environment )
My second choice would be the Sennheiser 416, which also does a fairly good job of isolating your subject from their environment.
Speedster159
Active member
Those are way above our budget.
goodgoings
Well-known member
I love the ME66 for documentaries. It's one of the most sensitive mics out there and the battery powered phantom power allows it to be used with any recorder. The modular system is also great. A little EQ and I doubt most people would be able to tell it apart from higher costing mics.
Rick R
Veteran
I did not realize the ME66 had that high an output (50 mV. Most pro shotgun mics are in the 20-30mV range. (Sennheiser's 416 is 25 mV) The only other high sensitivity mic I can think of at the moment is the AT 4073.. 70 mV as I recall. The down point is, high sensitivity mics have a rather low max SPL, but that's usually not a problem for dialog.
Noiz2
Sound Ninja
Interesting. I just got a MKE600 (on a very big discount). I hardly ever use shotguns and when I have it has generally been on shoots where I'm using someone else's. I did have a couple that came my way over the years, a really long AT one (as in 15"-17") and a Sennheiser ME88. I was never a big fan of the 88, it sounds ok but it has such a low output. The MKE600 was MUCH hotter. But since you mentioned it I took a look and it's 21mV, so then I hunted up the ME88 spec and it's listed as 5mV...
As with all specs you often are looking at apples and oranges but since both are Sennheiser I suspect it's more apples to apples.
The AT 4073 is really nice for SFX recordings and we used it also for really small Foley sounds.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
I have an ME-66/K6 laying around (also have the ME-64 and ME-67 capsules too). I have not used or touched it for years, I used to use it back in the Betacam days. If you never shot Beta SP, those cameras had really bad sound quality, basically all cameras had terrible sound back then so I guess we never cared or noticed how bad the sound quality from the ME-66 was because the audio circuit on the Beta SP BVV5 back was so poor. I A/B'd it with my current cheapo AT-875r that I use as an on-camera documentary mic and the difference was night and day, my cheapo AT-875r sounded leagues better than the ME64 and ME66. I'm selling the ME66, IMHO, it is useless even as an on camera mic it sounds so bad. Thin, honky mid-range and just unpleasant, little detail and its harsh sounding.
Rick R
Veteran
Not to get off-topic but, "the audio circuit on the Beta SP BVV5 back was so poor"
As I recall, the dockable Sony BVV5 (or the Ampex clone) could also record to two pass-through or additional AFM tracks, which were better than the standard tracks 1&2, unfortunately they had the same preamps and a lot of editing facilities could not access the AFM audio.
FWIW, I recall the whole rig weighed in at about 25-30 pounds depending on the battery set-up.. I was glad I was a sound person with a boom, wireless or two and an FP32.
As I recall, the dockable Sony BVV5 (or the Ampex clone) could also record to two pass-through or additional AFM tracks, which were better than the standard tracks 1&2, unfortunately they had the same preamps and a lot of editing facilities could not access the AFM audio.
FWIW, I recall the whole rig weighed in at about 25-30 pounds depending on the battery set-up.. I was glad I was a sound person with a boom, wireless or two and an FP32.
Jim Feeley
Veteran
Except (some of?) the Ikegami beta cams, which I worked with a few times... at least, that's how I remember it. Or was the build and image quality fogging my ears?
I believe you about the AT-875 sounding better. I had a ME66/K6 a long time ago (15+ years?) that I got from a client who was having a hard time paying (things happen). I didn't like it for the same reasons Dan/Pure states. There are better --and cheaper-- options these days.
Don't rip it too bad until after you sell it....
Can't beat an 875 for the money.
Can't beat an 875 for the money.
puredrifting
Major Contributor
Ha, ha, that picture brings back memories. We had a BVV5 docked to a BVP70 head, I think it was? Then traded that up to the BVWD-600. In those days, our sound mixers were using Nagras which sounded really nice for an analog recorder and compared to those, every camera we used sounded like garbage. I just recall no dynamic range, a high noise floor with a lot of hiss and really bad audio pre-amps that lacked any kind of clarity.
We are so spoiled these days, even cheap audio devices like my Tascam DR-10 or my Røde Video Wireless Mic sound leagues better than any camera from that analog era. I was also right in the middle of the Sony VX1000/200 debacle and class action lawsuit, those cameras sounded much worse than the Betacams and DigitBeta cameras that we were using. I had clients who had a few of the VX1000s and they wanted us to use them as B cameras and they had completely unusable audio.
As far as the ME series, they just plain sound bad today. I'll probably sell mine of Craigslist.
We are so spoiled these days, even cheap audio devices like my Tascam DR-10 or my Røde Video Wireless Mic sound leagues better than any camera from that analog era. I was also right in the middle of the Sony VX1000/200 debacle and class action lawsuit, those cameras sounded much worse than the Betacams and DigitBeta cameras that we were using. I had clients who had a few of the VX1000s and they wanted us to use them as B cameras and they had completely unusable audio.
As far as the ME series, they just plain sound bad today. I'll probably sell mine of Craigslist.