Sennheiser MKE-400 vs Rode VideoMic

E

eco_bach

Well-known member
Hi
Not sure which external mic to invest in to go with my Zoom H4n. Can anyone point me to a review and-or offer their advice between the Sennheiser MKE-400 and Rode VideoMic?

The Sennheiser is $279 and the Rode is $200 in my local camera store, so the Rode has price in its favor.
 
Eco - I would say to go for the Rode VideoMic PRO, at 225.00. It beats both of them with it's 20db boost and sound quality, and the VideoMic (not pro) is better than the MKE400. I have all of these mics. I will be producing a shootout between the Rode VideoMic, VideoMic Pro, the MKE400 and the Que Audio Mini Shotgun, but it will be 1-2 weeks away. I have more pressing video work to do first.
 
Chadfish said:
Eco - I would say to go for the Rode VideoMic PRO, at 225.00. It beats both of them with it's 20db boost and sound quality, and the VideoMic (not pro) is better than the MKE400. I have all of these mics. I will be producing a shootout between the Rode VideoMic, VideoMic Pro, the MKE400 and the Que Audio Mini Shotgun, but it will be 1-2 weeks away. I have more pressing video work to do first.
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Thanks!
The Rode VideoMic PRO is mono only though. isnt it?
 
All the mics are mono only. Though the 3.5mm jack does carry the signal to both channels. You don't want a stereo mic for dialogue. Stereo mics are only for music and getting ambient sounds. Mono is for speech, otherwise the voice is unfocused and doesn't sit over the mix.
 
I can't find a place to get the Videomic Pro. Everyone is talking like its out now but it isn't for sale anywhere...
 
I prefer the Senn MKE400 for its small size and amazing battery life. It does the job well and I'm quite happy. Those qualities outweigh whether the new Rode is superior sounding, it's still too large for when you want better than internal sound and keep a small profile. Otherwise the real mics, recorders, boom pole and all that stuff is next to come out for when Audio is critical.
 
photonashville said:
I prefer the Senn MKE400 for its small size and amazing battery life. It does the job well and I'm quite happy. Those qualities outweigh whether the new Rode is superior sounding, it's still too large for when you want better than internal sound and keep a small profile. Otherwise the real mics, recorders, boom pole and all that stuff is next to come out for when Audio is critical.
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Dude the Rode VMP (not the VM) is marginally larger than the MKE400, and has an astounding battery life, and sounds better. I don't think the difference in size is going to get you any more functionality with the MKE400. It's not like your arms will get tired.
 
Chadfish said:
All the mics are mono only. Though the 3.5mm jack does carry the signal to both channels. You don't want a stereo mic for dialogue. Stereo mics are only for music and getting ambient sounds. Mono is for speech, otherwise the voice is unfocused and doesn't sit over the mix.
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Ok thanks. So then using the internal mics on the H4N would not be a good idea for recording dialogue I assume.
 
eco_bach said:
Ok thanks. So then using the internal mics on the H4N would not be a good idea for recording dialogue I assume.
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Definitely NOT! It sounds OK, but for dialogue a mono mic is key. A hyercardioid for indoor dialogue, and a shotgun for outdoor. Just try it out and you'll hear the difference.
 
Chadfish you're the expert I guess, dude. The rest of us just actually do productions and create client work.

These are discussions so we all contribute. I don't need to test a mic with another to make myself feel better. It's just a hotshot mic. People buy and use gear all the time and create, get paid and move on. I'm not positioning myself as some internet expert, no time and no desire. Better things to do.
 
photonashville said:
Chadfish you're the expert I guess, dude. The rest of us just actually do productions and create client work.

These are discussions so we all contribute. I don't need to test a mic with another to make myself feel better. It's just a hotshot mic. People buy and use gear all the time and create, get paid and move on. I'm not positioning myself as some internet expert, no time and no desire. Better things to do.
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Cheap Shot.
Grant
 
photonashville said:
Chadfish you're the expert I guess, dude. The rest of us just actually do productions and create client work.

These are discussions so we all contribute. I don't need to test a mic with another to make myself feel better. It's just a hotshot mic. People buy and use gear all the time and create, get paid and move on. I'm not positioning myself as some internet expert, no time and no desire. Better things to do.
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Hey PhotoNashville, sorry if I offended you by suggesting a possibly better mic choice for about the same cost. I thought you were thinking of the VideoMic(which is large), rather than the VicdeoMic Pro. You may be fine with your mic since you already own it and wouldn't buy another just for better quality, but to someone who hasn't bought anything yet and wants a mini shotgun, for 25 bucks more you get better sound and a 20db boost, which no other mini shots have. I have both sitting in front of me, so I guess that makes me an "expert". And it really really does make me feel better to know which one I like more.

For the record I work full time on "productions" too, as a camera man, director, location audio, editor, and sometimes post sound for film and once in a great while I get to do a jingle. I'm only an "expert" for fun on the weekends because I like gear. I'm a gear nerd, and if I can share some helpful info - that indeed makes me feel better.
 
Chadfish said:
Eco - I would say to go for the Rode VideoMic PRO, at 225.00. It beats both of them with it's 20db boost and sound quality, and the VideoMic (not pro) is better than the MKE400. I have all of these mics. I will be producing a shootout between the Rode VideoMic, VideoMic Pro, the MKE400 and the Que Audio Mini Shotgun, but it will be 1-2 weeks away. I have more pressing video work to do first.
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If you are doing this shootout, why not add the Ambient TinyMike?

It looks a great little beastie and I think it's an OEM from MBHO which should make it extremely interesting.

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Chadfish,

I'm more than happy to apologize. I have found many of your posts very helpful and tests useful. I just get annoyed at anyone that gets a little too high on the hog sometimes. I'm sure the new Rode is great. The Senn is very good too and either will give any user good audio for an on camera mic, even though on camera mics aren't great positioning.

But I loathe 9v batteries and Rode loves them. They are far less convenient batteries. The Rode gets 70 hours of runtime, the MKE400 gets 300 hours of runtime on a single AAA battery. The Rode (Videomic Pro) is larger and weighs more than the MKE400. There are a lot of small DSLRs which these are well suited for and the form factor of a smaller mic is advantageous. I'm sure either will work for many people. It's all splitting hairs at this point.

If someone planned on using a mic for multi use on camera and also as a simple boom pole mic (which I have done in the past with the Senn and it works in a pinch) then I might recommend the Rode if it does have noticeably better sound. Otherwise for what these mics do, I see it as a toss up, can't go wrong with either. I have no agenda in this, just giving people my experience with equipment I use regularly.

New gear comes out all the time for audio, cameras, software, computers, etc. It's a constant leapfrog. New gear doesn't always negate what has existed and is known to work well. New gear is there to complement and many times to surpass.

Cheers.

Senn MKE4000 specs:
Transducer Electret Condenser
Polar Pattern Supercardioid / Lobar
Frequency Response 40Hz to 20kHz
80Hz to 20kHz with windscreen
Dynamic Range (Typical) Not Specified By Manufacturer
Signal-to-Noise Ratio Not Specified By Manufacturer
Maximum Input Sound Level 126dB vol. in - position
118dB vol. in + position
Power Requirements 1.5V AAA Battery (300 hours)
Output Impedance Not Specified By Manufacturer
Output Connectors 1/8" (3.5mm) TRS Mini Plug
Pad None
Low Frequency Roll-Off None
Dimensions 5.12 x 0.82 x 2.44" (130 x 21 x 62mm) (LxDxH)
Weight 2.1 oz (60 g)

Rode VideoMic Pro specs:
Transducer Line Gradient Condenser
Polar Pattern Supercardioid
Frequency Response 40Hz - 20kHz
Output Level -10dB, 0dB, +20dB (Selectable)
Maximum Output +6.9dBu
Sensitivity -38dB (1V/Pa)
Dynamic Range 114dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio 74dB
Max Input Sound Level (SPL) 134dB
EIN 20dBA
Battery Type/Life 1 x 9V Battery, Up to 70 Hours of Operation
Output Impedance 200 Ohms
Output Connectors
1
1 x 3.5mm Stereo Mini Plug
Low Frequency Roll-Off 80Hz High Pass Filter
Dimensions (HxWxL) 3.74 x 1.69 x 6" (95 x 43 x 150mm)
Weight 3 oz (86g)
 
John Willett said:
If you are doing this shootout, why not add the Ambient TinyMike?

It looks a great little beastie and I think it's an OEM from MBHO which should make it extremely interesting.

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If I recall it is about three or four times the price of the other mics?
But before cluttering up the setup with a juicelink + regular size shotgun, this would be worth a consideration, to go that extra mile for sound cathering.
Yes, still JUST on camera sound, but lot of smaller stuff for the web is done this way now, and depending on the subject, I find this "sticking the camera up the interviewees face" style docs often very engaging.

there is another (chineese?) small on camera mic setup that some use here, but I can´t recall the name, I still find it interesting that this market segment hasn´t seen any larger competition for Rode and Sennheiser - even for Canon and Nikon themself this would be an obvious accessory for all their HDSLR goodies.

Maybe Zoom discovers that there´s a segment for a H1s, a mini-shotgun/recorder combination, recording high quality mono sound to SDHC and passing the signal to the camera for internal recording AND to a headphone out for monitoring...
 
Well, I guess I'm an expert because I'm paid to be an expert.

The Ambient Tiny Mic was around LONG before everyone else got in the game. In my Coffey Sound days I sold a fair amount of them. People usually bought it with the Tiny Mixer. It was a decent mic. All of the mic's mentioned here will get the job done. It's a matter of what you expect. The truth of the matter is that really great sounding mic's cost a lot of money. You really do get what you pay for. That being said, you can have the best sounding mic in the world, but if you don't know how to use it, it doesn't matter. I've never recommended that people use these kinds of microphones as their primary mic, especially if it's camera mounted.
 
John I like the looks of the Tiny mic. It seems a bit Not tiny in the photo though. Maybe its a small camera. And it looks a lot like the Que Audio mic. The thing is I don't have my hands on one of these, and I'm not buying anything more to do this shootout. Four 3.5mm to XLR adapters were 45.00! I've heard you raving about the mic, so I'm sure it's a nice one. I've never seen one other than this web site provided by you. How much are they?

Anyway I've got the 4 mics I've got and I'm going to get on this as soon as I can. I just don't have access to your mic. It would be cool if you maybe had one of the mics in my shootout, and you could compare the tiny mic to that. What do you think?
 
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