Sound Pure's Take

The Neumann M150 Microphone represents a dream combination of open, ethereal, and majestic acoustic tonalities.  It is the optimum studio microphone for recording acoustic instruments and voice of any kind, where you want the musician and instruments represented with the magical, larger-than-life “halo” that only a magical tube LDC can provide.  

It provides the transparency and clarity one expects from the finest studio microphones, and the three-dimensional only possibly from Neumann's most advanced tube topology and transformerless circuit design, combined together with a one-of-a-kind acoustic recording capsule.  Representing the best of both worlds, the M150 meets detail with musicality.   It's combines a taste of Neumann history surrounding the most heralded orchestral microphone from the Neumann historical timeline, the M50, with the most modern large diaphragm tube design.  Low noise, sensational dynamic range match for technical specs that rival this microphones musical excellence. 

From Neumann USA

Since the 1950s, the Neumann M 50 has been heralded as the ideal microphone for orchestral recording and string scoring. With its phenomenal transient response and unique directional characteristic, this classic mic has endeared many fans, both in the control room and on the soundstage. 

The new M 150 Tube* takes many of the features from the original M 50 and incorporates them in a very modern microphone. With low self noise, a Titanium membrane and capsule, transformerless tube amplifier and sophisticated power supply, the M 150 Tube is not a reissue but an entirely new microphone in its own right.

Acoustical features

The Titanium diaphragm of the pressure capsule is 12 mm in diameter and is exceedingly thin. Although Titanium has been known to have unique and desirable characteristics for some time, it has, until very recently, been very difficult to procure in the quality necessary for use in a microphone of this type. 

The headgrille is shaped just like that on the original M 50, as requested by various top engineers in the recording industry. Due to mounting the pressure capsule with the diaphragm flush to the surface of a small (40 mm) sphere, the directional characteristic of the M 150 Tube is entirely unique. 

At the lowest frequencies, this system is a pure omnipressure transducer with a perfectly circular polar pattern. However, in the mid- and upper frequencies, the pickup pattern becomes narrower. The M 150 Tube is an ideal microphone for any stereo, 5.1 or 7.1 surround recording, particularly DECCA Tree technique.

Electrical features

The dynamic range of the M 150 Tube is 119 dB, allowing reproduction of the full musical expression, without restraint. 

With a low self noise of 15 dB-A, more gain can be used without risk of adding noise to the final product. The transformerless output circuit of this microphone allows for extremely fine reproduction of small signals and low frequency information. Also, long cable runs can be used with no loss of signal quality.

*The design of the microphone is a registered design of the Georg Neumann GmbH in certain countries.

 

All Titanium capsule

Unparalleled transient accuracy

Pressure omni capsule for extended low frequency response

Modern version of the world-famous M 50

Transformerless tube amplifier based on the award-winning M 149 Tube microphone

Ideal for DECCA tree recording and surround miking techniques

Very low self noise of 15 dB-A

Stereo sets with consecutive serial numbers

 

Acoustical operating principle

Pressure transducer

Directional pattern

Omnidirectional

Frequency range

20 Hz ... 20 kHz

Sensitivity at 1 kHz into 1 kohm

20 mV/Pa

Rated impedance

50 ohms

Rated load impedance

1 kohms

Equivalent noise level, CCIR1)

28 dB

Equivalent noise level, A-weighted1)

15 dB-A

Signal-to-noise ratio, CCIR1) (rel. 94 dB SPL)

66 dB

Signal-to-noise ratio, A-weighted1) (rel. 94 dB SPL)

79 dB

Typical SPL (tube characteristic)2)

K < 0,5 %: 114 dB, K < 5 %: 134 dB

Maximum output voltage

8 dBu

Dynamic range of the microphone amplifier (A-weighted)

K < 0,5 % *: 99 dB, K < 5 %: 119 dB

Powering

Power supply N 149 A

Matching connector microphone

DIN8F

Matching connector power supply

XLR3F

Weight

800 g

Diameter

78 mm

Length

165 mm

______________________________________________
1) according to IEC 60268-1; CCIR-weighting according to CCIR 468-3, quasi peak; A-weighting according to IEC 61672-1, RMS
2) measured as equivalent el. input signal

   

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