Schoeps Stereo Set CMC6 With MK21 Capsules

What's in the box

The MK21 Capsule

This type of capsule has a directional pattern between omni and cardioid. The basic idea in designing this capsule was to combine the advantages of the cardioid with those of the omni. This results in a pickup pattern which blends the two sets of characteristics. It has fuller and more extended low-frequency response than a cardioid, with less proximity effect, while picking up more room sound than a cardioid.

The polar diagram shows the directivity of the MK 21 to be only slightly dependent on frequency. This contrasts with omnidirectional capsules, whose directivity increases with rising frequency, and with cardioids (at least smaller ones), which tend to accentuate high frequencies that arrive at oblique angles.

The capsules of condenser microphones (the only type which Schoeps manufactures) can't be connected directly to microphone cables or inputs; a microphone amplifier is required in between. Thus a complete microphone of the Colette series comprises any of the twenty available types of capsules combined with an amplifier.

The CMC6 Amplifier

The Schoeps CMC 6 Amplifier is designed for standard 48- and 12-Volt phantom powering. Its circuitry recognises the supply voltage and adjusts itself automatically. Its performance characteristics remain essentially the same either way; mainly, the difference is that the current drawn at 12 Volts is greater than at 48 Volts. However, the 12-Volt mode consumes less power and might be preferred for battery-powered recording.

The microphone amplifier provides the electrostatic charge which the capsule requires in order to produce a signal. Since only a minuscule amount of current is contained in this signal, amplification of the current is required. To avoid interference to the signal on the way from the microphone to the input of the mixer or preamp, the signal is conveyed at low impedance and in balanced form. The CMC 6 amplifier offers a symmetrical, transformerless, direct-coupled Class A output stage with low impedance, low distortion, and high freedom from interference.