| Oktava Pair Matching
In the interest of demontrating Oktava's pair matching process, my contact at Oktava has provided and given me permission to post these microphone frequency response plots. These are scans of actual (not smoothed or averaged), individual pen plots of MK-319 mics.
The two top plots below are individual microphone response plots for Oktava mics serial # 0304105 and # 0305105. (0, 90 and 180 degrees)
The bottom plot shows the two 0 degree response plots on the same graph. It appears this combination plot is hand drawn by using one plot laid over the other as tracing paper. In the case of these two mics, pair matching is good to within 2dB.
Anyone who has had the pleasure of unboxing a new Oktava mic and unfolding the little transluclent pen plot paper attached to the Russian language manual gets the immediate impression these microphones are rigorously tested. There is an old-world charm and old-school attention to detail about them that is rare for new microphones at any price, but unheard of at Oktava's price point.
While I'm posting these plots as evidence of Oktava's pair matching process it is inevitable that the eye will notice amplitude variations within each mic's response. The amplitude variations in these plots are typical for the LDC class of micrphone - regardless of manufacturer. You just won't see individual plots presented very often, usually just "idealized" approximations. However, my own work on these mics does smooth and extend the upper HF response both on-axis and at 90 degrees in the case of my Floating Dome or Flat Top mods.
best, MJ |