Schoeps CMTS 501 v. Crown SASS v. Rode NT5 on Piano

[jnorman]

christian - i preferrred the apollo on these samples. very nice, smooth response and good overall presentation of the instrument. that schoeps is a damn nice mic, though. thanks for posting the clips.

[BrianHanke]

I think both mics have some good and not-so-good qualities. The 501 is slightly brighter and perhaps more centered-sounding, while the Apollo is a little more diffuse and warmer. I thought they both worked and didn't particularly prefer one over the other.

[d1rtynyc]

Cool test. THANKS for posting it.thumbsup
I do prefer the Schoeps over the Rode's, but I am still very impressed by the Rodes.

[Jim vanBergen]

I'm liking the Schoeps everywhere, but I am attuned to their accuracy and slight euphoric response in comparison to other very neutral mics.

The Crown SASS- is this is a SASS-B with the B&K heads? It sounds pretty good to my ears! The first real stereo mic I worked with was a SASS-P, and when I compared from P to B I was impressed with both the stunning accuracy of the B&K capsules in a perfect matched setup, as well as the quality of the low-cost sound from the P capsules.

JvB

[NorseHorse]

It's the SASS-P MK II. "MK II" just means it came in a case, I think! Go figure. I've been very pleased with its neutral response and beautiful imaging. It's binaural, so it's gorgeous on headphones. I wasn't aware there was a SASS-B. I didn't come across any info about it on the Crown website. Do you have a link? I've compared the SASS to DPA 4006s. Out of a score of microphones, the SASS was the closest to the 4006 to my ears.

With regards to the most recent samples (Schoeps CMTS 501 v. Sontronics Apollo Ribbon), I preferred the Apollo on the Gershwin sample. Just listen to the first five notes! It's a smooth, focused sound which I feel compliments the music really well.

For the Bach, I could go either way. The hammer attack revealed by the Schoeps is very seductive. Like little raindrops.

I was curious to hear that Brian H felt the Schoeps was more "centered sounding". I felt the exact opposite. The attenuated HF response of the ribbon tempered some of the room reflections, making it seem to me as if the piano sound is coming mainly from the piano itself. I would describe it as less immersive, but more focused.

[Piedpiper]

The Mk II was actually a later iteration that came only a couple years after the original SASS-P introduction. It incorporates a resistor and capacitor from the audio out of the capsule to ground to flatten what was an overly bright response in the original. I find it quite good. The SASS-B is simply the housing that controls the stereo pick up pattern with accommodation for a pair of B&K 4006s to be installed. Both have been discontinued but are still in stock at a few distributors.

[Jim vanBergen]

Originally Posted by Piedpiper

It incorporates a resistor and capacitor from the audio out of the capsule and ground to flatten what was an overly bright response in the original. I find it quite good.

great info! good to know- I only knew the original -P and -B.

[Piedpiper]

The -B, of course, has nothing in it at all; just an empty housing with holes in for the 4006s to be inserted into.

I've rebuilt the -P Mk II version several times for people and continue to use one as my main stereo configuration.

[TonyF]

Have you got any omni capsules for your Rodes? They have great low-end extension which helps give a piano some weight

[jnorman]

hey tony - i just looked at the freq repsonse curves for the rode omni capsules, and they have a very significant bump, like +8dB in the top end. so i assume you normally would only use these in a diffuse field situation, right? seems like they would be a bit too bright for near field micing of a small chamber group, yes?

though i know john willett has used km183s pointed straight up for that kind of situation, and i guess you could do the same with the rodes.

[Dark1]

Originally Posted by Piedpiper

[...] The SASS-B is simply the housing that controls the stereo pick up pattern with accommodation for a pair of B&K 4006s to be installed. Both have been discontinued but are still in stock at a few distributors.

The SASS-B was discontinued as of 1994 and I'd imagine one would have a hard time finding one in stock somewhere? Crown still stocks parts for the new SASS Mk. IIs, though, and if someone wants to build themselves a SAS-B lookalike...

[didier.brest]

Originally Posted by rumleymusic

Which is which?

I think that Rode is a. I prefer the original Schoeps take with respect to both these ones.