Neumann Microphone Construction Video

[dbro]

The Science Channel in the United States airs a program called How It's Made that walks you through the construction process and shows you how stuff gets made. It's a low-budget series that looks to get a good portion of its raw tape from Canadian Broadcasting and other European sources. I frequently zone-out watching it while decompressing after work, but an episode recently caught my attention in a big way.

This episode visited a factory making Neumann microphones. And it looks to be a post-Sennheiser Neumann factory because there are Sennheisers visible in a display case in the opening of the segment.

YouTube video: How It's Made (Season 11 / Episode 7 / Part 1)





Enjoy.

Derek

[boojum]

Excellent! Neumann, Berlin. ;o)

[videoteque]

That's a nice tv program!!!

[zoom]

This is Neumann manufacturing @ Sennheiser and not in Berlin ;-)

What we see in this video looks like a standard industrial quality check just for a the essential parameters of the microphone and not a measurement of each item in detail. The measurement chamber doesn't look like to have freefield conditions, but this is not necessary for a simple quality check like that. The test procedure is fully automated, for a cost reasons on (relatively) high volume productions.

Have a look on the automatic curve smoothing to avoid that the frequency response hits the tolerance band

There are a lot more things you can see if you are familar with automated acoustical quality tests.
Better you don't know it, otherwise you would call a U87 from mass production not a 'legend' anymore ;-)


...anyway - don't show this video to the Chinese ;-))

[bcgood]

Cool video, I hadn't seen that episode. I catch myself watching that from time to time when channel surfing. I hardly watch any t.v. anymore though.

[John Willett]

Very interesting.

The mics at the start are in the historic display case at the Sennheiser Headquarters in Hannover.

When Neumann manufacturing moved to Hannover all the original Neumann machines were moved from Berlin to Hannover - so the mics are still made on all the original machines, only the location changed.

[mathieujm]

I imagined that the assembly of the capsule was made in more "clean" conditions. And nothing is said about the tensionning (?) of the membrane on the ring. Ok, so the chinese will not have the "secrets".

Great video.

JMM

[zoom]

Originally Posted by John Willett

...When Neumann manufacturing moved to Hannover all the original Neumann machines were moved from Berlin to Hannover - so the mics are still made on all the original machines, only the location changed.

This may lead to the assumption that Neumann microphones are manufactured according the same production processes like in Berlin. That is not true.
Of course Neumann transferred their manufacturing tools to the new facility and during microphone production there is still a lot of manual work of skilled people required. But Sennheiser has one of the most advanced production sites and cost effectiveness is an important issue and a lot of production steps are automated.
...nevertheless this does not mean that the quality suffers compared to the 'good old times'. e.g. Neumann's microphone circuit boards take an advantage in reliability when hey are produced at in the Sennheiser production site.
The production conditions had changed a lot since the U87 was introduced more than 40yrs ago. Even if Neumann produces more cost effective in standardized industrial production processes, the quality and reliability is excellent.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by mathieujm

I imagined that the assembly of the capsule was made in more "clean" conditions.

Yes - the capsules are made in Clean Rooms by skilled women.

[videoteque]

Originally Posted by mathieujm

And nothing is said about the tensionning (?) of the membrane on the ring. Ok, so the chinese will not have the "secrets".

They didn't go into too much details, it would have been nice!

[klaukholm]

Originally Posted by zoom

...anyway - don't show this video to the Chinese ;-))

God forbid they would steal the concept of quality control....

[d_fu]

Originally Posted by klaukholm

God forbid they would steal the concept of quality control....

Shhhhhh........ tutt

[Jaques Beraques]

+/- 2dB in the response ???
would have thought its less......

[rumleymusic]

I imagined that the assembly of the capsule was made in more "clean" conditions. And nothing is said about the tensionning (?) of the membrane on the ring. Ok, so the chinese will not have the "secrets".

They also skipped the whole part about the circuit. It was just thrown in as an afterthought. Bummer.

[loujudson]

But Hey, they had to go on to the hottubs... wonder who does that quality control??

But for a short TV segment it is pretty good. Thanks!

Lou