Sennheiser MKH 815T vs MKH 816T

[mar-kus]

Hello Everybody.

Yesterday I bought a sennheiser mkh 815T in mint condition on ebay.
It was only used as hanging microphone in a theater.

The seller has a few ones: some 815T and some 816P.
So I can choose which type I'll get.
Of course I know the difference of the power supply of these two ones.
The 815 is t-powered while the 816 is phantom-powered.

My question is: which one would be the best choice?
Which one has the "better" sound or where are the differences?

Thank's a lot for your help guys.

Regards

Markus

[John Willett]

Go for the 816.

The 815 was discontinued in about 1975 and if anything goes wrong it could be unrepairable.

The 816 replaced the 815 in about 1975 and was only discontinued about 10 or so years ago - so more chance to get it fixed if anything goes wrong.

[mar-kus]

Hi John.
How are you? Do you remember we discussed about the 788t and Nagra VI Recorder about 1 Year ago. I think you have been on your way to hungary at that time, right? Nice to read your comment.

I must admit I didn't know that the MKH 815 series is about 35 Years old now.
Can you tell me anything about the differences between the 815T and 816T?
I think I'll go for the newer 816T if the sound is nearly the same.
A few weeks ago a sound recordist told me that the 815T has a little bit more bottom sound compared to the 816T. It also should have about 6 dB less noise.
Is this your experience also?

Thank you for your answer.

Greetings from munich.thumbsup

Markus

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by mar-kus

Hi John.
How are you? Do you remember we discussed about the 788t and Nagra VI Recorder about 1 Year ago. I think you have been on your way to hungary at that time, right? Nice to read your comment.

I must admit I didn't know that the MKH 815 series is about 35 Years old now.
Can you tell me anything about the differences between the 815T and 816T?
I think I'll go for the newer 816T if the sound is nearly the same.
A few weeks ago a sound recordist told me that the 815T has a little bit more bottom sound compared to the 816T. It also should have about 6 dB less noise.
Is this your experience also?

Thank you for your answer.

Greetings from munich.thumbsup

Markus

Hi Markus,

It was Slovakia actually, and I'm going there again in a little while.

I'll be at the Frankfurt show on Thursday if you're there.

The 816P came out in 1975 and I think the 815T ran for a little while before being replaced by the 816T. I have never compared them closely, but spare parts for the 815 are virtually non-existent, so whatever the small difference I would never go for an 815 if I could get an 816.

My own pair are the 816F which were never put into full production (the 816F had a flat frequency response).

[drpro]

Markus, its all in the tube. My 815 died on me about 25 years ago. Sennheiser USA replaced the electronics and capsule with the 816 version. The only difference now is the tube. So if you can still find 816 electronics and capsules you are good to go.

David

[mar-kus]

@John
Oh Yes it was slovakia. I won't be at the Frankfurt show this year.
But if you ever will come to munich please let me know.
We have to visit a "Biergarten" and enjoy a pint of beer together.
So I will follow your suggestion to take the mkh 816.
There is still one question left: should I take the "T"-version or the "48 "-version?
I made the experience that the mkh 416T Sounds better than the 416P.
That's the reason why I'm asking for.

@David
Thank you for sharing your experience with me.
Normally I'm using Schoeps-microphones.
But I for difficult situations I'd like to have a well proven long-distance-mic.
So I thought a good old mkh 815/816 could be a solution.

A nice weekend to all.

Markus

[LX3]

Hey John

Know if there's any way of replacing the rear connector housing on an 816P48? Not the pins, but the black cylindrical section that becomes part of the mic body when the capsule unit is in place.

The "mint" 816 I bought recently looks like it's been dropped on the connector end, with the result that the housing is slightly bent... enough to prevent you actually getting a female XLR into it.

Looks to me like it's an integral part of the chassis carrying the electronics and capsule... which suggests to me that it can't be replaced without replacing the whole unit. But I could be wrong.

I'm planning at some point to attempt to bend it back into shape but did wonder if it was actually replaceable without spending a fortune on it?

I love my two other 816s btw

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by mar-kus

@John
Oh Yes it was slovakia. I won't be at the Frankfurt show this year.
But if you ever will come to munich please let me know.
We have to visit a "Biergarten" and enjoy a pint of beer together.

Cheers Markus - thanks, a friend of ours is moving from Berlin to Muenchen, so maybe we'll get a chance.

Originally Posted by mar-kus

So I will follow your suggestion to take the mkh 816.
There is still one question left: should I take the "T"-version or the "48 "-version?
I made the experience that the mkh 416T Sounds better than the 416P.
That's the reason why I'm asking for.
Markus

The choice is yours, the only difference is in the powering. But the T-powered version does not use the screen for power and is less prone to problems over long and difficult cable runs - but T-powering units are not common.

The choice is your, I would not suggest one over the other, both are good.

Originally Posted by LX3

Hey John

Know if there's any way of replacing the rear connector housing on an 816P48? Not the pins, but the black cylindrical section that becomes part of the mic body when the capsule unit is in place.

The "mint" 816 I bought recently looks like it's been dropped on the connector end, with the result that the housing is slightly bent... enough to prevent you actually getting a female XLR into it.

Looks to me like it's an integral part of the chassis carrying the electronics and capsule... which suggests to me that it can't be replaced without replacing the whole unit. But I could be wrong.

I'm planning at some point to attempt to bend it back into shape but did wonder if it was actually replaceable without spending a fortune on it?

I love my two other 816s btw

I'm not sure how integrated into the chassis the connector is - ring Sennheiser UK on 01494-551-551 and speak to Martin Gathard - he is the mic. repair Guru and will know the answer.

[LX3]

Thanks John, will do. Oh the perils of eBay. Can't sennheiser just start making the 816 again? Did it before...

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by LX3

Thanks John, will do. Oh the perils of eBay. Can't sennheiser just start making the 816 again? Did it before...

They will probably do a long-gun head for the 8000 series instead of resurrecting a very old mic.

The new mics are much quieter and the 816 was very heavy to pole - hence the MKH 70 which was about half the weight of an 816 and had a very slightly wider acceptance angle so you wouldn't get a drop-out if it moved slightly.

The things that the 816 excelled at was cricket (getting the sound of the bat hitting the ball) and golf - both places were fixed installations.

[huub]

We still use and love 816p's for sports broadcast (mounted on camera) and for crowd ambience for huge crowds. I, and basically all of my collegueas have never loved the mkh70's.. Just not as effective, not as punchy or something..

huub

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by huub

We still use and love 816p's for sports broadcast (mounted on camera) and for crowd ambience for huge crowds. I, and basically all of my collegueas have never loved the mkh70's.. Just not as effective, not as punchy or something..

The 70 is about half the weight of an 816 and has a shorter interference tube so it has a slightly wider pick-up angle.

The 70 has lower distortion and is more accurate.

But you choose what does the job for you - I have found many people who prefer the older versions to the newer - but many more who once they have really used the new ones cannot go back to the old at all.