| User Review | | Sound Quality | | 5 | | Ease of use | | 5 | | Features | | 4 | | Bang for buck | | 5 |
Overall:  4.75 |  neumann tlm 103
Published by Tim67
16th March 2012
| | neumann tlm 103
Well this mic is really quite special.
As we all know the U87 has been resulting in sublime excellence for years to date and surely will for years to come.
The TLM 103, though, is exceptional for a number of reasons.
It uses the tried and true transformerless circuit found in numerous Neumann microphones and the capsule, derived from that used in the U 87.
As it solely employs the cardioid pattern, the attenuation of unwanted rear signals is excellent.
In such situations it has been considered superior in quality to the greatly more expensive U87.
This microphone provides an extremely true, uncoloured reproduction.
What you record is accurate to the original sound.
There is no roll off switch but so it is worth equalising on record.
To quote from the Nuemann website: "With just 7 dB-A / 17.5 dB CCIR the self-noise level of the TLM 103 is so reduced that even the smallest signals are reproduced basically noise-free. As it is capable of handling sound pressure levels up to 138 dB without distortion, the TLM 103 provides a dynamic range of 131 dB (A-weighted).
The letters TLM stand for "transformerless microphone". With TLM technology the usual output transformer is replaced by an electronic circuit. As with traditional transformers, it ensures good common mode rejection, and prevents RF interference that may influence the balanced audio signal. "
I personally love this mic and have used it both for vocals and harmonica, saxophone and clarinet.
It gives an honest sound and whilst not adding its own colour, due to its amazing sensitivity, it will pick up the room to give some natural re-verb which can be useful with such instruments.
For the price I believe you will be hard pushed to get a a better professional product. | | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 4 | | Features | | 2 | | Bang for buck | | 4 |
Overall:  3.5 | | An Underrated Little Brother; A Very Nuanced Mic
Over the last couple of months I've become a huge fan of this mic. For a good long while we would not put anything but ribbons on woodwinds and the like. But when we came across a bass clarinet and we were missing the breathiness that is key in obtaining a warm/sad/gloomy bass clarinet sound we naturally figured it was the ribbons.
The natural go-to condenser after that was, for us, a Gefell MT71s but for kicks we threw on the TLM103. Before this I hadn't had much experience with Neumann other than the 87 and 89, and only with a vocal or as room mics. It kind of blew me out of the water. It crashed and burned when we put it on a trombone but the clarinet was just so amazing we had to shoot it out the placement and pre choice a little bit.
We patched it in to a couple of different pre's to see the difference. It reacted really well to both an SSL and and API (but what doesn't?) with extremely different characters. Doesn't react fantastical to EQ though.
After the session I took a look at the price on these things. It's pretty pricy for what it is and I think that most of that price is just the little red Neumann insignia on the front, but watcha gonna do? The fact is that I will never be able to buy my own and I can live without it. If you have the money, definitely check it out but be sure to shoot it out first. I've only tried it on winds. I'd be interested to know how it'd sound on electric or acoustic guitar.
On a different day we shot it out on some standup bass and it failed miserably to a DPA omni. | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 4 | | Features | | 5 | | Bang for buck | | 4 |
Overall:  4.25 | | Neumann tlm 103
Another stellar addition to the classic Neumann line of killer mics!
I'm already biased because of their previous products, but they never fail to impress.
Everything you expect is here from a quality studio-condenser; silky smooth
high end without sounding harsh in the mids, and big warm bottom end.
I tried this mic on female vocals thru my Focusrite Saffire pre, and she sounded
wonderful - captured every nuance from belting it out vox, to whisper quiet right up on the pop screen...
Its a winner, go buy it! | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 4 | | Features | | 2 | | Bang for buck | | 4 | |
Overall: 3.5 | | Neumann TLM 103
A quality mike which works better with a sE Reflexion filter as it is prone to proximity effect.
I am proud to have it in my collection - like most, it's application depends on the singer, the acoustic enviroment, ... when it is used with the right application, all I want to do is smile - yeah, it is that good.
*features - really, it has a base connection and does what it is supposed to do. | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 4 | | Features | | 3 | | Bang for buck | | 4 |
Overall:  3.75 | | very bright Neumann
Pros:
Crisp, bright sound
Neumann pedigree
Small size
Cons:
Very bright sound
No x-former
No HPF or pad
Sounds pretty good, have used it on piano and for stereo-pair applications. I once recorded a college recital with a pair and it was very bright. However, not the pleasant, shimmery Neumann clarity I wanted; they sounded similar to KSM LDC's to my ears. I read something about raising input impedance due to the lack of transformer to alleviate this, but haven't tried it. Similarly, the piano tracks turned out bright and lacked that Neumann magic. I have access to u87's, a u147 tube condenser, and a pair of KM140's, and did not find the TLM 103's to be on quite the same level. | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 5 | | Features | | 1 | | Bang for buck | | 5 | |
Overall: 3.75 | | Good Value
Used the 103 for recording vocals from a mezzo soprano in a booth. Used for recording one of four tracks so a direct comparison could be made.
Used mike's were - AKG414
- Blue Woody (Ribbon)
- U87
- 104
Obviously the U87 is known as an industry standard (as could be said for the 414s) but I must say that I was more than impressed with the 103. Considering its less than half the price of the U87, cheaper than most 414s and same sort of money as the ribbon I would recommend this mike. | | | | | | Sound Quality | | 4 | | Ease of use | | 5 | | Features | | 3 | | Bang for buck | | 5 | |
Overall: 4.25 | | An 87 for less...
I purchased this microphone as part of my mobile recording set-up. It provided crisp, clean, ready to go vocals out the door stock. You get the performance back that you put into the mic.
This thing works well for rap vocals. For singing it would be used for back up vocals, or maybe just harmony.
The microphone could have had better features, but for the starting musician this thing is a great starter. Can't go wrong with a versatile mic locker. | | | |
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