Sennheiser 409/609/906 audio clips

[Kyle Ashley]

Here are some simple audio bites to audition the sonic differences between the original Sennheiser MD409 and the recent variations: 609 Silver, 609 Black, and the e906.

Just a simple guitar riff A chord. Not a highly scientific analysis. Just some quick test clips I cut last year to quickly hear the differences.

Recording chain would be:

Fender Strat >Tech21 Trademark 10 amp( EQ set to flat position) > Mic > Great River NV - UA2192 - Samplitude V8.

Each clip is only a couple of seconds long, but you can hear the differences pretty easily. Hopefully this will help out with some of the folks who ask about comparisons of these mics.

The e906 has a 3 position switch with settings for top shelf boost, flat, and top rolloff. Apparently to better emulate the various models all in one mic.

[Kyle Ashley]

last one:

[treymonfauntre]

i'll have to give these a listen when i get home

[frontierfran]

thanks Kyle! these are great!

[Jeff16years]

hey thanks a lot!! I've been wondering about the 906 compared to my 609 silver.
How confident are you in the mic placement being the same?

By the sounds of whats here I think i like the 609 silver.

[Kyle Ashley]

mic placement was pretty much the same. i had the stand locked in place and just pulled the mic out of the clip to switch 'em out.

i prefer the 409 the best for its smooth midrange and depth. the 609 was too fizzy in the high end for my tastes.

the main revelation was that the 609 was really NOTHING like the original mic.

[Chunky Karma]

To me the 906(boost) sounded similar to the 609 silver. The 906 (rolloff) sounded similar to the 609 black. The 906 flat was the closest to the 409 but I still preferred the 409. Thanks for posting those.

[Kyle Ashley]

Originally Posted by Chunky Karma

To me the 906(boost) sounded similar to the 609 silver. The 906 (rolloff) sounded similar to the 609 black. The 906 flat was the closest to the 409 but I still preferred the 409. Thanks for posting those.

I think that's the idea Sennheiser was shooting for with the e906 but their description and marketing of the 906 was somewhat vague. With several versions of the seemingly same mic, things were getting confusing.

[frontierfran]

i like the 906. it had nice clarity and detail in the boost, and the flat was nice too with a dash of scoop, but not as "dulled"hi-cut as the 609 black.
id love to hear these against the MD421 just for kicks.

[theblotted]

i prefer the 906 also.

sure, 409 is smooth.. but almost dated. maybe i'm high.

i own the 609 silver. now i know what i'm missing out on.

thanks for the clips.

[treymonfauntre]

i finally got around to listening
the 609 silver sounds ****ing awful, the black is even kind of bad. i guess since i can't afford a 409 my next guitar mic will be a 906...
it'll be good for live recordings. just drape it over the top of the cab!

[corworld]

Thanks a lot for this comparison. I see 409's going for $400 on ebay and I now know why. I do agree that the 906 (flat) is the closest. The 409 sounds like you tracked to 2" analog. It sounds so warm. To bad there is no way to get a EQ setting to make the 906 sound more like this. The 906 does have a very usable sound. As for the 609, I'll stick to my 57.

[daryllh]

Thanks for these.

I would have liked to hear the same rhythm played on the guitar. Would have made it more 'objective'.

Good job though. rock on

[WEAPON_X]

anybody ever compared an audix i-5 to the sennheiser 609/906 ? any comments especially on the i-5 vs 906?
thanks !

[nukmusic]

Kyle, have you tried the 906 on toms?

[tINY]

I never realized just how hyped (not bad, but hyped) the midrange is on the 409.

For live use, I guess a parametric EQ could make the 906 sound like the 409, but for recording, I don't know how well it would translate.

Of course, placement is still going to be almost as important as which mic in this series, so for $100 the 609 silver would probably do fine....



-tINY

[Kyle Ashley]

Originally Posted by nukmusic

Kyle, have you tried the 906 on toms?

no but I've used the 409s both live and in the studio with great results. I would think the 906 should work pretty well.

i was actually turned on to the 409s by a drummer who used them on his toms for live gigs. he had an unused one on a gig once, and I stuck it on my guitar rig and never looked back. he wouldn't sell me one so i ended up finding my first 409 in NYC and paying $450 several years ago.

[mrbobo]

I'm liking the 906 flat. I have 2 609 blacks. I knew they were dark ,but wow.

Great post Kyle, thanks!

[adamcal]

for me:

609 black is too dark

409 is OK but needs a bit more highs

609 sliver is OK but needs a little less highs

and the 906 can be made to sound pretty similar the older ones, so is the most versatile choice.

the 906 in Flat position with a little mid poke would be more like the 409

PS, I use 609 silvers on toms sometimes and quite like them.

also remember the 409 was a $400 mic, the 609 a $89 mic.

[De chromium cob]

I have a 409 and have been wondering about the 906.....Now I'll have to pick a couple... Thanks- good post.

[ben_allison]

Thanks for the clips.

Real big differences!

Here's what I came away with:

409 - very scooped. Sounds like it's been eq'd

609 black - so wolly and dark -- no detail or any high freq. to speak of

609 silver - a bit better, but man those highs are spitty and spluttery -- almost sounds like there's some clipping

906 - my fave...kind of like the pluses of 609s and the 409, but without the minuses. I liked it best with the boost engaged. Good cut to it, but less weird phasey anomalies throughout the mids and lows of the spectrum.

Thanks greatly!

Kyle, which mic capture the amp better for you? You were in the room with it...what tells a better story?

[Kyle Ashley]

Ben,

if you're asking which mic most accurately captured the sound of the amp, that would probably be the 906. The 609 was too fizzy and cheap sounding and the Black model was too wooly. I don't hear the 409 as scooped though. It has more midrange depth and smoothness than the others. All in all, it sounds like a more expensive mic, but then, IT IS! It also smooths out edges in gtr speakers, and is really great for taming things like a screechy Marshall/Celestion combo, but it's not a 100% accurate representation of the sound coming out.

My main reason in shooting out these mics was to find a suitable replacement for the 409 in miking my guitar rig when I play live shows. After a couple of scary occasions where it went missing (usually packed in another band members bag by a stage tech), I decided to retire it to the safety of my studio. I chose to keep the 906. It stays in my live bag, while the 409 is what I use for various recordings.

[ARude]

...Uh, I have a 609 [black] that I use all the time on guitar cabs. Mostly I record more traditional blues, R&B, Roots Rock, etc. But my 609 doesn't sound ANYTHING like your posted sample. I think there may be something wrong with that mic. Mine sounds warm and punchy. Every guitarist that I've recorded LOVE's it. I usually hang it through the handle on a combo amp aimed right at the junction of the dust cover and the cone.

[Kyle Ashley]

Hi Al,

are you saying your 609 black sounds nothing like the 609 black sample i posted? i had 3 609 silvers to play with and 2 of the black models. they were all very consistent. i had no trouble with the black model sounding warm and punchy. it was warm to the point of being murky.

[ARude]

My 609 doesn’t sound murky, it sounds flat and before I get accused of flaming I thought your samples were very useful. I been considering adding a 906 to my mic case any your samples made me decide to write the check.

I like flat. If I want a presence peak, I’ll put it there and I can pick where and how much. Same goes for roll-offs and other EQ. I like linear transducers.

It occurs to me that it might not be the mic itself but the preamp. All dynamic microphones are sensitive to loading by the preamp. They are all after all, a transducer with specific impedance loading requirements. Dynamic mics sound differently [to my ear] on transformer coupled inputs vs. transformer-less inputs. For that matter I hear subtle to gross effects from different brands of input transformers. I typically use my 609 on transformer-less preamps.

Blue has addressed the loading problem by placing a preamp in the “Ball” mics. The jury is still out on how effective this solution is. I think that part of the charm of dynamic element mics is its variable tonal “colors” into various preamps. Differences make horse races and good recordings.

I find the “ultimate combination” assertion humorous, ears are WAY too subjective. Shelly Yakus had an SM 57 that he carried around for snare drum recording. It was defective in a way that sounded good to Shelly…

And BTW: Dynamic mic elements and speakers [similar technology] DO wear out. Mylar gets brittle, rubber surrounds degrade, etc.

What puzzles me more, with the resurgence of ribbon mics that are notorious for their impedance sensitivity and high-gain preamp requirements, why more manufacturers [other than Royer] haven’t thought of putting preamps in their ribbons… hummm…

[ampguy]

is the 609 black really that dark?

I liked the 906 a lot.

[tubedude]

We had a 609 Silver and an original 409 (the same EXACT 409 used for the vocals on "Balls to the Wall" cool eh?) on our little mic shootout yesterday, and the 409 sounded much better, smoother. I'm going to get a 906 or two.

[taturana]

i actually liked the fizziness on 609 silver.... i can see how it could be used with another mic (s?) to make a great sound... i know these are mp3 files, but i liked the 609 silver best, the 409 and the 906boost ... the others were too dark...

[6strings]

Cool thread. Thanks Kyle!

I too liked the 906 best. I thought the 409 sounded notched in eq and a bit dull. Maybe it works better in a mix, but it's not so hot on it's own in this example.

[ricknroll]

With the exception of Kyle, who was there, we can't tell which mic sounds the most like the amp, because we don't have a point of reference. Having said that, I think the 409 sounds totally rawk with its midrange goodness. Thanks for posting these!

Rick