Neumann U 89 i Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphone - Nickel

The U 89 i is similar in appearance to the U 87. It is of smaller size, and lighter weight. It features five instead of three directional characteristics and a higher maximum sound pressure level which make this microphone easier adaptable to different applications.

In addition to the usual directional polar patterns: omnidirectional, cardioid, and figure-8, Neumann have added a hypercardioid and wide-angle cardioid characteristic. When compared to the standard cardioid pattern, the hypercardioid characteristic suppresses sound from the side more efficiently. The wide-angle polar pattern is especially useful to record large sound sources.

The microphone is addressed from the front, marked with the Neumann logo. The large diaphragm capsule has a very smooth frequency response for all polar patterns over a wide acceptance angle. The frequency response curves are flat up to 10 kHz within a pickup angle of ± 100°.

As a result the U 89 i has a very even diffuse-field response for all polar patterns. This is important in a reverberant environment when more reflections arrive at the microphone capsule. The acoustic information is not affected in its tonal quality when recorded by the microphone.

This characteristic is achieved without resorting to corrective resonance effects.

The capsule it is elastically mounted to avoid any structure borne noise that could interfere with its operation.