[[email protected]]

I've seen u87's with "Ai" written on them and then others with
"A i" written on them with a long space between the A and i. any
difference? which one was manufactured first?

[Sebastian Zuendorf]

wrote:

I've seen u87's with "Ai" written on them and then others with
"A i" written on them with a long space between the A and i. any
difference? which one was manufactured first?

I can't give an exact answer, but Neumann say on their website:
"The letter A in the name indicates a more recent generation, as
compared to the U 87 i microphones that were built from 1967 to 1986.
Modifications apply to the electronic components of the microphone
only; the capsule remained unchanged.

The present-day circuitry increases the operational headroom of the U
87 Ai by supplying the bias voltages for the capsule through a reduced
resistance. The result is a higher sensitivity of 10 dB for identical
sound pressure levels, and an improved S/N ratio of 3 dB."

HTH

Sebastian


--
F: Was ist ein Mathematiker?
A: Ein Gerät das Kaffee in Behauptungen umwandelt.

Die Partyband vom Niederrhein: http://www.stimmtso.net

[[email protected]]

This is what I'm talking about...

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icture2318.jpg

http://i8.ebayimg.com/04/i/001/19/57/a291_0.JPG

see the different?

On Nov 20, 3:23*pm, Sebastian Zuendorf
wrote:
wrote:
I've seen u87's with "Ai" written on them and then others with
"A * * * i" written on them with a long space between the A and i. any
difference? which one was manufactured first?

I can't give an exact answer, but Neumann say on their website:
"The letter A in the name indicates a more recent generation, as
compared to the U 87 i microphones that were built from 1967 to 1986.
Modifications apply to the electronic components of the microphone
only; the capsule remained unchanged.

The present-day circuitry increases the operational headroom of the U
87 Ai by supplying the bias voltages for the capsule through a reduced
resistance. The result is a higher sensitivity of 10 dB for identical
sound pressure levels, and an improved S/N ratio of 3 dB."

HTH

Sebastian

--
F: Was ist ein Mathematiker?
A: Ein Gerät das Kaffee in Behauptungen umwandelt.

Die Partyband vom Niederrhein:http://www.stimmtso.net

[[email protected]]

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icture2318.jpg

http://i8.ebayimg.com/04/i/001/19/57/a291_3.JPG

[Ty Ford]

On Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:02:57 -0500, wrote
(in article
):

I've seen u87's with "Ai" written on them and then others with
"A i" written on them with a long space between the A and i. any
difference? which one was manufactured first?


I think there are two earlier models; the one with the battery compartment
and the one without. I don't know how they designate them.

i means XLR, the A is a more recent model; a bit edgier than the original. I
just had the opportunity to hear both again recently. I liked the TLM 67
better than the Ai.

Regards,

Ty Ford



--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWaPRHMGhGA

[[email protected]]

so no one has a definite answer on what the difference is between
these two mics?

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...icture2318.jpg

http://i8.ebayimg.com/04/i/001/19/57/a291_3.JPG

[Sebastian Zuendorf]

wrote:

so no one has a definite answer on what the difference is between
these two mics?

What about asking Neumann?

Sebastian


--
F: Was ist ein Mathematiker?
A: Ein Gerät das Kaffee in Behauptungen umwandelt.

Die Partyband vom Niederrhein: http://www.stimmtso.net

[david correia]

In article ,
Sebastian Zuendorf wrote:

wrote:

I've seen u87's with "Ai" written on them and then others with
"A i" written on them with a long space between the A and i. any
difference? which one was manufactured first?

I can't give an exact answer, but Neumann say on their website:
"The letter A in the name indicates a more recent generation, as
compared to the U 87 i microphones that were built from 1967 to 1986.
Modifications apply to the electronic components of the microphone
only; the capsule remained unchanged.

The present-day circuitry increases the operational headroom of the U
87 Ai by supplying the bias voltages for the capsule through a reduced
resistance. The result is a higher sensitivity of 10 dB for identical
sound pressure levels, and an improved S/N ratio of 3 dB."

HTH

Sebastian




As an owner of a pair of 1981 87's, I'm curious about the sonic
difference between that version and the current one. David Butler - hey
whatever did happen to David, I haven't heard anything about him in
years - imported the newer ones years back and said they were better. I
wasn't necessarily buying it.

Anyone here own both 87 versions and have an opinion? Don't the 2 models
contain completely different capsules?




David Correia
www.Celebrationsound.com

[nebulax]

On Nov 20, 2:02*pm, wrote:
I've seen u87's with "Ai" written on them and then others with
"A * * * i" written on them with a long space between the A and i. any
difference? which one was manufactured first?


Not sure about that, but I did hear from somewhere that the current
u87 is the only mic still being made in the old Neumann factory in
Berlin. Everything else is made at Sennheiser.

-Neb

[Sebastian Zuendorf]

nebulax wrote:

Not sure about that, but I did hear from somewhere that the current
u87 is the only mic still being made in the old Neumann factory in
Berlin. Everything else is made at Sennheiser.

AFAIK, the old factory is gone as there was someone going to build a
skyscraper at that location.

Sebastian


--
Der Kunde steht immer im Mittelpunkt - und damit im Weg.

Die Partyband vom Niederrhein: http://www.stimmtso.net

[Sebastian Zuendorf]

david correia wrote:

"The letter A in the name indicates a more recent generation, as
compared to the U 87 i microphones that were built from 1967 to 1986.
Modifications apply to the electronic components of the microphone
only; the capsule remained unchanged.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Anyone here own both 87 versions and have an opinion? Don't the 2 models
contain completely different capsules?

See above: The capsule is still the same, they just changed the
electronics for higher headroom and less noise.

Sebastian


--
"Kaffee? Du sagst Kaffee dazu? Das war hochraffiniertes
Industrie-Koffein in einer kandiszuckergepufferten Lösung."
-- Dietz Proepper in d.a.s.r.

Die Partyband vom Niederrhein: http://www.stimmtso.net

[Mike Rivers]

david correia wrote:

As an owner of a pair of 1981 87's, I'm curious about the sonic
difference between that version and the current one. David Butler imported the newer ones years back and said they were better. I
wasn't necessarily buying it.

Stephen Paul said that the newer ones were inferior, and it had to do
with the way the holes in the backplates were drilled. This was
apparently the thing he had the most difficulty with in building his own
mic (with the work continued, after his death, by Tony Merrill and Brent
Casey). It was just too hard to get the parts made with sufficient
accuracy and consistency.

Apparently Neumann had similar problems and made some changes to the
design so that they could make the parts acceptably well in the quantity
they needed. Still good, still Neumann, but just different from what
they used to make. And of course every mic sounds different anyway.



--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)

[HKC]

Actually the old Neumann mics were built near Dresden (in Gefell) but the
production was split up in 1948 due to the east/west situation. The Berlin
department was originally a repair center of Neumann products founded in
that year (1948).
The two companies were closely tied together until 1961 (when the wall was
built) which is also the reason why the two companies make very similar
products and the Microtech Gefell products should not be seen as "copies"
but rather as
two versions of the same thing.
Anyway the old Neuman factory would be in Gefell and is still there while
Neumann is a part of Sennheiser and the Berlin department is laying pretty
low these days.

Not sure about that, but I did hear from somewhere that the current
u87 is the only mic still being made in the old Neumann factory in
Berlin. Everything else is made at Sennheiser.

AFAIK, the old factory is gone as there was someone going to build a
skyscraper at that location.

Sebastian


--
Der Kunde steht immer im Mittelpunkt - und damit im Weg.

Die Partyband vom Niederrhein: http://www.stimmtso.net

[Scott Dorsey]

Sebastian Zuendorf wrote:
david correia wrote:

"The letter A in the name indicates a more recent generation, as
compared to the U 87 i microphones that were built from 1967 to 1986.
Modifications apply to the electronic components of the microphone
only; the capsule remained unchanged.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Anyone here own both 87 versions and have an opinion? Don't the 2 models
contain completely different capsules?

See above: The capsule is still the same, they just changed the
electronics for higher headroom and less noise.

I can confirm this. I have one of the old ones with the Tuchel connector
and the battery compartment and the capsule is definitely the same as
the modern ones. On the other hand, the FET used in the front end is
very noisy by modern standards and almost certainly unavailable today.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Richard Kuschel]

On Nov 22, 4:56*am, Mike Rivers wrote:
david correia wrote:
As an owner of a pair of 1981 87's, I'm curious about the sonic
difference between that version and the current one. David Butler imported the newer ones years back and said they were better. I
wasn't necessarily buying it.

Stephen Paul said that the newer ones were inferior, and it had to do
with the way the holes in the backplates were drilled. This was
apparently the thing he had the most difficulty with in building his own
mic (with the work continued, after his death, by Tony Merrill and Brent
Casey). It was just too hard to get the parts made with sufficient
accuracy and consistency.

Apparently Neumann had similar problems and made some changes to the
design so that they could make the parts acceptably well in the quantity
they needed. Still good, still Neumann, but just different from what
they used to make. And of course every mic sounds different anyway.

--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)

I had a long talk with Stephen Paul a couple of years before he died
and he told me that in order to make the holes exactly the right size,
that the hole needed to be drilled with an undersize bit and then
reamed to the correct dimension.This obviously would be extremely
labor intensive. Stephen felt that this attention to detail was
necessary to build consistent capsules.

[[email protected]]

well I e-mailed neumann and no response so far. they suck ass

[Ty Ford]

On Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:34:21 -0500, wrote
(in article
):

well I e-mailed neumann and no response so far. they suck ass

That's a bit harsh.

Whom did you email and what was the question?

Regards,

Ty Ford


--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWaPRHMGhGA

[Mike Rivers]

wrote:
well I e-mailed neumann and no response so far. they suck ass

Good grief, man. It's Saturday!

Do you have a telephone? Call them. You'd be surprised at how many large
companies don't deal very well with e-mail when it comes to customers.
They do much better by phone.


--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)

[Marc Wielage[_2_]]

On Sat, 22 Nov 2008 09:34:21 -0800, commented:

well I e-mailed neumann and no response so far. they suck ass
------------------------------snip------------------------------

I find you get a lot faster answers just by calling and speaking to a human.
Here's the U.S. numbers:

Neumann USA
1 Enterprise Drive
Old Lyme, CT 06371
(860) 434-9190
(860) 434-1759 - fax
http://www.www.neumannusa.com

The head office is:

Georg Neumann GmbH
Ollenhauerstr. 98
13403 Berlin
Germany
+49 (30) 41 77 24-0
+49 (30) 41 77 24-50 - fax

Neumann actually has very good customer support in my experience,
particularly for service problems and questions.

--MFW

[[email protected]]

well Christopher Currier (Assoc. Product Manager at Neumann) said the
process can take 1-4 weeks. are you ****in kidding me? this is the
computer age. Then he tells me I need to e-mail
... I'm thinkin dude you can't forward
the ****in e-mail yourself? I have to write another e-mail? real
pathetic

[hank alrich]

wrote:

well Christopher Currier (Assoc. Product Manager at Neumann) said the
process can take 1-4 weeks. are you ****in kidding me? this is the
computer age. Then he tells me I need to e-mail
... I'm thinkin dude you can't forward
the ****in e-mail yourself? I have to write another e-mail? real
pathetic.

What is your airheaded ****ing problem, twit? Buy some piece of ****
condensor that suits your piece of **** mentality and be done with it.
You'e a whiney asshole, and I hope your mama is proud.

--
ha
shut up and play your guitar

[Ray Thomas[_2_]]

wrote in message
...
well Christopher Currier (Assoc. Product Manager at Neumann) said the
process can take 1-4 weeks. are you ****in kidding me? this is the
computer age. Then he tells me I need to e-mail
... I'm thinkin dude you can't forward
the ****in e-mail yourself? I have to write another e-mail? real
pathetic

http://www.3daudioinc.com/3db/archiv...php/t-911.html
....... read ......and now stop whining