The 50 sounds almost identical to the 416 if you put the high pass filter on to lower the bass. It also is way more forgiving of “s’s” transients and blocks out more of the ambient noise. The 416 has a sharper, crisper sound, the 50 is creamier. But really you’d have a hard time telling them apart with the bass filter (high pass) on.
Great job Daniel. Because I do mostly voiceover work I prefer dynamic mics for that scenario. For conference calls, Zoom meetings or training webinars the MKH50 has been incredible. For the last several years I was using the 416 and I thought I was happy with that mic. A friend let me borrow his MKH50 and I was hooked. Keep up the great work Daniel.
Thanks, appreciate it! I am really enjoying the MKH50 as well. I’ve even used it outside and I think it does a very good job too. Maybe not quite to the level of the MKH416 in terms of directionality but I think it’s very usable.
Why don’t you use the MKH50 For your voiceover work as well? I don’t understand why people use the SM7B for voiceover when they already have a MKH50. Any reason? :)
@AANasseh the sensitivity of the capsule doesn’t make it the easiest mic to do voiceover with. Unlike the 416 or the SM7B. I mean you could, I’m sure some VO’s might….
@@xdanielpatrick Thanks for your reply. I would assume that it should just be held at a slightly farther distance than SM7B's one fist distance... maybe a foot or two; then the audio should be good with the mic capsule not so close.
@@AANassehyeah you could do that, although as good as the MKH50 is in untreated spaces…you would still really want to treat your environment if you’re doing something voice-over wise. For interviews and talking head videos like corporate or doc work you don’t necessarily need pristine sound but solid dialogue captured. I think that’s the best use-case for the 50.
Thanks for mentioning this video in reply to my comment on Curtis' video. I watched/listened to the whole thing. It honestly is hard to tell the difference even in your non sound treated space. There is less reverb in moments of your video on the MKH50, which is the exact reason I would replace my mkh416 with all my indoor dialogue. My problem is I always look for an excuse to sell something to purchase another thing and I would find it hard to sell my 416 for the 50 and therefore have both. The moment I sell my 416 I'll need to record outdoors. Murphy's Law! I do have an end of year budget of $1200 ;)
Yes, it isn’t a night and day difference as some might say, but I can notice it especially when connected to a Bluetooth speaker or wearing headphones. I do prefer the MKH50 but I would say depending on your use case, if you can treat the environment then the MKH416 is probably plenty enough as Curtis mentioned in his video. If you’re just walking into an environment where you don’t have the time to treat the space for interviews, client testimonials or other things of that nature, the MKH50 does have that edge but it isn’t like a miracle-worker in untreated rooms either (hopefully that makes sense). One thing too, about the 416 unlike the 50 is that you can talk much closer to the 416 (for example, voiceover work) if you’re right on top of the 50 it sounds rough and part of that is because from my understanding the capsule is right in the front of the mic.
Thank you for doing this comparison. You made an excellent observation that the MKH 416 and the MKH 50 were designed for two different environments, namely, outdoor and indoor, respectively. Because both are high-quality boom mics, they could be used interchangeably--with the right acoustic considerations.
Great video! I’ve been using a 416 on a boom in an untreated video studio and there is a definite warble from off-axis sources such as people casually conversing after the shot, plus I can hear a clock ticking from 12 feet away. I just pulled the trigger on a 50 because of the Mic Month sale at SweetWater. I can’t wait to use it!
Just know the MKH50 isn’t a miracle worker, but yes it is quite an improvement over the MKH416 in those circumstances. Also, I didn’t realize the price on the 50 went up!
Thanks for this video, I'm debating on which of these to grab now. I also have a Rode NTG3 (upgraded from the Deity S Mic 2), thinking of grabbing the MKH50 to balance out but I'm unsure. great video overall, might sell the NTG3 and just get the 416 or just get this and keep both. def want great audio on my short films/film projects
I would say the differences aren’t noticeable to the average person. If you’re going to be creating in the same location/spot and can treat the environment you might be fine with just keeping the NTG3 and not upgrading/adding. I would say the MKH50 is better if you’re walking into a space or spot with limited ability to treat the environment (again, not perfect but better). If I had the NTG3 already, I probably would pass on the MKH416 as well regarded as it is.
Yeah the MKH would specifically be for film projects on my other channels, maybe occasional RU-vid content. I use the SM7bs for our podcast but yeah I'm thinking specifically for film projects only really, maybe interviews later.@@xdanielpatrick
I just A-B the MKH50 and your MKH416 with headphones on and the difference was very minimal. If I'd just paid £1300 for a mic I'd want a bigger difference than that. The difference was almost un noticeable in my opinion.
Enjoyed the comparison. If you make another, I would increase the gain on the SM7B to match the volume of the others when you hold it away from your mouth.
Appreciate it. The gain was already at 62 dBs for the SM7B being a dynamic mic. The others were around 47-50 dB. As clean as the Mixpre preamps are, I most likely would have had to max out the gain and introduce excessive noise but I guess for demonstration purposes it wouldn’t have hurt…or I could have plugged in my dynamite stick. Oh well, thanks for the feedback!
Your voice sounds strange at high frequency when you speak using sennheisers mic. But buttery smooth with sm7b. I experienced some colorations like this too. Where is that coming from? The recorder or sennheisers? Or combination of both? I use zoom recorder. F2 & F6.
Didn’t really notice but it could be reflections and artifacts because of the interference tubes on the 416 but I’m not sure. I think the 50 sounds excellent. The SM7B is going to sound nice just cause I placed it so close to me (in frame).
@@xdanielpatrick the 50 is almost the same. Just a little reduction a bit, but stil exist. I experience the same thing with sennheiser e935 recorded with zoom f6. May I know what your recorder is?
It does sound excellent, but have to remember you have to maintain it in frame unlike the others. If that’s not a concern, then the SM7B is a great choice.
