at4050 match pair?

i guess A-T claim that their QC is so tight that any 2 mics of the same model will be close enough in performance to be considered "matched"
 
ozraves said:
The general rule on makers who do not provide matched pairs is to get consecutive serial numbers.
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That's not really that great of advice either. Lots of manufacturers assign serial numbers long after the mic is finished or long before. There really is no merit to consecutive serial numbers. I recently purchased a matched pair of Earthworks TC30's and their serial numebrs are 5 numbers apart. Don't you think that if their was any merit to consecutive serial numbers that these serial numebrs would have been closer?

That being said, most quality minded manufacturer's (AT included) mics have close enough tolerances to make a "matched pair" not necessary in most applications.
 
sort of matched

Raw-Tracks said:
That being said, most quality minded manufacturer's (AT included) mics have close enough tolerances to make a "matched pair" not necessary in most applications.
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Just curious about your few words: you said "in most applications"... what do you mean? Are there certain applications where having a matched pair is more important than other applications? If you're gonna use a matched pair for an application where you need a matched pair, then how could anything less than a match pair be ok? You either need/use matched or you don't...you can't "kind of" need/use one, can you?

I don't mean to sound nitpicky, I'm just confused by what you said, and maybe you didn't mean what I'm understanding it as..
 
I said "in most applications" mainly to cover my butt. I can only expect someone will come on here and explain to me why a certain application will absolutely require a closely matched pair, personally, I can't think of one. My "stereo pair" applications include drum overheads and room mics, either X-Y or spaced pair, acoustic guitar applications, piano, etc. None of which require a "matched pair" in my opinion.

Again, manufacturers like AT or Neumann, etc will have close enough tolerances on any 2 off the shelf mics.
 
i would hope that any mic that you throw some decent money into would sound like another of the same model, regardless of model #.
 
I have used a pair of 4050s for about a year and a half whenever I think a stereo pair fits the bill. I haven't had any phasing or volume issues whatsoever. I bought them at the same time but they aren't consecutively numbered. For the price and my needs they are a great solution. my $.02
 
for the question of when a a matched pair is absolutely NEEDED...

lots of classical music is recorded with stereo pairs set up in an x-y, ORTF, or other such setup somewhere within the room that the music's being performed in. in cases like these, it's absolutely crucial that both mics perform in an identical manner
 
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