Sennheiser 441 Question

[guinsu]

I just got 2 441's recently. They are pretty old, early 80's I'd say judging from the manuals and brochures in the cases. I have been reading on the forums that some of these mics tend to degrade over time and need servicing. How can I tell if my 441 is as good as it can be? I noticed neither mic is as bright or edgy as a 421, even with the bright switch on, is that normal? I'll admit some of that could be due to positioning, I noticed these mics are very sensitive to placement, much more so than the 421 or the SP B1 that I am also using for guitars.

I'm sure the mics are likely to be fine, but I am just paranoid and want some reassurance

 

[Han]

I understand you have a 421 as well.

I have 421's and 441's and indeed the 421 sounds a little hotter than the 441, which has a bigger bottom end and sounds somewhat more silky in the highs.

The 441 will sound very true to the source, when recording acoustic instruments like sax or Tbone. I was surprised by it's sound on violin, but a little dissapointed on upright bass.

Try your 441's on a couple of acoustic instruments and you'll find out whether they're good or bad. The 441 can sound a tad too bright on trumpet, but the 421 is even worse on tpt and you'll have to cut at least 6dB of the high eq.

So, the 441 sounds like a hi end 421 with a tad more lows and a tad less, but nicer highs.

The 441 is a super cardioid, but with a very nice off axis response. The 421 is a wider cardioid.

Hope this helps.