The M 147 Tube Microphone from Neumann is a vacuum tube large diaphragm condenser microphone with a cardioid polar pattern. The pressure gradient, dual diaphragm capsule is the K 47/49, inherited from the legendary U 47 and M 49 microphones. Following the tube is a transformerless output circuit providing low self-noise and high output gain without adding color to the signal.

The M 147 Tube delivers high output levels, allowing the microphone to feed cables up to 984.3' in length without signal degradation. The side address capsule features a cardioid polar pattern, which is effective in minimizing ambiance and noise coming from the off-axis sections of the microphone. The capsule features a flat frequency response to the upper mid-range, and a boost of up to 3 dB above 2 kHz. The M 147 Tube is a suitable microphone for recording vocals and general instruments such as strings, piano and wind instruments.

For General Studio Use    Large Diaphragm Condenser    Cardioid Polar Pattern    Vacuum Tube Based    Pressure Gradient DD Capsule    Transformerless Output Circuit    Allows Long Cable Runs    Minimizes Off-Axis Noise    Flat Freq. Response to Midrange    Enhanced Upper Frequency

The M 147 Tube features a combination of solid state and vacuum tube circuitry. The Vacuum tube design provides a type of warmth and definition not often found in solid-state circuitry.

Featuring the K 47/49 dual diaphragm, adapted from the legendary M 49 and U 47 Tube microphones. The M 147 maintains the level of sonic character at a modest price point.

The Transformerless output design provides a low noise floor and output gain high enough to feed cables up to 984.3' in length without degradation in signal.

The cardioid polar pattern effectively minimizes off-axis noise caused by room ambiance, instruments, monitors etc. The pattern offers a more generous pick up area with lower range frequencies.

The Neumann N 149 A power supply effectively powers the microphone and is compatible with both the M 149 and 147 microphones.

Related Questions and Answers

Q: 1. Hi , can use and record for instruments too?

A: Yes you can. It functions as a mic pre and a direct box. So you can use it on a mic or an instrument.

Q: 2. can you mount an ak45 capsule on this mount? or does it need another power capsule behind it?

A: The KM 145 is a modular microphone system. Consisting of the AK 45 capsule mounted a top the KM 100 phantom power supply output stage. So it does not need another power supply. The KM 100 is always the output stage for the currently available 7 different capsules. Available are omni diffuse-field equalized, omni free-field equalized, cardioid, wide-angle cardioid, cardioid with bass roll-off, hypercardioid, and figure-8. In addition there are accessories available for different applications. Such as swivel mounts, table stands, goose-necks, stereo mounts, etc.

Q: 3. What type of microphone is recommended for Neumann KU 100?

A: The KU 100 dummy head ships complete with a microphone built into each ear for binaural recording. The unit ships with a 5 pin to dual 3 pin XLR output cable and can be powered via its included AC adapter, AA batteries or phantom power.

Q: 4. Can these also accept capsules from SKM-185? In other words; are they interchangeable?

A: No. These are fixed capsules. The KM 100 series has interchangeable capsules.

Q: 5. Does the microphone come with the SG2 mounting ring?

A: No, the Neumann SG2 Stand Mount does not fit the Neumann U 89 i Large-Diaphragm Multipattern Condenser Microphone. The microphone comes with a wooden storage box and the mounting accessories are available separately. The Neumann SG 289 Stand Mount for U 89 i Studio Microphone (B&H # NESG289) and the Neumann EA89I - Elastic Suspension Shock Mount for use with Neumann U89 Microphones - Nickel (B&H # NEEA89I) are the two options that Neumann offers for mounting the U 89 i Microphone.

Q: 6. Will it fit the AKG Lyra if stretched?

A: We do not know as we do not test this item with other brands and models.

Q: 7. Can this be battery powered? I'm looking for a small preamp to put on my camera.

A: It works off of a 9V 1000mA AC wall-wart . Theoretically, if you have a battery that can output that amount, it should run. However, do note that tube preamps (otherwise known as Class A preamps ) are power-hungry, inefficient, require several minutes of warm-up before accurate use, and heat-intensive, but provide the best signal-to-noise ratio when adding amplifying a signal (thus they are a staple for using very low-signal mics such as ribbon mics). However, for a portable solution to strap to a camera, this is far from ideal due to heat, power consumption/efficiency, and the fact that it is not designed to be mounted on a camera but rather set on a table- it's best (and designed) use is recording music or VO work in an indoor scenario.

Q: 8. what are the case dimensions?

A: The microphone: 8.04 x 2.8 (201 x 70mm) LxD The case dimensions are not published but they are smaller than: (LxWxH) 16.0 x 14.0 x 6.5 Neumann has not provided the carrying case dimensions.

Q: 9. Have users enjoyed good results when recording live string and orchestral performances? Would you recommend a different model for strings? Perhaps even a different brand?

A: It would depend on the size of the string section and the stereo technique you are using. For a small string section recorded in an XY or ORTF technique the KM 184 is perfect. But if you are talking about a full string section 30 to 60 people then no not the right mic. The capsule is to small and the stereo techniques are not broad enough. I would suggest the Microtech Gefell M 930 Large-Diaphragm . The stereo technique I would suggest the MS or Blumlein. With these mic's and either of those techniques the stereo imaging would be spectacular.

Q: 10. what means Mini Pressure Condenser Microphone ? could be used for drum Overheads miking?

A: Certainly. The KM 184 is suitable for X,Y style stereo capturing, percussion, wind instruments, piano, leslie speaker, and guitar amplifiers. The KM 184 can handle sound pressure levels up to 138 dB, allowing fairly close miking of instruments (including drums). Cardioid microphones, which make up the majority of models, are a 50:50 mixture of pressure and pressure gradient transducers. Pressure condenser microphones:This type is provided with a high-tuned diaphragm. The diaphragm mass(together with the vibrating air mass) is made small, the restoring forcelarge. Blind holes in the backplate, and sometimes an additional air pocketdiminish the stiffness of the air cushion sufficiently to bring the diaphragmresonance into the region of the microphones upper cut-off frequency. Inthe rising portion of the resonance curve (below the resonant frequency),the diaphragm velocity then increases with frequency and ensures the requiredconstant diaphragm excursion