Sennheiser launches tiny, powerful MKE 1 professional clip-on microphone

Launched by Sennheiser at IBC 2008 in Amsterdam, the MKE 1 will also be highlighted at 125th AES convention, San Francisco. Sennheiser's latest professional clip-on microphone underwent comprehensive field tests to confirm the outstanding sound quality of this compact, professional mike, natural and full with a clear and pleasant treble. Special care was taken to ensure the microphone capsule was fully protected from moisture. “Despite its tiny size — the microphone measures just 3.3 mm across — the MKE 1 offers outstanding sound quality; plenty of lower midrange and excellent presence with good speech intelligibility,” says Astrid Vettin, product manager for Professional Systems. “It has a user-friendly omni-directional pick-up pattern and the microphone picks up predominantly direct sound with relatively little ambient noise; a real advantage for many applications from broadcasting to theatre and musicals.” With high-energy, high-perspiration stage shows in particular, moisture is the natural enemy of any clip-on microphone. Therefore Sennheiser has developed optimal protective measures for the MKE 1: the clip-on microphone can be provided with an outer cover, a multi-purpose cap (see picture) which simply diverts any humidity past the microphone and doubles as a windshield. And from within, a thin, acoustically open stainless steel membrane protects the capsule. “Thanks to a new mechanical design all the contacts are now housed inside the casing or the moulded coating,” explains Astrid Vettin. “This makes the MKE 1 even more reliable.” The anti-kink sleeve has also been improved in order to increase the life of the Kevlar-reinforced cable. With a diameter of just 1 mm the cable is highly resistant to handling noise while a special plastic coating ensures that it tangles less readily. The MKE 1 comes complete with a multi-purpose cap which protects the microphone from perspiration and also serves as a windshield (treble boost of 1.5 dB). Also included is a small frequency response cap, which ensures a treble boost of 2.5 dB for applications where the mike is hidden within the costume or when more brilliance needs to be added, for example for intelligibility. Three make-up protection caps and several thin plastic tubes for shielding the cable when attaching it with clips or adhesive tape are also included. The MKE 1 is available in beige and black and comes with a special 3-pin plug for the Sennheiser bodypack transmitters SK 5212, SK 5012, SK 250, SK 50 and SK 3063 or with an unterminated cable for use with other transmitters.