SOUND ON SOUND

[John Willett]

The 414's fig-8 pattern is not too bad, but it *does* pull in as frequency rises:-



Compared to the MKH 30 which is virtually the same at all frequences:-

[Hugh Robjohns]

I hope that the difference is not big (dual-diaphragm fig-8 VS single-diaphragm fig-8)...

No, it's really not that significant. The imaging precision is slightly better, but most people won't notice the difference, and it's one of those cases of diminishing returns. Yes, it's technically better to use a single-diaphragm side mic, but doing so is very expensive, and perfectly acceptable results can be achieved using conventional dual-diaphragm mics if necessary. Plenty of very successful MS recordings have been made using C414s, U87s, SM69s and so forth...