Specifications

21
Wide Cardioids
Microphone Capsule MK 21
– wide cardioid with especially consistent directionality
throughout its frequency range
– pleasant sonic impression, often described as “warm”
– often preferred for use as a spot microphone, or as
the main pair for overall stereo pickup
This type of capsule has a directional pattern between
omni and cardioid. The basic idea in designing this cap-
sule was to combine the advantages of the cardioid
with those of the omni. This results in a pickup pattern
which blends the two sets of characteristics. It has fuller
and more extended low-frequency response than a
cardioid, with less proximity effect, while picking up
more room sound than a cardioid.
The polar diagram shows the directivity of the MK 21
to be only slightly depen dent on frequency. This con-
trasts with omnidirectional capsules, whose directivity
increases with rising frequency, and with cardioids (at
least smaller ones), which tend to accentuate high fre-
quencies that arrive at oblique angles. The MK 21’s
orien ta tion is less critical than with a cardioid, since
direct sound arriving on axis and reverberant or other
sounds off axis are both reproduced accurately. This
lack of coloration in the off-axis pickup produces a
“warm” and natural sonic impression.
The low directivity of this capsule type prevents it
from generating large enough level differences for X/Y
use, though M/S and near-coincident spacings are
often successful.
Together with the cardioid and supercardioid, this is
one of the most preferred types among our capsules.
Length: 22 mm
Diameter: 20 mm
Weight: 17 g
Frequency range: 30 Hz – 20 kHz
Sensitivity: 13 mV/Pa
Equivalent noise level:
A-weighted*: 14 dB-A
CCIR**: 24 dB
Signal-to-noise ratio
(A-weighted*): 80 dB-A
Maximum SPL: 132 dB (0.5% THD)
Polar diagram
from outer
to inner:
up to 2 kHz 4 kHz
8 kHz
16 kHz
*IEC 61672-1, **IEC 60268-1
A frequency response graph for this capsule with the
CMC 6 xt or CMD 2 xt amplifiers is shown on page 135.
COLETTE
modular
Frequency response curve MK 21 + CMC 6
20 50 100 200 500 1k 2k 5k 10k 20kHz
+10
0dB
-10
-20
wide cardioid