Schoeps CCM 41 Supercardioid Compact Microphone

The supercardioid has the greatest directional effect of any first-order pressure gradient transducer. The response 90° off-axis is -10 dB. The polar diagram is consistent at all frequencies, which means that regardless of its direction of origin, sound will be picked up free of unwanted coloration. For this reason the supercardioid is the preferred type of microphone for dialog recording in film and video sound, particularly indoors.

From low to midrange frequencies, the directionality of a supercardioid is comparable to that of a “shotgun” microphone.

CCM 41

The CCM 41 is strongly directional. Sound arriving from off axis is attenuated even more than with a cardioid. The pickup is “drier” and less susceptible to acoustic feedback than any other SCHOEPS microphone type (a loudspeaker should not be located directly along the rear axis of the microphone, however).
Its directivity is highly independent of frequency, so that even sounds arriving off axis and reverberant sound are registered without coloration. Consequently, even distant placement of the capsule produces a very natural sound pickup. This is a real advantage over interference-tube “shotgun” microphones, whose directivity is very frequency-dependent – exceeding that of a supercardioid only at higher frequencies. Interference-tube microphones are notoriously sensitive to their position in a room, where the shifting patterns of reflections cause corresponding shifts in sound colour.

• supercardioid with highly consistent directionality throughout its frequency range
• for music and speech
• high directivity, comparable to that of a short “shotgun“ microphone up through midrange frequencies
• often preferred for use in film sound recording and as a spot microphone in orchestras

CCM 41V

Like the CCM 41, the CCM 41V is useful in all situations with music or speech, either as “spot“ microphones or as overall directional microphones. How ever, this type of microphone is addressed from the side.

It excels particularly in the constancy of its polar response throughout the audio spectrum. As a result, sound within 90º on either side of the main axis is picked up with virtually no alteration of frequency response or tone colour. This is strongly evident with sound sources that are in motion, but is also of great benefit in obtaining stable, precise stereo imaging for normal music recordings.

• supercardioid with especially consistent directionality throughout its frequency range
• “vertical” (side-addressed) supercardioid capsule
• for a very wide range of recording applications
• high directivity, comparable to that of a short “shotgun“ microphone up through midrange frequencies
• often preferred for use in music and speech recording, as a spot microphone and also as a main microphone, especially when using the OCT recording method

Applications

The CCM 41 is a surprisingly effective, space-saving alternative to shotgun microphones – and being small, it can often be placed closer to the sound source.
An M/S microphone arrangement can be set up at quite some distance from the sound source if an CCM 41 is used for the “M“ channel.

The CCM 41V is preferred for use as a support microphone as well as in the OCT (“Optimized Cardioid Triangle“) microphone system for surround sound recording introduced by Dr. Theile (formerly at the Institute for Broadcast Technology). (The front left and right channels in that system are picked up by sideways facing supercardioid microphones)

The CCM 41V may be easier to use in near-coincident setups than the CCM 41: the microphone bodies do not get in each other's way.

CCM Series User Manual