NeumannBerlin Microphone KM 53 User Manual

neumann.berlin  
the microphone company  
A practical solution was to  
take one the smallest exist-  
ing studio microphone cap-  
sules and install it in the  
smallest possible micro-  
phone. The pressure capsule  
that had been used so suc-  
cessfully in the M 50 mi-  
crophone (where it was in-  
KM 53 – Miniature Microphone  
The postwar years in Germany were shaped by reconstruc-  
tion and new developments in every field. Progress was made  
in virtually all aspects of studio technology, including radio  
broadcasting. The introduction of frequency modulation dra-  
matically improved the audio quality by expanding the trans-  
mission bandwidth and largely eliminating system noise. This  
new method allowed for the full audible range of sound to  
be transmitted intact.  
tegrated into  
a
plastic  
sphere) proved to be more  
than a capable performer  
when placed in a cylindri-  
cal housing of 21 mm in  
diameter. Thus a new om-  
nidirectional microphone  
made its world debut in  
1953 as the KM 53, “KM”  
standing for “Kleinmikro-  
phon”, or “little micro-  
phone”. The capsule, origi-  
nally with a metal dia-  
phragm, was more capable  
of withstanding the intense  
heat generated by the  
bright stage lights of early  
television than any synthet-  
ic film based membranes.  
In recording technology the  
shellac recording disk was re-  
placed by the vinyl record,  
moving pictures came to rely  
more and more on magnetic  
recording technology for  
sound, and finally a new me-  
dium took hold on the scene:  
Television. This placed addi-  
tional demands on devices  
which now not only served to  
capture sound, but in doing so  
inevitably also became visible.  
Of course, we are referring to  
the microphones.  
With regards to the electro-acoustical data, Neumann micro-  
phones already fulfilled the needs of the evolving studio tech-  
nology. Meeting high quality standards for this new medium  
was easy to achieve but the size of the microphones present-  
ed new challenges: the face of a performer would virtually  
disappear behind the bulk of an M 49 or U 47. The audience  
no longer wanted to just hear the artists, they ultimately want-  
ed to see them as well! Neumann was thus faced with the  
For the standards of that  
time, the miniaturization  
was remarkable. A bro-  
chure noted: “Despite the  
dense concentration of  
miniature components in  
this microphone type, a  
high degree of reliability is  
achieved.” The tube chosen  
for use in the KM 53 mini-  
ature microphone was the  
already proven AC 701 k  
from Telefunken.  
The microphone’s acoustic  
characteristics were de-  
scribed at the time as fol-  
lows: “Because of this miniature microphone’s tiny meas-  
urements, the small increase in directivity associated with a  
desired slight rise in the frequency curve occurs in a free  
sound field only at high frequencies”. The phenomenon is  
clearly illustrated in the diagrams.  
The KM 53 laid the foundation for a successful line of small  
diameter microphones whose characteristics will be examined  
in the course of this series.  
challenge of producing smaller microphones, which, while  
maintaining their established technical parameters, could also  
be integrated harmoniously into the television picture.  
 

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