NeumannBerlin Microphone KM 54 User Manual

neumann.berlin  
the microphone company  
brane at the same instant  
that the sound travelling  
around the side strikes the  
front. Ideally, the resulting  
forces cancel at the mem-  
brane and do not produce  
any output. In this way, a  
cardioid directional charac-  
teristic is achieved.  
KM 54 – Miniature Microphone  
The KM 53 omnidirectional microphone was the first in Neu-  
mann’s family of miniature microphones. A much desired sib-  
ling for this family was a microphone with cardioid pickup char-  
acteristic. For this it was necessary to develop an entirely new  
capsule, as the familiar existing cardioid models were far too  
large for a miniature microphone.  
The illustration shows the capsule’s painstaking construction.  
In the diagram of the complete capsule (above left), one half  
The membrane of the  
KM 54 was made from  
pure nickel formed on top  
of a layer of copper foil,  
using a galvanization meth-  
od developed by Neumann.  
The copper is then dis-  
solved leaving a layer of  
nickel measuring only 0.7 µ  
in thickness, which is then  
attached to one of the rings  
surrounding the back plate  
electrode. It would take  
1,428 of these membranes  
layered one on top of the  
other to reach a thickness  
of 1 mm. The results of this  
meticulous capsule con-  
struction were exemplary  
frequency and polar char-  
acteristics.  
of the membrane has been removed to expose the back plate  
electrode. The diagrams in the bottom row show (from left  
to right) the back plate electrode with the contact spring in-  
side (rear view), the delay plate, the distance ring and the  
capsule holder with the rear sound inlets. Above right we see  
the cover with a fine wire mesh in the middle.  
The arrangement of the delay plate between the rear sound  
inlets and the back plate electrode forms an acoustic laby-  
rinth. Inside the capsule, sound from behind the microphone  
is delayed just enough to reach the back side of the mem-  
After the introduction of  
the KM 54 in 1954, it very  
quickly acquired an excel-  
lent reputation as a voice  
microphone for radio and  
television. It was used in  
many chambers of parlia-  
ment and served at the lec-  
tern of the United Nations  
General Assembly in New  
York. It was equally suc-  
cessful as a supporting mi-  
crophone for musical re-  
cordings.  
The KM 54 was produced  
from 1954 to 1969. Thou-  
sands of highly revered 54s  
are still in service today.  
 

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