Sennheiser MKH-800
The MKH-800 was Sennheiser's high-end studio condenser microphone at the turn of the millennium. It arrived roughly a decade after the company's MKH 80 RF-technology condenser. Period reviews placed it at the professional end of the market, and its flexible pattern set made it a working studio tool, not a niche specialty mic.
It was a multipattern design with omnidirectional, cardioid, wide cardioid, supercardioid, and figure-eight polar patterns. It also had a switchable 6/12 dB pad and a 3/6 dB low-cut filter. Pro Audio Review (March 2001, p.12) described it as feature-packed and aimed at the high end. That flexibility suited tight placements such as crowded drum kits, and MS or other near-coincident setups. Mix (October 2000, p.128) called out both uses in its review.
Sennheiser's own advertising in Mix (June 2001, p.117) pushed the microphone's extended high-frequency reach, out to 50 kHz, as the answer to the wider bandwidth demands of SACD and DVD-Audio. Studio Sound (August 2000, p.28) likewise welcomed the MKH-800 at a time when microphones able to feed fast, high-resolution digital recorders were thin on the ground.
Beyond those reviews, little is solidly documented. No original price, production years, or full specification sheet have surfaced in the sources we hold. The "MKH 800 V" name appears in one review header, but the review doesn't explain what it means.
Known specs (from period reviews)
- Studio condenser microphone
- Patterns: omni, cardioid, wide cardioid, supercardioid, figure-eight
- Pad: 6/12 dB, switchable
- Low-cut filter: 3/6 dB, switchable
- Noted for tight placements and MS / near-coincident recording
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