Battle of the Boom Mics: Sennheiser MKH 416 vs. DPA 2017 Shotgun Microphone

[@MixYourWay]

Adding my 2 cents! Have owned a couple 416s for years. Have used them in countless shortfilms, doc gigs, feature films, foley. I've been to the desert, ultra humid jungle, high mountain weather and freezing point so at this point my ears pretty much recognize the 416 sound. It's pretty obvious when dealing with Schoeps or Neumann direct sound while in post production. I bought a 2017 in Brussels about 3 months ago. I received it and brought it with me to a documentary film gig a couple days later. First thing I noticed was it's weight. My shoulders really enjoyed using it inside a Cinela COSI19. Literally no handling noise at all. Not exaggerating. The moment I started listening through it the difference between 416 and 2017 seemed pretty obvious to me. The DPA had a MUCH more natural tone and detail. The off axis coloration makes you... I don't know how to explain it, but it makes you Boom differently so to speak. I recorded both outdoors wide frames and indoors and semi indoors. 2017 worked just fine funny thing is I also shot with a 416. Overall I felt the 416 a bit too emphasized, the S sounds felt a bit harsh compared to the 2017. Really enjoyed doing dialog editing with the 2017 material. That being said the 416 does reject a bit more noise thus feeling a bit more reachy.

[@cactuzzsound]

Thank you so much for your deep insights! We are still doing everything on 416, but 2017 is on our shopping list along with some nice mount :)

[@sebastianFZE]

What would you say is a better on camera mic for documentary? I'm afraid that the DPA just doesn't have the same rejection and isolation as the 416, seen as it is a lot smaller.

[@cactuzzsound]

I’d give the 2017 a shot, because of the weight and size. I wouldn’t bother about it’s noise rejection, 2017 seems just to be more comfortable in run and gun situations you can have during documentary shoot.

[@sojournerfornow]

The 416 was intentionally designed for flexibility with the MZW415... with that in place, response becomes pretty much neutral so you have your choice in the field. And of course, in post it can all be dealt with. Your observations about increased reach are important.

[@Nero-here]

@@MixYourWay Hello! You said that you used the 416 in countless shortfilms, doc gigs, feature films, foley, desert, ultra humid jungle, high mountain weather and freezing point without problems. Is the DPA as robust and would you use it in the same conditions? Or you would go for the 416 in that case? I found a new 416 for 790€ and a new dpa costs 920, so i'm not sure wich one to choose.

[@hoodaffairstv]

That DPA looks the perfect size for indoor and some outdoors

[@cactuzzsound]

It not only looks but actually is :)

[@madsmix]

Personally I like and want the DPA 2017! I already have the MKH416.😜 When did it ever hurt to have both!😉

[@cactuzzsound]

Same here :)

[@shingAMarie]

if you like the 416 you'll love the mkh 8060

[@magoostus]

DPA 2017 is a pre-polarized condenser capsule, the Sennheiser MKH416 is a radio frequency biased (thus externally biased) capsule. I do not buy pre-polarized capsules, so I will not buy the DPA 2017, regardless of how it "sounds"

[@cactuzzsound]

So you are 416 user or you have other preferences?

[@madsmix]

"How it sounds" is perhaps the No.1 reason why we all exist as sound professionals. For eg., I do not hesitate to use a dynamic microphone where a condenser mic is normally preferred, simply because it sounded better.

[@jarrodreno]

Could you elaborate on this? Choosing a mics based on how it sounds makes the most sense to me and second would be overall durability especially for location sound gigs. Heard a couple of these 2017's just survived a Nat Geo project up on Mt Everest and destroyed every other mic that has been historically use based on the sound and durability while surviving 80+ degree temp and huge humidity swings in the main briefing tent.

[@RooflessRider]

@@jarrodreno google shows no results for this story - any link to this?

[@sojournerfornow]

A so-called "electret condenser."