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CardioidNeumann BCM 104

Cardioid Condenser Microphone

The BCM 104 is a condenser microphone designed for studio broadcast use. It is the companion to the BCM 705, a hypercardioid dynamic mic built into the same body.

BCM 104The mic has an integrated yoke mount, and is intended to be mounted on a boom arm as pictured. The XLR cable attaches from the rear, 180° from the on-axis direction.

The capsule in the BCM 104 is Neumann’s “K 04,” about which few details have been published. We will update this profile as more information is made available.

The K04 is described as having a flat response to 3kHz. The mic’s published free-field response is nominally flat (±2dB) from 40Hz–12kHz, with a smoothly rolled-off high-frequency response from 15kHz–20kHz.

The published polar pattern is perfectly Cardioid at 1kHz, with a slight loss in rear rejection at lower frequencies and a pronounced narrowing of the pattern at higher frequencies. Both these effects are typical of large-diaphragm Cardioid condenser models, although this mic’s low-frequency pattern consistency is much better than typical microphones.

The mic’s sensitivity is 22mV/Pa, which is a reasonable level for the mic’s intended application of broadcast voice. The self-noise rating is extremely low, 7dBA, making it likely that the user would hear preamp noise before hearing the microphone’s circuit noise.

A switchable 14dB preattenuation pad is provided; this drops the mic’s sensitivity to 4.4mV/Pa, and raises the max SPL to over 150dB, at the cost of a 14dBA increase in self-noise. This option would only be used for miking very loud sources, or for consoles that provide a fixed high level of amplification on the assumption that any attached microphone is a low-output broadcast dynamic.

BCM 104 Pad and Filter SwitchesThis switch is located on the output connection PCB, and requires the use of a screwdriver to access.

A second switch on the same board enables an active high-pass filter, which cuts lows by 12dB/octave below 100Hz. In practice, the rolloff begins higher, around 300Hz; the -3dB point is 150Hz. The -6dB point is 100Hz.

As is true of the BCM 705 (broadcast dynamic), the BCM 104’s headgrille can be easily unscrewed and removed for cleaning, or to swap for alternate colors. This feature is intended to provide broadcast media studios to have individual grilles for each broadcaster, for hygiene or style reasons.

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Specifications

Pickup Patterns Pads & Filters
Cardioid (22 mV/Pa; 20 - 20,000 Hz)
  • Pad: -14dB (Via Switch)
  • Filter: HPF: -12dB/octave @ 100Hz (Via Switch)
Capsule Dimensions Impedance SPL/Noise
Diameter n/a
50 Ohms (Low) Max SPL: 152 dB
Self-noise: 7.0 dB(A)
Weight Length Max Diameter Interface(s)
500g (17.64oz) 110mm (4.33'') 64mm (2.52'')
  • 3-pin XLR male (1)
Power Specifications
  • Requires phantom power
  • Phantom voltage: 48±4v

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