Sennheiser ME 66/ K6 issues and questions

gelojtaboada · Mar 22, 2015

I recently made a great deal and bought a used ME66/K6 from BH Photo, mint condition, no signs of use, just like new...

My main problem here is... Im getting a very low audio signal from this mic... Im quite concerned because I've heard this is one of the hottest mics out there, with a 50mV/P, right? And im getting a very low low sensitivity from this mic... Either with my Nikon D800 and my Zoom H6. :huh:

I'm mostly going to use this mic with my Nikon D800E, and got myself a Kopul LMT100 - Low to High Impedance Matching Transformer (1.5') to use with it.

The problem is that im getting very low levels from this mic, making me push the preamp gain almost to its max... And of course, I'm getting completely unusable audio from this setup... which is quite... disappointing. And I get it, DSLR preamps are BAD... but i was expecting a better result considering the high sensitivity of the ME66. :grumpy:

But what concerns me the most is, when I use this mic with my Zoom H6 I'm still getting very low levels from it... Which makes me push the Zoom's preamp gain high, resulting in high noise and hiss audio. :bang:

My settings pluging the ME 66 to the Zoom H6 are:

ME 66 plugged via XLR to one mono input in the Zoom H6.
48V Phantom powered.
Channel gain is 50%, which is the #5 in the gain knob.
No -20dB padding on the Zoom H6

With this settings im getting a low level audio, about -18dB on the Zoom's monitor VU meter.

Going any higher in the gain knob will result in nasty noise showing up..

:mope:

I would really appreciate your thoughts, your recommendations, and your help to solve this problem.
I hope everything is clear, and understandable.

Thank you Thank you in advance! :cheers:

So, the setup for the test i made with the Nikon D800 & the Zoom H6 with the ME 66 is:

Average closed silent room, rigging the mic on the Nikon's hot shoe with an Auray Shockmount, im about 1 meter away form the mic, which is pretty close...

Using the Zoom H6, i just switched cables between camera and the Zoom, meaning the setup stays the same... (Rigging the mic on the Nikon's hot shoe with an Auray Shockmount, I'm about 1 meter away form the mic)

Thanks for your help!

soundslikejoe · Mar 22, 2015

You've not told us anything about how you're using the mic..... meaning context, mic placement, distance, etc.

Just a guess.... I'd suspect that the mic is too far away from the source.

gelojtaboada · Mar 22, 2015

Hi, thanks for the response, I forgot about it...

So... the setup for the test i made with the Nikon D800 & the ME 66 is:

average closed silent room, rigging the mic on the Nikon's hot shoe with an Auray Shockmount, im about 1 meter away form the mic, which is pretty close...

Using the Zoom H6, i just switched cables between camera and the Zoom, meaning the setup stays the same... (rigging the mic on the Nikon's hot shoe with an Auray Shockmount, im about 1 meter away form the mic)

Hope it helps!

Alcove Audio · Mar 23, 2015

As you pointed out when you plugged into the Zoom the ME66 uses phantom power, which your camera does not supply. So, did you have a nice fresh battery in the K6 part of the ME66? Is the LM-100 the proper convertor for your camera/mic combo? Oh, and for good measure, a new quality mic cable?

As far as the Zoom is concerned you got what you payed for. I've never been a fan of Zoom products personally. You'll read many rave reviews from those who upgraded from the H4n; which means that they had worse gain problems with the H4n than the H6. What you won't hear are many positive reviews from those who use Sound Devices, Cantar and Zaxcom.

Another issue is... a full meter away? That's pretty far. And how meticulously was it aimed. Another issue with better quality gear is that, although it sounds better, it also requires greater precision of use. The ME66 - and most other shotguns in that price range and up - have a narrower "sweet spot" than their low budget cousins, so will have to be aimed at the talent with greater care.

gelojtaboada · Mar 23, 2015

Thanks for the response Alcove Audio!

The battery its fresh, and unfortunately I'm not an audio technician, so I'm not sure if that transformer is propper, it was suggested by Bill, from BH's audio dept.

I chose this setup for documentary filmmaking, where it just me... One man bane, so i liked the versatile qualities of the Zoom H6, and the ME 66.. Well it was the best option for myself, at a great price point (bought used, but mint), the promise of a VERY hot mic,and the ccapability of both phantom and battery power... It contained the perfect match of qualities...

What would be your advice for a better replacement for the Zoom, taking in count the size, weight, and portability overall...

You seem to have experience with this mic... So, can you tell me if you have tried this same setup, and were your results better?? , is this a normal behavior of the ME66?? I just want to be hopeful that I didn't got a defective mic!!

Thanks in advance man!

AudioPostExpert · Mar 23, 2015

gelojtaboada said:
With this settings im getting a low level audio, about -18dB on the Zoom's monitor VU meter.

Does the H6 have a VU meter? Or are you referring to average or peak dBFS levels? As an average, -18dBFS is hot! It's about double the standard (US) broadcast level and very roughly 4 times higher than theatrical levels!

gelojtaboada said:
What would be your advice for a better replacement for the Zoom

By a very considerable margin, a boom op!

G

gelojtaboada · Mar 23, 2015

AudioPostExpert said:
Does the H6 have a VU meter? Or are you referring to average or peak dBFS levels? As an average, -18dBFS is hot! It's about double the standard (US) broadcast level and very roughly 4 times higher than theatrical levels!

The Zoom H6 has an average meter, going from 0 which is the loudest and the "red" part amd going all tthe way down to -32 "green" which is the quietest... Im on the -18 treshold which is about quarter the way of the meter...

AudioPostExpert said:
By a very considerable margin, a boom op!

G

As I mentioned before I'm using this setup for documentary, I'm one man band for this... Is there any close competitors for the Zoom H6? Size matters.

Thanks for the comments!!

AudioPostExpert · Mar 23, 2015

gelojtaboada said:
The Zoom H6 has an average meter, going from 0 which is the loudest and the "red" part amd going all tthe way down to -32 "green" which is the quietest... Im on the -18 treshold which is about quarter the way of the meter...

If that's an average dBFS level then -18 is already plenty hot enough, as I mentioned previously.

gelojtaboada said:
As I mentioned before I'm using this setup for documentary, I'm one man band for this... Is there any close competitors for the Zoom H6? Size matters.

"Noise" is due to 3 factors: The noise of the environment, the noise produced by the mic and the noise produced by the mic pre-amp (in your recorder). When you turn up the gain on your recorder, you increase the level of what you're recording, the environmental and mic noise, as well as the pre-amp noise produced by your recorder. Even spending a significant amount on a top pro recorder will only reduce the pre-amp part of this noise equation! Which, in your case, may not make much of a difference due to the high amount of environmental noise you're probably getting from the distance and precise "aiming" of your mic.

In other words, "no", there are no competitors for the H6 (which will improve your situation significantly). The only things which will improve your situation are a boom op or another type of mic'ing, such as a lav or handheld mic.

G

gelojtaboada · Apr 1, 2015

Im quite disappointed... Specially with the Zoom H6 ME66 combo... Noise floor is terrible, i have to push the gain to 50% on the zoom to get a still quiet signal, even when recording in a very controlled enviroment (Mic placed 9in away from my mouth, rigged in a boom pole, ponted down). If i push the gain knob on the Zoom just a touch higher, nasty noise start to show up, and my levels aren't enough...

Pretty useless for field shooting, Im making a documentary, and its CRITICAL to get good quality audio without huge and advanced systems... the smaller, compact, and comforable, the better, Im swithcing between tripod, glidecam, and moving at all times... all fits in a single backpack and a belt... No assistants, It's just me out there. Hope someone understands..

Im wondering if this is normal with this combo... if someone has the experience with using this combination. I want to avoid investing $350 on a JuicedLink preamp... I'm going to take a while to afford it!!

Filmmakers out there who are using the Zoom H6 and the ME66/K6, is this normal??

Thanks for your support and help!