Neumann KM 184 Stereo Set Small-diaphragm Cardioid Microphones - Matte Black Reviews

Am enjoying the KM 184. Using in ORTF to record worship services. Getting much better results than our former budget SDC cardioids. Add a pair of KM 183's to the KM 184's and the results are great. Another winner.

I know a lot of people on forums say these microphones can be harsh, but I'm recording a bright OM acoustic (bare fingerstyle) into an Apollo Twin / UAD SSL 4000E channel strip in my home studio, and they're perfect for me. I'm a long time Neumann user (U87s, M19s, TLM70s) and this microphone is right up there with the best of them. Clear, detailed, and bigger than life like a good Neumann is supposed to be. These replaced a C414 (mono) for this purpose, and I am more than pleased. Shout out to my sales engineer Jim Swain for excellent service as always.

Bought a "do it all" 103 a while back and was pretty happy with it (this is my first time buying mics and recording).

Finally caved into buying a pair of these for guitar and HOLY BEARD OF ZEUS...

If you're like me and wondering whether adding a small cardioid mic (and this seems to be one of the royal family of that category) to the stable makes sense, let me save you the wishy washy attitude I had. So much more presence and detail in the instrument it's kind of unreal.

Take the leap.

Worth every penny.....

These are super great, but the aren't the only choice. It is more important to have a couple than it is to have fantastic ones. These are fantastic.

The same is true with ribbons. I can easily tell a ribbon from a condenser, but I have a hard time knowing a fairly good ribbon from a fantastic ribbon.

These mics were purchased specifically to record a jazz trio's grand piano in a live, acoustically dynamic lobby-bar environment. In a nutshell, they performed flawlessly and far exceeded expectations (though expectations were fairly high, these being Neumanns and all). Using drum-mounting mic clips we attached these mics directly to the piano, at each extreme of the soundboard. The set-up was fairly tight, so were were concerned about bleed through from the upright bass (only a couple of feet away) and the drums (about 10 feet away, but angled toward the piano). Not only did the mics capture the piano's sound to near 100% accuracy, but the side-to-rear rejection qualities of these cardioids yielded very few extraneous artifacts. So few, in fact, that we were able to edit the piano tracks independently of the band without concern for mismatched background noise or other ambient irregularities. Most gratifying was their ability to handle a wide SPL range without a bit of stutter, loss of clarity or hint of being over-driven. The mics were connected to a portable Pro Tools rig (48k/24-bit) through a Focusrite Octo-Pre and an Avid 003-Rack interface. The results could not have been better. I highly recommend these microphones.

I've been fortunate enough to use a matched pair of KM 184s on numerous classical recordings. I especially like to use them when I set up piano mics, but they also do an incredible job in an XY configuration in front of just about any symphony or other large ensemble. When paired with a solid preamp, they pick up subtle nuanced sounds without a lot of noise that needs to be dealt with later. Worth the price and live up to the Neumann name every time!

I have many many mics in my collection and Neumann never seems to let me down. I have been using these mics extensively for several years now and when combined with a high end pre, I am never disapointed on guitars or brass. Amazingly fast yet warm transient response and no discernable coloration. When you want your accoustic to sound "real"... whether classical or steel string, use these mics. Try them live too.... you'll really be blown away but make sure you keep a close eye on them during breaks.

Im an audio student in college and we had some mess around time today in the studio and i put these two in front of an acoustic guitar, one on 12th fret one on bridge. i also threw a large diaphragm condenser by same make in the center. on a pro tools hd8 native system. panned the two of the corner mics out. so warm so amazingly clear. I love them so much i am getting my own very soon! if they sound that good on acoustic guitars i cant imagine how amazing they would make drums sound. the harmonic overtones of the guitar really stand out and just make the sound truly amazing. get them right now you will be stunned just like i was.

I own a matched pair of these KM184 mics. I set them up in a x-y array on a boom mic for a barbershop quartet. They work really well. The only real issue I have is if I am using them outdoors. The windscreen that comes with the mics does not work well at all (which is why I only gave 4.5 stars).

These mics make my guitar sound angelic!

I record mainly my acoustic guitar (Taylor 314-CE) along with my vocal. I describe my guitar as "a little portable piano" because the sound is complex like a piano: really deep bass tones, strong mids, and pleasant highs. This isn't one of those guitars which sounds flat or just super bassy or just super high pitched; the sound is full and complex. Most mics I've used on it (Neumann TLM102, Neumann KMS 105, AKG C414, AKG C214, Audio Technica AT2020, Royer R121, AEA R84 - all of which I LOVE for their own roles) tend to catch the deep bass tones to the detriment of the nice highs, or sometimes they just make every thing sound flattened. I could EQ, but who wants to do that? Isn't the goal to get the right mics for the right jobs so that we can all just plug in and away we go? These two little bad boys had me amazed the first time I used them. I set up this pair of KM184s with one at the bridge and the other at the fret board, donned my Audio Technica closed back headphones, turned on my interface and ProTools, and strummed my guitar one time. I couldn't believe my ears. The bass tones were there, but so were these gorgeous, crisp, brisk, refreshing, sparkly, shimmering highs I had never fully heard. No air, sizzle, or overtones were lost to these mics. It wasn't just that I could hear some bass, mids, and treble. It was that each of those had tons of depth and character in its own right. I had finally been able to catch what I hear in real life. I've had these for a few months now and will be keeping them for a long time. You wouldn't want these if you have a guitar that's already mostly high and lacks bass and depth because it would accentuate the fact that your instrument doesn't sound full. But for a guitar like a Taylor, these babies are your best friend. You also wouldn't want to use these if you need a lot of mainly bass tone; they do curb off the bass a bit so as to bring out the highs more. For my guitar which has bass to spare, that's fine, but any instrument (like a bass guitar) which really majors on the bass tones needs a different mic. In fact, if you go with these but lack bass, as opposed to swapping them for something else, I would add a middle mic at the 12th fret which has more bass response (like a Royer R121 - GREAT bass response). Then you could blend the two sounds together with your DAW faders and have a killer, complex, dynamic sound.

Construction and craftsmanship quality:
They're Neumann's:) What can I say? They seem like they'll not only perform with extreme precision and quality, but they'll do that for like 6 decades of use. They are durable, but they also feel durable. Yet somehow they are still works of art. Any ole engineer can design something to last, but it takes an engineer with an artist's mind to make something last and make it beautiful too.
Also, these mics stand up to the Neumann quality standard in which all the mics fall within an extremely low tolerance. This means every mic is practically identical. So you don't even need to buy this set to get a good stereo pair. You could buy one, then buy another in 6 months, and they will work great as a stern pair because you bought a quality Neumann (or other quality brand for that matter).
The one thing I don't care for is that the front of the mics (the pickup end, the receiving end) look like they don't protect the capsule much. I know this isn't the case, but it LOOKS like that and makes me uncomfortable sometimes.

Technical features:
These don't have any features per se (HPF, multi-pattern switch). But that's fine because they are great at what they do.

Presentation and Accessories:
The wood box is amazing. I think any mic over $500 that doesn't have a nice wood display box is sort of an injustice. The manufacturer literature looks and feels professional. It is very explanatory; it actually added to my knowledge about these mics, making them more useful. The manual isn't filled with 5 different languages covering "duh" information; it's very technical and practical. The packaging was nice and the two clip mounts and windscreens were as quality as the mics themselves.
The reason these lose 1/2 a star is because the clip mounts are nice but I found out they would cost about $70 each to replace, and they are of course unique so you can't just use any ole mic clip. Neumann makes a shock mount for it, but it's like $250. I appreciate Neumann's microphones enough to pay big money for them if needed, but I hate that they gouge people for simple little mic clips n stuff. I get that you have to protect your investment with quality accessories, but it's just annoying. I don't always record in the same place, so I like to be able to have multiple clips left on stands in my office and in my mobile kit; but with such expensive Neumann clips, this becomes a problem.

Aesthetics quality:
These are beautifully made. They have an even finish which is not prone to chipping. Engraving and lettering is legible and clean. The Neumann logos are well attached and don't look like they're about to fall off.

Pricing:
These are a steal because you get (2) Neumann quality mics for less than $2k, which is practically unheard of.

Glad to finally hear some quality reproduction on my recordings!

I'll start off with the case...it's just cool as hell; wooden cigar box with the Neumann logo on the lid, TOTALLY awesome.

These mics fit very tightly into the clips, almost to the point where it makes me a LITTLE nervous every time I slap em in....but once you set them, they are NOT going anywhere, which is more than I can say for a lot of mics.

And these guys are small too, It'll bug you out at first trying to plug in an XLR when you realize how small they are...but don't let them fool you. These things pick up CRAZY amounts of sound. Small size is also helpful when you need to do a stereo pair in a small space. They are very light too.

GREAT for Acoustic and Classical guitar (although you really have to be in a solid room..these things pick up a lot of 'air', however the payoff is amazing. I just did a classical recording (these things are a MUST for any kind of orchestral music, as they are very accurate without adding many artifacts, and small enough that they don't get in the way!)

I've used them for Overheads a ton, frankly, because this is the only Pair that I have that sounds as good as they do, so I don't have much comparison. I do find myself adjusting the EQ pretty habit-ly with these. I've been in a few situations where they sounded a bit harsh...but I'm fairly certain that's because they are so accurate, and the cymbals themselves were fairly harsh to the ear.

We've even used these on vocals before, (with a pop filter) just for kicks. And I was pretty impressed. It stayed in the mix.

You won't be disappointed with these.

Just like Mitch said in the video, these a awesome for mid to high frequency acoustic instruments. Guitars, drums, cymbals and percussion. Do not use these as a main pair for a large orchestra or wind ensemble. There's too much low frequency drop off to capture the low end in that application. However, good as spots in the woodwinds, high strings and percussion.