The Sennheiser MKE 600 is a shotgun microphone with a condenser transducer. This microphone is perfect for use on a video camera and is capable of handling even the most demanding cinematic challenges. As a result of its high directivity, the MKE 600 is very insensitive to interference and background noise. In addition, the switchable low cut filter can be used to minimise wind noise. As a condenser microphone, the MKE 600 requires a power supply, which in this case can be provided by 48V phantom power, but also by an AA battery (1.5V). It should be noted that some of the mic's specifications change slightly in battery mode. The MKE 600 also comes with a foam windscreen, a hot shoe mount, an XLR-to-3.5mm cable, and a Sennheiser carrying case.
The Sennheiser MKE 600 has a wide frequency response, which Sennheiser specifies as 40Hz to 20kHz. It actually combines two polar patterns: supercardioid and lobar. Below 2kHz, the microphone operates with a supercardioid polar pattern; above 2kHz, the directivity changes to a more tightly focused lobar pattern as the frequency increases. The microphone's extreme directivity at higher frequencies comes from the interference tube mounted in front of the capsule: Sound arriving from the front passes directly through the grille into the tube, while sound from the sides is diffracted, entering through the lateral slots at slightly different points. These timing differences cause interference – phase cancellations inside the tube – effectively attenuating the level of sounds arriving from the sides.
Professional users will appreciate the advantages of the Sennheiser MKE 600 shotgun microphone. On top of its very high-quality finish, it is compact, reliable, and equipped with a host of extras such as battery operation, switchable low-cut, and a hot shoe mount. News segments, documentaries, and other professional film projects can be realised easily and in great quality. The price-performance ratio of the MKE 600 should also appeal to non-professional users: The KA 600 it ships with connection cable enables a connection from XLR to mini jack, thus expanding the mic's compatibility to a wide range of consumer products.
In June 1945, Prof. Fritz Sennheiser founded the Wennebostel Laboratory, which initially produced measuring equipment. Commissioned by Siemens in 1945, the young company developed the MD-1 microphone, which was launched in 1946. After the development of further microphones, the company was renamed Sennheiser Electronic in 1958. Two years later, Sennheiser introduced the MD 421 dynamic microphone, which is still in production today and still held in high esteem by many sound engineers. Further groundbreaking developments, such as the HD 414 headphones and the classic MD 441 microphone, hugely enhanced the company's international reputation, eventually making Sennheiser one of the leading manufacturers of microphone and headphone systems in the world.
The Sennheiser MKE 600 has many features that make it perfect for use attached to a video camera: Its light weight and the relatively short interference tube ensure easy mobility; battery operation allows the mic to be used even if the video camera doesn't provide phantom power; and the MZS 600 hot shoe mount the mic ships with helps reduces any structure-borne noise with its rubber vibration damping. Of course, the MKE 600's high directivity picks up sound directly from the camera's perspective and effectively cuts out any extraneous background noise – as a good shotgun mic should. There's nothing stopping the next film being a classic!