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The name Neumann has long been synonymous with great sound, with their designs (particularly the U47, U67, and M49) sitting as the crown jewels of many mic lockers worldwide. However, in comparison to older products, newer models such as the M149 and M150 have been met with a somewhat cooler reception from some of the more orthodox players, many of whom are full-on, unabashed Neumann buffs. A good example of this was replacing the KM83 and 84s with the KM183 and 184s, and the move to transformerless circuitry in 1983.
So, with Neumann deciding to once again echo their glorious past with a modern product - the TLM49 - borrowing the body and capsule of the highly regarded M49, but with a modern transformerless, surface mount circuit, the recording community is asking: Is this truly a return to glory, of just a genius stroke of marketing? Well, let's find out.
Overview
The TLM49 is a fixed cardioid mic, which uses Neumann's venerable K47/49 capsule (as found in the classic U47 and M49), and ships complete with the EA3 elastic suspended shockmount. The head grill is identical to the M49 and TLM149, and the body shape is almost identical to the M49. There are no pad or bass rolloff switches.
As to electronics, the TLM49 uses the latest surface mount technology, housed on a high quality ceramic board. With this technology, resistors can be laser-trimmed during assembly to match tolerances with an exceptional degree of precision. Also, the small size and light weight of these surface mount amplifier boards allow them to be mounted elastically, which reduces structure- and handling-related noise.
The SMD preamplifier design is incredibly small, and while it offers benefits such as reduced stray capacitance, it's clearly not intended for modification (it's also not conducive to quick repairs unless you have the proper tools and training). As with many SMDs, rather than replace one of the components, it would likely require swapping out the entire board if an IC or other component failure occurs; which is a problem only if you have an aversion to your gear being worked on by the manufacturer.
Application
I decided to put the mic through the paces of miking various instruments against its historical ancestor, my own...