TLM 102

Tonal Profile

Half-inch cardioid with a transformerless output and a gentle presence lift above 6 kHz; the pop screen is built into the headgrille.

Gain Staging Advice

Neumann publishes 11 mV/Pa and no decibel figure at all, which is why this microphone circulates online with three different numbers attached. 11 mV/Pa is exactly -39.2 dBV/Pa - 19.8 dB above an SM7B, so on a 60 dB preamp the TLM 102 leaves roughly 20 dB of headroom the SM7B does not. Self-noise is 12 dB-A and max SPL 144 dB, a window wide enough that in any normal room the preamp, not the microphone, sets the floor.