AudioChainsDB
Sennheiser

e 901

microphone

$279

Used market: $220*

Manufacturer datasheet

Specifications

2 of 8 values have a recorded source
Connectors
XLR 3-Pin Male·
Has Built In ADC
no·
Transducer Type
Condenser Electret·
Sensitivity dBV
-66
Output Impedance ohms
50·
Phantom Power Required
yes·
Connection Architecture
XLR-Only·
Updated At
2026-08-05T23:39:34.378Z·

Expert Audio Engineering Commentary

Tonal Profile

A half-cardioid boundary condenser that lies on a cushion inside the kick drum instead of being aimed at it. The half-cardioid pattern is what a cardioid becomes when it sits on a surface: no rear pickup and 6 dB of pressure gain from the boundary.

Gain Staging Advice

-66 dBV/Pa (0.5 mV/Pa) is quiet for a condenser and normal for a boundary microphone built for 130 dB inside a drum shell. Phantom is mandatory - it is P48, and the sheet says so plainly.

What the datasheet actually says

Quoted verbatim from the manufacturer’s own page, with the date we checked it. We state what is printed, not what anyone intended by it.

The maker’s own documents disagree
«Nominal impedance 50 Ω»

The specification table gives 50 ohms as a value. The Architect's Specification paragraph on the same page says 'Nominal impedance shall be less than 50 Ω'. A value and an upper bound are not the same statement: the second says the real figure is unknown and below 50, the first says it is 50. The practical consequence is small at this impedance, but the pattern matters - the same sheet layout is used across the whole e 900 range.

checked 8/6/2026

* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~79% retained value). · checked on 8/6/2026