AudioChainsDB

SennheiserMD 421-II

microphone

New retail price (MSRP)

$399

Used market: $310*

Check price at ThomannManufacturer datasheet

Specifications

5 of 8 values have a recorded source
Connectors
XLR 3-Pin Male·
Built-in converter
no·
Transducer
Dynamic Moving Coil✓
Sensitivity
-54✓
Output impedance
250✓
Phantom power required
no✓
Connection
XLR-Only✓
Indexable Locales
en·

Expert Audio Engineering Commentary

Tonal profile

Pressure gradient cardioid, 30 Hz to 17 kHz, with a five-position bass rolloff on the collar. Electrical impedance is 250 ohms - higher than the 150 ohms of the Shure dynamics, which matters on long cable runs into low-impedance inputs.

Gain staging

Sennheiser publishes 2 mV/Pa, which converts to -54.0 dBV/Pa. Same neighbourhood as an SM58, 5 dB above an SM7B: the 421 is not the gain-hungry mic its price bracket suggests.

Setups using this gear

Does the Sennheiser MD 421-II need a booster into the Audient iD4 MkII?

* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~78% retained value).