SennheiserMK 8
microphone
New retail price (MSRP)
$799
Used market: $625*
Specifications
1 of 9 values have a recorded source- Connectors
- XLR 3-Pin Male·
- Built-in converter
- no·
- Self-noise
- 10·
- Transducer
- Condenser True·
- Sensitivity
- -37✓
- Output impedance
- 50·
- Phantom power required
- yes·
- Connection
- XLR-Only·
- Indexable Locales
- ·
Expert Audio Engineering Commentary
Tonal profile
Sennheiser's large-diaphragm studio condenser above the MK 4: five patterns, a real low-cut and pad, and a 10 dB(A) floor that is genuinely low for a one-inch capsule. Voicing is closer to neutral than to the scooped modern LDC.
Gain staging
-37 dBV/Pa is on the quiet side for a one-inch condenser; the 10 dB(A) floor buys that back. Expect to run 5-6 dB more preamp gain than with a TLM 103 for the same source.
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.
«Sensitivity in free field, no load (1kHz) 14,1 mV/Pa»
One sensitivity and one noise figure of 10 dB(A) cover all five switchable patterns (omni, wide cardioid, cardioid, supercardioid, figure-8). The page names no pattern for either number. A dual-diaphragm capsule changes output level when the rear diaphragm is re-polarised, so the figure can only be true for one of the five.
checked 8/6/2026* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~78% retained value).