M81
microphone
$249
Used market: $195*
Specifications
5 of 7 values have a recorded sourceExpert Audio Engineering Commentary
Tonal Profile
Sold as the flatter, more open sibling of the M80: a thinner grille and less low-mid emphasis, aimed at snare, guitar cabinets and instruments.
Gain Staging Advice
Telefunken publishes exactly the M80's numbers for this microphone, transformer part designation included, so treat it as -56.3 dBV/Pa and plan accordingly. That is a hungry dynamic: assume 55 to 60 dB of preamp gain for a close-miked snare, and more for anything quieter.
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.
«Type: Dynamic | Polar Pattern: Supercardioid | Frequency Range: 50 Hz - 18 kHz, +/-3 dB | Capsule: 25mm Dynamic Moving Coil | Transformer: TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik T80 | Sensitivity: 1.54 mV/Pa, +/-1 dB | Output Impedance: 325 Ohm | Maximum SPL (for 1% THD): 135 dB»
The M80 and M81 are sold as two different microphones - different grille, different voicing, different intended sources - yet their published specification tables are identical field for field, including 'Transformer: TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik T80' on the M81 page, which is the other model's part designation. Either the two microphones genuinely share every measured parameter and differ only in acoustic housing, or one table was copied from the other. Both readings have the same practical consequence: the sensitivity figure cannot be used to choose between them, and for gain planning they must be treated as one microphone at 1.54 mV/Pa, that is -56.3 dBV/Pa.
checked 8/5/2026* Estimated with the depreciation fallback (~78% retained value). · checked on 8/5/2026