Sennheiser ME 34 Cardioid Gooseneck Microphone Head

Sennheiser splits its installed gooseneck microphones into two parts, and the ME 34 is the capsule end: a pre-polarized cardioid condenser head that screws onto an MZH 30xx gooseneck. Buying the pattern separately from the length is what lets a lectern, a council chamber and a boardroom all use different geometry with the same acoustic character.

The cardioid pattern is the general-purpose choice, wide enough that a speaker who moves stays in it, tight enough to reject a nearby loudspeaker. It runs 40 to 20,000 Hz at 10 mV/Pa and takes 12 to 48 V phantom through the gooseneck. The head is 12 mm across, 18 mm long and 9.5 g, so it reads as part of the furniture rather than as equipment. For a tighter pattern step up to the ME 35; for long-throw pickup use the ME 36.