Sennheiser MKH 800 TWIN NX Dual-Capsule Condenser Microphone

The MKH 800 TWIN NX houses two back-to-back true-condenser capsules - one cardioid, one omnidirectional - in a single mic body, each with its own independent XLR output. Rather than committing to a single polar pattern at the session, an engineer records both capsules simultaneously and blends them in post, continuously sweeping from omni through cardioid to a hypercardioid-like result, or splitting the two signals for parallel processing. That flexibility has made it a favorite for orchestral main pairs, film scoring, and any high-value session where a wrong polar-pattern call can't be redone.

Sennheiser's RF (radio-frequency) condenser design keeps self-noise to a very low 12 dB(A), which matters enormously on a mic meant for quiet classical and acoustic sources, and gives it far better resistance to humidity and temperature swings than a conventional DC-biased condenser. The Nextel-coated body is built for the studio and concert hall rather than rough handling in the field, and it ships as a matched pair-ready single mic that pairs naturally with a second TWIN for true stereo work. It runs on standard P48 phantom power and connects with two 3-pin XLR cables, one per capsule.