Sennheiser MKH 8030 Figure-8 Condenser Microphone

The MKH 8030 is the figure-8 (bidirectional) capsule in Sennheiser's modular MKH 8000 series, picking up equally from front and back while rejecting sound arriving from the sides. On its own it is a natural fit for face-to-face interviews and duets, but its real role in most kits is as the "Side" half of a Mid-Side (M-S) stereo pair, paired with an MKH 8040 cardioid or MKH 8050 supercardioid as the "Mid" mic. That combination gives an engineer a fully mono-compatible stereo image with adjustable width, decoded after the fact in post - a technique widely used in film sound, orchestral recording, and ambience capture.

Built on Sennheiser's RF (radio-frequency) condenser design rather than a conventional DC-biased capsule, the 8030 holds the same low 13 dB(A) self-noise and resistance to humidity and temperature swings that defines the rest of the MKH 8000 line, so an M-S pair stays reliable through a long outdoor shoot. A 30 Hz to 50,000 Hz frequency response and 139 dB SPL max handling give it plenty of headroom. Like its siblings, the capsule mounts to the shared MKH 8000 amplifier body and runs on standard P48 phantom power over a 3-pin XLR.