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Neumann History

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More than Just Microphones ...

By 1928 Neumann had spread his attention to
other  aspects  of  studio  engineering,  such  as
record making. It was his interest in record tech-
nology that was, in fact, the real reason for the
split with Eugen Reisz.

His  enthusiasm  and  Reisz’  opposition  were
stirred by a commission from Neumann’s friends
in  England  to  build  a  machine  for  cutting
records. This machine was to become the basis
for  Georg  Neumann  &  Co’s  secondary  line  of
products.

The  earliest  disc  cutting  machines  were  belt
driven. The head was moved forward by a spin-

dle, which was itself driven via
a worm gear and a further gear
from the base of the turntable.
The  obvious  parallel  between
this  configuration  and  later
record playing deck is particu-
larly significant when it is con-
sidered that by 1930 Neumann
had  already  made  the  transi-
tion  from  belt  drive  to  direct
drive with the motor acting as
a direct extension of the turn-
table spindle.

Throughout the ’30s and early
’40s the company began to take on a recognis-
able shape. Diversification brought continued
innovation, ranging from electro-acoustic meas-
urement  equipment  to  cinema  gongs  and  sta-
tion identification code signals (used by broad-
casting  companies  to  broadcast  their  station
identification) to standard linear microphones.

Neumann also developed a pistonphone for cali-
brating both standard and pressure microphones.
The  pistonphone  generated  a  sound  pressure

which could be controlled optically with great
accuracy within the 20 Hz to 600 Hz range via
the movement of a piston which displaces a giv-

en  volume  of  air.  The  amplitude  of  the  piston
was  observed  through  a  microscope,  enabling
the microphones to be calibrated to an excep-
tionally high degree of accuracy.

His Most Important Invention?

It  was  during  the  course  of  this  widening  de-
velopment work that Georg Neumann made his
most important contribution to modern electri-
cal engineering. In 1947 he de-
veloped  a  process  by  which
nickel-cadmium  batteries  could
be  made  without  the  excessive
formation  of  gas  and  so  totally
gas tight – an invention that has
direct links with virtually every
modern  electronic  apparatus.
Flash units, hearing aids, camer-
as, radios, etc, all rely on minute
nickel-cadmium batteries, whose
availability  is  the  result  of  this
development.

One of the by-products of Neumann’s process
were stability cells, containing a cathode con-
sisting essentially of cadmium, cadmium oxide
and a nickel anode. These cells had a compara-
tive capacitance of 100 to 160,000 µF at a fre-
quency of 50 Hz, depending on the size of the
cell, and Neumann was able to use them to sta-
bilise the heating voltage for condenser micro-
phones.

Their  outstanding  filtering  capacity  was  ex-
tremely useful for filtering the heating current,
particularly for directly heated tubes.

The  Big  Success

In retrospect, 1947 was a prolific year for the
Neumann company. On top of one major discov-
ery  the  company  launched  the
microphone  that  has  probably
had the greatest influence in the
development  of  modern  studio
microphone technology. The U 47
was the first switchable pattern
condenser  microphone.  Its  im-
pact, especially in America, was
such  that  the  dominance  of
RCA’s ribbon microphone as the
studio standard was eclipsed.

The U 47 had a double diaphragm
capsule. Both diaphragms could
be polarised with the same volt-
age  or  neutralised  with  respect
to  the  centre  electrode,  so  that
the omnidirectional and cardio-
id characteristics were adjusta-
ble.  A  ‘special’  (U 48)  was  also
produced,  in  which  the  dia-
phragms could be polarised with
opposite voltages with respect to the centre elec-
trode, so that it was possible to switch between
cardioid and figure-of-eight directional charac-
teristics.

Содержание 180 Series

Страница 1: ...Neumann History 1928 2005 English ...

Страница 2: ...crophone that the first German radio sta tion a Berlin station broad casting on the 400 m band sounded its first yawp from Vox House on Potsdamer Platz in 1923 With a linear frequency response between 50 Hz and 1 kHz this microphone had an ex cess of 10 dB up to 4 kHz which decreased to approximately 15 dB at 10 kHz Not quite what we would call a studio microphone these days Neumann had never been...

Страница 3: ... Important Invention It was during the course of this widening de velopment work that Georg Neumann made his most important contribution to modern electri cal engineering In 1947 he de veloped a process by which nickel cadmium batteries could be made without the excessive formation of gas and so totally gas tight an invention that has direct links with virtually every modern electronic apparatus F...

Страница 4: ...which was to remain the only stereo microphone in the world for many years Measuring Technology During the course of the next two and a half decades the potential for realistic sound re production offered by stereophony generated intensified research in the recording world For the laboratories one of the first breakthroughs was the arrival in 1934 of Neumann s P 2 the first factory produced logari...

Страница 5: ...development contract was awarded and the first amplifier built was a 34 dB am plifier designated TV which had excellent specifications It was to become the heart of a series of studio devices and gave rise for ex ample to the TEV equaliser and the TRV chan nel controller The individual components were developed in the early sixties Then at the 1963 Radio and Television Exposition in Ber lin Neuman...

Страница 6: ...oduced the DMM technology in which the phonographic foil was replaced by copper foil resulting in D D D D Direct M M M M Metal M M M M Mastering DMM DMM DMM DMM DMM This resulted in substan tially improved pulse fidelity of the recorded signal which represented another significant improvement in the sound quality of phono graphic records One Step Ahead Again The TLM Technology At the 1983 AES Conv...

Страница 7: ...ann Bottle 1949 MM 2 Cal Microphone 1954 MM 3 1959 MM 5 1969 KM 88 Variable Miniature Microphone 1949 U 47 Variable Condenser Microphone 1957 U 48 1966 KM 73 75 Miniature Microphones for Modulation Lead Powering 1953 KM 53 Miniature Microphone 1954 KM 54 1955 KM 56 switchable 1960 KM 253 256 RF proof 1993 TLM 193 Studio Microphone 1991 KMS 140 150 Vocalist Microphone 1951 M 50 Condenser Microphone...

Страница 8: ...ome of the last large consoles in N 7000 tech nology were installed in the Berlin Philharmo ny and in regional studios of the Austrian broadcaster ORF Since 1993 Neumann concentrates itself on stu dio microphones Herewith lie the core compe tence the tradition and 70 years experience of Neumann Berlin Neumann Moves In 1993 a decision was taken to move micro phone production to the parent firm Senn...

Страница 9: ...d of the Millenium At the end of 1998 exactly one century after the birth of Georg Neumann the M 149 Tube inspired the new M 147 Tube Limited to the most popular directional characteristic the car dioid characteristic the M 147 Tube features the same capsule and circuit technology as the award winning M 149 Tube Another highlight in the history of the compa ny occurred shortly before the end of th...

Страница 10: ...deo music and fire works show choreographed on a Berlin lake which amazed even the guests who were professionals in this field On the occasion of the anniversary Neumann put a costly Platinum Edition of the M 149 Tube on the market which has become a coveted item especially for microphone collectors An unusually detailed insight into the history of the compa ny 287 pages illustrated with more than...

Страница 11: ... the distance be tween the diaphragm and the electrode has al ready been determined by the second plane of the electrode In such cases the finishing is per formed on special lathes After lapping or lathe finishing the holes must be deburred followed by a visual inspection us ing a powerful microscope Diaphragms are made from a 6 3 µm thick pol yester foil such as Mylar This is first attached to br...

Страница 12: ...eat atten tion to all aspects of insulation Quality control devoted to this aspect includes a moisture chamber in which capsules are placed until both the diaphragm and microphone body are dripping wet Even under these condi tions insulation resistances to the order of 20 x 106 Mohms are measured in the capsules Another test is to cool the microphones to slightly above freezing point and then plac...

Страница 13: ...MM disc cutting equipment P 11 The transformerless microphone TLM 170 R fet 100 series Hybrid circuit Active capsules AK 40 and AK 20 of the KM 100 series 1988 1996 Spherical surface microphone KFM 100 1992 Boundary layer microphone GFM 132 1990 P 14 Stereo shotgun microphone RSM 191 1988 Company s headquarters in Charlottenstrasse Berlin Company s headquarters in Ollenhauerstrasse Berlin P 15 Lar...

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