Latest Opinions On Currently-Available M7s?

[Nen'O]

I just got reply from ARK guys, they are not making capsules, in their mics capsules are made in china factory to theirs specs and those are not for resale.
They offer reskinning old capsules.
Sorry for spamming with wrong leads.

 

[OneRoomStudio]

Getting back to the original topic, has anyone had the opportunity to compare any of these various M7's to each other?

-Dan's D7
-Thiersch (red and/or blue)
-3U M7
-Beesneez M7
-Gefell M7
-other?

 

[EarthTone]

I have a Gefell m930 which contains a Gefell M7 and Dany D7. I could pit a mic against another mic, but I can’t open the m930 in order to try different capsules in the same circuit. I tried before. I think it is glued shut. For whatever it is worth I like Dany’s better but it could be I have them installed in mic circuits I like better than the m930.

 

[johnchantler]

M930 is a great mic, but pretty sure it doesn’t have M7 capsule

 

[OneRoomStudio]

M930 is a great mic, but pretty sure it doesn’t have M7 capsule

It’s hard to find reliable information, but from what I’ve read, the M930 uses an “M930 capsule,” which is a cardioid-only (single-sided) “M9” capsule, which itself is just a Mylar version of the PVC M7. So it both is and isn’t an “M7,” ha.

I have a Thiersch-reskinned Gefell M7, but it was reskinned with Mylar, so I suppose it’s an “M9” now.

 

[bremusound]

Well that‘s the rear side of the M930 capsule.

 

[OneRoomStudio]

Well that‘s the rear side of the M930 capsule.

Yes, but what does the front side look like? Should be similar to an M7/M9

 

[bremusound]

It looks a lot like an M7 but i don‘t think the M9 is just a mylar skinned M7.

 

[kingkorg]

Well that‘s the rear side of the M930 capsule.

Wow, that's a true revelation!

It looks a lot like an M7 but i don‘t think the M9 is just a mylar skinned M7.

Umt70s looks just like M7 should, i'd still call it a hypercardioid, m930 is clearly a hybrid, does it's own thing.

 

[jeremynothman]

M930 does its own thing, and it’s definitely not glued shut. Quite the opposite… it’s super-easy to open! In my memory, you just unscrew it from the bottom.

Also, as you can see with the -180degree view, while there is a massive attenuation off axis signal with this mic, it does tend be a bit bright sounding

 

[OneRoomStudio]

Has anyone had the opportunity to compare it sonically to an M7 (Gefell or otherwise)? Or, for that matter, compare any M7s to each other?

 

[jeremynothman]

At some point Andreas Stenzel @Ericbazaar mentioned trying out the 3U M7 in a/some mics, but kept using Thiersch/Rico Vetterlein’s capsules for his work. I can imagine that is part a question of quality/tonal quality, and in part a question of keeping things (east) German.

Maybe he can chime in on his impressions? He tends to do measurements on all his mics, so I guess he’d have some data to backup any impression as well.

 

[EarthTone]

M930 does its own thing, and it’s definitely not glued shut. Quite the opposite… it’s super-easy to open! In my memory, you just unscrew it from the bottom.

Also, as you can see with the -180degree view, while there is a massive attenuation off axis signal with this mic, it does tend be a bit bright sounding

Well, while that may be true of certain ones, mine have proved to be impossible to open by hand. I read cases from other users who also found theirs were glued shut and had to make a special tool to open them. Also good to know is that the m930 screws open from opposite direction you’d expect it to. Like, reverse. Not righty tighty. That’s what I read from folks who’ve managed to open theirs. Mine wouldn’t come open either way. I’m not an old man yet, I go to the gym every day, and although I am not a body builder, I’m pretty sure if mine would come open by hand they would’ve come open already. I tried hard. Maybe yours were a different era of production. The ones I have are from pretty recently. I purchased them new in 2020.

Anyway, yeah it is a pretty bright mic to be honest. I used these as overheads on a lot of sessions. Usually they needed either zero boost or some subtle taming (attenuation) of the HF’s during mixing. More and more often I’m just preferring ribbons as overheads… But sometimes you need the clarity of a condenser. When I’m not recording piano at the same time, I use my Schoeps pair as overheads instead of the m930’s. Much better sound. On the other hand, the m930’s are very useable for just about anything you can think of. I put them in the “they don’t suck but they aren’t amazing” category.

 

[micaddict]

It looks a lot like an M7 but i don‘t think the M9 is just a mylar skinned M7.

It has a deliberate treble lift, for a more "modern" sound if you will.
BTW, the first Gefell mic that had this capsule (and headbasket) was the M990. Great tube microphone.

M1030 is like the M930, but with a larger headbasket (and body, consequently). This does make a noticeable difference.

 

[micaddict]

Oh, and I think the term "M9" can be confusing, as it can mean different things, depending on era. But that is on Gefell.

 

[jeremynothman]

Well, while that may be true of certain ones, mine have proved to be impossible to open by hand. I read cases from other users who also found theirs were glued shut and had to make a special tool to open them. Also good to know is that the m930 screws open from opposite direction you’d expect it to. Like, reverse. Not righty tighty. That’s what I read from folks who’ve managed to open theirs. Mine wouldn’t come open either way. I’m not an old man yet, I go to the gym every day, and although I am not a body builder, I’m pretty sure if mine would come open by hand they would’ve come open already. I tried hard. Maybe yours were a different era of production. The ones I have are from pretty recently. I purchased them new in 2020.

Anyway, yeah it is a pretty bright mic to be honest. I used these as overheads on a lot of sessions. Usually they needed either zero boost or some subtle taming (attenuation) of the HF’s during mixing. More and more often I’m just preferring ribbons as overheads… But sometimes you need the clarity of a condenser. When I’m not recording piano at the same time, I use my Schoeps pair as overheads instead of the m930’s. Much better sound. On the other hand, the m930’s are very useable for just about anything you can think of. I put them in the “they don’t suck but they aren’t amazing” category.

Haha, okay. I guess I should say that the M930 I opened was easy to get open!
As for the overheads, there's a reason why Schoeps are well loved in general, and especially in that role, but then again, some people love C12s as overheads, and I would think that M930s could put you in a similar direction for the top-end boost.

Really, I think the M930 shines on modern pop vocals.

Anyway, back to the topic! Has anyone by chance compared a regular AliExpress M7 to a 3U M7 (preferably to other M7s that are available such as Thiersch's or Ben Sneezby's)?

 

[Latie]

My personal impression: I found the sound of the m930 a little "boxed", small, mainly in the low, low-mid bass. I thought it could be a step up from the TLM103 but no, as for the low end it seems a little artificial, limited to me. I don't know how to describe it exactly but the Spanish guitar sounds like smaller and less expensive. On male vocals and on guitar the MT930 sounds smaller than the TLM, than my C48, than the MT71 to me - and "I suppose" the same other M7 mics.. Is it the capsule? Is it the housing? I don't know. I insist, it is just my impression. I didn't own the mic and didn't keep samples of the test, before you ask. Greetings

 

[Nen'O]

Getting back to the original topic, has anyone had the opportunity to compare any of these various M7's to each other?

-Dan's D7
-Thiersch (red and/or blue)
-3U M7
-Beesneez M7
-Gefell M7
-other?

Then we have mystery M7
Maybe @Wordsushi can help us get it.



I did get chinese M7 from ebay (unknown source) and it's amazing.