KM 84

Common name: Neumann KM 84

Production Status: Discontinued / Vintage

KM is the acronym for “kleinmikrophon” meaning “little microphone”. It was introduced for the first time in 1953 with the KM 53 by Georg Neumann GmbH. The KM 84 belongs to the “fet 80” series and is a cardioid condenser microphone manufactured from 1966 to 1992, replaced the previous KM 64 valve microphone and was later replaced by the new transformer-less version named KM 184. It is a pro-audio industry standard, thousand of these microphones are still in use today all over the world. The microphone amplifier incorporates a built-in switchable -10 dB pre-attenuator. The pressure gradient cardioid capsule (KK 64 – KK 84) uses MCF (Pe/G) diaphragm and exhibits no coloration for off-axis sounds. The microphone was available with a standard 3-pin Tuchel connector or XLR-3 (“i” version), both with nickel finishing or dark matt. In 1996 a special limited edition was produced on request especially for the NHK – Japan and it was named KM 84 A. It omits the – 10 dB pad (like the Telefunken M 280 N). The microphone is very versatile and is used for strings, guitars, drums, percussion, and choirs… a large number of accessories were available such as capsule extensions, windscreens and shock mounts.