Schalltechnik Dr.-Ing. Schoeps GmbH, known as Schoeps Mikrofone, is a German manufacturer of professional studio

condenser microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

s for recording and broadcast. The privately owned company is based in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

, south-west Germany, and was founded in 1948.

Microphones

All microphones made by Schoeps employ traditional (i.e. externally polarized, not

electret An electret (formed as a portmanteau of ''electr-'' from "electricity" and ''-et'' from "magnet") is a dielectric material that has a quasi-permanent electric charge or dipole polarization (electrostatics), polarisation. An electret generates int ...

) condenser

transducer A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Usually a transducer converts a signal in one form of energy to a signal in another. Transducers are often employed at the boundaries of automation, measurement, and cont ...

s, and use small-diaphragm, single-diaphragm capsules, even in microphones which offer two or three different directional patterns. All models introduced since 1973, as well as some models from even earlier, have featured transformerless output circuitry.

Colette

The Schoeps "Colette" (CMC) series of microphones is a series of four

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost t ...

s, for different powering schemes, and about 20 capsules, for different directional patterns and/or frequency response characteristics; any capsule of the series is compatible with any of the amplifiers. This was the first type of microphone to let the user separate the capsule from the amplifier (body) of the microphone, via "active" accessories, e.g. thin, flexible cables, or "goosenecks", for the sake of a less obtrusive microphone setup. In this type of arrangement, the initial amplification stage of the microphone is located in the accessory, at the point where the capsule is connected; this helps to prevent

interference Interference is the act of interfering, invading, or poaching. Interference may also refer to: Communications * Interference (communication), anything which alters, modifies, or disrupts a message * Adjacent-channel interference, caused by extr ...

or signal losses. Most capsules of the CMC series are also available as one-piece compact microphones ("CCM series"). The circuitry is miniaturized so that each complete microphone is only a few millimeters longer than the corresponding "Colette" capsule would be. This simplifies installation and reduces the risk of interference in situations which would ordinarily require the use of Colette active accessories. However, since these microphones lack the modular construction of the CMC series, their capsules are not interchangeable.

Historical microphones

In the

vacuum-tube A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve (British usage), or tube (North America), is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied. The type known as a ...

era, Schoeps M 221-series microphones, especially the model M 221 B, were widely used in studios and for live orchestral recording. Their circuitry is based on the

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the ''Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ('General electricity company'). The name "Telefunken" ap ...

AC 701k vacuum tube. They were introduced in 1954 and manufactured until the 1970s; many are still in use today. One particular model of Schoeps microphone created for French radio (the CMT 20 series, 1964) has the historical distinction of being the first phantom-powered condenser microphone on the studio market.

References

External links

Schoeps Mikrofone
Audio equipment manufacturers of Germany Companies based in Baden-Württemberg Companies based in Karlsruhe Microphone manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1948 German brands {{Germany-company-stub

Microphones

Colette

Historical microphones

See also

References

External links