Beyer m160: is "matched pair" a thing?

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Beyer m160: is "matched pair" a thing?

Post by DrummerMan » Sat May 01, 2021 6:30 pm

I could have thrown this on the Audiosavings thread but it's different enough to hopefully warrant it's own...

Anybody know if there's any "matching" to be done on pairs of Beyer m160's? Especially looking for the experience from folks who have or have worked with multiple of these mics.

My original plan was to buy 2 now. I still might, BUT I've been really enjoying my Senn 441 as the Fl Tom side mic on my GJ setup I've been fucking around with. I was thinking about just getting ONE m160 for the top side of that setup for a mismatched pair.

Beyond other considerations, I KNOW I can afford one right now, whereas 2 is a *little* bit of a stretch.

If I get one now, and then decide in a month or a year to get another, do I risk having 2 that sound noticeably different? Any more than I would if I bought 2 at the same time? Do they vary much from mic to mic?

I don't really see them sold as pairs except used, so I think that tells me my answer but I thought it worth double checking with those with experience.

Thanks!
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Re: Beyer m160: is "matched pair" a thing?

Post by losthighway » Sun May 02, 2021 6:00 am

I'm sure someone on here feels differently, and I'd like to hear from them, but to me two M160s in reasonable working order are going to be similar enough that it wouldn't be a concern.

The matched thing seems even less important with a GJ setup. The scientific perfection of a matched pair speaks to me of traditional stereo setups: x/y, ortf etc. Like you're already doing, a spaced pair can break all of the rules with two different mics even, and still be cool.

I've personally found the M160 to be a little thin on overhead duty, but it was only when I was testing it against other choices. It's totally worked out on a few things that I've done, sometimes you don't need all of the low-mid wallop. Also, they're cool mics that work well on quite a few things.

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Re: Beyer m160: is "matched pair" a thing?

Post by MoreSpaceEcho » Sun May 02, 2021 6:51 am

losthighway wrote:
Sun May 02, 2021 6:00 am
The matched thing seems even less important with a GJ setup.
Agree. I do a modified GJ thing with the 160 on the floor tom side and either a 4050 or 4040 on the snare side, i.e. very different mics. They're usually both panned center but even if I spread them out it works perfectly fine. I eq them differently but it doesn't sound lopsided liked you'd imagine it would.

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Re: Beyer m160: is "matched pair" a thing?

Post by DrummerMan » Sun May 02, 2021 8:11 am

I guess I meant to say that there are other situations where I'd want an actual stereo pair besides GJ, though I'm having trouble imagining what they are right this minute. I've got an AEA r88 for great sounding X/Y, and I just don't know what I'd realistically be recording with any kind of spaced pair besides drum overheads, and outside of GJ, I pretty much never do that.

It makes sense for me to have the the GJ pair be kind of close sonically, since I do often hard pan them to get that wide image. I tried yesterday with the 441 on the Fl Tom side and 1 side of the r88 on overhead. The r88 was just so dark comparatively that I had to do major EQ just to get them feeling cohesive.

Personally I love the sound of the m160 for these applications, when I've been able to use someone else's in the past. They're just the right amount of clarity to have a drum sound that "fits" without doing much at all.

Thanks for the thoughts! I'll probably go ahead and get one this week.
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Re: Beyer m160: is "matched pair" a thing?

Post by Recycled_Brains » Sun May 02, 2021 6:10 pm

If you're buying brand new mics, I kinda feel like "matched-pair" is a little bit of snake oil. I could see getting a pair used where each mic is coming from a different seller being dicey, but I wouldn't give it a 2nd thought otherwise.

I've used mine, that I bought in 2005 or something like that, along side freshly re-ribboned M160s, brand new ones, ones that were the same age or older, etc... Never been enough difference to notice unless something was wrong with one of them.
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Re: Beyer m160: is "matched pair" a thing?

Post by Nick Sevilla » Sun May 02, 2021 6:57 pm

Typically, you only need to match a pair of mics when they do indeed sound too different.

Otherwise, brand new ones are so close as to be bullshit snake oil from the marketing department.

This "matching" stuff comes from using old tube mics, which can and often do vary in their characteristics.

Dynamics, ribbons, et al, do not really need this. I use a pair of 414s which are the same model but from different years, as a Stereo pair sometimes, and they are just fine.
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

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Re: Beyer m160: is "matched pair" a thing?

Post by cgarges » Sun May 02, 2021 8:25 pm

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you really want two M160s that sound the same but can't afford to buy two new ones at once, look for two with somewhat close serial numbers (like, NOT one made in 1974 and one made in 2014) and eventually have them re-ribboned at the same time. That will get you about as close as anything will.

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Re: Beyer m160: is "matched pair" a thing?

Post by alexdingley » Mon May 03, 2021 4:19 am

losthighway wrote:
Sun May 02, 2021 6:00 am
I'm sure someone on here feels differently, and I'd like to hear from them, but to me two M160s in reasonable working order are going to be similar enough that it wouldn't be a concern.
I have two; serials are kinda close…

I have used them on overheads (spaced / xy / badly-setup GJ), and they DO sound pretty identical. I’ve never put them coincident on a grr can or anything… but I might try for a quick test, one of these days.

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