Sennheiser has launched the new MKH 8018, a compact stereo shotgun microphone designed for broadcasting and filming applications. Climate-proof and rugged, the MKH 8018 is a high-class short microphone that completes the company’s MKH 8000 range of RF condenser microphones, all of which excel in the field due to their ability to capture natural sound with virtually no off-axis coloration. Providing further flexibility, the lightweight MKH 8018 features three switchable stereo modes: MS stereo, wide XY stereo, and narrow XY stereo.
To make the MKH 8018 as easy to handle as possible, the Sennheiser engineers have given it an aluminium housing to have less weight on a camera or boom pole. Also, the microphone is – unlike most of the other mics in the 8000 series – non-modular with a fixed XLR-5M output and integrated -10 dB pad against overdriving, filters for tailoring the frequency response, and an additional switchable -3 dB low-cut filter at 70 Hz. When used in MS stereo mode, it allows complete freedom of spatial imaging adjustment on the mixing desk, while the XY modes are premixed in the MKH 8018, with settings fine-tuned in many tests.
“The MKH 8018 is a high-class shotgun model that rounds off our MKH portfolio at the top end,” says Kai Lange, senior product manager for the MKH series. “It has extremely low self-noise and truly excellent sound, very clear and pure due to the mic’s great off-axis rejection. Moisture resistance, minimal non-linear distortion, and a balanced audio signal at the transformerless, fully floating output are further benefits of the RF condenser technology, which Sennheiser has been perfecting for more than 60 years.”
As the MKH 8018 has been designed for field broadcasting and filming applications, the usual extremely wide frequency response of the MKH mics has been limited to 40 – 20,000Hz. This avoids any overloading of the mixing console with distortion below 40Hz and above 20kHz, where ultrasonic camera lens measurement systems are active.
“The MKH 8018 impresses with its homogeneous sound image, and can output MS stereo for further processing in the studio or on a mixer, or – via an internal matrix – XY stereo in a wide or narrow mode without the need for an external mixer. In XY-w, the mic emphasizes the side signal to a greater extent, thus capturing more ambience. In XY-n, the focus is more on the mid signal, giving the sound engineer more directionality,” Kai Lange adds.
Introduced officially at NAB 2025, the new MKH 8018 is delivered complete with an MZQ 100 microphone clip, MZW 8018 foam windshield, and a threaded plastic transport tube. The MZR 8000 camera adapter wraps around the microphone body and ensures a secure fit with other mic clips and on cameras. Optional accessories for the MKH 8018 are the MZS 20-1 suspension/pistol grip, the MZW 60-1 basket windshield, and the MZH 60-1 hairy cover for outdoor use of the MKH 8018.
www.sennheiser.com
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