The Neumann U 87 is a poly-directional large-diaphragm condenser microphone. Originally introduced in 1967, a version of the U 87 is still produced by Georg Neumann GmbH. The U 87 became an industry standard recording microphone, a reputation that continues to endure.[1][2]
The U 87 has a large 25.4 mm diaphragm, and can operate with any one of three selectable polar patterns: cardioid, omnidirectional, or figure-8.
History
Neumann U 87 with shock mount
Introduced in 1967 as the solid-state successor to the U 67,[4][5][1] Neumann introduced the U 87 alongside the KM 86, KM 84, and KM 83 as part of the company's first 'FET 80' series of microphones that utilized use solid-stateFET electronics that didn't require separate power supplies or multi-pin power cables and allowed the mics to be made smaller.[6] The U 87 could be powered either by the newly introduced standard of a 48V phantom power supply or two internal 22.5 volt batteries.[6]
The original U 87 used a modified version of the 'K 67' capsule - the 'K 87'. From 1968 to 1974, Neumann also offered the U 77, which worked with AB / Tonader powering (rather than 48V phantom power) or internal 9V battery, and used the same 'K 67' capsule used by the U 67.[6]
In 1986, Neumann introduced the U 87A,[4] which no longer required two 22.5V batteries, and was able to use the same K 67 capsule as the U 67. A version with XLR connector is appended with a lowercase i, i.e. U 87Ai.[4] The updated version had -3 dB lower self-noise, 5-8 mV/Pa higher sensitivity, and 5 dB lower maximum SPL capability.[6]
