Neumann
KM 184
Small-diaphragm condenser · Cardioid · 20–20,000 Hz · a rider regular
- 15 mV/Pa is roughly ten times the output of a vocal dynamic — the gain stays near the bottom of its travel and the noise floor stays where it belongs.
- The gentle lift around 9 kHz is the whole reason engineers argue about it: the 184 is brighter than the KM 84 it replaced, and some people never forgave it.
- 80 grams with no pad and no low-cut. Everything it does not have is the point.
Frequency response
Read off Neumann’s published response graph and re-drawn on the fixed MicSense scale (20 Hz–20 kHz, −20 to +15 dB), so two microphones can be compared at a glance. Points between the entered coordinates are interpolated — no data has been invented to smooth the curve.
Polar pattern
Generated from the first-order directivity formula for cardioid. It illustrates the pattern type — it is not a measurement of this individual model.
Specifications
| Manufacturer | Neumann |
|---|---|
| Model | KM 184 |
| Type | Small-diaphragm condenser |
| Form factor | Stick / pencil |
| Polar pattern | Cardioid |
| Frequency range | 20–20,000 Hz |
| Sensitivity | 15 mV/Pa · ≈ -36.5 dBV/Pa |
| Max SPL | 138 dB SPL |
| Self-noise | 13 dB(A) |
| Impedance | 50 Ω (rated; load ≥ 1000 Ω) |
| Connector | XLR3M |
| Powering | phantom 48 V |
| Weight | 80 g |
| Price tier | Premium |
| Introduced | 1993 |
Every figure above is from Neumann’s own published datasheet for this model — see the datasheet. A dash means the manufacturer does not publish that figure; it does not mean zero.
What it gets used for
- Overhead
- Choir / ensemble
- Acoustic instrument
- Hi-hat
MicSense tags microphones by the job on a live stage, not by studio category — so you can filter for “kick in” or “monitor vocal” instead of working backwards from “large-diaphragm condenser”.
Compare it against the alternatives.
MicSense lets you put up to four microphones side by side — spec table, overlaid response curves and polar diagrams on one screen. Free with a free Squaresmile account.