Neumann TLM 102

I am a serious audiophile. I have a great audio setup and have been hand building tube amps for audio and guitar since the 1980s. My main monitors are some amazing (and expensive) Bowers and Wilkins floor standers - stunning they are. I consider my taste on the consumption side of audio to be extremely high. However, on the creation side it is just a casual hobby of recording: spoken word, poetry, occasional music and nature/etc. For fun, not money. So while I have excellent playback gear, my creation gear in the past has just been rather OK. That is my frame of reference for you. I have been using a Behringer B2 Pro as my main condenser microphone for some time now. It is an economical and great product. However, I have always wanted a Neumann as part of my "I want the best audio experience" personality. I could never justify a 47/67/87/89 based on my needs even though my geek inside wants one. So I have been fascinated with this rather affordable TLM 102 for some time. Finally, the reviews and online audio samples got me and I bought one. First thought, '@#$% it is small'. It really is. It more of a medium size condenser compared to my B2 and other cheap condensers. On the physical enclosure and capsule size. That is cool though, as it is super portable and flexible on location. On comparing the audio quality: the lack of the upper treble boost is immediately evident. You cannot miss it. I think if you want a truly general purpose mic, this will be immediately invaluable. If you just want a vocal mic, you may prefer the bump (look at the 103). Audio quality vs. the cheap condenser mics: OK this one is hard... there is less of difference than I had expected, yet the ball is clearly in the Neumann camp for being the best. No matter what I record, it's just slightly less sibilant, slightly less vampire drained in the mids with the false bass and treble boost. It's just better in every way your brain can come up with. The gotcha is, it is really rather minor, and it also proves that the reputable, economical mics present an enormous value for the casual/beginner audio enthusiast. As such, I can only rate this mic as truly 5 stars; delivering everything it promises. But I really want to tell the readers, if your budget is indeed limited, some of the cheap condensers offer you 90% of the experience at a fraction, *literally* a fraction of the cost. Either way you go to me is a win; based on your own needs. It's remarkable we do have this much choice in gear. Happy recording.

This microphone works great when I’m either on the go or in the studio. Use it for vocals mainly and pair it with a UA Volt. Def a real clean sound

So first things first! This was an amazing upgrade from my baby bottle condenser mic! 400$-700$ I was really skeptical about if this was the right pick, I’d like to make a point that because you pay more for a mic dose not mean it’s better, yes of course it’ll sound different, more clear, crisp, but it depends what your using it for as well as how your voice fits it! Although you can fix that with EQ but my main point is this mic is absolutely mind blowing, it’s small but wow!!! The sound is just incredible, I’m currently using the scarlet 2i2 solo interface which I’d also suggest is a great combination, running from logic x pro, just when I plugged it in and recorded some rough drafts to a song I’m writing, THE CLEARNESS AND SOUND IS SO GOOD I MEAN YOU COUOD FALL IM LOVE WITH YOUR VOICE,! I also have to add it’s a verry hounest mic , it speaks back the way you sound perfect! I’ve also tested out the Neumann TLM 103 and that was amazing too but I seriously like the TLM 102 better in my opinion I’d say for the 103 your paying an extra 800$-1000$ for the size , and a few extra adjustments , but hounestly GET this mic if your looking for an upgrade it is verry affordable for a high end mic, we’re not talking about standerd beginner mics or even slightly more advanced mics ! This is just on the high end grid of professional studio sounding mics ! I’ll post a link in a few days that runs through a varioty of different tests, from voice overs to singing to rnb to give people a general idea of what they can expect!

Small mic that sounds great. Believe 102 is more clear with slightly less bass than the 103. 103 is easier to drive. It's very sensitive to noise and requires a silent area or it will pickup background noise. Went back and forth between 102 or 103. Personally think the 103 is a better mic, but it's more expensive. The102 is a semi affordable professional mic and is a big step up from the lower priced options. It is surprisingly tiny, but feels heavy and solid. No regrets and glad I got it.

The microphone itself looks great, it is an attractive condenser mic with a well implemented design, compact enough to not take up a lot of a space- yet large enough to capture every sound. The sound quality is compareable* to your standard 700.00 value microphone, I'm not going to upsell what the sound offers because again, it is compareable to other microhpones for the same value yet automatically you know your paying for the brand. Neumann has a decent reputation, it's something to purchase just because it's Neumann, the "Porsche" of microphones. So the TLM 102 doesn't compare at all to the TLM 103 sadly. For vocals, it is very obvious the TLM 103 will tackle the job better- in every single way. Upon using the TLM 102, you'll notice the overall sound is "flat" which isn't necessarily bad. A flat sound provided can offer increased singing confidence as the mic fails to pick up on the accurate pitch. Nonetheless, it is a great versatile mic. Highly recommend for drums, bass, or vocals, but any other instrument will sound foul with no brightness to the playback audio, that is a job for the TLM 103. In conclusion the TLM 102 Mic will make your set-up look gorgeous, it's sleek and matte finish really does shine. If it wasn't for my "professional hearing" I would rate this mic 5/5 stars, unfortunately for me this is not the case and instead felt a bit let down on its performance. Though great for anything, it won't excel with everything.

Best mic I have. And I have had a lot. Just the best vocal sound you can get at this price. Very low noise too. I really like this thing.

Was looking for a good mic for studio vocals and ran across this. Reviews were good so gave it a go. Love it! Rich vocal sound!

Nice product

Este micrófono es una maravilla. De entrada es Neumann y con eso ya es garantía de calidad. Una excelente respuesta de frecuencia y lo más importante, buena versatilidad para aplicar en el estudio. Si lo combinas con una buena interface y un buen pre amp puedes llevar el micrófono a un nivel premium. Excelente micrófono!

Best best varry nice good microphone

Excellent value for money

I just love the mic