What do your EARS hear as the difference? (Make sure to listen on headphones or studio monitors)

Great video! I own both and honestly my voice sounds the best processed and unprocessed with the 103. Both are amazing but the 103 is the winner in my house. 🤘🏼

The S and T letters sound harsher on the TLM 103 even from my phone

TLM 103 is very sensitive to sibilants.

der Sound vom u87 kommt einem direkt vertraut vor!!!!

On the topic of flat vs presence boosted mics, one thing to keep in mind is that it’s easier to “tame” a pleasantly (not harshly) presence boosted mics, than to try to make a flat mic to stand out in post, especially if the talent/speaker has naturally flat/receding voice. That is, without bringing up the noise floor with EQ or overcompressing, I think. Cut before boost and so forth. That’s one reason the 103 is so popular in VO. It helps the voice cut through music bed etc. without sounding “too harsh” like Sennheiser MKH 416 might with some voices. Also fairly easy to tame with a simple shelf EQ. It’s a pretty great mic. And so is U87… and the Sennheiser MK4…

If I understood correctly, the TLM 103 is basically a single diaphragm, transformerless version of U87, without the corrective EQ the U87 has built in. Without the corrective EQ, the highs would be more boosted on the U87, similar to 103. The transformer affects the lower frequencies, making it sound more “tight” and “controlled” (U87) vs “realistic” on 103. That’s the difference in technical level. Transformers are more expensive than transformerless designs, but also, transformerless mics are quieter (except the ones with really cheap components) and more “natural” sounding.

I feel that old U 87 sounds more fuller and detailed.

Self-noise is not a thing for dynamic mics. That's preamp noise when you have to turn up your preamp because the dynamic mic is less sensitive than most condenser mics. Self-noise is due to the electronics in condenser mics.

The TLM 103 is best, I think for voiceover, due to the boost on the bottom and the top. Great mic! I use it every day. I used to use the Sennhieser 416 but this mic has a better high end.

Great Point that u Make is that those both do Not matter if the Acoustica is not trated 😢

1073 + 103 = ❤ (for me at least for vocals)

Thanks ❤

Great video thanks a lot! I already purchased the 103 and it's on its way. This video really gives me peace of mind that I made the right choice! 👍🏻

In the signal output section, feels like you're trying to make the 103 sound like the U87 and viceversa (although the low end of the U87 seems to be intact) with your processing (comparing this with your unprocessed section). Super weird.

When I record vocals, my voice sounds very thin using TLM102, I use an ART tube preamp and Logic Pro for DAW When I sing live using Shure sm58 my voice sounds very thick I like that thickness in my voice Any tips would be greatly appreciated Thanks.

Thanks man, you just saved me big time from buying U87, am over the moon with my new TLM 103.

thank you so much

Can you grab a Lauten Atlantis, or Clarion? They give Neumann a really good fight.

I like the body and the slighty tamer highs of the u87. it feels a bit relaxer on the ears to me. But yeah, you cant go wrong with both.

Biggest technical differences are: 1) double-diaphragm capsule with variable polar pattern cardio / eight / omni for the U87ai vs. single sided capsule at the TLM103, thus only cardio pattern. 2) single-FET discrete circuit with transformer inside the U87ai vs SMD transformerless circuit at the TLM ('TransformerLessMicrophone') -> preamp choice is more important with the U87ai, to further smoothen it's very fast transients, adding to it's total cost of onwnership. Thus my recommendation: If you are invested in nice preamps or plan to do so, go with the U87ai. If you're planning to use just your interface's built in pre, in most cases TLM103 should do. 3) U87ai has a limited max SPL of only 117dB vs 138dB for the TLM 103 - very loud sources can cause the U87ai to clip, while it's hard to clip a TLM103.

🔥🔥🔥🔥

Would you consider demonstrating a high quality U87 clone? My thought is something like the United Studio Technologies UT Twin87. Might be good for us trying to get as close as possible on a budget.

Excellent comparison. How about doing one more of these with the Electrovoice RE20 vs the RE320? (I own the last one)

The inherently flat quality to the U87ai is probably what makes it such a timeless microphone, because in skilled hands that sound can be shaped to fit whatever the current, in-style sound is for professional productions. Back in the day, it was the more vintage sound with more low and midrange, while in modern times, it's a more bright and clear sound, and this mic can be mixed to fit either really well. Who knows? Maybe in the future, the sound profile will shift to something that's super dark and rich, and the U87ai can probably be tuned for that, too. By the way, didn't you have a shock mount for your 103? What happened to it? And speaking of shock mounts, it seems Neumann decided to bump up the price of the 103's shock mount more recently. I've been seeing that whole package going for almost $1500 these days LOL. As a fellow Rycote USM owner, they're the absolute best, and if I ever get either of these mics in the future, I'm just gonna buy the mic itself. EDIT: False alarm. It seems those $1500 listings include a massive Neumann-branded aluminum carrying case.